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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0070.PDF
Fairer sport initiative launched The International Gliding Commission is proposing a new competition and sport category in which all pilots fly the same design of aircraft. It is designed to cut the cost of competition aircraft and make competitions fairer, and could be adopted by other aviation sports. The move would make pilots compete on the same terms and put a stop to design obso lescence which forces pilots to buy new and more expensive gliders, according to the Commission's vice-president, Piero Morelli. Longer pro duction runs should enable the new glider to be priced at under £9,500 ($17,000), he asserts. The cheapest competitive glider available now costs twice as much, Morelli claims. A design competition is likely to be launched in March and the winning design chosen two years later, with information being passed to all manu facturers wanting to produce it. The accent would be on safety and low cost, not on perfor mance, but the cost target will demand fundamentally new construction methods, per haps involving polycarbonates, Morelli maintains. Morelli thinks the idea could be successfully applied to other branches of competitive sport aviation, such as power aero batics. Some observers see the move as a prelude to aviation becoming an Olympic sport, although Morelli says that this may reduce the "freedom" of gliding. *» Avanti in icing tests Icing tests have been carried out on the Piaggio P.180 Avanti executive twin in the USA by flying the aircraft behind a USAP KC-135F equipped with sprayers. Tests have been completely satisfactory, Piaggio says, as were tests on resistance to lightning strikes. Two prototypes have already flown over 820hr, and a maximum cruising speed of 403kt || at 30,000ft has been reached. The certification of the Avanti by Italian and US authorities is jointly planned for mid-1989 IAI links with Australian group by Arie Egozi in Tel Aviv Israel Aircraft Industries and Australian transport magnate Sir Peter Abeles of TNT are planning co-operation to pene trate markets never before available to the Israeli company. The first phase of the planned co-operation will consist of joint ventures to upgrade civil aircraft. Abeles met with IAI presi dent Moshe Keret, and visited the company's plant at Ben Gurion International Airport. Abeles is the head of the TNT Group, operating land, sea, and air transport. TNT also owns 50 per cent of Ansett, one of Australia's two major airlines. Abeles has agreed in prin ciple to form joint ventures with IAI in Australia and in South America. "The aim is to form some kind of commercial and industrial strategic alliance between the two companies," IAI told Flight. "We have the skills, and they have the need and the keys to others who need these services." In the past, one of TNT's companies used five IAI Westwind executive jets for small-parcel freight flights. Initially, Abeles and IAI discussed the equipping of the 70 British Aerospace 146-300s on order and option by the Australian company with Israeli-made avionics. TNT is using the freight version of this aircraft for its expanding Euro pean overnight, package deliv ery network, as well as in other parts of the world. Flight understands that Abeles also discussed joint ventures with IAI in the elec tronics field, and the possibility of becoming the Astra executive jet's Australian sales agent." The first signs of the Co operation are expected soon. Fieldmaster fleet finds work in Morocco The five Fieldmaster agricul tural aircraft, available for lease following the demise of manu facturer Norman Aeroplane, are to be operated by France Aviation on a three-and-a-half month contract from Croplease for locust spraying in Morocco. The deal is going ahead despite a Douglas DC-7 sprayer being brought down by a missile while flying over Morocco. Flight understands that a deal securing renewed production is about to be signed between Croplease and an unnamed party. Jugoslavia's Utva formerly had an agreement with Norman to supply parts. idk« mnsvi GEME8&1 UPES MA1IT1MES The five Norman Fieldmasters are on lease to spray locusts in Morocco. Renewed production is a prospect 12 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 14 January 1989
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