FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1998
1998 - 1056.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION China signs for Canadian N-5 production PAUL LEWIS/SINGAPORE THE CANADIAN Aerospace Group (CAG) has concluded a second collaborative agreement with a Chinese aviation manufac turer covering the final assembly and sale of up to 240 Hongdu X- 5A agricultural aircraft to Xorth American buyers. China in return, has been given rights for local pro duction of the Windeagle light air craft and Monitor Jet trainer. Hongdu, formerly Nanchang Aircraft, is due to ship the first of an initial two N-5 airframes to Can ada in May. CAG will then install a Lycoming IO-720 eight-cylinder engine, non-retractable tricycle gear and cockpit instruments. Company president Philip XTelson claims to have customers already lined up and expects to deliver the first N-5 by August. In a reciprocal move, China has signed a tentative agreement to produce either CAG's Windeagle all-composite light aircraft or Monitor tandem-seat jet trainer, formerly known as the Peregrine Falcon. They are aimed at China's military trainer and slowly emerg ing civil general aviation markets. "If China's military were to say they would like a version of Windeagle or Monitor, we have an agreement signed on the basis we will go together with I longdu, but we still have some marketing issues to clear up," says Nelson. The Chinese firm would initially build components to prove its produc tion quality. This latest agreement follows a similar deal struck with Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing, to supply Y-12 airframes to CAG for com pletion and sale (Flight Inter national, 8-14 April, PI 1). Hongdu has to date only produced 15 N-5s for the Chinese market, but hopes to sell as many as 40-50 single- engined crop dusters a year to US and Canadian operators. "We will make aircraft available for lease as well as sale," adds Nelson. The company is planning to develop uprated versions of the N-5, fitted either with the more powerful liquid-cooled Orenda Canada 600 or the Pratt & Whitney PT6-11 turboprop. Other options would include a global positioning system. Prices will range from $250,000 for the basic version up to $700,000 for the turboprop-powered version. The single-seat N-5 has been designed to US Federal Aviation Administration standards, but has only been certificated in China. It will initially be able to operate in North America under a restricted category. "Our intent is to see the programme through to a full US FAA certification," says XTelson. J NEWS IN BRIEF • ROTOR WAY SELLS WELL Rotorway International has increased production of its Exec 162F kit-built heli copter, from 10 to 12 a month, to keep pace with demand. The company, based in Chandler, Arizona, attributes growing sales to the availability of long-term financing from Greentree. Seven international sales and service representatives have also been appointed. The company says that about 60% of the $62,350 kits are aver aging 300-400h to complete. • K-C GETS AVIONICS OK K-C Aviation has received supplemental type certifica tion for installation of the BFGoodrich Avionics Sys tems GH-3000 electronic standby instrument system in the Bombardier Challenger 604. The flat-panel display is already installed in several other business jet types. • HALF-PRICE FUEL OFFER Raytheon Aircraft Services is offering fuel discounts to operators bringing their air craft to one of its 14 US ser vice centres for maintenance. Discounts of up to 55e per US gallon are available. Agricultural sprayers are lined up for stripped down, ex-surplus, rebuilt JetRanger variant FLORIDA-BASED Load Ranger plans to develop a stripped-down derivative of the Bell 206 JetRanger, aimed at the agricultural spraying market, but key aspects of the programme remain undefined. A prototype of the Load Ranger 2000 was displayed at the Heli copter Association International show in February, to gauge inter est. "I have 13 sprayers waiting for the aircraft," says company presi dent Tom Navickas. He hopes diat certification will be achieved with in two years, although a source of finance has yet to be found. The concept is to marry a new lightweight tubular-steel airframe to a used JetRanger dynamic sys tem, to achieve a $500,000 heli copter capable of carrying a 900kg useful load and able to lift a 7581itre spray tank, compared with a 45 51itre tank for the original Bell 206. The price is based on using com ponents from military surplus Bell OH-58s. The Allison T63 (mili tary 2 50-C18R) turboshaft is avail able for around $50,000, with l,000h life remaining, compared with almost $250,000 for a new 250-C20R, says Navickas. An all- new aircraft would cost around $1.2 million. The company has been in formed by the US Federal Aviation Administration that the helicopter will have to be certificated as a new aircraft. Xavickas thus plans to obtain restricted-category certifi cation with a new -C20R, then gain supplemental certification for the change to a used -C18R. He says he will only take orders once the heli copter has been certificated. • BDE is developing rapid-installation f iref ighting kit for Caribou SPANISH COMPAXY BDE is developing a firefighting modification for the de Havilland DHC-4A Caribou transport air craft. The Madrid-based firm is developing a 4,5001itre-capacity retardant tank kit designed to be installed or removed from the air craft's cargo hold in less than 4h. Certification work is under wav at BDE's Miami plant, and US approval is expected to be gained in September. The company plans to market the firefighting kit to Caribou operators, but has also acquired three ex-Spanish air force DHC-4s which it wants to remarket. Kit- equipped aircraft will be available inJanuary 1999. As a firefighting aircraft, BDE argues that the Caribou offers the advantage of short take-off and landing, plus the ability to operate into unprepared airstrips, allowing landings close to sources of avail able water. The roll-on/roll-off firefighting kit will also be suitable for the later DHC-5 Buffalo, BDE says. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22 - 28 April 1998
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
