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 CONTENTS

AIR
International
F RONT COVER : A Lightn ing F Mk 60f No 11 SQuadron on the approach toAkrotiri during
deployment from RAF Binbrook for weapons training.

210 THE Y EAR OF THE HAWK An

account of recent developments that
include the first ellport deliveries. some
aerodynamic refinements and the winning of
a study contract for the US Navy VTXTS
requirement.
Volume,9 Number5 Novemberl980
215 AC E Q UALIFY I NG AT AKROTIRI
Managing Editor William Green AIR INTERNATIONAL visits Cyprus to
Edit or Gordon SWllnborough report upon one of the regular deployments
Modelling Editor Fled J Henderson to Akrotiri of RAF fighter SQuadrons for their
Contributing Artist Dennis Punnett annual Armament Practice Camps.
Contributing Photographer
Stephen Peltz 220 VERSATILITY UNLIMITED: THE
Editorial Representative. Washington BOEING KC ·135 STORY In the first
Norman Polmar instalment of a two-part feature. AI LloVd
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ISSN 0306-5634
" Certainly - what kind of favour?"

MILITARY AffAIRS
ANGOLA
The single example of the FeHer F1:7
Maritime displayed al Farnborough Inler-
national 80 in the insignia of the FAPA /DAA
(F6rro Airea Populare de Angola/Defesa Am;-
A ","Des. or Angolan Popular Air Force and
Anti-Aircraft Defence), and delivered 10
Angola last month (October). is to be flown
and maintained on behalf of the FA PA/DAA
by TAAG-Angola Airlines. To be based al
Luanda, the F27 Maritime is 10 be employed
on sea surveillance. offshore installation
control, fishery protcction and SAR tasks
along Angola's 995-mile ( l 600-km) coastline.
TAAG-Angola Airlines is also apparently
responsible for the operation and maintenance
orlhe bulk of the FAPA/ DAA transport fl eet,
which now comprises one F27-600, o ne C-
130E Hercules, seven An-26s, 10 An-2s, three
c. ,ns, six BN-2A Islanders and four Aero-
spatiale N.262s. The operational strength of
the FAPA/ DAA is currently based on one
interceptor squadron with II MiG-2IMF and
MiG-21 bis fighters, and one close air support
squadron with seven MiG-17Fs and the two
surviving Fiat G.9 1R-4s. There is a helicopter
force o f 10 Mil Mi-8s and 13 SA 3168
Aloueues, advanced training is performed on
three MiG-ISUTls, and four PC-6 Turbo-
Porters serve in the liaison and utility roles.
AUSTRALIA
Defence Minister Dennis Killen has announ-
ced that the carrier HMAS Melbourne is to be
replaced by a ltelicopter carrier capable of
operating-V/STOL fixed-wing aircraft, and it is
understood that the Australian government
has reached agreement in principle to procure
a Guiseppe Garibaldi class 13,OOO-tQnlle vessel
which should enter service with the RAN in
1985. The Garibaldi class vessel has apparently
been selected in preference to Spanish and US
contenders for the contract and, according to
Mr Killen, a V/STOL fixed-wing aircraft for
operation from the vessel will be selected in
1983, the only obvious candidates being the
Sea Harrier and the AV-8B.
• smaller quantity of larger, more capable
Several companies, including Israel Aircraft
Industries, have responded to an RAAF RfP
( Request for Proposals) for updaling its 87
Mirage Ills., and the service will issue a
specification to which tenders will be invited
once the proposals have been studied. The
refurbishment programme is vital if the Mirage
1110 is to be retained in first-line service until
the selected TFF aircraft is completely abso rb-
ed into the inventory in 1986-87.
Major pn)Curemc:'nt programmes currently in
the pipeline embrace tri-service requirements
for up to 120 light and medium helicol;lters to be
procured during the first hair of thiS decade.
