1989 Paris Air Show Report

Having their Salon premier were the giant Antonov An-225 Mriya (Dream) with the Soviet space shuttle mounted on top of the fuselage, the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter and the highly manoeuvrable Sukhoi Su-27 fighter shown in both the single and two seat versions.

That two new airliners, the Ilyushin 11-96-300 and the Tupolev Tu-204 indicated a desire to take a share of the world’s booming airliner market is today more important than the propaganda of yesterday. Also included in the Soviet contingent were two MiG-29 Fulcrums, one of which ensured the show obtained worldwide television coverage when it crashed on press day, and two Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground attack aircraft as used in Afghanistan. The Russian presence was topped off by a Sukhoi Su-26 aerobatic sports plane and a Mil Mi-17 in an ambulance configuration.

Although the total of aircraft on show this year was down on the previous show, the Salon is obviously gaining popularity with the world aerospace industry. A total of 1,026 exhibitors took space this year compared to 1,021 last tirhe. Thirty four countries were included which was up three on the 1987 show and 455 chalets were rented as compared to 434 two years ago.

A total of 203 aircraft were displayed, a reduction of seven over the last show and 720 individual flight demonstrations were scheduled compared to 787 in 1987. In fact the difference is greater as the press day’s air display was abandoned following the crash of the MiG:29 in the middle of the scheduled programme.

The French show organisers expect even greater attendance in future years and are planning a large new exhibition hall to be ready for the 1991 show.

Australian industry had a presence at the show with two aircraft, the Skywise Aviation Sadler Vampire and the Thruster T300 (which was shown as being French in the official show aircraft listing) flying and being exhibited in the static park. A British Aerospace BAe 146-300 prototype was painted in Ansell New Zealand marks and flew each day. Ansett also featured in the growing order book for the Canadair RJ Regional Jets when a sale of 1 O plus 1 O options was announced for the airline’s leasing operation. British Aerospace also took advantage of the show to announce a sale of a Jetstream Super 31 to Eastern Airlines of Australia taking the airline’s fleet of the type to four.

Australian aerospace companies took a stand in one of the exhibition halls and featured a model of the Jind1vik drone with plans formally announced to develop a Mark 4B version and Hawker de Havilland showed their Aster bomb rack for which it is seeking international sales.

Asta promoted its 747 overhaul capability including Boeing approval to do section 41 inspection and repairs on 7 47s.

The State governments of NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia also promoted their various attributes for the aerospace industry involvement. The Preston Group gained a lot of attention with its computerised Total Airspace and Airport Modeler which could assist in solving the world’s air traffic control problems.

The Association of Australian Aerospace Industries also announced at Paris that the local industry had broken the $A1bn turnover mark for the first time when it reached $A1,215m in 1988. This represented an increase of 21%, in real terms, over the previous year.

Chairman of the Association, Hawker de Havilland’s Peter Lister, said that the Australian industry members attending the show spent a lot of time meeting delegations from other countries seeking possible collaborative ventures. The Japanese industry was particularly seeking possible Australian involvement in a projected regional jet with about 100 seats.

Prime Minister Hawke visited Le Bourget on the last public Saturday as part of his European tour and witnessed some of the flying display, including the impressive An-225 and its shuttle from the official French government chalet. He later visited the Australian industry stand.

The An-225, a development of the An-224 Ruslan which visited Australia for last year’s Bicentennial Air Show, dominated the static park at Le Bourget with its 275 foot length and 290 foot wing span. The shuttle Buran carried on top of the fuselage, has flown only once and manned space sorties are still some time off. The aircraft arrived at Le Bourget in a period of low cloud and freezing rain the day before the show opened. At a press conference at the side of the aircraft, after it had taxied in, the manufacturer said it was the only one built so far although another is nearing completion and that it will be available for international freight charters once certification is completed. He said it is possible to carry outsized cargo in the same way as the shuttle with weights up to 250 tonnes possible.

The factory is readying the aircraft for the carriage of two chemical reactors weighing 120 tonnes each within Russia. The reactors, eighty metres long and six metres wide, wiil require different mounting points on the An-225, but once they are located, the Antonov team see no problem in the flight. The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,322,000lbs and. is powered by six Lotarev D-18T turbofans of 51,5901bs thrust each.

