Newsdesk – Military Aviation

The 6 aircraft detachment will also comprise the RNZAF A-4 Operational Conversion Unit and will be made up of a team of 43 personnel on a 2. 5 year tour of duty The initial contract is for a 5 year period with an option to renew and all RAN tasks will be 50 50 cost shared between the two governments Aircraft will comprise a mix of single and dual seat A-4s while the substantially upgraded Kiwi Skyhawks will no doubt provide a capability shock for those old hands more familiar with what were our relatively austere A-4Gs. It is envisaged that around 800 hours of mantime support flying will be flown each year which should comprise half the units total flying time.

The RNZAF pilots will also be invited to operate in, dissimilar air combat tactical situations with our own F-18s and F-111s, something that should prove not only popular but also greatly serve to increase the RNZAF’s overall capability now that New Zealand cannot exercise with regular Anzus units.

 Defence Budget Freeze?

According to the authoritative Defence Industry and Aerospace Report, Australia’s 1989-90 def- ence budget- already steadily reduced in real terms over the last few years is facing zero or negative real growth This is the result of further tightening of government expenditure in many areas including defence, in turn a function of treasurer Paul Keating’s 1988-89 Budget predictions proving to be highly optimistic. In May 1988 Mr Keating announced the real growth rates under del- ence planning guidance were to be reduced by

Centrespread

Farewell to an old warrior.

An unusual shot of one of the RAAF’s Aircraft Research & Development Unit’s single seat Mirages inverted with three laser guided bombs on the underwing tank and centreline stations. Of interest in this photo are the camera ports which are located beneath the nose and just aft of the gun ports. Other pod mounted cameras could be utilised to accurately record the separation characteristics of various types of ordnance, etc.

This particular aircraft unfortunately is now at the bottom of Spencer Gulf following the pilot’s forced ejection following a failure of the undercarriage to activate following a routine ARDU mission in May of 1984. The Australian history of the Mirage, along with the Meteor and Sabre are fully detailed in our new book – The Meteor, Sabre & Mirage In Australian Service, which is advertised on p. 25 of this edition.

1% in 1988-89 and 1989-90, meaning new growth rates of 0. 5% for 1988-89 ($7,658m in cold hard cash) and 1% for 1989-90.

For the remaining years of the current Five Year Defence Programme 1989-94 planning guidance was put at 2%. The August Budget will reveal all, but good news is not expected

Last C-130A Gone:

After some eleven years of scandal, controversy and cancelled deals, the last four ex-RAAF C-130A Hercules have been sold, the buyer being the USA’s Fowler Aeronautical Corporation and the price $5. 2m including a substantial spares holding. After entering service in 1958, the 12 C-130A Hercules were retired and offered for disposal twenty years later when C-130H models were delivered in 1987 one was donated to the International Red Cross for Ethiopian famine relief work, three others ended up in the USA, one is with the Chad Air Force, one remains at Richmond as an instructional airframe and another is stored at Avalon. The 12th aircraft’s whereabouts are not certain.

 Are the Chinooks Finished?

The fate of the RAAF’s Boeing Vertol CH-47C Chinook heavy lift helo force is looking greyer as the months pass.

From Defence itself there is no cohesive word on what their eventual fate will be except that it is unlikely that they will be retained as RAAF assets. The Chinooks are primarily involved in Army support tasks and thus the RAAF feels that that service should also take operational responsibility for the them. Problem is that the Army is having enough problems integrating its new found rotary wing activities via the expanding S-70A Black Hawk helicopter fleet in addition to the possibility of eventually taking over the RAAF’s UH-1H Iroquois force. The acquisition of the expensive to operate and maintain Chinook would be something that Army would not realistically be able to accommodate till at least 1994 at the earliest The RAAF has already decided not to upgrade the aircraft to D specs (refer p 87 Mar AA) and the current rumour is that they will be downphased and placed in storage following the K89 exercises in Australia’s north this Spring. Options then would be to store them for an eventual Army requirement or simply sell them outright to a foreign air arm. The Chinook is still pas the only helicopter in the inventory that can adequately support the Black Hawk in the field or lift the Army’s 155mm field gun. Points that win little interest these days from a fiscally deprived air force.