The primary requirement is for the replace-
ment of the RAAF's fleet of 40 plus UH-I B,
-ID and - IH Iroquois helicopters currently
fulfilling a variety of tasks, and a similar
requirement specified by the Army su~gests
that the Army Aviation Corps is propoSing to
assume some of the ground and troop support
tasks hitherto performed by the RAAF. RAN
interest in new helicopters centres on the
requirement to equip the four FFG ..7 missile
frigates currently on order for ASW tasks, the
first two of which being scheduled for delivery
during the course of the New Year, with the
recen tl y-ordered fourth vessel to be delivered
during 1984. Ten ASW helicopters are re-
quired for the first three FFG-7s, and the
Australian Defence Department is seeking
PAGE 204 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
maximum commonality between the heli-
copters required by the three services, Aero-
spatiale and Sikorsky having proposed a
single-type/multi-variant solution and West-
land having proposed a package comprising
both the Lynx and the WG30. The RAAF and
RAN also have requirements for a new light
helicopter for which the SA 3S0 Ecureuil is
reportedly favoured, some 30 helicopters
apparently being involved in the bi-service
requirement.
AUSTRIA
A four-man team from the Army Aviation
Force (Heeresjfiegerkriifte) headed by Col
Josef Bernecker, the service's chier test pilot,
spent a week at Fort Worth in September
evaluating the F.. 16 Fighting Falcon, both Col
Bernecker and the chief engineer of the Army
Aviation Force. Col Manfred Munzer. Ayinga
two-seat F- 16B several times. Evaluation of
the F-16 initiated the latest in numerous fighter
evaluatio ns made on behalf of the f/eeres-
jfiegerkriifte over the past 14 years, although
the Austrian Finance Minister has recently
stated that budgetary consideratio ns are
unlikely to enable a fighter order to be placed
before 1982. The Heeresjfiegerkriifte has a
requirement for up to 24 aircraft to re-equip its
Surveillance Wing (OberK"achungsgeschh'ader),
short-listed types being both the Floo- and
J79X-powered versions of the F.. 16, and the
Mirage SO, although, as delivery is not
a nticipated before 1984-8S, it is likely that the
Northrop F-SG will be added to this list, its
predecessor, the F-SE Tiger II , having been
frontrunner in the last Austrian round of
evaluations.
BELGIUM
The Belgian Army's ai r component, the
AI'iatiol1 Ugere dl' la Force Terrestre/Licht
VliegK"ezell Win het Lam/macht, is currently
stud ying the Aerospatiale SA 36S Dauphin 2,
the MBB-Kawasaki BK 117 and the Westland
Lynx to meet both its an ti-armour and liaison/
observation helicopter requirements in the
second half of the decade, having eliminated
smaller types, such as the Gazelle and Hughes
SOOM D. It is believed that procurement of a
helicopters will prove more cost effective. and
current plans envisage acquisition of a total of
48 of the selected type to replace the 68
surviving Alouette lis of the roo purchased in
1958. Twenty-eight of the new helicopters will
each be equipped with eight missile launching
tubes and will equip two anti-armour squad-
rons, one squadron bei ng attached to each of
the two divisions of the I(BE) Corps in
Gennany from 1984 onwards. and the remain-
ing 20 helicopters will be assigned to the
liaison/observation role. A definitive choice of
helicopter is scheduled to be made in 1982.
The Force Aerir!lll1e Belge/Belgische Lucht-
lIIacht is requesti ng offers for 53 Lockheed
F- I04G and TF-I04G Slarfighters which will
become surplus to the service's requirements
between the end of this year and the beginning
of 1984. The aircraft each average some 3,000
hours and approaches have been made by a
Texas broker who has indicated interest in the
Starfighters for refurbishment and resale, by
the Lockheed Aircrafi Service Company, and
by a dealer acting on behalf of Taiwan (with
which country Belgium has no diplomatic
relations), the last-mentioned being considered
the most likely purchaser. In addition, Belgium
is expected to make a deal with Turkey to
s upply 16-18 F-I04Gs from the Bel gian
inventory at a greatly reduced price by means
of the NATO programme assistance fund.
