Commercial Aircraft Sales

Bae/Taiwan Partner Search:

British Aerospace and Taiwan Aerospace have formalised their regional jet joint venture and are searching for new partners with a view to expanding the partnership and establishing a kind of ‘Airbus’ consortium.

The new company has-almost unbeliev ably-been called Avro International Aerospace Limited, recalling the great British manufacturer in a way many will regard as totally inappropriate (refer “What’s In A Name’ item, this Newsdesk).

BAe and TAC will from now on jointly develop, market, and produce the BAe 146/RJ family of regional jetliners and the addition of one or two new partner nations could see development of a new airliner, possibly the 120 seat RJ-X-go ahead. Asian and North American companieshave been approached while the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation (JADC) has been looking for partners for its 75-100 seat YS-X project. A problem here is that the YS-X and RJ-X are aimed at a similar and overcrowded market, so if JADC joined BAe and TAC, one of these projects would have to go.

 Casa Looks to Saab Partnership:

Spanish manufacturer CASA is looking to Sweden’s Saab as a risk sharing partner in its new CASA 3000 70-78 seat twin turboprop regional transport programme.

Development of the CASA 3000 began in September 1991 and the aircraft is designed to compete with the 70 seat ATR72 and proposed DHC Dash 8-400 as well as the smaller capacity regional jets. Saab produces two regional turboprops, the 37 passenger 340 and the 50-58 passenger 2000 which is due to enter service this year. CASA is already involved in the Saab 2000 programme, responsible for the design and manufacture of the wing.

Early artist’s impressions of the CASA 3000 show a strong likeness to the Saab 2000 albeit in enlarged form with four rather than three abreast seating. It is designed to be powered by two as yet unspecified 5000shp turboprops, cruise at 350kts (648kmh) and carry 70 passengers over 1000nm (1850km) or 78 passengers over 790nm (1460km). CASA plans to fly the 3000 in late 1995 and have it enter service in March 1997.

What’s in a Name?:

The items elsewhere in this Newsdesk on the EFA/ Eurofighter project and its new name plus the name given to the joint BAe/Taiwan Aerospace company – Avro, would you believe? – raises several thoughts on the naming of aircraft generally.

While the name “Eurofighter 2000′ accurately reflects the manufacturing consortium’s name and the role of the aircraft, it hardly raises the inspiration levels to untold heights. What if the Spitfire had been called the ‘Britofighter’, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 the ‘Germfighter’ (sounds like a mouthwash) the Lockheed F-104 the “Yankofighter”? There is a recent example of a multinational consortium getting it pretty well correct when Panavia called its aircraft “Tornado’ when they might have been tempted to have called it ‘Euromulti- aircraft’! Perhaps the Eurofighter should be called ‘Spitfire’ and be done with it, or would the Germans and Italians have reasons to object, not to mention million of enthusiasts the world over.

As British Aerospace is heavily involved with Eurofighter, perhaps the aircraft should be called Jetstream 71! BAe has been in- volved with several renamings of its aircraft lately in an attempt to boost sales and project a more viable image: the revamped 146 is now the RJ (for ‘regional jet’ presumably, a name already snuffled by Canadair and about as inspirational as Bruce Reid’s batting), the successful DH/HS/BAe 125 bizjet is now the ‘Corporate 800 or 1000’ and even worse, the less than spectacularly successful ATP tur- boprop will be known as the Jetstream 61 with the announcement that the assembly line is being moved from Manchester to Prestwick.

As for the real Jetstreams-the 31 and 41 as far as is known they will remain Jetstreams although in the case of the J41 (which has its wings made in the USA by Gulfstream and its tail feathers in Switzerland) the temptation to rename it ‘British Koswissos mall turboprop suitable for regional operators’ must be high on the minds of BAe’s marketing whizkids.

As for the joint BAe/Taiwan 146/RJ company being called Avro International Aerospace, this is almost beyond belief. Sir Alliot must be spinning in his grave faster than a runaway propeller! It’s been interesting to note the reaction of industry colleagues when the ATP became the Jetstream 61. Generally they were unland, but with ‘Avro’ the reactions have ranged from gales of derisive laughter to outright hostility.

While it is true to say that all of BAe’s current civil programmes had their origins many years ago (Avro 748 to ATP, Handley Page Jetstream, de Havilland 125), it is un- fortunate that the wordAvro is now going to be used for an aircraft whose design did not originate from that manufacturer, nor does it have any relevance to an east-west ven- ture. The 146 began with design studies by de Havilland at Hatfield and was ‘firmed up’ by the same design office when part of Hawker Siddeley.