The flight to Paris from Kiev, where Antonov carries out its aircraft development, took three and a half hours. The aircraft appears to have no major restrictions on handling or flying in turbulence with the shuttle in place. These restrictions limit the operation of NASA’s Boeing 747 shuttle transport operations.

The Russian air show press conferences at Paris were an amazing scene of transformation when compared to those held a few years ago. The frankness and humour of their design teams’ answers to intense questioning by the world’s technical press and others probably from US government agencies, emphasised the unprecedented changes brought about by the era of President and Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev. No longer can the Russians be viewed as baggy suited bogey men.

The reasons, apart from a lessening of a fear of putting a foot wrong in the Soviet political world, is a desire to expand the markets for their airliners, helicopters and fighter aircraft from the current eastern block and the selected areas of the third world.

Two new Russian airliners shown, the Ilyushin 11-96-300 and the Tupolev Tu-204 are both planned for large export sales and have been designed to meet both US FAA and European JAR standards. In fact one Ilyushin staffer working at Paris claimed some of the Soviet airworthiness requirements are even stricter than those in the West.

The 11-96-300 is a development of the well known 11-86 with new wings and engines fitted as part of its upgrade. Another version, the 11-96-350 will carry an additional 50 passengers taking its total to 350. Four 35,000lb thrust Soloviev PS-90A turbofans will carry the fully loaded aircraft 4,700nm with a full payload. Plans are to eventually develop a version that will be able to operate over stages of 8,400nm.

Aeroflot has initially 100 of the aircraft on order with first deliveries planned for 1992. Five have been built so far for use in the certification programme. It is planned to have the aircraft work for two years with Aeroflot before offering it for service with western airlines.

Likely to meet more success in the international marketplace is the Tu-204, a Boeing 757 look-a-like with winglets which will carry up to 214 passengers over stage lengths to 3,000 miles. The prototype, which first flew last January, was shown at Le Bourget. A second will join the test programme next October. Also fitted with Soloviev PS-90A turbofans, the fly-by-wire aircraft is capable of being operated by a two man crew and is fitted with an all glass cockpit. Full certification to Russian standards is planned for the middle of next year.

Of great interest to the helicopter industry was the Mil Mi-28 ‘Havoc’, an equivalent to McDonnell Douglas Helicopters’ AH-64 Apache attack helicopter which was also on show at the opposite side of the vast Le Bourget aircraft static park. First flying in 1982 the Mi-28 is . fitted with two TV3 turboshafts of 2,200shp each. The helicopter has had a prolonged development period and seen several design changes in the process. It is currently planned to enter full production in the next two years.

Titanium is used for the rotor head with elastomeric bearings. It has fibreglass blades with filament wound spars. The blade tips are swept to reduce the helicopter’s battlefield aural signal and the exhausts are pointed downwards as an assistance in avoiding heat-seeking missiles.

In line with the new era of openness in Russia, the USA was offered a chance for one of its pilots to fly the Mi-28 in exchange for a Russian test pilot flying the Apache. The US Defence Secretary okayed the deal and arrangements were being finalised at show’s end.

The two Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers, the top-of-the-line air superiority fighter in the Russian air force, were of immense interest to the many military visitors to Paris. Although sanitised with the removal of some combat equipment before their departure from Russia, it was the first-time the fighter, which is similar in concept to the F-14 Tomcat and the slightly smaller F-15 Eagle, had been available for inspection by the West.

Dubbed ‘Flanker’ by NATO, the big fighter is powered by two Lulka Al-31F turbofans each developing 27,500Ib thrust with after burner. One of the aircraft was a two seat trainer – the Su-27UB – which appears to have lost none if its combat capability with the addition of a second seat.

The fly-by-wire fighter has a digital fuel control and the extensive use of titanium is evident in its structure. The big blue fighters were shown with missile racks for 1 0 air to air missiles and an internal 30mm cannon.

Development of the aircraft began in 1977 and it went through major changes before it entered full production for the Soviet Air Force. While under test it claimed several international time-toheight records previously held by the F-15 Eagle.

