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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 3010.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION NEWS IN BRIEF • MERIDIAN BUOYS PIPER New Piper Aircraft has booked 80 orders so far for its Malibu Meridian single- turboprop business aircraft, unveiled in September. Se veral buyers will take delivery of piston-single Malibu Mirages until Meridian ship ments begin in 2000. • MICCO PREPARES SP20 Florida-based Micco Air craft, formerly New Meyers Aircraft, is awaiting US Federal Aviation Admini stration approval to begin certification flight-testing of its SP20 two-seat light air craft. Micco says that it has 17 orders for the aircraft, an upgrade of the Meyers 145. • SOCATA SPEEDS UP TB9 Socata will introduce a high er-speed version of its TB9 piston single in early 1998. The TB9 Sprint will cruise lOkt (19km/h) faster and will have a new trailing-link land ing gear as well as new wheel fairings. • HARTZELL AD RELIEF Operators of 1950s-vintage aircraft affected by an airwor thiness directive (AD) requiring inspection of Hartzell propeller hubs will be offered a replacement blade-retention system which the manufacturer plans to certificate by mid- 1998. Reduced prices will be available until August 1999. • GULFSTREAM DELIVERIES Gulfstream Aerospace says that its firm-order backlog at the end of the third quarter of 1997 remained unchanged from a year ago, at 89 aircraft, but its value declined to $2.8 billion from $3 billion in 1996, because of increased deliveries of the more expen sive Vs. The Savannah, Georgia-based company says that it delivered six rV-SPs and eight Vs in the third quarter, compared with nine IV-SPs a year ago. SME achieves Malaysian first KATE SARSFIELD/LONDON SME AVIATION has become the first Malaysian airframe manufacturer to produce an air craft for export, having won US type certification and production approval for its two-seat MD3-160 Aero Tiga aerobatic trainer. Selangor-based. SME heralds the development as a watershed for the local aircraft industry, claiming that "...this is the beginning of Malaysia's blueprint on aerospace", transforming it from a mainten ance centre into an international manufacturing hub. The certificates are provided for under the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA), which was signed between Malaysia and the USA in May 1996. The BASA gives US recognition to the Mal aysian aviation industry through a process oftechnical evaluation and acceptance of its practices. "Because of BASA, our industry can now go global," says SME. The SME group has set up a joint venture in the USA with Florida-based Aero Associates. Called SME Aero, the company will market and distribute the air craft in North America. "Our objective is to get as many aircraft flying in Indonesia as we can, so we can iron out any kinks. Then, in around 1999, we start to sell the air craft to the US market," says SME Aero chairman Richard Ledson. The Aero Tiga, which is priced at around $200,000, will be target ed at training schools, government and law-enforcement agencies and maritime patrol. "We anticipate a market of around 20 aircraft a year in 1999," adds Ledson. To date, SME Aviation has received 35 orders for the Aero Tiga from the Indonesian Government. The Royal Malay sian Air Force has five aircraft in service, while the transport min istry is due to take its first five on 1 December. The company is also exploring the possibility of manu facturing a nine-seat variant. J Viking starts Orenda re-power work on Beaver CANADIAN conversion spe cialist Viking Air has begun design work to re-engine the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver utility and floatplane with the Orenda Aerospace 450k W(600shp) turbo- charged OE600 vee-8 water- cooled piston engine. The British Columbia-based company already holds supplemen tal type certificates for re-engineing the Beaver with the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20 and -34, but says that the Orenda con version could cost less than that for the turboprop. The modification should be available by the third quarter of 1998, pending successful flight tests early in the year. In combination with a new, three-bladed Hartzell HC-B3TN propeller, the Orenda-powered Beaver is expected to have a 50% shorter take-off run, of 580m (1,900ft), to clear a 50ft obstacle. The aircraft will also have a 70% higher climb rate at 900ft/min (4.5m/s) and a 125kt (230km/h) cruise speed, or roughly 20% high er than that of the P&W Wasp Junior-powered original. I Meanwhile, US floatplane operator Kenmore Air Harbor is searching for old and discarded Beaver airframes, as demand for the aircraft continues to grow. Kenmore, which specialises in modifying and re-building DHC-2s and operates a fleet often piston- and turbine-powered vari ants from its base in Seattle, has rebuilt 130 of the aircraft to date. Over 1,600 were built from 1947. The company claims to have a production rate of around two- and-a-half aircraft a year. "We only have four airframes left to rebuild," says Kenmore. • Lancair studies shared-ownership options for Columbia LANCAIR IS considering a fractional-ownership option for its new Columbia 300 piston single. The Oregon-based com pany has booked 142 orders for the all-composite four-seater, which is scheduled to be certificated in April 1998, but acknowledges that the $205,000 price tag may be too high for some potential owners. "We are looking at leasing, shared-ownership options and clubs," marketing director Mike Schrader revealed at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Expo '97 in Orlando, Florida, in mid-October. One option is a pro gramme similar to Executive Jet's Netjets business-jet fractional- ownership scheme. "Netjets likes Columbia's price may be too high for some the concept," claims Schrader. Lancair is to start deliveries of the Columbia 300, its first certificated aircraft, in 1998. The company aims to deliver 50 in the first six months of production, rising to 150 in the first full year. A de-rated ver sion is planned for the flight-train ing market, as well as turbocharged and retractable-gear variants. G FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 - 11 November 1997
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