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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 0484.PDF
HEADLINES Fokkerhopesfocus on Malaysian rescue FOKKER'S ASSEMBLY lines face final closure in May, unless administrators running the bankrupt Dutch manufacturer suc ceed in pulling off a last-ditch res cue plan. Hopes of saving the company centre on talks with a coalition of .Malaysian and Dutch investment groups. The latest report from the Fokker administrators says that Fokker has only four aircraft still to deliver from the batch of cash orders secured in mid-1996. Of that batch, there are still two Fokker 50 turboprops due for delivery to Ethiopian Airlines in March/April, while the last two of five Fokker 70 regional jets for KLM will follow in April and May. If no rescue has then been put in place, the company, which is em ploying a skeleton workforce of 459, faces imminent closure. Some smaller parts of the bank rupt business have recently been sold, including the interiors opera tion, to Driessen Interior Systems. The latest hopes for a rescue hinge on apparent interest from the Malaysian Government, which confirms that its Khazanah invest ment arm is discussing "proposals" for a rescue. Details of the talks have not been disclosed, but the move is likely to include Dutch interests. The Stork industrial group (which acquired die Fokker Aviation services oper ation in 1996) and Dutch industri al investment group Begemann are also in discussions. Delays in securing a deal have added to the costs of resurrecting the business, compounded bv the decision of subcontractor Shorts to close the wing-assembly line. • NEWS IN BRIEF M ROOIVALK ROLL-OUT Denel rolled out its first pre- production Rooivalk attack helicopter on 17 February. The aircraft marks the start of production for the South African Air Force. It will be used for evaluation and the development of an opera tional doctrine. Brit'Air order launches Canadair stretched CRJ GRAHAM WARWICK/MONTREAL FRENCH REGIONAL airline Brit'Air is the launch customer for the stretched, 70-seat Bom bardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) Series 700, with a firm order for four aircraft. The Canadian company says that it has options and conditional orders for a further 28 aircraft, plus memoranda of understanding for another 35, including six for Tai wan's Great China Airlines. Eight airlines have signed agreements for the Series 700, Bombardier says. Development of the Series 700, previously known as the CRJ-X, will cost C$645 million ($478 mil lion), excluding the General Ele ctric CF34-8C engine. Bombar dier is providing C$440 million, which includes a C$87 million loan from the Canadian Government. Risk-sharing partners will provide the balance, and include GE(pow- erplant), Rockwell-Collins (avion ics), Leibherr (air management), Sundstrand (electrical-generation and slat/flap systems), Inter- technique (fuel system) and Men- asco (landing gear). C&D Interiors is expected to supply die cabin inte rior, and negotiations are under way with hydraulic and flight-con trol-system suppliers. Mitsubishi has been picked to supply the aft fuselage, with board approval hoped for by the end of February. Negotiations continue with potential suppliers of the tail section. Montreal-based Canadair will build the forward fuselage and wing, and assemble the aircraft, while sister company Shorts will produce the forward- and mid- fuselage and belly fairing. It will also supply nacelles and thrust- reversers to GE. Some 500 engineers from Cana dair and its partners will be in volved in the eight-month joint- definition phase now under way in Montreal. Detail design is to begin in July and the first flight has been scheduled for the second quarter of Brit'Air's CRJ Series 100 order helped get the programme off the ground 1999. Four aircraft will be flown from Bombardier's Wichita, Kan sas, flight-test centre, with simulta neous Canadian, European and US certification due in 2000, immedi ately followed by the first delivery to Brit'Air. The French regional already op erates nine 50-seat CRJs, and Bombardier is emphasising die advantages of the commonality be tween the current Series 100/200 and stretched Series 700 CRJs. These include a common crew qualification, which will enable operators to maintain a common pilot pool and match capacity to demand by switching between the two aircraft. Great China is already a launch customer for the Bom bardier Dash 8-400 70-seat turbo prop, reinforcing the manufac turer's belief that there is a market for both aircraft. Bombardier Aerospace presi dent Bob Brown says that the launch of the CRJ Series 700 com pletes the company's family of regional aircraft. The 100-seat cat egory "is of interest", he says, but Bombardier "... is unlikely to take a lead role" in developing such an aircraft. Brown confirms that "ex ploratory" discussions continue with Mitsubishi, which wants to lead development of a 100-seater. Belfast, UK-based Shorts has received a further boost after being selected by Bombardier to manu facture die engine nacelles, wing- mounted flight-control surfaces and main landing-gear fairings for the Dash 8-400. The UK company shed 850 staff when it stopped building wings for the Fokker 70/100 i n 1996, but now expects to take on 1,000 workers over the next five years. • Canadair Regional Jet Series 700 production breakdown Source: Bombardier Aerospace Horizontal stabilizer J Select systems Propulsion: General Electric ECS: Liebherr Aerospace Avionics: Rockwell Collins Slat/flap: Sundstrand Electric power: Sundstrand Aft fuselage Vertical stabilizer tip fairing FLIGHT Control _^^ surfaces Canadair Shorts Mitsubishi General Electric Vendor not announced 10 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 26 February - 4 March 1997
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