During a press conference in the cavernous cabin of the An-225, the aircraft’s design team said that it was in competition with the MiG-29 for international sales. A video on the aircraft showed current tests underway in Russia of a version with canards in the forward area of the fuselage and another operating from a ski-jump with obvious implications for future Soviet carrier use.

The aircraft’s nose radome is nearly four feet wide which led observers to feel the aircraft’s radar would be particularly efficient. An infra-red search and track laser rangefinder is fitted above the nose just ahead of the cockpit.

MTOW is 66,000lbs with normal operations at 48,000lbs.

Maximum speed was held to be Mach 2. 35 with a service ceiling of 59,000 feet ‘plus’. A large internal fuel capacity gives the aircraft a range of 2,400nm and an in-flight refuelling fit is being developed.

A new manoeuvre was introduced at Le Bourget by the Flanker during its daily flying display which gave western fighter manufacturers food for thought. Dubbed ‘Pougochev’s Cobra’ after the Sukhoi test pilot showing the aircraft, it consisted of a rapid deceleration from about 350-400 knots by an almost instantaneous large increase in the angle-of-attack which put it into an accelerated stall. The visual impression on the ground is that the aircraft nose rises up past the 90 degrees vertical position to the horizon and, during the brief period of the deceleration, gives the impression of a cobra. On several instances the Flanker achieved an angle of attack of as much as 120°, roughly three times greater than anything the west could field.

Another interesting aircraft on show officially for the first time in the West was the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot. It is expected the USA would be fairly familiar with this ground attack fighter, an equivalent to the Republic A-10 Thunderbolt, as it was widely used in Afghanistan and the CIA had quickly taken steps to obtain wreckage of lost aircraft.

Painted in military drab camouflage, the single seat air::raft did not fly during the daily ‘Presentations en vol’ leaving its aerobatic capability to be shown by a two seat version painted in the French Bicentennial celebration colours of red, while and blue.

The aircraft is specifically built for its dangerous ground attack role and has the cockpit enclosed in a titanium ‘bath’ for pilot protection against ground fire. A wing mounted pod is designed for the aircraft to carry into its operational area all test equipment for the aircraft to operate away from full maintenance areas for up to a week.

Control lines are duplicated as well as separated and all fuel lines are protected by a pressured fire resistant foam. The two seater is fitted with a slightly higher fin to compensate for the additional length of the extra cockpit.

Chaff dispensers, enough for 12 runs, are mounted on the wing upper surface with IR flare ejectors mounted above the engine exhausts. The aircraft has been in service since 1982 and is powered by two 9,100 pound thrust Tumansky R-195s and has a maximum takeoff weight of 32,200Ibs, a combat load of 3,1 00lbs with which it has a tactical radius of 400nm. The aircraft also has excellent short rough field capabilities.

Two MiG-29s, a single seat A model and the two seat MiG-29UB, the same two which held centre stage at last year’s Farnborough Air Show, were also included in the Russian contingent.

The single seater came to world prominence once again when its pilot, Anotoly Kvotchur, was forced to eject from the out-of control fighter at about 350 feet, seconds before it crashed and burned during the press day flying display. (Refer colour photo spread)

Kvotchur had just completed a high alpha (24-25 degrees) low speed run at about 100 knots when, as he applied afterburner power to continue his five minute display slot, the right engine stalled. The left engine continued to wind up to full afterburner power. At low speed his full control inputs could not maintain directional stability and the MiG went into an increasingly steep right hand turn with the nose dropping. Moments later the pilot wisely ejected.

The pilot said, at a press conference held five days later at Le Bourget, that he could see the aircraft was not heading towards the crowd line so he reluctantly decided to eject. Kvotchur says he owes his life to the Mig’s K-36D zero-zero ejection seat as well as the air show’s flight committee which had requested he add another 100 feet lo the 500 feet minimum altitude required for aerobatic performances at Le Bourget.

With only six seconds between engine failure and aircraft impact it gave him a few extra precious moments to escape. His only injury was a small amount of bruising and a . black eye.

Cause of the engine failure was said to be ingestion of a foreign body, possibly a bird which was seen on video recordings to be flying in the area around the MiG just before the the’accident. A compressor stall though has also still not been fully ruled out.

