Cat With Nine Lives

The F27 became the property of the CSIRO in 1979, when it was purchased from the DoT for $250,000; prior to this, it had been purchased new for the specific task of airfield survey work. Initially, after being modified, the aircraft was crewed and maintained by EastWest at an annual budget of about $650,000. In 1991, the arrangements have altered with the Fokker being crewed and maintained under contract by the CAA (refer p. 6 May 91 AA).

Since its introduction to the CSIRO, the aircraft has always been a point of conjecture in terms of its usefulness to atmospheric and surface research. The Executive Committee have always shied from the necessary annual maintenance charges. The main users of the aircraft have been: the Division of Atmospheric Research – studying climatology and its effects; the Div of Exploratory Geo Science – mineral exploration and study; the Div of Coal and Energy- analysing smoke plumes around power· stations; and, the Div of Oceanography and Fisheries _; studying fish shoals, seagrass, and deterioration of reefs and shorelines.

As can be seen, a lot of the work in which the aircraft participates, is ‘trendy’ values. This in itself seems ironic that a body such as the CSIRO, which like any other large publicly funded body is not immune to positive PR feedback, does not make more of the aircraft’s work, or even seek sponsorship to·

boost the annual operating budget.

Recent developments have not been promising for the aircraft’s future. In late 1989 the aircraft was available for $800/hr plus a $1,000/day standing charge. This allowed the divisions a fairly substantial utilisation of the airborne platform. The Executive Committee reviewed these charges against the annual budget, and determined that the aircraft ought to be made to pay for itself more, and ordered that charges be increased to about $1,800/hr. And the result? About half the utilisation as previously. Some of t,he divisions now build their research equipment for an experiment and then charter a light aircraft significantly cheaper than the Fokker, and go that way instead. This is seen as less satisfactory by many because it is money that is leaving the CSIRO altogether, and the alternative aircraft is not usually as effective.

In short, the Executive Committee have said that if the aircraft is not self supporting by November 1991, ‘get rid of it’. The Research Aircraft Facility of the CSIRO, which in turn comes under the umbrella of COSSA – the CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications, is managed by David Stanfield, an aviation minded person, who feels that the loss of CAT would be an occurrence that would cause considerable regret within the CSIRO further down the track. Several reasons are cited for this.

‘Basically, the F27 is ready to go as soon as the client please. It also has an INS and the luxury of space, and in real terms it is still a young aircraft with Ol’)IY 17,000 of its projected 90,000 cycles used. It is in fact an extension of the laboratory. Other aircraft don’t offer this. ‘

If CAT is disposecfof, the CSIRO envisages utilising a King Air or the like that would be operated by a large corporation, who would still charge an hourly rate for the aircraft. The CSIRO also feel that much of the mapping functions could be satisfied by satellite coverage. The Research Aircraft Facility acknowledge that this is true . . . up to a point. The advantage that the F27 has over a satellite is that it is a dynamic platform, able to consistently scan over a certain area, at various heights, and if alto cumulus prevailed, ought to still be able to operate (unlike the satellite which would not again be available 16 days later).

The F27 has also seen service with NASA, collecting storm and atmospheric data in the Southern Ocean, and with Rutherford-Appleton, a British research facility specialising in meteorology and radar. It has a number of unique features, including a dropping tube for releasing sonobuoys and sondes from the pressurised, and an onboard ground power unit, allowing researchers to carry out preflight checks and equipment maintenance in the field.

CAT’s 5 metre nose cone, incidentally, is an Australian design, manufactured by Air Fab Pty Ltd of Bankstown. It carries sensitive pressure and temperature transducers, and a set of attack and sideslip vanes, operating in undisturbed air ahead of the aircraft.

Disposing of the F27 for short term savings may not be the cat’s whiskers after all