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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1749.PDF
GENERAL AVIATION ACQUISITION BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE Enstrom captures Indonesian deal Financing concerns overcome as manufacturer beats off Eurocopter and Schweizer in police helicopter contest Indonesia's police force plans to acquire 18 Enstrom 480B heli copters and two Raytheon Beech- craft 1900D turboprops to bolster its patrol capabilities. The 480B outscored the Euro- copter EC120 and Schweizer 333 in a competition that concluded at the end of May. But the Indonesian ministry of finance's concerns over Enstrom's financing proposal threatened to derail the acquisition in early June, giving new hope to Schweizer and other potential man ufacturers (Flight International, 17- 23 June). Enstrom has since resolved the financing issues by securing a loan guarantee from BNP Paribas Bank. Enstrom originally proposed a direct loan with the US Ex-Im Bank, which is backing both the $ 17 million heli copter and $14 million fixed-wing purchase. But industry sources say the ministry wanted to include a pri vate bank to expedite the deal and help make sure all aircraft were deliv ered by April 2004 as required. Enstrom shipped two 480Bs and Raytheon ferried two 1900Ds to Jakarta for a 1 July police anniver sary event that included a fly-over with the new aircraft. But formal delivery of the first aircraft is still waiting on completion of the loan agreements and a 15% downpay- ment. Rival manufacturers still believe the deals could be derailed for political or financial reasons and are waiting on the sidelines should a new opportunity arise. Indonesia expects to acquire an additional 10 to 20 helicopters and possibly more fixed-wing aircraft by 2005 to further bolster its police fleet. Enstrom and Raytheon are hopeful of follow-on contracts, but Indonesia is already looking at pos sible alternatives, including the PZL- Swidnik-built Mi-2 helicopter and M28 Skytruck. A PZL deal could be completed later this year. CERTIFICATION KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON Diamond diesel earns European instrument flight rules approval Diamond Aircraft has received European instrument flight rules certification for its DA40TDI light single-engined aircraft as it prepares to break ground on a 10,900m2 (120,000ft2) composites facility at its base in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Diamond clinched European Joint Aviation Authorities approval for the visual flight rules version last November - the first-ever approval of a diesel engine on a newly certifi cated aircraft. The €210,000 ($240,000) DA40TDI, based on the Lycoming IO-360-powered DA40-180 Diam ond Star, has a Thielert Aircraft Engines (TAE) 135hp (lOOkW) Centurion 1.7 jet-fuel engine. Diamond managing director Christian Dries says orders for the DA40TDI have passed 100, mostly from European customers, including Orders for the DA40TDI have passed 100, says Diamond Aircraft 35 from the Lufthansa flying school. Diamond's diesel-fuelled DA42 Twin Star, a twin-engined derivative of the DA40TDI, is scheduled for certification later this year. More than 170 orders have been chalked up for the four-seat aircraft. "Our Austria base will have the capacity to build up to 400 aircraft a year," says Dries. The new composites factory will house production of aircraft wings and fuselages and is scheduled for completion in November. TRADE BODY Aerohawk reactivates AOPA branch in Malaysia Malaysian aerial advertising com pany Aerohawk has reactivated the country's Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) in an effort to represent and promote Malaysia's growing general aviation sector. A Malaysian branch of AOPA was originally established three or four years ago but has been largely inac tive, says Gavin Lim, customer rela tions manager at Aerohawk, who is working on the AOPA project with Aerohawk owner Surenda Singam. The organisation was reactivated only last month, but Lim says it could be established in time for a public launch at the Malaysian air show, LIMA, in October. Although the Malaysian general aviation sector is in its infancy, it is growing, says Lim. There is a fleet in the hundreds, and he believes it has the potential to grow rapidly. The government encourages the GA sec tor but does nothing to promote it, he says, and there is no other organ isation to represent the industry. SAFETY Australia to check R22 rotor blades Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has issued an urgent airworthiness directive (AD) requiring inspections for cracked main rotor blades on Robinson R22 helicopters. The AD follows a preliminary investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau of a fatal R22 accident on 20 June at Warragamba, near Sydney. The investigation found that the main rotor blade failed at the inboard end of the bolted joint. The AD calls for visual and eddy current inspections of the blades. Eddy current inspections must be carried out once blades reach 1,500h in service, and blades beyond 1,500h require inspection by the end of this month, says CASA. Inspections must be repeated every 200h in service, and the manufacturer recommends replacing rotor blades at 2,200h in service. The directive orders visual and eddy current inspections before further flight if an R22 has suffered severe main rotor vibration during a flight. The AD also calls for the installation of a vibration warn ing placard in the cockpit to warn pilots to land immediately if the main rotor vibration increases rapidly or becomes severe. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 8-14 JULY 2003 23
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