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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 1364.PDF
J-ADUNES NEWS IN BRIEF • CORSAIR A330 ORDER Corsair is poised to become a new Airbus customer, with an order for two A330-200s to boost its long haul charter fleet. The French carrier operates an all-Boeing fleet of 737s and 747s on short and long haul charters for its par ent company, tour operator Nouvelles Frontiers. The airline has a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for two A330-200s, for deliv ery in 1999 and 2000. Meanwhile, UK charter Leisure International Airways has confirmed its order for two Pratt & Whitney PW4168A-pow- ered A3 30-200s. The two air craft will be delivered in early 2000, replacing two leased Boeing 767-300ERs. France presses for space vehicle JULIAN MOXON/BORDEAUX AEROSPATIALE is pressing the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch development of an unmanned independent European re-entry vehicle demonstrator as a follow-on to its Atmospheric Re entry Demonstrator (ARD) pro gramme. France pulled out of the N \SA-led X-38 re-entry vehicle effort in 1997 when its new Government cancelled financing for manned space projects, leaving Germany as the main ESA partici pating member. The country is also not expected to join any European contribution to the planned Crew Emergency Return Vehicle programme for the International Space Station (ISS). Aerospatiale is prime contractor for the ARD, a conical Apollo-like unmanned craft which will be deployed from the Ariane 503 when it is launched in mid- September. Despite its perceived value in contributing to European re-entry knowhow, one ESA source says that the 44 million euros (S48 million) effort will be "virtually pointless" if there is no subsequent programme. Aerospatiale's head of space and manned transportation pro grammes, Gerard Breard, says that the decision to open discussions with ESA was taken "very recent ly", and adds that Belgium and Italy, major contributors to the ARD, have also shown "serious interest". He adds that the suggested name for the re-entry demonstrator is Atmospheric Re-entry Experi mental Spacecraft (ARES). The spacecraft would be in the form of a fully automatic, winged vehicle which would be able to land on prepared runways, and it would be "much less complex" than the cancelled Hermes manned space- plane programme. Breard says that, without such an initiative, Europe "...will not be able to negotiate partnership in international programmes from a position of strength". He adds: "Without an indepen dent European capability, we will be dependent entirely on the USA for access to the ISS." The ARES is expected to cost 350 million euros and take five years to develop and test, and will be deployed from a Soyuz launcher "...because we have to keep costs down, and the Ariane 5 is too expensive". The programme will be pro posed to ESA at its ministerial meeting in September. 3 Scottish ATC centre is delayed to 2004 DAVID LEARMOUNT/LONDON A£200 MILLION ($328 million) air traffic con trol centre planned to be built in Scotland has been delayed by around three years because of a reassess- mentofthc complexity of the task in the wake of serious software problems with the associated Swanwick-based New En Route Centre (NERC). UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has, how ever, just announced handover of the XERC software after months of testing. The Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (SCATCC) will not now 1 it operational until at least 2004 as a result of the additional work undertaken since the NATS origi nally selected a Lockheed Martin- led bid to build and finance the operation at Prestwick Plans to build the SCATCC have been controversial since NATS selected the Sky Solutions bid from Lockheed Martin, even though the US aerospace giant was struggling to rectify faults in the associated Swanwick system. A recent probe by a UK Parlia- Increased software complexity will delay SCATCC mentary committee recommended that the SCATCC decision be investigated by the National Audit Office. That, and other recom mendations, are still being studied by the Government Civil Aviation Authority chair man Sir Malcolm Eield told Flight International last year that the Audiority had always been scepti cal of Sky Solutions' ability to meet an operational date of 2001 for the SCAI CC and that it was consider ing pushing back the start date. NATS says the further delay results from "a reassessment of die complexity of the task as a result of experience with the NERC". NATS chief executive Bill Semple savs that about 85% of SCATCC software will be the same as that for the NERC. Contract negotiations I between Sky Solutions s and NATS have dragged 1 on for more than 18 months because, accord ing to Semple, of the complexities inherent in the Government-im posed private finance ini tiative arrangement, whereby NATS leases the SCATCC from the contractor. Semple says that nego tiations are almost complete. Meanwhile, on 13 May, NATS announced that it has accepted handover from Lockheed Martin of the operating software for the Swanwick-based NERC, which will control en route traffic in the London flight information region. Testing, says Semple, has included operation with major parts of the system simulated as totally failed. The £3 50 million centre was due to open in 1996, but has been delayed until at least late 1999. Semple says that the NERC software has met contract speci fications by passing 95% of the 2,000 "shall do" requirements. • See feature, P41. Air New Zealand sells 747 Classics to Virgin AIR NEW ZEALAND (ANZ) has sold its five Boeing 747- 200s to Virgin Adantic Airways as as part of its fleet modernisation programme. The five 16-17 year old Rolls- Royce RB211 -524D4-powered 747s will join Virgin between March 1999 and January 2001. The UK carrier operates six older Pratt & Whitnev JT9D-powered 747-100/200s, which will now be deployed on "less onerous routes", and may be replaced by the younger R-R-powered versions. ANZ has publicly valued the whole deal, including spares, at Si 30 million. Industry sources sug gest that the deal for five aircraft alone is closer to Si00 million. ANZ will replace the 747-200s with additional 747-400s which it already has on order, and says that it is also negotiating die acquisition of other new aircraft. Virgin says it is still discussing the acquisition of 747-200s from Cathay Pacific, and is believed to have a lease deal for two aircraft. The ANZ 747-200 deal is likely to have ended any prospect of the Boeing 777 joining Virgin's fleet in the near term. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 May 1998
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