How important is a name? Those interested in cars might remember the Nissan Cedric and what a marketing triumph that was! The Eurofighter consortium should be lobbied to find a proper name for its new product while BAe must surely be joking about Avro International Aerospace. Unfortunately the press release wasn’t dated April 1st. How about the Armstrong Whitworth Eurocedric. . . Cedric 61. . . Corporate Cedric . . . Cedric RJ. . . Spitcedric . . . ? awarded a contract to ‘convert to components’ nine Boeing 727s. The aircraft will be broken up and engines and parts repaired or overhauled as necessary for resale. With hundreds of older airliners such as 7278, DC-9s and early model 737s now withdrawn from service and in storage, this is a scene which is bound to become commonplace in the years to come.

States Bid for Maintenance Facility:

A project to establish a $40m engine maintenance plant in Australia to serve the Asian airline industry is being fought over by five states.

The project is sponsored by Pratt & Whitney and Perth company Western Aerospace. These two organisations already having a joint venture in WA through a plant being built to make the specialised alloys required for jet engines.

The engine maintenance facility would have an annual turnover of about $35m and employ up to 250 people. It would repair and overhaul engine components including compressor stators, electronic engine controls, environmental control systems and propellers as well as acting as a major spare parts distribution centre.

A decision is expected in May this year and P&W is also considering establishing a larger facility for complete engine overhauls at a later date.

With the P&W/Western Aerospace tie up already in place, Western Australia is considered favourite for the first project.

Geelong Wants Air Show:

Geelong City Council and the Geelong Re- gional Commission have responded to Airshows Downunder’s assertion that the next International Air Show and Aviation Expo might not be held at Avalon due to problems experienced last October.

The Geelong officials are seeking talles with Airshows Downunder with a view to keeping future events at Avalon. By their estimations the last show added some $50m to the area’s coffers, although it is estimated that at least $10m will have to be spent on Avalon to bring it up to standard.

A300/310 Cargo Conversions:

Airbus Industrie has begun offering freighter conversions for its A300 and A310 widebody twins. Modifications include the installation of a large cargo door on the port side forward fuselage and main deck floor reinforcement.

The conversions will be carried out at either Deutsche Airbus’ Bremen facility or at approved overhaul and maintenance facilities and the programme results from Airbus identifying a potential market for about 500 all cargo twinjets in the 35-50 tonne payload category over the next 15 years.

The conversion involves the removal of all passenger related equipment, after which the aircraft is lifted, temporary internal fuselage supports are installed, upper and lower fuselage panels are removed and then replaced incorporating the cargo door’s frame. Small parcels specialist Federal Express has ordered 25 new production A300-600F cargo aircraft. • TAY 727 IS QUIETER: The US Federal Aviation Administration has granted approval for the United Parcel Service Boeing 727 Quiet Freighter programme, clearing the way for the company’s plan to re-engine its 727-100 fleet with Rolls-Royce Tay 661 engines. (refer p56 Sept 92 AA) Data collected during testing of the prototype shows that noise from the modified 727 affects less than a quarter of the ground area of a standard 727 and that the level is well below the maximum specified by Stage 3 noise regulations. In addition, the Tay 727 has lower exhaust emissions than the original aircraft and fuel efficiency is about 12% better.

The 727 Quiet Freighter programme has been developed jointly by UPS, Rolls-Royce and the Alenia owned Dee Howard Co, the latter performing the modifications which involve considerable re-engineering. The conversion also involves the fitting of electronic flight instruments, UPS has firm orders for 44 conversions and options on another 36.

757 Fuse PIN Troubles:

Hotonthe heels of fuse pin failures causing two Boeing 747 freighter crashes in the past year comes news that the US Federal Aviation Administration has issued an airworthiness direc- tive (AD) covering long standing 757 engine pylon wing connections.

Problems were first reported in 1988 when 757 operators discovered cracking in mid spar fuse pins. These cracks have been found to be spreading faster than expected, thus prompting the AD which covers inspection and replacement of the fuse pin bushing which exhibited excessive clearance and therefore allowed the pins themselves to distort and eventually crack. The AD applies to Pratt & Whitney powered 757s now and to examples with Rolls-Royce engines from December this year.