Newsdesk — Military Aviation

BAEA Acquires AWA Defence

As anticipated by many, British Aerospace Australia has acquired 100% of the shares in AWA Defence Industries (AWADI). The company’s shareholding was previously held by AWA Limited (70%) and the South Australian Superannuation Funds Management Corporation (30%). They were sold to BAeA for $54m. The deal came into effect on April 16 and creates a new, enlarged company of appropriate size and with increased depth of capability, according to BAeA’s chairman, Mr Ted Harris. He says the combined skills and infrastructure that will stem from the acquisition will open up opportunities to greatly expand exports from Australia into the Asian region and other parts of the world. AWADI is one of Australia’s most significant defence electronics operations with capabilities in a broad range of key areas such as communications and electronic warfare. It achieved sales of $150m in 1995 and is looking to double that in a short space of time.

10 Australian Aviation June 1996

New Herc Flies

The first new generation Lockheed C-130J Hercules recorded its maiden flight on April 5th this year. The aircraft, a C-130J-30 stretched model for the Royal Air Force, was flown by Lockheed Martin’s chief experimental test pilot, Lyle Schaefer, and recorded no problems during the 2hr 11min flight. Lockheed Martin has orders for 39 C-130Js including 12 for the RAAF to replace the three-decade-old C-130Es currently operated by 37 Squadron at Richmond. Compared to the current C-130H, the new Hercules will have 31% more power in combination with 18% greater fuel efficiency, 35% more range, 59% better time to climb performance, a 42% higher cruise ceiling, a 21% increase in maximum speed and a 41% shorter takeoff run.

Elbows Off The Table!

Following on from our item in the April issue about how RAF officers apparently know little about their own service’s history comes news that they seem to be lacking in the social graces as well. According to the Reuters news agency, RAF officer cadets have been told to take dancing lessons and conversation classes to improve their social skills. RAF officers were once considered among the elite of British society, but extra courses at training colleges have been ordered after it was discovered that new recruits lacked basic conversational skills and none knew how to dance a waltz or foxtrot! (Neither do I! Ed) According to the RAF, “an officer must be able to carry him or herself at all times and not be embarrassed socially”. Quite right, too! The new training classes will include mock dinners and lessons in etiquette. Remember – in the ‘good old days’ before home computers and fast food – how we all learned the basics of etiquette at home, regardless of our family’s social standing? Biggles would turn in his grave!

Yak-Macchi Trainer Flies

The demonstration/evaluation prototype of the Yakovlev-Aermacchi Yak-130 advanced trainer and ground attack aircraft recorded its maiden flight on April 25 at the Zhukovski Flight Test Centre near Moscow. The 35-minute flight was completed without problems. The Yak-130 is in competition with the MiG-AT to meet a Russian Air Force requirement to replace about 1000 Aero L-29 Delfin and L-39 Albatros trainers. Design work began in 1987 and a collaborative agreement with Aermacchi was signed in 1993. The first aircraft was rolled out in May 1995 and although it appeared at the Paris Air Show the following month, it has not flown until now. The Yak-130 is powered by two 4850lb (21.6kN) Povaske RD-35M turbofans and has seven external hardpoints capable of carrying up to 3000kg (6600lb) of stores. It will be built in Russia, but Aermacchi is responsible for its marketing outside the CIS.

F-15 Axisymmetric Supersonics

In what is seen as an important step towards demonstrating the advantages of using engine thrust vectoring to control the flight of advanced aircraft, a MDC F-15 has successfully achieved the world’s first supersonic yaw-vectored flight. The flight was recorded on April 24 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Centre in California and is part of the Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) program, a joint NASA, USAF, McDonnell Douglas and Pratt & Whitney venture. ACTIVE is assessing the use of engine thrust vectoring for improving the range, fuel economy, manoeuvrability and survivability of advanced aircraft. In the supersonic test flight – the first of its kind using axisymmetric pitch-yaw thrust vectoring nozzles – the F-15 vectored +/-15 degrees in pitch and +/-10 degrees in yaw at a speed of Mach 1.2 and an altitude of 30,000ft (9145m). The McDonnell Douglas/NASA X-36 28% scale tailless fighter research aircraft rolled out earlier this year (refer p9, May 96M). The 5.8m long remotely piloted X-36 is powered by a 700lb (3kN) Williams F112 turbofan. The X-36 was built by MDC’s Phantom Works and should fly within the next month or two. A second X-36 is being built. (MDC) The knowledge gathered from the ACTIVE program could ultimately result in aircraft without conventional control surfaces and will be applied to MDC’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project design.

