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The first Beech C90SE (special edition) King Air is seen in the advanced stages of manufacture at the company's Wichita plant. At $US1.7m ($A2.3m) the King Air C90SE is "the lowest priced entry to turbine class twin reliability available," according to Beech. The first C90SE customer delivery is scheduled to take place in July. Beech meanwhile has also been awarded a $US9.3m ($A12.7m) contract from the US Army for three additional C-12Fs (plus options on a further 26) for its Aviation Troop Command at St Louis. The militarised version of the Super King Air B200C, the C-12Fs will be used as a utility aircraft for personnel and cargo transport. Beech has delivered more than 300 King Air based C-12s of various models to the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines since 1974. (Beech)
Newsdesk- General Aviation
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Raaf Darwin To Stay:
Rumours that the RAAF base at Darwincould be wound down have been effectively dispelled by the Federal Government, although the number ofexercises held in the area might be reduced, and the patterns the aircraft flyabove the city modified.The moves come as a result of growing noise concerns for local residents and other issues (including the availability of Tindal), although Defence Minister Robert Ray has heavily criticised local councils which approve new housing developments under the flightpaths of established RAAF bases, particularly Williamtown and Edinburgh.Senator Ray points out that such developments will “inevitably mean that in years to come those new residents will demand closure of these airports. This is very much a case of buyer beware.” The Defence Department is considering taking out advertisements warning potential buyers they would face noise problems because the RAAF had no intention of vacating.It’s the old story isn’t it? Those residents who have moved into areas near existing civil airports and motor sport complexes should take note of what was there first and think about it before whinging!
Liability Reforms A Double Edged Sword:
The proposed changes to the draconian USproduct liability laws – including a 15year limit on the aircraft manufacturer’s liability – may not be as wonderfulas hoped if the nature of the US legalsystem is taken into account.· Several ‘what if’ situations have been raised; for example the case of a 16 years old aeroplane which has inevitably had new parts fitted to it, and one of those parts is blamed – rightly or wrongly – for a crash. The manufacturer of the part can be sued instead of the aircraft builder and so on down the line through to maintenance organisations and so on.A possible further twist also occurs at the other end of the scale. If the actual aircraft manufacturer can’t be sued, what about its parent company, or the company directors, or even the people on the workshop floor?Within the American jury system anything is possible – we have seen murderers get off scot free and pilots who crash because of their own incompetence are absolved from blame, leaving the much juicier (in terms of potential damages) aircraft or parts manufacturer holding the baby. No wonder the American ‘Iiial Lawyers Association so vigorously opposed the product liability reforms, but perhaps they’re not going to lose their ‘nice little earners’ after all.
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