Saab Fairchild 340 Reviewed

Fairchild Industries became involved in the commuter market in February 1972 when they took over the Swearingen Aircraft Company of San Antonio, Texas. The founder of that company Ed Swearingen had produced the twin turboprop Merlin 2 for the business market. In 1969 he built two new prototypes, the Merlin 3 and a stretch version for the commuter market which he called the Metro. To date nearly 400 Metro’s have been built and production continues with the Metro 111 and a cargo version, which is called the Expeditor. Fairchild have recently flown a PT6A-45R version of the Metro and it is expected to be available for delivery to airlines this year.

Saab-Scania Aerospace Division at Linkoping, Sweden are part of the Saab-Scania group that employs over 40,000 people. Though probably better known for their production of cars, trucks and buses Saab-Scania have been involved in aircraft production since the 1930’s. Main production has centred around military designs though in the later 1940’s they built the Saab Scandia. This was a twin-engined 30 to 40 seat airliner however only a few were built for S. A. S. and VASP of Brazil. Jet aircraft produced for the military since WW11 have included the J-29F, Lansen, Draken and Viggen. Coming off the line in the late 1980’s will be the JAS 39 Gripen multi-role combat aircraft.

In January 1980 both companies announced that they were proceeding with plans to build a new commuter aircraft that would have seating for at least 30 passengers, have a range of 800 miles and cruise at 300 mph. First deliveries would be offered to airlines in early 1984.

In June 1980 the powerplant was selected. This was the General Electric CT7 which offered the lowest fuel consumption, lowest D. O. C. and best maturity. Though the CT7 was a new engine its T700 core had accumulated many hundreds of thousands of hours as a helicopter powerplant. The T700 was used by the Sikorsky UH-60A and SH-60B and the Hughes AH· 64. The SH·60B Seahawk has recently been selected by the Royal Australian Navy while the UH-60A Blackhawk is in the running as a replacement for the RAAF Iroquois.

The CT7 made its first flight on September 2nd 1982 on the port side of a Gulfstream 1 test aircraft. In August 1983 it received its FM type approval with 3,000 hours TBO. General Electric feel that the CT7 offers excellent growth potential.

In September 1980 the project definition phase was completed and an agreement was reached for a full go ahead. The new aircraft was named the Saab Fairchild 340 or SF-340. The first major problem arose when it was found that neither company had the floor space available to put the aircraft into production. In December 1980 it was announced that Saab Scania would build a new plant at their airfield at Linkoping, which is some 110 miles southwest of Stockholm. Constructed at a cost of $32 million it was completed in July 1982, which was only one month before the first fuselage and wings were mated.

Fairchild Industries were to build the wing, empennage and engine nacelles at their Farmingdale and Hagerstown plants in the United States. The wings are built separately and then permanently joined in the centre before the 70-foot mainplane is shipped across the Atlantic. Saab-Scania at Linkoping was to build the fuselage, be responsible for final assembly and testflying. The CT7 engines came from General Electric in Massachusetts, while the propellors were from Dowty Rotol in Gloucester, England. Finally, the undercarriage was built by A. P. Precision Hydraulics of Liverpool, England.

All this came together on October 27th 1982 when the first SF-340 was rolled out at Linkoping in front of an invited audience. Registered SE-ISF the SF-340 was painted in the colours of the first two customers · Crossair of Switzerland on the port side and Air Midwest of Wichita, Kansas on the starboard. The first flight of the SF-340 was made from Linkoping on January 25th 1983 and by the end of the following month, it had completed its initial flight test phase  24 flights in 47 flight hours. The second prototype, which was painted in company colours and registered SE-ISA, made its first flight on May 11th. Both aircraft appeared the following month at the Paris Air Show. The third aircraft off the line SE-ISB, which carried Swedair’s colours, made its first flight on August 25th. The test flying was allocated as follows · Aircraft No. 1 to assess flying qualities, icing trials and systems evaluation. Aircraft No. 2 performance and powerplant tests and Aircraft No. 3 reliability checks, autopilot and noise measurement. $175 million was allocated for research and development costs with Saab-Scania providing 55% and Fairchild 45%.

It had been agreed early in the programme that the SF-340 would have an advanced all-digital avionics system as standard equipment. This was produced by Collins and including the autopilot and flight director is similar to that used in the B757 and B767. The SF-340 is also the first regional airliner to offer an MSG-3 maintenance programme. This was previously only offered on the B757/767 and A310.

