Newsdesk – Commercial Aviation

British Aerospace has recently announ-ced a major restructuring, with three new companies formed to handle its comercial aircraft activities. BAe Airbus takes over the activities of the former Airbus Division and Aviation Services, BAe Regional Aircraft assumes responsibility for the 146, ATP and Jetstream programmes and BAe Corporate Jets will look after the 125 business jet.

Avalon Preparations Begin:

Preparations for the Australian International Air Show at Avalon on October 21-25 this year are about to begin, with a detailed engineering survey of the airfield in preparation for site works, building construction and the installation of services the first tasks.

The placement of grandstands, restaurants, cafes, toilets, car parks, display areas and so on will be marked out in preparation for the show which will cover some 600 hectares including car and aircraft parking areas. Avalon will see 300-400 buildings and structures erected for the show, roads and light aircraft parking and landing areas will have to be formed, undulations filled and electricity, water and communications routes marked out. The first structures will be erected in August and at least 300,000 people are expected to attend the show’s three trade and two public days. Tickets go on sale this month.

 MDC Looks Ahead:

McDonnell Douglas has predicted a total market for 14,022 new jet airliners valued at $US943bn over the next 20 years.

According to the company’s outlook for commercial aircraft 1991-2010, the market will be split fairly evenly between widebody (6,758) and narrowbody (7,264) types, although widebodies will account for nearly 75% of the value of these sales. It predicts that the USA will account for 40% of deliveries and the European and Asia/Pacific markets about 25% each. Interestingly, it sees the Asia/Pacific market taking the largest number of widebodies, some 2,400 aircraft.

McDonnell Douglas predictions are based on the assumed growth of the US economy by 2. 6% annually between now and the turn of the century and 2. 1% after that. Western Europe is expected to see economic growth of 2. 6% and then 2% for the same periods and Asia/Pacific 4. 8% and 4. 4%. Eastern Europe is not seen as a growth area in the timescale and Latin America’s growth is put at an average 3. 7% per annum. Passenger traffic growth is expected to be greatest in the Asia/Pacific region.

The company also predicts the retirement of 4,736 jet airliners over the next 20 years, of which some 70% will be short haul aircraft.

 Embraer to Be Privatised:

Mainly state owned Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer will be privatised during the current year under a scheme which calls for investors to bid for blocks of shares at a special auction.

It is planned to offer up to 40% of the voting stock to foreign investors, 30% to local investors and 10% to company employees. The remaining 20% will be retained by the Brazilian government so as to allow it some say on programmes involving national security. The government currently controls 96. 5% of the voting stock. Other share-holders own the remaining 3. 5% of the voting stock and 67% of the non voting stock.

Pan Am Collapse Hits J41: ‘

Trans World Airways, which purchased PanAm Express, will cancel orders for up to 20 BAe Jetstream 41s it inherited from the failed carrier. The PanAm contract covered ten firm orders and ten options.

The cancellation reduced orders and options for the new 29 passenger turboprop to 116, although first deliveries will go ahead as planned, with the first aircraft scheduled for delivery from October this year. Ten Jetstream 418 will be handed over to customers by the end of 1992. BAe plans to deliver 35 Jetstream 41s in 1993 and more than 50 in 1994. Two prototypes are now carrying out the flight test programme.

Saab’s Good 1991:

Saab had a good year in 1991 with its 340 regional turboprop, delivering 54% of all aircraft in the 30-40 seat class.

The company received orders for 38 340Bs in 1991 (plus five 50 passenger Saab 2000s) and delivered 58 340s, bringing total deliveries to 273 aircraft to 32 operators on five continents. It is planned to deliver 50 3408 in 1992 while the 2000 will make its first flight early this year. Saab 340 sales are now nudging 350.

 Export Tracking System:

Canberra based Adecel Pty Ltd will market two locally developed computer tracking systems around the world following the signing of a software and licensing agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority.

