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Aviation History
1978
1978 - 3192.PDF
FLIGHT International, 9 December 1978 2107 assembly and flight-test establishments located at Turin Caselle Airport. Another 3,700 work near Naples at Pomi- gliano d'Arco and 700 at Naples Capodichino Airport, where Aeritalia repairs and services many types of US Navy aircraft, assembles and flight-tests the G.222, and overhauls IAF aircraft. Turin, home of the combat aircraft group, expects to increase its direct man-hour load from 2,000,000hr this year to 2,500,000hr in 1979. The 767 pro gramme alone accounts for 800,000hr. The transport aircraft group at Naples expects to start a satellite factory in Naples soon and to set up the first factory on the site acquired at Foggia. This will be a machining centre initially. Naples production has been half military, half civil, but the new expansion will be largely on the civil side. In the diversified activities group, the space section itself only employs about 100 engineers and relies on the , other divisions for manufacturing facilities. There is a major spacecraft assembly and testing installation in Turin. The instrument activity employs about 500 people at , Nerviano, north of Milan. This was the former Filotecnica Salmoiraghi company, which, being already owned by the 1 IRI/Finmeccanica organisation, became a founder member I . of Aeritalia in 1969. Nerviano specialises in military optical devices and in flight instruments and gyro systems. <. The well-known Garda line of gyro instruments has been sold in the USA to such effect that virtually every US general-aviation aircraft carries one or more Garda air- 1 driven gyro instruments. Most recent innovations are the h electrically driven horizon and DI, which have even been adopted as standby instruments for the Agusta A.109 and t- Alisarda DC-9s and are now specified for the US business i turboprops. Nerviano also makes Sperry gyro compasses and gyro platforms for the G.91Y and G.222, the Saab I RGS.2 weapon sight for the Macchi 339, and a variety of j military barometric instruments. Nerviano is fully equipped to manufacture fine mechanisms with numeri- * cally controlled machinery and is now completing inertial- jj standard clean rooms. 4 Tornado avionics The main avionics centre at Caselle manufactures the '• Collins autopilot for the G.222 as well as radio altimeters 0 and other systems for Tornado, F-104 and G.91. It has also developed the Tornado autopilot in association with x Marconi Avionics, and a variety of special software sys- v terns such as the automatic load and balance computer for Caselle Airport. The centre has full test ranges for * experimental and production testing of aerials and ra- 1 domes, and anechoic chambers for calibrating the electro magnetic compatibility of avionic equipment. It will I develop the honeycomb radome for the 767 and is taking part in production of the Tornado radome. An important part of Aeritalia's capability is the Caselle ) flight-test establishment, which is equipped for real-time data reduction for Tornado. It also handles Turin-built * G.222s, new F-104S and overhauled F-104Gs. I- The loss of L3.122 million (about £1-9 million) by the two aircraft groups in 1977, nearly half as large again as 1 in 1976, was partially caused by strikes which cost the , company 403,000 direct and indirect man-hours during 1977. The disastrous Saca strike had at least as great an effect, however. i, Further burdens were caused by the need for large G.222 fuselages are manufactured in Naples. Final assembly is being moved from Turin to Naples investments in new equipment (L.12,400 million, about £7-5 million), in the Boeing programme (LI3,866 million) and the transfer of G.222 production to Naples (L2,948 million). While civil and military exports made a profit of L6.546 million (about £4 million), work for the Italian Air Force made a loss of 1.7,028 million for reasons which must be considered extraordinary. Aeritalia reports that the price of L55,000 million (about £33-5 million) for the fifth batch of 40 F-104S was fixed in 1975. But the contract was not finalised until 1977, and seven aircraft had actually been delivered before any payments were authorised. Similarly, payments for the second batch of 18 G.222s, fixed in 1975, were not cleared until this year, by which time Aeritalia was out of pocket on the deal by no less than L52,000 million (about £31-6 million). Not only were these delays in payment severely disruptive—all the affected manufacturers are seeking assistance—but the hourly rates imposed by the IAF are now unsatisfactory in view of the high national rate of inflation. Aeritalia's debt has accordingly increased to L184,848 million (about £112 million), on which commercial interest rates are being paid. Costs of the Boeing programme amounting to L6.690 million (about £4 million) are being carried by Aeritalia despite a law of 1975 specifically providing for Government support. Aeritalia has had major price negotiations with both Douglas and Boeing during the past year, and the Government will not make payments under the law until the last details of the Boeing 767 contract have been completed. It remains to be seen how long the undoubted prosperity now in prospect takes to wipe out these burdens. AM-X The choice by the Italian Air Force in September of the Rolls-Royce Spey as the powerplant for the Aeritalia- Macchi AM-X light attacker was a milestone in the pro gramme, because the engine dictates the general size of the aircraft and the politics of export sales. It now remains to be decided whether AM-X will be developed jointly with Sweden. There seems to be a remote possibility that Brazil might become involved either with the AM-X itself or with a smaller development of the Macchi MB.340. The Italian Air Force, which is still the prime inspiration for the AM-X and very much in command of development, has drawn up a detailed specification and intends that the new technology acquired in Tornado shall be fed back into this national aircraft. The IAF has informed Nato of the AM-X specification and is in close touch with Sweden. An AM-X will weigh about 20,0001b with warload. and the "sizing mission" calls for the carriage of 3,0001b of stores, two air-to-air missiles and a gun at very low altitude over a radius of 180 n.m. Maximum load over shorter ranges is 6,0001b. Basic missions are close interdiction, reconnaissance, certain categories of close air support, offensive operation against airfields, and defence against low-flying aircraft. A version optimised for anti-ship strike is also required, and there may eventually be a two-seater. Cost is a crucial factor. The IAF requires, some say optimistically, a flyaway unit cost of L3,500 million (about £2-1 million) in January 1978 values'. This dictates a degree of simplicity which immediately excludes such refinements as fly-by-wire control and makes the less expensive Spey engine almost a necessity. In any case, the-
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