Stop Press

Recognising the size of the problems currently wracking the CAA at the moment, Mr Keith noted that he was not a white knight with miracle cures, and that it could take some years for CASA to get fully on track. He intends drawing on his previous experience as the manager of the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Service’s Transport Airplane Division. There he helped rebuild the organisation after it became “beat up and bloodied” following a range of government enquiries and public uproar following the DC-10 crashes of the late 1970s and early 1980s that sparked concerns over the FAA’s certification standards. He noted that there are “real parallels” between the problems facing the FAA at that time and the CAA now, and that while he doesn’t intend building another FAA, he certainly has considerable practical experience to draw upon.

Ga-8’s First Flight

The prototype of Gippsland Aeronautics’s eight seat utility light aircraft, the GA-8 Airvan, flew for the first time on Friday March 3 from La Trobe Valley airport with company executive Peter Furlong at the controls.

The GA-8 resembles a reduced scale Cessna Caravan and in its initial prototype form is powered by a 250hp (185kW) Lycoming O-540, as used to power the company’s GA-200 ag aircraft. The GA-8 is similar in concept to Cessna’s 206 and 207, and production aircraft will be powered by a 300hp (250kW) Lycoming IO-540 and have a max takeoff weight in the class of 1720kg (3790lb). Gippsland Aeronautics plans to certificate the Airvan to US FAR Pt 23 standards, which it hopes to achieve by mid ’96.

The prototype made the type’s public debut at the La Trobe Valley’s ‘Wings and Wheels’ airshow on March 5 as a static exhibit, wearing a basic white colour scheme, and the titles GA-8 on the tail and Airvan on the fuselage. The aircraft will also be on display at the Avalon airshow.

Boeing Releases 777b Design Figures

Boeing has released 25% of the detail design figures for the B version of the 777 twinjet, and projects a 7250nm (13,400km) range at the maximum takeoff weight of 286,900kg (632,500lb).

The 777B will have the same external dimensions as the initial A-Market 777 now under flight test, but would differ in having up to 51,860 litres (13,700US gal) more fuel and engine thrust ratings between 77,000lb and 90,000lb (345 & 403kN). It would seat 305 in a typical three class long haul arrangement and be able to fly city pairs such as London/Los Angeles, San Francisco/Tokyo and Bahrain/New York.

In comparison, the 777A can fly 4600nm (8500km) with a max takeoff weight of 242,600kg (535,000lb), while the 747-400 has a range with 400 passengers in three classes of 7340nm (13,600km).

Airshow Downunder ’95 Nears

With only hours to run for the start of this year’s Avalon airshow from when this issue hits the streets, the airshow’s organizers are confident that the southern hemisphere’s largest airshow is on track with the number of exhibitors continuing to grow and with only a small number of aircraft cancellations.

Unfortunately the multirole Sukhoi Su-35 fighter and the Tupolev Tu-22 Backfire bomber will not be appearing at the show as originally hoped, although the Flanker will be represented by a two seat Su-30 and a single seat Su-27. The Flankers participation in the show will be a major drawcard, given its breathtaking flying displays, as will be the US Air National Guard F-4 Phantoms. Other confirmed military aircraft participation includes two Malaysian airforce BAe Hawks, two Alpha Jets, USAF F-16s and Singaporean and New Zealand A-4 Skyhawks.

At one stage there even was the strong prospect of a USAF B-1 bomber participating, but these plans have fallen through. The ADF will participate in force, although the Black Hawk won’t be present because of spare parts problems. Other helicopters on show will include Mil’s Mi-171 and the four seat, radial powered Mi-34. Most other aircraft participation as previewed in our March issue report has been confirmed, including an An-124, Il-96M, Tu-204 and FedEx 747 freighter, while Air Nauru will display a 737-400. Qantas, however, will not be bringing a 747 as previously thought, nor, sadly, will the HARS Super Constellation be in Australia in time for the show. The Beriev A40 Albatross however is a possibility.

The number of trade exhibitors meanwhile has grown to 337 organisations from 24 countries, a dramatic increase from the 290 exhibitors from 12 countries at the inaugural 1992 event.

Launceston Trojan Crash

The local warbird movement suffered a loss on Monday February 20 when North American T-28D Trojan VH-LAO crashed after takeoff from Launceston, reports Dave Prossor.