The dramatic crash, well away from the crowd, with the pilot surviving, followed the text book plan of the air show’s flying committee. Following a series of bad accidents in the 1970s a tight and well organised control is kept over the flight displays at the show. If only the ground organisation could be as efficient which, in its traditional Gallic fashion, was as confused and disorganised as ever. In the days before the official opening by the French president

– each aircraft flying in the air display must perform in front of the committee and any deviation from the approved choreography is severely dealt with. The ultimate sanction is grounding for the duration of the show for both the pilot and the demonstrating company. This rule prevents pilots trying to outdo each others displays. No demonstrating pilot could, under the rules, attempt an ad hoc attempt at ‘Pougochev’s Cobra’ during his display slot. The display of the Russian state-of-the-art equipment would not be good news for Dassault as a world drop in the sales of military weapons, together with an increasing number of third world and emerging nations seeking their own aerospace industries with offset requirements, has reduced its profits and sales. The trend towards relieving fighters has also seen a drop in the sales of Mirages for the big French aircraft and arms manufacturer. The closure of a Dassault factory in Paris saw workers demonstrate at the show with a massive number of the long feared French CRS, a police security group with the reputation of clubbing and kicking heads with no discretion once they go into action, gradually fill the air show grounds.

Dassault, at a show press conference, launched three new versions of the Mirage 2000 of which a number have been ordered by the French Air Force. Dassault also flew its Rafale each day and, after each sortie, painted the latest number of its flights carried out on its fin which totalled around 440 at the show’s end. One of the aircraft’s current GE F404 engines was to be replaced after the show with a Snecma M88-2 which will ultimately power the production aircraft.

A total of some 360 Rafales will be ordered for service with the French Air Force and Navy. Total cost of the project is about $US6bn though the type won’t become operational till the mid to late nineties.

China had its Shenyang F8-II on static display despite the show being held just after the enormous bloodshed in the Beijing demonstration. The Mach 2. 2 fighter, number four in a series of six prototypes, did not fly because of the expense but the Chinese were clear in their intention to seek export markets for the aircraft of which about 100 are reported to be in service.

Work on two aircraft contracted to Grumman in the USA had stopped as part of the US reaction against the Beijing massacre. The aircraft were undergoing a wide ranging avionics and weapons upgrade which would considerably increase the F8-ll’s market acceptance. The aircraft on show, painted in bicentennial celebration red, white and blue colours, carried a collection of two PL-3IR air-to-air missiles, bombs and rockets.

Airbus gave further details of its lengthened A320, now designated the A321, at Le Bourget. The aircraft, with 18 orders, from ILFC and Egyptair, needs 40 orders including one from a US airline, to gain the consortium’s board approval for an official production go-ahead. The first aircraft delivered for ILFC will have a 28,000lb thrust version of the IAE V2500 fitted. Price was stated to be $US45m in 1989 dollars.

Airbus, which see the 180-220 seat A321 as competing with some of the shorter range Boeing 757s, calculate a future world market of 4,800 for aircraft in its class. The European manufacturer also sees an increasing market in communist states for its aircraft and has recently delivered A31Os to Interflug in East Germany. At a ceremony held at the show, Airbus handed over its 500th aircraft, an A320 for Northwest Airlines. The manufacturer expects to deliver its 1,500th aircraft in 1995.

Meanwhile, its arch competitor, Boeing gave a few details at Le Bourget on its 767-X project-currently viewed as having a seating capacity between the 767-300 and the Boeing 747-400.

Deliveries are planned to commence in 1995. Options for Boeing currently include a new fuselage and wing or the current 767 fuselage lengthened with a new wing. It is likely the new fuselage would be widened over the current 767 width which is narrower than both the A300 and A310.

McDonnell Douglas and International Aero Engines are in discussion regarding a possible fitting of the V2500 engine on the yet to be finalised MD-90 range of airliners. The alternative is the fitting of a propfan which is considered unlikely due to its cost, the continuing low fuel price and a hesitation on the part of airlines to presently delve into unproven technology.

The Californian manufacturer is still reviewing its lengthened MD-11 and, because of space limitations at its Long Beach plant, may take over the old Rockwell . B-1 B factory in Ohio or the Lockheed C-5B factory in Georgia.