The company’s Generic Aircraft Display System (GADS) is designed to help in the processes of finding and tracking aircraft and promise fuel and time savings for inter-national airlines by allowing aircraft closer separation en route. Civil aviation representatives from Asia, the USA and the Pacific have met to begin developing a work programme for implementation of the systems. on a number of transpacific routes and to discuss the progress of trials involving 15 aircraft from Singapore Airlines, Qantas, United and JAL. Separation could be halved (from 20 minutes/160nm to 10 minutes/80nm) if GADS works out as planned. A side benefit is the fact that it will allow twice as many aircraft into a given space, helping ease airways congestion.

Adecel’s Radar and Analysis Test System (RATS) package analyses the performance of radar equipment and is already in use in Australia as well has having been sold to Denmark and Africa.

Eastwest Gets Back Fokker 100s:

When ATI purchased Eastwest in 1987 it also inherited an order for three Fokker 100 twinjets that had been placed by the previous owners.

Due to contractual obligations ATI/EWA accepted delivery of the F100s and quickly

leased them across to a Canadian Airlines feeder via Intair Leasing. Intair has now gone bankrupt and consequently EWA is looking to place the Fokkers with another operator. At presstime they were stored at Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona along with squadrons of other unwanted airliners, both new and old.

Air Brasil, a new BAe 146 operator of which TNT had a 50% involvement via TNT Sava, has also ceased operations even before its first revenue flight had left the ground. The deteriorating state of the Brazilian economy was given as the primary reason for the dissolution of the airline.

WA Tower Closures Cause Upset:

Civil Aviation Authority plans to close down. control towers at Karratha and Port Hedland have prompted protests from both aircraft operators and air traffic controllers.

The closures reflect the CAA’s plan to provide most of Australia’s ATC services from Brisbane and Melbourne by late 1995. Karratha is Western Australia’s second busiest airport and Port Hedland its third busiest. The former is used by Ansett WA’s BAe 146 jets as well as numerous charter operators and helicopters serving the north-west shelf area. Bristow Helicopters anticipates carrying about 80,000 passengers in 1992-93 (or about 40 movements per day) and is puzzled by the plan. The Civil Air Operations Officers’ Association is also objecting, mainly on safety grounds.

Meanwhile, a report into the operations of three control towers in Queensland has recommended that two be closed and the hours of operation of the third be reduced. Proserpine and Hamilton Island are those deemed unnecessary, while Maroochydore tower faces a reduction in its hours of operation.

Space Base Gets Finance:

An as yet unidentified “Euro-American banking syndicate” has guaranteed finance of $800m to Space Transportation Systems (STS), the consortium now involved with the development of a spaceport on Cape York Peninsula. Headed by former Queensland premier Mike Ahern, STS was granted preferred developer status by the Queensland govern- ment last year and could have the project up and running as early as 1996. The finance contract will be signed shortly, according to STS. The developer’s engineers, Kaiser Engineering, has also received assurances from the Commonwealth of Independent States that the required Zenit rocket launchers which are built in the former Soviet Union will be available to launch satellites from the base.

Bertiehaugh, a former cattle station north west of Weipa is believed to be the favoured site for the spaceport, but regardless of its location in the Cape York area, strong resistance from aboriginal and environmental groups still has to be faced and overcome.

 Boeing Cuts 737 Production:

Boeing is to reduce the production rate of its best selling 737 twinjet from 21 to 14 aircraft per month from October this year. reflecting customers’ requests for delayed delivery dates and a drop in new orders.

Despite this, the 737 will still have the high-est production rate of any current airliner and Boeing will deliver 223 examples in 1992. Total deliveries of the 737 stand at over 2,200 and Boeing holds an order backlog for a more than 700 worth nearly $US25bn. The 737 production rate was boosted from 14 per month in 1990 to 17 and then to 21 per month last year.

Stretched 777 Revealed:

Boeing has released details of a proposed stretched version of its forthcoming 777 widebody twinjet. A fuselage stretch of about 31 feet (9. 6m) is being looked at, increasing passenger capacity from 375-400 (two classes) in the standard model to up to 450 passengers. It would be capable of carrying that load over a range of about 4,500nm (8,300km), slightly less than the basic model. The 777 ‘stretch’ is thought to be of particular interest to the Asian market. The first 777 is scheduled to fly on June 1 1994 with deliveries (to United Airlines) beginning in May 1995. Meanwhile, a famous Boeing aeroplane is about to come out of retirement to assist in