The Trojan was the last of five T-28s involved in a stream takeoff. All were returning to the mainland following the end of the Skyrace ’95 air races at nearby Valleyfield the day before. Shortly after takeoff the aircraft was observed to nose up and enter a roll manoeuvre to the left before diving into the ground. The Trojan was destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire, and ferry pilot Mark Friedrichs and passenger Wolf Tietz were killed. The Trojan’s owner, John Rayner, had returned to Melbourne the night before to attend to business matters. The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation is investigating the accident.

Ansett, Malaysian Link On Codeshare

Lacking suitable equipment, Ansett has decided to codeshare with Malaysia Airlines to initiate its long stalled services between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia will operate two additional 747 services a week on behalf of Ansett from late March using that airline’s traffic rights with Ansett selling the capacity as if it were on its own aircraft. The airline plans to begin using its own 747-300 equipment on the route later this year when the third 747 becomes operational.

Ansett is also considering cancelling some of its Osaka 747 services due to the rapid decline in traffic from that region following the Kobe earthquake in late January. Traffic has fallen considerably with one 747 returning to Australia recently with less than two dozen passengers. Though it will be a difficult decision for Ansett to take in view of the need to maintain a physical presence in the sensitive Japanese market, the airline cannot continue to fly unprofitable services to what is the world’s highest cost airport. Qantas is better placed in this regard as it uses smaller 767s on this route whilst Ansett has only 400 pax 747s.

Actu Air Hits Turbulence

Plans by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to establish a union-backed discount airline have been badly received by both sides of the political spectrum, including many within the union movement itself.

Immediate resistance came from the giant Transport Workers Union and the Federal Opposition. The moving force behind the idea, ACTU secretary Bill Kelty, quickly modified his stance to say the idea was not necessarily to establish a third airline but to set up a kind of union ‘travel club’ through which unions could use their buying power to gain maximum discounts from the existing airlines. Mr Kelty said “We haven’t ruled out setting up an airline, but we have no desire to set up a third player”, which seems to be a contradictory statement.

The Opposition spokesman on tourism and aviation, Senator Warwick Parer, described the idea as “real pie in the sky” and “given the ACTU’s track record in the business world you’d have to be stupid or desperate to fly with them”. Many observers claim that the real reason behind the idea is an attempt to stimulate union membership, which has declined significantly in recent decades.

An-70 Crash Investigation Problems

The investigation into the fatal crash of the sole Antonov An-70 military transport prototype could be hampered by a lack of useful information from the flight data recorder (FDR) reports Flight International.

Unconfirmed reports from within Antonov suggest the final flight may have been conducted without the FDR being calibrated due to pressure on staff to accelerate the flying programme. The reports also suggest there was pressure to put more hours on the aircraft despite many technical problems, most of them to do with the An-70’s fly-by-wire control system and the contra-rotating propfans. This allegedly created a high accident risk. The An-70’s first officer (a qualified captain) was to be relieved of his position after the ill-fated flight due to his questioning of the technical risks being taken.

It is believed a video film of the aircraft’s final moments was taken from the An-74 chase aircraft, itself badly damaged in the collision which sent the An-70 out of control. According to Flight’s sources the An-70 suddenly veered sideways before striking the chase aircraft.

Beech 1900d Production Up

While the 19 seat regional turboprop market is generally considered to be flat, Beechcraft is bucking the trend with its 1900D model and will increase production this year.

The rise is to meet 87 new orders placed in 1994, including 40 from Mesa Airlines which already has 78 in service. Beech will build about 55 1900Ds this year, compared with 50 in 1994 and 45 in 1993. About 130 1900Ds have been delivered so far with the order backlog thought to be around 100 aircraft.

More Fla Worries

The Euroflag FLA military transport project seems to lurch from crisis to crisis, even in its earliest development stages.

The latest concerns come from Airbus Industrie’s managing director, Jean Pierson, who has cast doubts over how readily the project can be integrated into the consortium. The two main FLA partners, France and Germany, apparently have differing agendas for the inclusion of FLA within Airbus, while Italy — which is involved in the FLA — is not an Airbus partner.

The Russians have added to the confusion by offering Antonov An-124 heavy freighters to Germany as settlement for its large debt. If that were to happen, German funding of the FLA could be threatened. On the positive side, it is seen as unlikely that Germany’s defence ministry would want the An-124, particularly in view of ongoing operator dissatisfaction with its powerplants.

