Asian Aerospace Show Report

As an example of how big the show was this year just consider that over 15,000 aerospace trade professionals visited the exhibition to examine the products and services of some 600 companies from 31 nations. This was a considerable increase on the 1986 figure and our bet is that given expanded facilities that figure could increase by as much as 50% for 1990!

For 1988, Cahners, the show organizers and the Singapore Government, invested $A8m in building a massive air conditioned exhibit hall that is destined to· become a major regional exhibition and conference centre. This year’s event also featured for the first time a full flying display which was held with the cooperation of the civil air authorities who had to curtail operations at nearby Changi during each day’s two hour display period.

Whether or not the flying display was worthwhile is a source of conjecture. Personally, this writer felt that it was largely an unnecessary gimmick that only served to create massive traffic jams due to the overly cautious Singaporeans not allowing vehicular movement anywhere near the display area whilst the flying display was in progress. The reason for this strange edict was that driver’s may well create accidents as they are distracted by the low flying aircraft! While there is some inverse logic in this theory it still doesn’t rub well with the ensuing massive taxi and coach queues that result in the late afternoon’s tropical heat from such an overly cautious attitude of the authorities that even consider that viewing a Playboy magazine is detrimental to one’s well being! As scores of road accidents don’t occur at Farnborough, Le Bourget, Oshkosh or dozens of other air show venues then maybe a more realistic approach will be taken next time.

The primary point about the flying display though is that it largely went to prove that without a takeoff and landing sequence within the immediate confines of the display area then the airborne maneuvers are simply not as demonstrative of the aircraft’s capabilities as they normally would be. Field performance (particularly at the low weights that air show aircraft typically perform at) and circuit behaviour are possibly the most critical factors of an aircraft’s operational envelope as a visit to any Farnborough or Paris Salon would attest.

On static display were a wide variety of aircraft including our own RMF PC-9 and F-18 Hornet. The PC-9 performed admirably in the flying display while the Hornet proved to everybody just how reliable this aircraft is following its unprecedented 7000km one man transit from Williamtown to Changi. Other visiting aircraft were a Dornier 228, a CN-235 from Merpati in Indonesia and a Cessna Caravan, Citation 2 and 3 plus a USAF F-16 from the General Dynamics Group. Beech displayed a Beech 1900 and their Beechjet, which was set to tour Australia during the course of this issue as was Gulfstream with their demonstrator G. IV. Also on display were a Singapore Air Force Siai Marchetti S. 211, two Alpha Jets and two Mirage 2000s. The F-16 fronted a big presence from General Dynamics who have sold this fighter now to Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia, though the French still earnestly believe that they still have a chance of converting Indonesia’s F-16 order to Mirage 2000s!

Singapore had much to present via its own rapidly expanding aerospace capability, the star of which is the highly capable A-4 Super Skyhawk, complete with revised avionics and a non-afterburning version of the GE F404 turbofan. This combination produces an aircraft that climbs 35% faster, accelerates 40% faster and has around a third less fuel burn per flight hour than the original A-4B. New Zealand’s A-4 update goes even further in terms of systems capability though lacks the new generation F404 turbofan – a combination of both would indeed be impressive and more than a match for such new generation strike aircraft as the Aeritalia/Embraer AMX and BAe’s Hawk 200.

Australia’s presence was primarily via its AAAI stand (refer Aerospace Industry News this issue) and associated individual displays by Hawker Pacific and Qantas. Most observers felt that the Australian display was poorly sited, being positioned in a lightly trafficked corner of the hall, and that if all participants had pulled together then it could have been two or three times its size with a resultant increase in exposure tor what we have to offer.

And a lot we do have to offer. Ansett, Australian and Qantas all were pushing their extensive engineering capabilities while Qantas in particular was promoting its Boeing sanctioned Section 41 747 nose re-stringing capability. Hawker de Havilland were also present, promoting their overall expertise and in particular the high flying PC-9 as was ASTA who was unfortunately not able to release details of its new helicopter programme (refer Rotor Torque this issue) as there were still a number of issues to be resolved at the time of the show. Both ASTA and HdH (via the MDX) would have had much to promote if only their programmes had been in place a few weeks earlier. One stand that certainly gained much interest from a number of international aerospace companies was the Bicentennial Air Show exhibit. A number of companies, wisely sensing the dynamics of the region, were seen to meet with our Bicentennial representatives to discuss participation that may not have come if Asian Aerospace had not promoted their thoughts regionally.

Australian Aviation has also heard a measure of grumbling from smaller Australian GA companies that would like to display at the Richmond extravaganza but have not even been sent an information kit in the mail. We hope that the organizers remember that this once only event is indeed an excellent opportunity for the smaller. fry of Australia’s vast GA scene and that there is more to aviation than Boeing, Airbus and BAe. Combined group stands representing the AAAI, GAA, AOPA, RFACA, GFA, AUF and the ABAA would help make individual presentation more affordable and help promote the • aims and capabilities of the multitude of specialist operators that go to make up our diversified aviation community.

Asian Aerospace is now indeed the unprecedented leader in regional aerospace expositions and has certainly found a niche between the combined mass of the two premier bi-annual shows in Europe. That it will continue to grow is an unchallenged certainty as this region becomes the air transport superstar of the final decade of the twentieth century.