Update – BAe-146

This in itself is not unusual though, as you don’t require much of a memory to delve back to the sales book success of the “early days” 757, F-27, Dash 7 and even Airbus A300 projects. Each of their respective competitors in the marketplace was smiling gleefully at the impending doom awaiting these and many other highly successful airliner projects which commenced from humble beginnings.

The design rationale of the 146 is for a short-haul turbofan-powered feeder liner optimised specifically for sectors below 300 nm. This has resulted in an aircraft that is totally self-reliant, has its own APU which can operate continuously to provide ground air-conditioning and power supply and offers jet block times with turboprop field performance.

For instance, the 146 can profitably operate over sectors of a mere 150 nm; it can operate a typical 150 nm sector and then serve three successive similar profiles without time-consuming refuelling. In this regard, the 146 is unique in that it is designed to be able to land at 96 per cent of gross TO weight. With a landing speed of only 90 kts, the 146 does away with the weighty and expensive requirement for thrust reverse as this function is largely useless below 60 kts anyway. The wing of the 146 offers simplicity of design coupled with a high lift coefficient. To achieve this BAe disregarded use of leading edge slats and associated high lift devices with simple double-slotted Fowler flaps which extend for nearly 80 per cent of wing length. Furthermore, the large flap area is not in any way hindered by the engine pylons, leaving the flaps with clean aerodynamic flow, so essential for responsive low-speed handling operations.

Another landing aid is the 40 sq ft airbrakes situated in F-28 fashion just below the tail. The maximum descent rate is an impressive 7000 ft per minute at speeds of less than 250 kts. Even below 10,000 ft a descent rate of 4000 ft a minute can be held, this is roughly twice that of most current jets at lower altitudes.

The take-off and landing performance of the 146, under even the most adverse conditions of altitude and temperature, is equal to that of the twin turboprops such as the BAe 748 and F-27. A major benefit of the four-engine configuration is that the take-off climb requirements are easily met without reductions in take-off flap angle, whilst the obstacle clearance capability, both after take-off and en route, is of an exceptionally high standard. Despite being designed for lower cruise speeds than existing twin-jets, the optimal performance characteristics will result in the· aircraft matching the flight times of these nominally faster aircraft whilst achieving substantial savings in fuel burn. The 146 is therefore unique in being able to offer turboprop standards of airfield performance with jet aircraft block speeds and maximum fuel economy, with an excellent range capability of almost 1200 nms. The ability to be able to operate economically, by specific design, over sectors as short as 150 nm during the weekday business rush and then to be able to be used during the weekend for longer haul charter or tourist work is an asset that will appeal to many potential 146 operators.

The 146 comes in two versions. The Series 100 seats between 70 and 88 passengers while the stretched Series 200 version accommodates up to 109. British Aerospace feels that the larger market potential lies with the smaller 100 version, which over the next decade offers a realistic alternative for airlines finding that their current (or aged) fleet of Friendships and 748s are too slow over the longer routes and too small to handle peak traffic flow. This situation exists in Australia where a requirement for jet transport in the F-28 and 146 class exists with many of our second-level carriers.

The cabin interior (as seen in the illustrations) is particularly flexible. The standard configuration has a toilet at each end of the cabin with a galley forward. The Series 100, at 33 in pitch, accommodates 82 passengers, six abreast, with each 2 in reduction in pitch allowing a further row of passengers to be accommodated. The Series 200 accommodates 100 passengers at 33 in pitch and has a maximum capacity of 109 passengers. Seating is six-abreast while entry/exit is facilitated through both front and rear doors.

The use of four engines provided many a sceptic with much to comment upon but as BAe explained, it was a matter of the right size engine embracing high fuel efficiency and compact modular design as against a more powerful older generation engine used in a twin-configuration. The Avco Lycoming ALF-502 was reviewed in depth in Update, June AADR on the Canadair Challenger but suffice it to say this high-bypass (6:1) advanced turbofan offers aircraft-mile savings of around 20 per cent below current twin jets on a 150 nm sector and seat-mile savings of 15 to 30 per cent below a turboprop twin. In addition to this the ALF-502, being fully modular, requires less overall maintenance and a vastly reduced spares inventory, a saving in both cost and space for the 146 operator.

The production program is now well underway and although British Aerospace will be manufacturing three-quarters of the aircraft structure, major contracts have also been placed with Avco Aerostructures in the United States to manufacture the wing and with SAAB in Sweden, who are responsible for the tailplane, rudder and wing control surfaces. Final assembly will be at the BAe facility at Hatfield and a production rate of three per month is planned.

Roll-out of the first prototype occurred in May and the first flight is planned for this August. Three developmental aircraft will be used in a program aimed to fly 1000 hrs over an eighteen-month period. First of the Series 100 will be ready for customer delivery late in 1982 at which time 21 aircraft would have been built, four of which would be Series 200 models.

The BAe 146 will open a new era of passenger service in the lucrative short-haul markets in the same way as that which happened when unpressurised piston aircraft were replaced by turboprops. The 146 will offer passengers higher speed, greater comfort and improved reliability of service, and will provide airlines with an aircraft incorporating the latest design thinking to meet the short-haul task economically and profitably. Whether or not the 146 achieves relatively major sales in the short term or takes a while to tally up an impressive order book; its long-term future seems assured as the basic concept of design appears simply too good to be anything other than an asset to its maker.