Fokker, after a slow start with its F100 airliner, now has an order book full to mid 1994 but denies it is seeking a new production partner. It is still studying a lengthened F50. Currently the project, which will have P&W Canada PW130s, which are planned to provide an additional 35% power, see a 4. 5 metre stretch taking passenger numbers from 50 to 68.

Prall & Whitney Canada also announced it was leaving the high speed turboprop market, for aircraft such as the Saab 2000 and the Dash 8-400, to General Electric and Allison. The company will concentrate on its current size engines and turbofans such as the PW300. It says it needs a considerable amount of power to get the aircraft cruising between 300 and 350 knots and is not confident the market is worth the outlays involved.

An improved aircraft from another era, the Boeing 727-200 was also shown. A modification by Valsan in the USA has the aircraft’s two outboard engines replaced with JT8D-217 (as filled to the MD-80) with acoustically treated Rohr nacelles in order to meet ICAO Stage 3 noise requirements. The modification costs $8. 6m and the second aircraft is due for delivery next April to an unspecified operator.

Rolls-Royce is also looking at re-engining Boeing 737s and DC-9s with its Tay 670. At a cost of about $7-$1O million, the manufacturer says the demand for the retrofit could be airport driven as local noise restrictions become more common and delivery delays prevent airlines getting immediate delivery of new aircraft.

General Electric, seeing a growth in the size and weights of twin engine airliners, announced preliminary plans for a 65,000 to 95,000lb thrust GE90 which it says will leap frog the PW4000 and the Rolls Royce Trent. The new engine will need a definite application before it goes ahead but a market is seen in the A330 growth aircraft and the 767-X.

An area of great activity at Le Bourget was the regional airline market with several big orders announced including the US’s AMR Eagle which took 25 Jetstream Super 31s plus 25 options together with options on 50 Jetstream 41 s. The fuselage of the recently announced Jetstream 41 was also shown in mock-up form in the aircraft static display area. AMR had earlier ordered 100 Saab 340Bs and taken options on the new generation Saab 2000.

Boeing Canada detailed it had put its Dash 8-400 on hold until it had found full efficiency in its -100 and -300 range. The -100 is to have a modified interior in aircraft delivered after next June which will include a higher ceiling and larger overhead bins. The manufacturer is seeking greater efficiencies on its production lines and is reducing the manhours involved in Dash 8 production. The company took 94,000 manhours to build an aircraft when it took over the line and now takes only 72,000. It is planning to reduce the total to 40,000 manhours by mid 1991. It is offering higher weights on the Dash 8-300 with the 300A model having an option of 41,000lbs or 43,000lbs gross weight.

Canadair gave details of its Regional Jet (RJ) market which had gathered 116 orders and options by show’s end. Officials of the manufacturer said the interest in the aircraft had taken them by surprise. It has also interest expressed in a corporate version of the airliner. Marketing of the RJ will not be carried out by the existing Challenger sales teams ‘as they don’t understand airlines’ and it is possible the Shorts company salesmen, with much regional airline experience, will handle the aircraft. Flight testing on the RJ will commence in 1991 with certification planned for mid 1992.

If Bombardier removed a competitor to the RJ with its purchase of Shorts then Embraer has filled its place with its long rumoured jet powered development of the Brasilia designated the EMB-145. With 75% commonality with the Brasilia, the manufacturer is aiming for a price of $US11. 6m with US avionics. Range will be 1,400nm and a cruise speed of 420 knots is planned. Power will be from either the CFE 738 or the Allison 406, Rolls-Royce RB580 or the Lycoming ALE502. Embraer says the PW300 is not powerful enough. A stretch of the Brasilia’s existing fuselage will give a fully serviced cabin with space for 45 passengers.

Indonesia also moved into the high speed regional airline market with its new IPTN CN250 50 seat airliner with a 300 knot cruise. Engines have yet to be selected with the GE38, PW130 and RTM322 being considered. The wing is being developed with assistance from Boeing and the aircraft will probably have composite flaps and control surfaces.

