Commercial Aircraft Sales

By our counting AirServices’ Fokker F28 VH-ATG, which it uses for navaid calibration/inspection, is now in service with its sixth ‘operator’ following the latest of a long line of restructures to Australia’s aviation regulatory bodies. When the F28 was delivered in the seventies it wore the titles of the Department of Civil Aviation. Between then and now ownership has passed to the Department of Transport, the Department of Aviation, the Department of Transport & Communications, the Civil Aviation Authority and finally AirServices Australia. (Steve Allsopp)

Concorde Beats Tcas Ban

British Airways and Air France will not have their Concordes banned from the USA following successful development of external antennae for the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) now mandatory for airline operations in US airspace. The original deadline for the installation of TCAS was December 31 1993 but for Concorde this has been extended twice to the end of 1995 due to antennae problems. The original standard Collins antennae were incapable of withstanding the physical stresses and temperatures (-60 to +135degC) to which it was subjected during routine Concorde operations. New antennae (there are two per aircraft) have been developed by the Flight Refuelling Group’s Chelton Electrostatics subsidiary and US FAA approval for the installation was given in late November. Concorde celebrates its 20th anniversary of scheduled supersonic services on January 21 and the type is planned to remain operational to around 2005. British Airways has meanwhile decided to equip its entire European fleet of 116 aircraft with TCAS, apparently because it considers that proposed new vertical separation minima could be hazardous without it.

More 737 Control Problems

Repeating numerous uncommanded control anomaly incidents in the USA and elsewhere (including two which have resulted in fatal accidents), a British Airways Boeing 737-200 has suffered violent roll oscillations during a test flight after maintenance. Flying at 20,000 feet (6100m) at an indicated airspeed of 290kt (537km/h), the aircraft suffered rapid roll oscillation while autopilot and autothrottle were engaged. Control was restored and a subsequent flight test of the same aircraft by the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch failed to reproduce the problem. The 737 has been impounded for examination and Boeing engineers have been called in to assist investigations. There have been no fewer than 47 reported Boeing 737 control anomaly incidents since September 1994 (the date of the most recent crash), most of them involving rudder deflection or roll. All have been successfully controlled by the pilots.

Fokker Forms Leasing Company

A leasing company specialising in Fokker aircraft has been established in the Netherlands. Called debis AirFinance, the new company is owned largely by parts of Fokker’s parent company (Daimler Benz Aerospace — DASA) plus various German and Dutch banks. The largest shareholder is debis, the service division of Daimler Benz. The portfolio will initially comprise 35 Fokker owned lease aircraft — 18 Fokker 100s, 15 Fokker 50s and 2 F28s — which have been transferred to the new company, while other lease aircraft owned by the manufacturer will also be transferred in the near future. The deal will help alleviate Fokker’s current financial problems by providing a substantial reduction in capital employed.