Metair Aircraft Equipment Ltd. at West Malling near London have been awarded the contract for painting and outfitting the first 100 SF-340s for airline customers. After the SF-340 is test flown at Linkoping it is flown ‘green’ to West Malling. There the cabin interior, toilets and galleys are fitted and the aircraft is painted. After completion, it is flown back to Linkoping for handover to the customer.

Sales of the aircraft in the United States are handled by Fairchild Industries at San Antonio. For the rest of the World a joint company, Saab-Fairchild International was set up in September 1984 to handle the marketing. Headquarters were established at Windsor, England with Dr. G. F. Cudahy as President and C. E. O.

All executive and corporate shuttle SF-340s sold in the United States are handled by Fairchild Gen-Aero at San Antonio, Texas. They received their first aircraft in January, which was number 14 off the line. Originally planned as the corporate demonstrator it has been outfitted for a large New York bank, so keen were they to have the type in service. Fairchild Gen-Aero expected 5 or 6 corporate aircraft through in 1985 with a further 10 in 1986.

On May 30th 1984 the SF-340 was certified by the Swedish Board of Civil Aviation. The following month at Linkoping a historic event took place when 9 countries that were part of the European Joint Airworthiness Regulations, plus the United States, certified the aircraft. The SF-340 was the first new technology turboprop to be certified under JAR2°5 as well as FAR25 and with this completed, deliveries to the airlines could now commence.

SF-340 ORDERS AND CUSTOMER DELIVERIES

Though Saab-Fairchild were the first to get a new technology commuter aircraft into production and into airline service, competition in this part of the industry is extremely fierce, especially in the 30 to 40-seat range.

As if that is not bad enough the unpressurised Short 360 that first flew in June, 1981 has been making use of its early lead in the market and to date has sold nearly 100 units. With the predicted market for the 30 to 40 seater in the period 1985-2000 estimated to be 1500-2000 units there are going to be some fierce battles for orders over the next couple of years.

The first customer to order, take delivery of and put the SF-340 in service was the Swiss airline Crossair. In the Autumn of 1980 they ordered 5 aircraft with options on another 5, which have since been taken up. Crossair, who are based in Zurich, commenced commuter operations in July 1979 using 4 Metro 11’s. In 1983 they carried 212,000 passengers and by March 1984 they were operating a fleet of 9 Metro Ill’s.

Crossair took delivery of their first SF-340, HB-AHA on June 6, 1984 and it entered service with them on June 15 on the route from Basel to Paris. With Crossair the SF-340 is called “Citiliner” and is configured with 33 leather upholstered seats and a galley.

Second airline to take delivery of the SF-340 was the United States commuter operator, Comair. Based at the Greater Cincinnati Airport, Ohio, Comair initially ordered 4. This was increased to 12 in November 1983 and to 15 in November 1984 making them the largest SF-340 customer so far. Comair Began commuter flights in March 1977 with 2 PA31°350. At the time of delivery of their first SF-340, they were operating 10 Bandeirante, 6 Metro and 6 Short 330s. Passenger uplift for 1984 was estimated at 360,000. Comair’s first SF-340 N360CA, which was number 6 off the line, arrived at their· Cincinnati base on July 27th 1984. Entry into service was planned for September 1st however this was delayed due to engine problems being experienced by the Crossair aircraft. As a result their first scheduled flight with the SF-340 was on October 1st from Louisville to Detroit. On September 1st Comair signed an agreement with Delta Air Lines establishing cooperation in flight scheduling and interlining at common ports. As a result of being part of the Delta system Comair have requested accelerated delivery of their aircraft and they are now putting one line each month.

Air Midwest of Wichita, Kansas were the first North American customer for the SF-340. They took delivery of their first SF-340 N343AM in February. Air Midwest operates a fleet of 22 Metros on flights through the Mid-West United States. They recently merged with Scheduled Skyways of Fayetteville, Arkansas who operate a fleet of 14 Metro’s.

Swedair took delivery of their first SF-340 on December 21st. Registered SE-ISO it was number 13 off the line. It entered service in January on the Stockholm-Arlanda to Borlange route. Eight round trips are being operated daily between 0600 and 2200. Swedair who have 10 SF-340s on order are Sweden’s largest regional airline. In 1984 they were expecting to carry 500,000 passengers with their fleet consisting mainly of 8 Twin Otters and 6 Cessna 404s. In February the first British operator to order the SF-340 put their aircraft into service. Birmingham Executive Airways based at Birmingham, England took delivery of the number 8 aircraft off the line G-BSFI. The aircraft is fitted with 27 seats in a business class layout and will be used on Birmingham Executives’ routes to Milan and Copenhagen. As at the end of April 1985, the SF-340 order book stood as follows – Air Group Colombia 4, Norving 3, Air Midwest 5, Schreiner 2, Birmingham Executive 1, Scottish Executive 2, Comair 15, Swedair 10, Crossair 10, Corporate 24, Kendell 2, Total 78.