DENMARK
The Royal Danish Air Force is undertaking a
refit and update pt"ognmme for the weapon
delivery and navigation system (WDNS) in its
Saab 3SXD Drakens. As part of this p'ro-
gramme. which will return the modified
aircraft to service by 1984. orders have been
placed in the UK for Marconi Avionics 900-
Series head-up displays, incorporating the
"Snapshoot" facility, and for Ferranti Type
10SD lightweight laser rangers, which are
lightweight derivatives of the Type 105 used in
the Fairchild A- IO. The new WDNS for the
Draken is being integrated by Lear Siegler
Inc's Instrument Division as system manager,
and includes a Lear Siegler computer and
Kearfott inertial platform.
EGYPT
The training of Egyptian Air Force pilots 00
the F· 16 Fighting Falcon is scheduled to
commence at MacDili AFB, Rorida. in the
autumn of next yea r, following English lan-
guage training (to commence in January) and a
short course on Nort hrop F-5s at Williams
AFB, Arizona. The EAF is scheduled to
receive an initial batch of4O F- I6s through the
Peace Vector programme, with deliveries
commencing in 1982.
Deliveries to the EA F of a third batch of
Mirage 5SDE fighter-bombers are now being
com pleted, increasing total Egyptian procure-
ment of the Dassault-Breguet aircraft to 62,
plus six two-seat Mirage SSDD trainers. The
initial batch of 40 aircraft (including six two-
seaters) was funded by Saudi Arabia from 1975
onwards, this being supplemented by a further
14 aircraft in 1977, the third batch also
consisting of 14 aircrafi.
fEDERAL GERM ANY
The first fully-operational Alpha J et--equipped
Jagt/bomlx!rgeschwader. JaboG 43, as LeKG
43 is to be redesignated in January, is now in
process o f attepting its new equipment at
Oldenburg. The Geschwader is to receive a
total ofS I Alpha Jets, of which 10 will be dual-
control models, to equip IWO staffelll each o f
which will have 18 aircraft constantl'y on line,
the remaining IS aircraft being held In reserve
or in maintenance. LeKG 41, to be redesig-
nated JaboG 41 on the commencement of re ..
equipment at Husum mid-year, will ha ve a
similar statu tory strength. The Alpha Jet
OCU, JaboG 49 at Furstenfeldbriick commis-
sio ned on 20 March with 32 dual-control
Alpha Jets, will also eventuall y have an
inventory of 5 I aircraft o f which 18 will form
the weapons training detachment at Deja,
Portugal.
The Heeresjfieger, the Army's aireompooent, is
now in the initial stages of J?hasing into service
302 MBB BO 105 light hehcopters (2 12 PAH
anti-armour models and 90 VBH liaison and
observation models), the initial operating unit
of the BO lOS PAH -I being the weapons
school ( HeeresjfiegerwafJenschule) at Bucke..
burg. The Waffensc.hule will eventually have
an inventory of some 30 PAH-Is, and
operatio nal deployment will be within three
Panzerabwehrregimemen, o r anti-tank regi-
ments, based at Celie, Roth and Fritzlar, and
auached to the I, II and III Army Corps
respecti vely.
FINLAND
The Finnish Air Force, !lmal'oirnat, has leased
two FoHer F27- IOO Friendships from Kar-Air
to replace its grounded C-47s. The period of
the lease is six years and a clause in the lease
gives !lma~'oirnat the option of buying the
aircrafi after four years. lImavoimm has also
purchased four Piper Arrow IVs for interim
use as primary trainers pending availability of
sufficient Valmet Vinkas, deliveries of which
have only now commenced following a delay
of more than a year.