We Have Moved

Australian Aviation has moved to new, larger offices. This will allow us to provide you with better service whilst enhancing our efficiency in the process. Effective from May 20 our new details were as follows: PO Box 1777, Fyshwick, ACT 2609. Phone (06) 280 0111, fax (06) 280 0007. For couriers and visitors our street address is 11 Molonglo Mall, Fyshwick, though please send all mail to the post office box.

Calling Phantom Phanatics

Interested in the Phabulous F-4 Phantom? Phancy getting together with others of a similar mind? Phillip Buckley is one Phantom phanatic who is doing something about preserving the history of his phavourite phlying machine by forming an association designed to bring together people who love this phantastic aircraft. The third Eurofighter EF2000 prototype takes off from Alenia’s Caselle flight test centre in Europe. This third aircraft, DA3, is the first to be powered by Eurojet EJ200 engines and recently completed the first phase of its flight test program, during which it flew 40 flights. The EJ200 engines accumulated 120 running hours without incident, including three hours in afterburning. He is also working towards his ultimate goal of bringing an airworthy example to Australia. If you’re interested, contact Phillip on (02) 484 6152 or write to 86 Kooringal St, Thornleigh 2120.

US VIP Aircraft Upgrade

Up to 600 US military aircraft used for carrying VIPs and other general passengers are to be fitted with cockpit voice recorders, flight data recorders and global positioning system (GPS) hardware following the crash of a USAF Boeing T-43 (737-200) at Dubrovnik last April in which US Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others were killed. The accident occurred in poor weather when the Boeing struck a cloud-covered ridge on approach to Dubrovnik Airport. Approaches to the airport have to be flown either visually or, in the case of IMC, using a pair of non-directional beacons (NDBs) which are in line with the runway’s extended centreline. The airport’s instrument landing system was removed by departing Yugoslav soldiers in 1991 and never replaced, leaving the non-precision NDBs as the only aid to an instrument approach. The weather was worse than predicted with reduced visibility and a 2000ft (610m) rather than 25,000ft (7620m) cloud base. The ridge the aircraft hit was 2300ft (700m) high. The 737 had only one ADF receiver on board, meaning the crew could not use both beacons as a check. There was also no GPS equipment on board. The order to install new equipment affects the entire USAF fleet of 220 ‘executive’ aircraft plus up to 133 USN, 217 Army and 24 Marine Corps aircraft including a wide variety of Beech and Cessna GA types.

RAAF Hits The Bullseye

A C-130H crew of the RAAF’s 36 Squadron has taken out the Bullseye four-nation annual tactical airlift competition, ahead of C-130s and crews from Canada, New Zealand and the UK. RAAF crews came first and second in the contest, held from RAAF Richmond in late August. The first and second placings have been a real morale booster for 36 Squadron as competing teams from Canada and the UK had honed their tactical airlift skills on operational missions in Bosnia and the Gulf War. The winning RAAF C-130 was crewed by Flight Lieutenants Andrew Elliot and Scott Roberts, Flying Officer Jocelyn Harvey, Warrant Officer Dean Gates and Flight Sergeants Tony Hall and Mark Cini.

RAAF Amberley Show Cancelled

Torrential rain and severe flooding forced the cancellation of the RAAF 75th Anniversary air show at Amberley over the weekend of May 4-5. The show – the only official one in the RAAF’s celebration year – promised to be one of the largest to be seen in Australia for some time with heavy involvement not only from the RAAF but also the British, US and other foreign services. Among the planned highlights were the USAF B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers and F-15 Eagle fighter, RAF Tornado and Nimrod, USMC AV-8B Harrier and RNZAF and Singaporean A-4 Skyhawks. Supporting the military contingent were a plethora of historic aircraft including a good selection of warbirds; Spitfire, Sea Fury, Mustang, Sabre and Neptune among them. The forced cancellation of the show was a great disappointment to many 12 Australian Aviation June 1996 enthusiasts and members of the general public who were planning to visit Amberley, not to mention RAAF personnel, for whom Amberley was to be the showcase of the year’s celebrations. A crowd of more than 300,000 was expected and the Nine Network had scheduled two hours of live telecast on the Sunday afternoon. At the time of writing there were no plans to reschedule the show either at Amberley or another RAAF base.