KENDELL AIRLINES AND THE SF-340

On July 11, 1984 Kendell Airlines became the first Australian operator to place an order for the SF-340. One aircraft was ordered for December 1984 delivery with an option taken on a second. This option has since been taken up with the aircraft due for delivery in July 1985. Kendell Airlines commenced commuter operations in October 1971 flying between Wagga and Melbourne with a PA31-350. Since then they have expanded their fleet and route network so that in 1984 they expected to carry 90,000 passengers with their 5 Metros. From their central hub at Melbourne Airport they operate flights to 10 destinations in 4 States in South East Australia.

Kendell Airlines’ first SF-340 was number 16 off the line and was registered VH-KDK. The delivery flight from Linkoping to Wagga was crewed by Kendell Airlines Chief Pilot, Max Langshaw and their Operations Manager, Geoff Neate. Also travelling on the flight were 2 engineers. To accommodate about 600 kilos of spares the front two rows of seats were removed. For the ferry flight the aircraft operated on its normal tankage. VHKDK departed Linkoping on February 18th with the ground temperature a chilly -23°C. First stop was Zurich where they had the company of Crossair’s SF-340’s. From then on though they were on their own.

From Zurich VH-KDK flew to Athens where the first night stop was made. Routing from Athens was to Larnaca, Dubai, Muscat to Madras. From there they planned to fly direct to Singapore however en-route winds required a fuel stop at Kuala Lumpur. As it turned out the Madras to Kuala Lumpar sector was the longest of the trip being just on 7 hours. Even then, on arrival there was still an hours fuel left in the tanks. From Kuala Lumpur, it was all downhill to Seletar, Denpasar and Darwin where the temperature on arrival was a much more pleasant 30°C. The final day took them south to Alice Springs and then to Wagga where they arrived on the evening of the 23rd. Both pilots were very impressed with the low fuel consumption of the SF-340 over the 18,900km route from Linkoping, which had taken 46 hours flying time.

With Kendell Airlines the SF-340 will operate with 35 seats. The first aircraft is considered additional to the fleet however when the second is delivered in July a Metro, which is on lease from Air Queensland, will be returned. This will still mean a rise in seat capacity of almost 50% Kendell though feel that growth can be generated from several of their ports plus the larger and more comfortable SF-340 will itself pull in additional passengers. Annual utilisation for the first year should be 1,900 hours rising to 2,300.

For a number of years Kendell have been watching the development of the SF-340 along with its competitors. So why did Kendell select the SF-340 over the ATR42, Dash 8 and Brasilia? Don Kendell told Australian Aviation that the SF-340 was their number-one choice for a variety of reasons. “One was certainly Saab’s innovation in engineering and the design of the SF-340 offered the lightest weight per seat ratio. The General Electric engine was also used as a criterion in our choice. It offered very low fuel consumption and even though it was a new engine its core has accumulated many hundreds of thousands of hours. Finally our choice had to come from a pressurised aircraft as an unpressurised one would not fit into our route structure. ”

Kendell have recently opened a new maintenance hangar at Wagga which cost $250,000. All engine and airframe maintenance on the SF-340 will be done in-house by Kendell’s engineering staff of 20. For the first time Kendell have had to hire Flight Attendants. Four will be required for each SF-340 in the fleet. Cabin Staff Supervisor is Lyn Murray who came to Kendell after 7 years on the line with Ansett. Lyn was responsible for hiring the other Flight Attendants, training them, compiling manuals and designing and choosing uniforms. They incidentally come from Fletcher Jones of Warrnambool, which is a Kendell port.

The SF-340 entered service with Kendell on March 8, and from then till mid-April it operated as loadings warranted. There are no restrictions on the aircraft at any of Kendell’s ports and their schedules are such that it can easily be switched from one route to another at short notice. From mid-April, the SF-340 will be used on a pattern of services which is set for morning and evening flights but still has flexibility during the day. Mount Gambier and Portland are two strong growth ports on the Kendell network so for the first time they will be joined together on certain morning and evening services. The SF-340 will overnight Mount Gambier four nights a week. On Monday nights it will terminate Wagga for routine maintenance. Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday it will be seen at the Kendell holiday ports of King Island, Merimbula and Cooma.

