Newsdesk Commercial Aviation

Us Workforce Keeps Dropping

The number of people directly employed in the US aerospace industry is currently at its lowest point in 20 years and is heading for an all time low as manufacturers continue to cut jobs. Final assembly of the first Airbus A319 is nearing completion at Daimler Benz Aerospace’s Hamburg facilities. First flight of the 124 seat A319 is scheduled for September, while first customer deliveries are planned for April next year. The number currently stands at less than 590,000, down from the 900,000 high achieved in 1989 at the peak of the boom. The all time low figure of 560,000 was recorded in the mid 1970s following the end of the Vietnam War and at a time when the OPEC oil crisis was affecting commercial sales. The Aerospace Industries Association has warned that that figure could be reached this year. The overall US industry (including companies involved in avionics) has shed more than 500,000 jobs over the past five years including 80,000 in 1994. The main reason for the decline is a steady reduction in defence spending which peaked at $US80bn per annum in the late 1980s and is expected to maintain only a $US30bn level for the remainder of the decade.

P&W Power For Il-114

Ilyushin has selected the 2750shp (2050kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127C to power a new version of its Il-114 64 passenger regional turboprop. Designated the Il-114PC, the new variant is scheduled to fly in late 1996 with certification following in 1997. The idea is to make the Il-114 more attractive to customers outside the CIS, although the commercial failure of the very similar British Aerospace ATP/Jetstream 61, from which the 114 was inspired, would seem to indicate that this might be a bit of a pipedream. To its credit, Ilyushin does regard the aircraft’s primary market as being the traditional customers of the CIS. The first (Klimov powered) Il-114 was flown in 1990 though only a small number have entered service so far.