Thailand Wants More Fighters

The Thai Air Force is lobbying its government for extra funding to form a third frontline fighter squadron.

Among the aircraft being evaluated are the Dassault Mirage 2000-5, Lockheed F-16C/D, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornet and MiG-29. The F-16 is seen as the favourite to win an order as Thailand already operates 18 early model F-16A/Bs and will take delivery of a second batch later this year. Observers consider that if funding for an additional squadron of aircraft is approved, it won’t appear until the 1997 budget.

Cessna Production Plans

Cessna has revealed more details of its plans to reintroduce some single piston engined light aircraft to production following an easing of the US product liability laws.

The company has already announced that about 2000 aircraft will be built in the first full year of production (1998) with aircraft to be manufactured in a new plant at Independence, Kansas. The production breakdown for the first year will be 900-1100 Model 172 Skyhawks, 400-600 Model 182s and 400-500 Model 206s.

The first 25 to 30 aircraft will be used for demonstration purposes and will be built at Wichita, while the first aircraft is due to roll off the Independence production line in September 1996. The Skyhawk will be the first to appear, followed by the 182 in 1997 and the 206 in 1998. Substantial improvements will be incorporated into the new aircraft, the details of which will be released this June.

Rolls-Royce Tu-204 Doubts

The Bravia consortium, established to re-engine, certificate and market a Rolls-Royce RB211 engined version of the Tupolev Tu-204 airliner, is starting to look shaky as its main backer, the Flemings banking group, decides on its future involvement.

The partners in the project are Flemings Russian Investment (FRIC), the Tupolev design bureau and the Aviastar production plant. The initial plan was for the Russian engined version of the Tu-204 to be certificated in late 1992, followed soon after by the RB211 version. The original model only achieved certification late last year and the RB211 programme has been stopped for about six months due to a lack of funding.

No orders for the Tu-204 with RB211s have as yet been placed, but despite the problems, the consortium plans to have the aircraft certificated this year with or without Flemings’ involvement. Rolls-Royce is not an official consortium partner but says it will stay with the programme.

Visitor Numbers Up

Overseas visitors continue to arrive in Australia in record numbers, with the figure for 1994 reaching 3.36 million, an increase of 12% on 1993, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS figures also revealed that for the first time visitor numbers from northern Asia reached one million for the year. However, despite the overall increase for the year, visitor numbers began declining in November and December. This is despite the fact that the 384,000 short term visitors figure for December was almost a 12% increase compared with December 1993.

Asta/Alenia Team For Raaf Caribou Replacement

Italian aerospace company Alenia has teamed with Australia’s ASTA to offer the Alenia G222 twin turboprop tactical transport to the RAAF as a replacement for its fleet of ageing DHC Caribou.

Alenia and ASTA have got together to develop a regional centre to support the G222 throughout its service life by establishing several capabilities within ASTA including modifying the aircraft to meet RAAF requirements, parts manufacture and final assembly. The partners are also committed to an extensive transfer of capability, data and technology to establish an indigenous Australian ‘through life’ support capability.

The RAAF’s Caribou fleet ranges in age from 24 to 31 years, although the basic G222 design is itself now quite mature, the prototype having flown a quarter of a century ago in July 1970 with engines of early nineteen sixties technology.

AA Comment: Readers with a sense of deja vu might like to consider that in the first ever edition of this magazine, way back in 1977, yes 18 years ago, we ran a major feature on the Caribou replacement programme which amongst others, reviewed the G222! Also featured in that issue were articles on AEW for the RAAF and a replacement for the Macchi jet trainer. What is that saying — “the more things change the more they stay the same”!

Royal Tongan Launches Australian Flights

Royal Tongan Airlines has announced that it will commence weekly flights between Sydney and Tonga, via Auckland, from May 5.

Flight WR 200 will leave Tonga at 9am each Friday, arriving in Sydney at 1:30pm, while the reciprocating WR 201 will leave Sydney on Fridays at 2:30pm and arrive in Tonga at 12:15am. Royal Tongan is also seeking government approval to carry passengers between Sydney and Auckland. The flights will be operated by the Boeing 737-300 the airline jointly leases in conjunction with Air Pacific. The 737 is configured to seat 126 passengers, eight in business class and 118 in economy.