Saab-Fairchild have based a Field Service Representative in Melbourne and they feel that Product Support is an essential part of the SF-340 programme. The local representative is Phillip Stacey, who works out of Pacific Aviation at Essendon while Product Support is controlled by Sweden, however through Saab-Scania an excellent spares backup for the SF-340 is held in Australia. At the Saab-Scania warehouse in Campbellfield, Victoria over $1. 5 million worth of items are held in stock. This translates to 400 to 500 different items on top of the spares backup held by Kendell in Wagga. All this with only one aircraft in the country though a second is due in July. General Electric hold a spare CT7-5A1 while Air Prop Services at Moorabbin have in stock a spare Dowty propellor. This indicates that Saab-Fairchild are very interested in their product after it leaves the factory. It must also have an influence on other operators who are thinking of adding an aircraft type like the SF-340 to their fleet.

FLYING IN THE KENDELL SF-340

Australian Aviation went along on a typical SF-340 flight not long after the aircraft entered service with Kendell Airlines. KD296-7 is the daily ex Sunday morning service from Melbourne to Mildura and return. Mildura is Kendell Airlines newest port and they started operations there in April 1984. On the route they compete against Murray Valley and their Short 360’s. Kendell are pleased with their loadings on the route as they provide 30% of the capacity and in return get 30% of the traffic. On the morning of our trip Capt Max Langshaw was training Capt Graeme Robinson on the type. Graeme had accumulated over 30 of the 50 hours type experience that he required. Until Kendell get a second SF-340 and sufficient crews trained, pilots will find themselves flying both the Metro and SF-340.

First impression on boarding was how spacious and bright the cabin was. Even for a plus six footer there was sufficient leg room. Conversation in the cabin could be made at normal voice level. Kendell have their aircraft fitted out as a 35-seater. 11 rows of 3 with 2 rearward facing seats at the front of the aircraft. They have opted not to have a galley or overhead lockers fitted. With their longest sector just over an hour they felt the 35th seat was more warranted, however orange juice and biscuits are served to the passengers.

With 17 passengers on board we taxied from Ansett gate 11 at 0837. Duty Runway was 27 which meant we had to pass the TAA terminal. Taxying out was Murray Valley’s Short 360 so Ansett and TAA are not the only competitors with parallel schedules. Northbound we cruised at F1185 and had engines off at the Mildura terminal at 09:45.

Southbound I joined Max and Graeme on the flight deck. Both agreed that the cockpit is very well designed, very comfortable to work in, has excellent all-round visibility and has very good ergonomics.

Our flight south was planned at FL155. We taxied at 1018 and were airborne at 1020 off R/W 09. The only traffic in the area was a Cessna 421C of NSW Mapping. Max who was sitting in the right-hand seat was flying this leg. He joined Kendell in 1974 when they were using the PA31 so he has seen them through the Heron and Metro to the SF-340. At 1032 we reached our cruising altitude of FL155 just 30 miles southeast of Mildura. Due to fuel problems in Melbourne we were carrying additional fuel. Out of Mildura, our fuel load was 4,000 lbs with a planned 1,100 burn to Melbourne. In contrast the Metro with 16 seats would burn 700 Ibs over the same leg. We were therefore able to carry 120% more passengers for a 57% greater fuel burn.

At 1052, Swan Hill and the former flying boat base at Lake Boga was right below the nose. Echuca was reached at 1107 so we left the Murray and swung south for Melbourne. Due to traffic sequencing, we started our descent 38 miles out instead of the normal 30 miles. We were advised by Air Traffic Control that we were number 6 to land and that we would be making a straight-in approach to R/W 16. As we got closer to the airport we were given a change to R/W 09. We ran in parallel to the R/W 16 approach with Ansett B767 VH-RME just off our port side. At 1138 we touched down on R/W 09 and had engines off at the terminal at 1142. An imaginative piece of approach control had saved us and the aircraft behind us a few minutes in the Melbourne terminal area.

As the first of the new generation commuter aircraft to come on line, the SF-340 will be used as a benchmark for all others that follow. Saab-Fairchild have set a very high standard and they must be very pleased with the finished product. Equally the SF. 340 cannot fail to impress any operators, crew and passengers who come in contact with this addition to the regional and executive scene.