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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 2812.PDF
ION NEWS IN BRIEF • BAe CONTRACT Raytheon Aircraft has award ed British Aerospace long- term contracts, worth over S100 million a year, to produce airframes for the Hawker 800XP business jet. BAe Airbus at Broughton, Wales, will supply fuselages and wings, and BAe Military Air craft & Aerostructures at Prestwick will supply doors, fuel tanks and flaps. • MARSHALL SELECTION Bombardier has selected Marshall Aerospace in the UK as its first European inde pendent authorised service centre for the Global Express ultra long-range business jet. • DEFENDER DELIVERY Britten-Norman will deliver a Defender 4000 twin- engined utility aircraft to UK-based Police Aviation Services (PAS) by the middle of the month. This marks the first sale for the Bembridge, Isle of Wight-based manu facturer since it was acquired by investment company Litchfield Continental earli er in the year. The Defender 4000 will join PAS' fleet of seven Islanders and 20 twin- engined helicopters. • BELL 407 APPROVED Eurojet Aviation has received UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval to operate a Bell 407 on the public trans port register. The Birming ham, UK-based executive aircraft charter and manage ment company is now oper ating the single-engincd 407 on the Canadian register, pending CAA certification, scheduled for late this year. • MARYLAND EUR0C0PTER The Maryland State Policein the USA is scheduled to take delivery of a Eurocopter AS365N3 Dauphin in April 1999. The twin turbine heli copter will be added to the aviation division's existing fleet of HAS365s. Proteus market predicted to fly GUY NORRIS/MOJAVE WYMAN-GORDON is pre dicting an estimated market for up to 1,000 of the unconven tional Proteus high-altitude, long operation (HALO) aircraft being built by its subsidiary Scaled Composites. The US investment company hopes to begin proof-of- concept trials as early as 2000. The prediction, from Wyman- Gordon's chairman and chief exec utive David Gruber, follows the signing of an agreement with St Louis, Missouri-based Angel Technologies, giving it exclusive rights to the HALO-Proteus for commercial telecommunications applications. If Angel exercises all its options, the contract will be worth S760 million, covering 100 aircraft which will be deployed to 30 cities worldwide. The aircraft is designed to loiter at altitudes above 51,000ft (9,500m) over metropolitan areas, providing a platform for a large broad-band communications an tenna. According to Angel Tech nologies, diese will form the apex of its HALO Network, delivering a variety of fixed, portable and mobile wireless services including voice, data, images and video at faster rates than current dial-up modem speeds. "We estimate a single site will make up to S400 million per year," says Gruber. "We believe that there are roughly 300 sites, each of which will require either three or four air craft operating in shifts to provide continuous coverage 24h a day." Flight testing of die first aircraft is now under way and certification is expected in three and a halfyears' time. "However, we're hopeful we can start with three aircraft to demonstrate revenue service over a city before mat," says Gruber, who adds diat the scheme could begin as early as 2000. The company is in "preliminary discussions" with the US Federal Aviation Administration over clearance for early operations with pre-certified aircraft. "We are optimistic we could get it into early service. It's not a trans port aircraft and we are only going up to do telecomms missions. There's also a potential national interest angle, as it could provide emergency coverage in the event of an earthquake, or other disaster," Gruber adds. Production aircraft will be manufactured by a new subsidiary', Scaled Technology Works, based in xMontrose, Colorado. • See feature, P29. S-70 Firehawk sparks Asian sales for Sikorsky SIKORSKY Aircraft is negotiating the sale of two S-70A-37 Firehawk firefighter helicopters to an unnamed Asian cus tomer as a prelude to what it hopes will be a substantial market de mand from the region in the wake of devastating forest fires in 1997. The customer, be lieved to be the Sultan of Brunei, will be the first for the modified UH- 601. Black Hawk equipped with a remov able 3,785 litre (1,000 US gal) water tank and ex tended landing gear. Powered by twin Gen eral Electric T700- 701 Cs, the helicopter has a gross weight of 10,700kg (23,5001b) and can carry up to 15 firefighters as well as the watertank, which is made by California-based Aero Union. The multirole capability of the Firehawk has also sparked interest from the US Army National Guard, says Sikorsky director of international programmes, Lindell Weeks. The US Congress has ear- The Firehawk can damp up to 3,785 litres of water marked S3 million for testing, qualification, certification and building of additional kits, as well as die deliver)' of the demonstrator aircraft to the Army National Guard after the trial period. "The National Guard has indi cated an interest for up to 40 sys tems," says Weeks, commenting during a demonstration of the Firehawk given by the Los Angeles County Fire Depart ment in California. The demonstrator Firehawk, a new production UH-60L on loan from the Oregon Army National Guard, is being used for a trial period by the Los Angeles Fire Department. The trial has revealed "...room for minor improvements such as tweaking the location of switches in the cockpit and so on", says Weeks, who adds that LA County is "...consider ing the Firehawk as a potential replacement" for several older types currently in use. Sikorsky says the advantages of the Firehawk include the ability to drop fire suppressant precisely over the target area, its rapid transit to and from the water source and its flexible options for refilling the tank. The tank can be filled in 70s using a snorkel hose, or - in about the same time - by pumping water into its two main sections through connectors built into the sides. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 October 1998
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