USN Looks To Orion Replacement

The US Navy is to instigate its Large Land Based Aircraft (LLBA) study late next year, the first step in finding a replacement for the Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The study will re-examine plans to extend the lives of existing P-3Cs and then look at the development of a new maritime patrol aircraft (the MPX) for service entry in 2015. Lockheed Martin is proposing an alternative option in the form of its upgraded new-build Orion 2000 which it says can be in service by 2003 and save $US12 to 15bn in the process. The savings will come from avoiding the cost of the P-3C life extension program and MPX development costs. The company claims the Orion 2000 will also be more economical to operate and that due to A-4K Skyhawk NZ6202 of 75 Squadron RNZAF piloted by Sqn Ldr Greg Elliot fires off flares during a vertical climbing roll departure at the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow last Easter. Our Wanaka airshow pictorial spread begins on p34 of this issue. (Cpl Dan Mattison, RNZAF) Some of the more innovative aviation collectable items to emerge in recent times is a set of four aviation stamp fridge magnets. These magnets feature the four stamps recently released by Australia Post to coincide with the RAAF’s 75th anniversary. The stamp magnets are $2.95 each and feature RAAF Hornets; a RAAF Kittyhawk and Beaufighter (pictured); Army operated Kiowas in Vietnam; and a Navy Firefly and Sea Fury. Phone (03) 9754 8578 for details. its greater efficiency, only about 170 aircraft will be needed to replace the 237 P-3Cs currently in service. Compared with the P-3C, the Orion 2000 will be heavier and have 30% lower fuel consumption thanks to its Allison AE2100 turboprop engines (as on the C-130J). This will result in increased payload and range. The Orion 2000 will also have a smaller crew (two pilots and three mission crew) compared with the P-3C’s three pilots and five mission crew and have reduced maintenance requirements. It is also on offer to the Royal Air Force as a Nimrod replacement.

Macchi’s Digital MB-339

Aermacchi has rolled out the first all-digital version of its MB-339 trainer, for which the RAAF is a prime export prospect. The MB-339CD (or 339FD in its more powerful guise as offered to the RAAF) features a full digital avionics suite, a flight refuelling probe and structural modifications intended to reduce maintenance costs and increase airframe life. Power for the FD is provided by a 4400lb (19.7kN) Rolls-Royce Viper 680 turbojet. Apart from Australia, Aermacchi has hopes to sell the MB-339FD to South Africa and Brazil. All three are current MB-326 operators.

Monitoring The EF 2000

The Eurofighter 2000 will be the first combat aircraft designed with an integrated structural health and usage monitoring system. The system performs real-time airframe fatigue calculations and monitors significant structural events (including combat damage) and inflight performance parameters. It is hoped the system will result in significant life cycle cost reductions for the EF 2000 through lessening the number of manhours required to perform airframe inspections and maintenance as well as allowing effective fleet maintenance planning. Developed by British Aerospace, the system’s installation on the EF 2000 marks the starting point of a potentially large market for ‘smart’ structural health monitoring equipment on combat aircraft.

No Charges Over Nomad Death

The Senate inquiry into the 1990 crash of an RAAF Nomad following tailplane failure has found that no disciplinary action will be made against maintenance staff responsible for the accident. The crash killed the Nomad’s sole occupant, Flt Lt Glen Donovan, and sparked the chain of events which eventually led to the grounding of all RAAF and Army Nomads. Despite finding that at least five people should have faced disciplinary charges, the inquiry’s report refuses to recommend them, saying that after six years the matter should be “laid to rest”. This is mainly due to a three-year statute of limitations which prevents defence force disciplinary charges being laid. The report recommends this be extended to five years and criticises the former Air Commander Australia, Air Marshal Gration, for failing to recommend charges at the time of the Board of Inquiry investigation into the accident. The report also blames a series of maintenance and inspection failures by the RAAF, ASTA and the Civil Aviation Authority for the crash. This limited edition diecast model of an RAF Douglas Dakota is one of a number of DC-3 and other aircraft diecast models available from Cowley’s Motorcycles and Collectables. The model depicts the first RAF Dakota to take off for the D-Day invasion of Europe. Other DC-3 liveries available include a USMF D-Day C-47, USAF AC-47 gunships from the Vietnam War and Continental and TWA airline DC-3s. Phone (086) 82 4444 or fax (086) 83 0784 for details. The Senate inquiry report says in part that there was now “no possibility of any person being charged under the Defence Force Discipline Act” and dismissed the likelihood of criminal manslaughter charges being sustained. The report goes on: “The individuals involved in the chain of events leading to the crash have suffered from the continuing strain and stress of having to justify their actions or decisions to various bodies of inquiry over the six years, with their reputations and possibly careers on the line. It is likely that in some cases such prolonged stress has been worse than any disciplinary action that might have been taken after the crash”.

RAAF Airpower Conference

A major airpower conference is to be held at Canberra’s National Convention Centre on June 11 to 13 as part of the RAAF’s 75th anniversary. The theme of the conference is ‘New Era Security’ and there are two major objectives: to discuss ways in which the RAAF can improve its contribution to ADF operations in accordance with current defence policy; and identify sensible concepts and measures which