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Aviation History
1971
1971 - 0127.PDF
lie fLIGHT International, 28 January 1971 WORLD NEWS . . . at the Connaught Rooms, London WC2, coinciding with the BLAC's annual general meeting. Tickets at £3 are obtainable from the BLAC. 75 Victoria Street, London SW1. Time for making nominations for the Lennox Boyd Trophy has also been extended. Nominations should now reach the BLAC on or before Friday, April 16. First RAF Puma The first SA.330 Puma helicopter for Air Support Command is being handed over at Yeovil tomorrow, January 29, to the C-in-C, Air Marshal Harry Burton, by the chairman of Westland Aircraft, Mr D. Collins. Among those due to be present are M de l'Estoile, head of international affairs, Sud-Aviation, and Gen Du- bost, Deputy Chief of Staff, French Army. Belgian Islander Britten-Norman received an order on January 21 from Publi-air, based in Brussels, who, under contract to Sabena, will be operating feeder ser vices into Brussels Zaventen from provincial towns and cities such as Antwerp and Liege. The aircraft is a standard 260 h.p. Islander and delivery is expected to take place in March, with the possi bility of a second aircraft for later on this year. Swingfire's Nato Demonstration Six Swingfire anti-tank missiles scored six direct hits in a recent firing demonstration in West Germany attended by senior military observers from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Norway and West Germany. The missiles were fired from an FV.438 guided weapon vehicle by soldiers of the 16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 4th Royal Tank Regt, both of which are equipped with Swingfire. The targets—tank and armoured car hulks—were at ranges of up to about 4,375yd, 4,000m. At the longer distances they could only just be identified, owing to poor visibility, through a X10 magnifying lens. For some of the firings the operator was in the vehicle, which gives him and the system full armoured protection. Other firings were made at some dis tance from the FV.438, taking advan tage of Swingfire's remote control capability. The system is now in full opera tional service with the British Army, which during last year fired several hundred missiles in training and achieved a reliability figure of 90 per cent, with a "very satisfactory hit rate." "FLIGHT" NEXT WEEK ... . . . will, in addition to regular features, include a comprehensive survey of civil helicopters and V/Stol aircraft. Concorde loomed large in the Com mons on Wednesday of last week, January 20, when 25 questions about it were put to the Minister of Avia tion Supply, Mr Frederick Corfield. His answers provided an up-to-date picture of the project, one which may be received with enthusiasm in some quarters but possibly with dismay in others. The Minister said that the latest estimate of the cost of developing the aircraft was as it had been given in his statement of November 18, that is, £825 million. As to any authorisa tions of expenditure for the future, on the purchase or production of parts or components, this was a mat ter for joint decision between his French colleague, M J. Chamant, and himself. They were meeting on Feb ruary 2 and would make a major review of the project in March. Former Technology Minister Mr Wedgwood Benn asked whether, be fore the Government reached a de cision on the future of Concorde, the relevant figures and alternatives would be published, so that the nation might have an opportunity of joining in the discussion before decisions were come to, rather than after the Govern ment had taken them. In reply, Mr Corfield said that his questioner would appreciate that the decision must be a Government one; prolonged public discussion would not be in the in terests of the enterprise. Asked to make a statement on pro duction funding for Concorde, the Minister said that the manufacture of six production aircraft had been authorised. Authority had also been given to the companies to order some materials for a further four. His questioner, Mr John Wilkinson (Con, Bradford West), asked in a Supple mentary whether the Minister were aware that BAC had serious over capacity for production, with grave financial implications for the corpora tion. Airlines could not be expected to form a commercial judgment on the virtues of Concorde; the faith that the sponsoring Government had in the airworthiness of the airliner must be taken into consideration. There had been no lack or loss of confidence by the Government, Mr Corfield replied. "The question which we must consider is whether we should authorise further production finance now, before we are in a position to assess the marketing potential." At this, Mr Benn was on his feet again, to ask if there were an agree ment with the French Government to carry the current rate of spending through to the middle of this year, or whether there was a break point in March that would make it neces sary to reach a decision before the airlines had had time to assess the aircraft. The Minister assured him that there was no break point in that sense, and referred to his meeting with M Chamant on February 2, for further talks before the March re view. When another former Minister, Mr William Rodgers (Lab, Stockton-on- Tees), asked what discussions the Minister of Aviation Supply had had with BAC and the French Govern ment with a view to guaranteeing Concorde's manufacturers against loss in the event of unit production costs exceeding the estimates embodied in the selling price negotiable with air lines, Mr Corfield said that his Depart ment had had a number of discus sions with the manufacturers on arrangements for the financing of production. These discussions were continuing and the French Govern ment had been kept informed of them. But Mr Rodgers was not satisfied. He wanted an assurance from the Minister that these discussions did not include any consideration of the pros pect of financing Concorde beyond the development phase, and that in par ticular there was no question of direct or indirect subsidy to production models for sale to the airlines. Mr Corfield replied that the dis cussions referred to the production phase. The Government was not con sidering any form of subsidy or grant at that stage. What it was considering were the terms and conditions of the interest-bearing loans, the basis on which the last Government proposed to finance Concorde production. « * * When Mr Michael McNair-Wilson (Con, Walthamstow East) asked him to give the estimated R&D cost of the Olympus engines for Concorde, and to state how many had been ordered by his Department, the Minister said that 19 bench and 44 flight development engines had been ordered. Authority had also been given for manufacture of the first 14 production engines. It would not be appropriate, for reasons of commercial confidence, to give the total estimated development cost of the Olympus 593. Pressed by Mr McNair-Wilson to say whether R&D cost was as estimated at the beginning of the project, or whether he could give some idea of how much it had risen and whether the engine supply programme was on time, Mr Corfield replied with a double negative: "I cannot say that the estimates have not risen since the outset of the arrangement." As far as he knew, the present development was on time, but there were other modifications which had to be taken into account.
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