Dr Habibe, the proud father of the country’s expanding aircraft industry, said at Paris that the growing tourist industry in Indonesia will absorb most of the aircraft’s production. A future stretch to provide 70 seats is possible.

ATR, which exhibited its ATR-72 at the show, announced tentative plans for a 80 plus seat airliner designated the ATR-82. The Italian/French venture is also looking at a joint development with Casa for a 100 to 120 seat regional jet.

Meanwhile, Australia is viewed by Lockheed as a possible purchaser of the P-7, the USN’s mid 1990s replacement for its P-3 Orions according to a company spokesman at Paris. The new patrol aircraft, with many improvements over the P-3, is expected to have a production start in 1992.

The last Orion built, the 641st, is scheduled for delivery in September 1991. The line could be extended by 16 aircraft if Lockheed could convince South Korea to make a quick order. Lockheed says that if an order is not received soon it will not be able to arrange production as the P-7 project will be underway.

The major business news at the show was the launch by Dassault of the Falcon X, a widebody twin engined business jet planned to replace the Falcon 200. With a cabin the same diameter as the Falcon 900 and a length sized between the Falcon 50 and the Challenger, the aircraft is planned to fly 3,000nm at 41,000ft cruising at Mach 0. 8. Certification is expected in 1994.

Engines have not been selected but are expected to be either the PW300 or the CFE738, thrust of about 5,500Ibs will be required. A mock fuselage of the project, complete with a furnished cabin, was displayed in the air show’s static park. Cost is to about $US12m.

Unofficial details were also given by some British Aerospace staff concerning its new business jet project, a lengthened version of the successful BAe 125-800. Full particulars may be presented at this year’s National Business Aircraft Association convention in Atlanta but it is understood the aircraft will be powered by the PW300 series turbofan and have a range of 4,000nm. The prototype aircraft has been under construction in Britain for several months. The current BAe 125-800 will also remain in production if the new aircraft gets a production go-ahead.

Cessna’s new Citation Von static display at Le Bourget was to commence an international sales tour after the show with a quick visit to Australia and Papua New Guinea planned for July. The manufacturer had received 70 orders for the practical jet up to the start of the show including one for operation out of Essendon with North Broken Hill which will replace its Citation II with the new aircraft.

Cessna has still not decided on any possible specific modifications to its Citation 111 but is working to increase the gross weight of the Citation II by about 600Ibs which will be available either as additional range or payload.

Beechcraft had its first Starship delivery scheduled at Paris with the aircraft being handed over to a Florida beer distributor. However, the aircraft was immediately handed back to Beech which has it on lease as a demonstration aircraft. Development costs of the revolutionary all composite corporate aircraft were said to total $US310m and Beech claim by 1991 the aircraft will contribute 12% of its gross revenue.

A total of 40 of the aircraft have been sold to date, a number felt by the company to be a little disappointing. Final certification was still to be received at show time with single pilot clearance, antiicing and autopilot approvals also awaited from the FAA. The US certification authority also wanted additional work on Electro Magnetic Interference behaviour of the all glass cockpit aircraft which Beech expects will take about three months to complete. Once these are achieved and some serious marketing of the Starship takes place, Beech feel that sales will accelerate.

Gulfstream had a cabin mock-up of its new FJ44 powered Gulfjet in one of the exhibition halls and although the company is not committing it to the market until the aircraft has flown and its potential customer acceptance is gauged, a possible market for 1,000 of the type is expected according to Gulfstream.

IAI, now with its own distribution set up in the USA; has started to sell its Astra business jet following a very slow start under the previous marketing arrangement. Five have beeri sold this year. An Australian agency has been set up with experienced company aircraft executive John Benson contracted to sell the aircraft in the South Pacific. A sales tour is expected with one of the aircraft in the near future.

There were also reports at Paris that the long awaited Pilatus PC-12, a general aviation turboprop project in which Hawker de Havilland was once asked to participate, will now finally be unveiled at the NBAA. Pilatus is still not confirming whether the Death of a MiG! Paris 1989 witnessed one of its most dramatic moments ever when, on the opening day of the show, the Soviets lost their display MiG-29 Fulcrum. The above sequence of photos were shot by AA Managing Editor Jim Thorn who fortunately was tracking the aircraft’s display routine with an ideal combination of camera and lens at the time.