 Pc-9s for Roulettes:

The RAAF’s Roulettes aerobatic team is to relinquish its Macchi MB. 326H jet trainers during the course of the year and will be fully equipped with turboprop Pilatus PC-9s by the beginning of 1990 The PC-9s will be delivered during the course of the year and during the transition period the familiar five Macchi team will disappear, with synchronised pairs or solo aircraft fulfilling display commitments until June, with a synchro pair of PC-9s taking over for the second half of the year. It has not yet been announced how large the new team will be, although four is a likely number. The Roulettes have been flying Macchis since 1971 and although the PC-9 has a greater power response and better rate of roll than the Macchi – and will put on a more compact display- many enthusiasts may find the whisper of turboprops a little low key when compared to the roar of jets

Software Caused Gripen Crash:

Faulty flight control software is blamed for the crash of the prototype Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter early in February, just seven weeks after the trouble plagued and 18 months behind schedule aircraft made its maiden flight The crash was caused by the Gripen suffering increasing pitch oscillations just before landing, these oscillations becoming uncontrollable because the movement of the stick in the pitch axis exceeded the values predicted when the computer controlled flight control system was designed. The naturally unstable Gripen has a triplex digital fly-by-wire fight control system with a triplex analogue backup The crash occurred on the aircraft’s seventh flight and both lateral and pitch oscillations had been experienced on previous flights The second prototype is not due to fly until the end of this year

Navy Helicopter Force Movements:

One thing that has been difficult to report on these past two years is the Navy’s rotary wing capability. Not because there are any classified aspects to the situation, the problem lies squarely in the fact that up till now within Defence has precisely known where the force has been headed owing to the continuing delays in the S-708 Seahawk programme The situation now though is somewhat clearer Presently there is just one remaining Wessex utility helicopter operating in the ‘at sea’ role and that this lone aircraft will be decommissioned at year end.

It is believed that the remaining handful of Syable Wessex helos will then be offered for sale. Much of the fleet has been used as a source of spares these past three years. Taking over the utility role vacated by the Wessex will be the 7 strong Sea King force which will also retain their full ASW capability A specific long-term Wessex replacement as such is thus not being considered at this stage The lone UH-1B Iroquois (which itself was taken out of storage following ongoing delays in Seahawk acquisition) will be paid off during the course of this issue at about the same time that the first RAN Seahawk is due to fly from RANAS Nowra Seahawks are finally scheduled to commence ship trials this October with the first squadron becoming active from October 1990, nine years after the first FFG was commissioned into the RAN Other RAN helos include 6 Aerospatiale Squirrels and 3 Bell 206Bs, the Navy also operates 2 748 ECM training aircraft Surface ship aviation news revolves around the plan to modify HMAS Jervis Bay during its 1990/91 refit to accommodate and operate up to 3 Sea Kings in the absence of HMAS Stalwart which is either to be mothballed or used as a fixed base submarine/fleet support vessel. The RAN is also to acquire a second fleet replenishment vessel following the acquisition of RFA Appleleaf from the Royal Navy. This is a 20,000t class tanker-based vessel that will augment HMAS Success though will not be configured for rotary wing operations

Air Training Corps to Expand:

The DoD is to expand the Air Training Corps by 760 cadet and 40 instructor positions to 7,800.

For many years the ATC has been consistently neglected to the extent that it was beginning to take a back seat to its previous capability as a potential nursery for future RAAF personnel. With the ongoing and critical shortage of skilled manpower within the forces at least Dod has now realised that perhaps it is time to rejuvenate the very useful Air Training Corps.

