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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 0690.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION NEWS IN BRIEF m JEPPESEN CONTRACT Jeppesen has signed an agreement with Executive Jet Aviation (EJA) to provide its OnSight flight operations management system for the company's Netjet fractional ownership programme. EJA will acquire all three mod ules, namely the JetPlan IV flight planning system; wXstation, weather analysis service; and Flight TraX advanced flight tracking sys tem, which decodes and dis plays position reports, flight plans and arrival/departure messages. • PC-12 CENTRE Pilatus Aircraft has named TSA Transairco a PC-12 centre. The Geneva Airport, Switzerland based company, which has been marketing the single engined aircraft in European and North African countries since January, is a fully owned subsidiary of Pilatus and will be responsi ble for maintenance, repair, technical support and sales of the PC-12. SMA flies new diesel engine for first time SOCIETE DE Motorisations Aeronautiques' (SMA) four- cylinder MR2 50 diesel engine has been flown for the first time. The engine was fitted to a Socata TB20 Trinidad. SMA is a joint venture between the French light aircraft maker Socata and engine develop er Renault Sport. The 50min trial of the 135kW (l80hp) engine was conducted from Socata's base in Tarbes, on 3 March - six months later than planned. SMA says that the engine has accumulated around 300h of bench testing. The family of horizontally op posed engines, which will be avail able in 135kW, 185kW and 225kW variants, is scheduled for European certification next year. The engines will power Socata's Morane range of light aircraft now under development. • Improved Katana is on the way GRAHAM WARWOVLONDON, ONTARIO DIAMOND AIRCRAFT has begun production of a Teledyne Continental-powered version of its DA20 Katana two seater. The all-composite aircraft incorporates several improve ments and can now accommodate an uprated version of the original Rotax 912 engine or the Conti nental, which is expected to increase the Katana's appeal in the North American market. The new DA20-C1 is powered by a 95kW (125hp) Continental IO-240, replacing a 60kW Rotax 912 and increasing climb rate and cruise speed. Production of the original Rotax-powered DA20-A1 will end in April, to be superseded by the -CI and the improved -A2 powered by a 75kW Rotax 912. Diamond had produced over 330 -Al Katanas by mid-March. Plans call for 150-200 aircraft to be produced this year. All sales so far have been to flight schools, but the higherperforming-Cl is expected to attract private buyers and act as a "stepping stone" to the four seat DA40 now under development, says president Michael Slingoff. The DA40 is being developed jointly by the German-owned company's subsidiaries in Austria and Canada. The design freeze is scheduled for January 1999, with production beginning by year end. The DA40 is to be assembled in Canada and, if demand is sufficient, also in Austria, he says. A Rotax-powered proof of con cept aircraft is flying in Europe, where a Continental-powered prototype is due to fly in September. The DA40 will be powered initially by a 125-155kW Continental IO-360, but Diamond plans to offer other engines later, including a diesel, Slingoff says. • PZL-Mielec has received two orders for its latest Dromader variant - the Ml 8BS Poland certificates Mielec's two seat Dromader THE POLISH Civil Aviation Authority has granted type certification to the new two-seat version of the PZL-Mielec Ml8 Dromader agricultural and fire- fighting aircraft. The aircraft, designated the M18BS, first flew last November. Orders for two have already been received from local operator Aviation Agriculture Enterprise, which worked closely with Mielec on the design and development of the aircraft. It will now join the standard M18B in production The M18B has been modified with the addition of a second cock pit in the hopper area, reducing the hopper's capacity from 2,200 litres to 500 litres. The cockpit and smaller hopper were developed from the earlier M18AS version of the aircraft, only 10 of which were built. Mielec has built 691 Dromaders to date, with the 700th aircraft expected to fly within a few months. • Aerostructures wants risk share role in Bell Boeing 609 AEROSTRUCTURES IS negotiating to supply the fuse lage of the Bell Boeing 609 civil tilt- rotor as a risk sharing partner. The Nashville, Tennessee-based com pany would take over the work from Boeing, which has trans ferred its stake in the venture to partner Bell Helicopter Textron. Bell is seeking risk sharing partners to replace Boeing's investment in the programme. Aerostructures says that it has an "interim agreement" to be a major supplier on the 609. "Providing a competitive price is key to our reaching an agreement with Bell and further negotiations are neces sary before a final contract can be signed. Hopefully, that will happen within 90 days," says president Dick Wells. The company, which produces tail sections for the Bell Boeing V-22 military tilt rotor and is to supply empennage components for the 609, would take over responsibility for the all-compos ite fuselage. Aerostructures "...is being asked to be a risk sharing partner... by making a major finan cial investment in the development of the aircraft", the company says. The work is expected to be worth "several hundred million dollars", Aerostxuctures says, based on estimates of a market demand for 500 or more aircraft. Bell has so far booked deposits for over 60 tilt rotors, with a first flight due in late 1999, leading to certification and first deliveries in late 2001. Aero structures was owned by Textron until it was acquired by the Carlyle Group investment firm. • 24 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 25 - 31 March 1998
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