Cause bf th. e crash was a suspected compression stall of the starboard engine following a low speed, very high angle of attack pass. Recovery from this manoeuvre involves a pitch down levelling of the aircraft and selection of full afterburner prior to a climb away into a series of tight turns in preparation for the next manoeuvre. In this instance the starboard engine flamed out resulting in the aircraft not being able to recover from the critical asymmetric forces being placed upon the MiG with a full power port engine, very low airspeed and at a height of only 500ft above the field. With barely a second to assess the situation, display pilot, Anatoly Kvotchur wisely ejected; his K36D ejection seat firing him horizontally at less than 300ft altitude. That he suffered only very minor injuries and was at the how as a much revered visitor several days later, was another endorsement of the benefits of modern generation zero-zero e1ectIon seats.

In this series of photos (1) the Fulcrum has already gone vertical and Kvotchur is seen ejecting from the rolling aircraft. Pie 2 shows the aircraft less than 80ft from eternity with Kvotchur at a similar altitude and still without anything like full chute deployment. Photo 3 shows the MiG impacting with Kvotchur at moment of precise impact with the fortunately rain sodden Le Bourget infield. An item of interest in this photo is that the MiG has actually impacted to the extreme left of the visual fireball as evidenced by the earth being thrown up and the vertical alignment of the MiG in relation to the large shed in the distant background of the photo in pies 2 and 3. Kvotchlir was indeed fortunate that the MiG was carrying minimal fuel for display purposes only and that this surging fireball did not reach his position less than 30m from the impact point. Photo 4 shows the chute deflating and the ensuing fireball, which, due to the minimal fuel load, lasted for only a few seconds. Photos were taken using a standard Canon AE1 with 100-300mm zoom lens and motor winder aircraft even exists but the latest story is it will be a single engine turboprop which will compete with the Caravan 1 and eventually replace the Pilatus Porter.

An old warbird still earning its keep and on show at Paris was the Marsh S-2, a Grumman Tracker re-engined with Garrett TPE331-14s. The aircraft, fitted as a fire bomber, had an 800 gallon water tank built into its former weapons bay. Painted in fire bombing white and orange, the company claimed it had an amount of former RAN S-2 Tracker components used in its rebuild. Marsh Aircraft Company is carrying out further turbine conversions on S-2s for an unspecified military customer.

Major helicopter news from Paris concerned the Australian industry involvement in joint venture projects. The McDonnell Douglas Helicopters MDX engine choice was announced with two being available. The first 100 aircraft will be fitted with the 600shp P&W 206A with customers then having the option to select the Canadian engine or the Turbomeca TM-319-2. MOH expect to sell at least 1,000 of the helicopters and plan to build 96 a year. Hawker de Havilland will be designing and building the helicopter’s cabin and manufacturing the composite NOTAR tail boom. First flight is planned for 1992 with deliveries in 1993. Cost is now $US1. 85m. McDonnell Douglas Helicopters, which is handling the marketing of the helicopter, has taken 215 deposits.

The long gestating joint helicopter venture with Aerospatiale of France, Australia’s Asta, Singapore Aircraft Industries and China’s CATIC, has undergone a major repositioning in the marketplace with it now being planned to replace both the Gazelle and the Alouette. The helicopter was originally planned to replace the Squirrel in both its twin and single engined form but the joint venture participants, in a meeting in France the week before the air show, decided to further distance the helicopter from the market that will be attracted to the MDX. Provisionally designated the P120, it will only be available with a single engine although it is possible an upgraded powerplant will be provided later for hot and high work. A total market of 4,000 is envisaged. Responding to questions about the Chinese involvement, Aerospatiale told reporters at the show that if CATIC was forced to withdraw a further redesign of the helicopter would be required. It is expected China will provide about 10% of the market for the helicopter.

And so another Paris Air Show drew to a close with a huge crowd of Parisians visiting on the final weekend to see the latest in the world of aerospace. Meanwhile most of the executives who had worked the show, in temperatures which grew hotter as the week progressed, were jetting back to their companies and devising ways to avoid duty at the next show.

Australian Aviation will see you at Asian Aerospace in Singapore in February.