 Raaf Trial Currency Flying Scheme Underway:

The long awaited RAAF Trial Currency flying scheme commenced on April 5 and will run for six months concluding on the 6th October Objective of the scheme is to give non flying ADF pilots flying time using civil aircraft. This will in turn maintain currency skills and make the inevitable ‘desk job’ a little more bearable with a hoped for long-term lessening of attrition at the higher ranks. The trial scheme allows each pilot a ceiling of $3,000 or 25 flying hours, whichever comes first, with a maximum hourly rate of $190 dual and $150 solo being approved. This would comfortably take in aircraft such as the Piper Seminole and any number of singles. The Trial will apply only to Canberra at this stage though, successful. will be expanded to other primary centres where large Defence office-based assets exist.

 Woomera to Be Commercialised:

The DoD is seeking expressions of interest by private industry in further developing the commercial capabilities of the Woomera rocket range DoD would be happy for a commercial operator to actually lease and operate the range and its facilities to the Services Installation of an advanced generation air combat manoeuvring range using state-of-the-art sensors is also a long-term possibility for RAAF and friendly regional air force aircraft. BAe are operating a similar facility for the RAF and NATO over the North Sea while variants of this system also exist in North America. The move to commercialise comes with the full approval of the SA government

Raaf to lose More?:

The already critical pilot shortage facing the RAAF could become even worse following Qantas’ decision to increase its maximum pilot induction age from 36 to 45 years of age.

An RAAF spokesman was quoted in Jane’s Defence Weekly as saying “We now have to fear not only that they are attracting our brightest middle career pilots but also the levels from which we must draw our administrative and potential senior executives. One might have thought that the national airline would have displayed a better regard for the national interest. With the example it is setting. you can imagine how foreign carriers feel about poaching our men who are after all our greatest asset” Qantas will need another 200 pilots per year for at least the next three years to cope with expected growth and, although the reintroduction of the cadet scheme will help, experienced aircrew are also required Most other airlines are in the same position and military pilots all over the world have long become prime targets for switching to a more lucrative civilian role where they can not only continue to fly but to also earn two to three times their net Services salary.

 Rnzaf Re-Equipment:

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is evaluating new jet trainers and helicopters to replace its BÁC Strike- masters and Westland Wasps The trainer contract has received responses from just about all of the west’s jet and turboprop trainer manufacturers and it calls for a single type to replace the Strikemaster in the advanced training and fighter/attack transition roles. It is believed the RNZAF would actually like two types ordered to cover these roles, a combination of Tucano/PC-9 and Hawk/Alpha Jet being considered as ideal.

The Wasp replacement project is being conducted by a joint Air Force and Navy team, the helicopter being required to operate from a proposed logistics support ship in the latter’s service and be fitted with 360 degree radar, MAD and ECM. Australian industry has an interest in both projects with the PC-9 and the Sikorsky Black Hawk/Seahawk on New Zea- land’s list and currently in production in Australia

Pugilist Roos:

Anyone who thinks that Alan Bond’s 1983 America’s Cup team is responsible for the boxing kangaroo logo that became a symbol of that successful effort should think again. The idea is much older, and purchasers of our book ‘Spitfire, Mustang and Kittyhawk in Australian Service’ will have already noted the photograph on page 154 which shows an RAAF P-40 Kittyhawk with a boxing ‘roo-complete with gloves and slouch hat – clearly painted on its engine cowling The aircraft belongs to 450 Squadron (part of the Desert Air Force) but unfortunately the caption telling the reader this departed the artwork somewhere between the artist’s light table and the printing press! Soft cover copies of the book are still available from Australian Aviation at a cost of $19. 95 post free in Australia (sorry, but all the hard covers have long gone) while Stewart Wilson’s follow up in the series “Meteor, Sabre and Mirage in Australian Service can now be ordered from us. Soft covers are $19. 95 and hard covers only $29. 95

More vc10s for Raf:

The Royal Air Force has issued two separate tenders for the conversion of BAC VC10s to tankers to supplement the nine ex-a1rline VC10s and Super VC10s it already has in service.

The first tender covers five ex-British Airways Super VC10s which were purchased In 1981 and have been in storage ever since; the second involves the conversion of eight of the 13 short fuselage VC1Os delivered new to the RAF between 1965 and 1967 and subsequently used for passenger/VIP/casevac duties. This latest batch of VC10 tankers will come into service In 1992 and will replace Handley Page Victors.