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Aviation History
2000
2000-1 - 0726.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION NEWS IN BRIEF • US SAFETY IMPROVING US general aviation safety continued to improve during the first half of the year, says the National Transportation Safety Board. GA accidents fell 8% over the same period last year, to 805, and fatal accidents fell 10%, to 140. There have been nine mid air collisions so far this year, up from eight last year, con tinuing a trend which saw mid-airs increase from 15 each in 1997 and 1998 to 18 in 1999. • RAYTHEON DELIVERIES Raytheon delivered 282 air craft in the first six months, up from 191 in the same peri od last year - including 11 more business jets and 33 more King Air turboprops. The backlog also increased. Raytheon has orders in hand for more than 250 Premier I light jets and over 150 super mid-size Hawker Horizons. • CESSNA OFFERS CASH Cessna has introduced a "cash back" incentive to spur sales of its Caravan single- turboprop utility aircraft. Buyers will get a $2 5,000 pay ment on aircraft delivery. They can keep the money, put it towards the purchase price or use it to buy addi tional options. • FAA TIGHTENS BELL AD The US Federal Aviation Administration has tightened an airworthiness directive aimed at detecting fatigue cracks which could lead to mast failure and main rotor separation in Bell 204, 205 and 212 helicopters. This fol lows the discovery of mast cracking before the life limit established last April. • SECOND A319CJ Lufthansa Technik has com pleted and delivered the Italian Government's second Airbus A319 Corporate Jet. The first was delivered in February. El Gavilan renews its search for North American partner GRAHAM WARWICK/WASHINGTON DC COLOMBIAN manufacturer El Gavilan hopes to select a North American production site for the Gavilan 358 utility aircraft by 15 September. A tour of poten tial locations in Canada and the USA will begin on 2 8 August, using the aircraft displayed at the AirVenture 2000 show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, this month. Several potential partners will be visited, says El Gavilan president James Leaver. "We are looking for investment to a certain extent, but mainly we are looking for someone with a Federal Aviation Admin istration or Transport Canada pro duction certificate." A deal with British Columbia- based Advanced Wing Technol ogies to produce the Gavilan in Canada, announced last year, fell through, says Leaver (Flight International, 17-23 November). The piston-single Gavilan is already type-certificated in the USA, but Bogota-based El Gavilan needs a North American produc tion certificate if it is to expand the market for the aircraft beyond the handful of Latin American coun tries which accept a Colombian production certificate. There is "no way" the Colomb ian firm will get a US production certificate, says Leaver, as the two countries do not have a bilateral agreement. "It's a political matter and out of our hands." El Gavilan hopes to begin North American production in six months, using Colombian-made kits. At Oshkosh, "3 0 to 40" option agreements reserving North American production slots were handed out. As recipients have a month to place deposits securing delivery, "we don't yet know the results," says Leaver, "but we're optimistic." Securing a North American production base would boost the prospects of developing a turbine- powered version of the aircraft. El Gavilan has begun work on a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-powered variant, development of which is expected to take "over a year", Leaver says. Production of the Textron Lycoming TIO-540-powered Gavilan 3 58 is likely to continue in Colombia, Leaver says, aimed mainly at the military markets in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The Colombian armed forces operate five aircraft. Zi Qantas chosen to provide RAAF leased VIP fleet PETER LE FRANCHI/CANBERRA THE AUSTRALIAN Govern ment has selected Qantas to replace Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) VIP transport aircraft with a new leased fleet, to enter ser vice in 2002. The aircraft package comprises two Boeing Business Jets for international travel and three Bombardier Challenger 604s for domestic flights. Contract talks start this month, with the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) aiming for a deal by early next year. DoD officials say the final contract is expected to incorporate work packages to Australian industry worth AS 100 million ($58 million) over the 12- year lease period. Announcing the decision, defence minister John Moore said that the range of aircraft solutions considered, "the leasing package offered by Qantas best meets the air transport needs of the govern ment and [DoD]". A rival proposal headed by the Australian Westpac banking group and supported by Hawker Pacific offered Airbus A319s and options on a choice of Challenger 604, Falcon 900 and Dassault Falcon 2000 aircraft. The Qantas bid included Falcon 900s as an alterna tive to the Challenger 604. Tenders for the requirement were first released in February last year, with source selection expect ed nearly a year ago. Australian DoD officials acknowledge that while the decision has taken longer than planned, the result is a "good compromise" intended to "try and keep the costs comparable with the existing fleet". The new aircraft will be operat ed by the RAAF's No 34 Squadron, based in Canberra and operating six leased Falcon 900A aircraft. The arrangement with Qantas will also see the withdrawal of two B707 VIP aircraft based at Richmond, west of Sydney. 3 Two Boeing Business Jets will be used for international flights 32 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22 - 28 August 2000
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