The Air Force, /lmal'oimat, took delinry of its
first two 1..-70 Vinka (Miltraine r) primary
trainers from Valmet last month (October) at
Halli, and the manufacturer anticipales de-
livering a furthe r three aircraft to the service
before the end of this year. By the time that the
firs t Vinkas were handed over, Valmet had
flown some SOO hours with the proto type, ISO
hours with the fi rs t production aircraft and 20
hours with the company demonstrator, the last
test flight for Type Certification (FA R 23)
having been made on 22 September.
FRANCE
It has been officially announced that France is
to bulld two 32,000 tonne nuclear-powered
aircraft carriers to replace the Clemenceau and
Foch, and the first of the new carriers is
scheduled to join the French Navy in 1991. The
CJemenceau, which underwent major refit last
year, is currently expected to remain in service
until the early 'nineties, and the Foch, which is
now undcrgoing refit . is likely to be retained
until the end of the century.
G RE ECE
The US Defense Department has informed
Congress of a proposed leller of offer to Greece
covering the sale of eight Bell AH .. IS Cobn
an ti-a rmour helicopters equipped with TOW
missiles at a cost of S3Sm (£14·S8m). It is
assumed that the Cobras are intended for the
Hellenic Army's air component, the Aeraporia
Stratau, the helicopter element of which is
currently equipped with Bell UH-IDs and
Agusta-Bell AB 20Ss.
INDIA
Theagreement reached last yea r between India
and the Soviet Union for pt"ocurement of the
MiG-23 (see Airsct'ne/January) has now been
scaled down and acquisition of the air-air MiG-
23MF (Flogger-B) has been temporarily
shelved pending the outcome of a comparative
evaluation between the Soviet figh ter and the
Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000. It was earlier
planned to purchase 80 MiG-23MF fighters
for IAF service from the mid-'eighties, the bulk
o f these being assembled by HAL at Nasik
from knocked-down components. Procure-
ment of the two-seat MiG-23UM (Flogger-C)
and MiG-23 BN (F/ogger-F) optimised for the
air-ground role is proceedin~ and a total 0[85
airc raft is involved, comprismg 15 two-seaters
and 70 single-seaters. the contract finalised last
yea r calling for the first batch 10 be supplied in
Ayaway conditions, with initial deliveries in
1982. and the balance being supplied in
knocked-down component fonn for assembly
at Nasik.
The controversy surrounding the IAF's
METAC (Medium Tactical Transport Air-
craft) requirement has re-opened following
cancellation of the agreement reached last year
(see Airscene/ December 1979) between the
i Indian and Soviet governments for the licence
manufacture by HAL of the Antonov An ..32
(Cline). Choice of the An-32 as the METAC
was strongly influenced by price, which was
less than half that of the closest contender
(DHC-SD Buffalo) a nd barely one-third that
of the other front runner in the contest, the
Tyne-engined Ae ritalia G 222T. The Antonov
bureau, which had developed the An-32 from
theAn-26 specificaUy tomcet the hot-and-high
requirements of the MET AC specificatio n.
had introduced a number of modifications (eg,
leading-edge wing slats, undcrcarriage re-
visions and a slight increase in maximum troop
capacity) at the request of the IAF in order to
meet the most critical aspects of the require-
ment. But despite the statement (on 24 October
1979) by the then Indian Defcnce Minister thai
agreement for supply of the An-32 to the IAF
had been reached. no cont t"'dcts were signed
and the Soviet Union refused to persist with
development of the aircraft and to initiate
production without such contracts. A further
evaluation of potential medium tactical trans-
ports is now being undertaken by the IAF,
with the DHC-SD BufTalo apparently being
viewed with most favo ur. but an early decision
appears unlikely and the programme is
expected to be scaled down from the IAF's "9S
aircraft requirement".
It has now been confirmed that rumoured IAF
interest in the photographic reconnaissance
version of the MiG-25 (see A irsct'tlejOctober
1979) has been translated into a firm order for
eight aircraft to replace the Canberra PR Mk
7s of No 106 Sqdn. The aircraft, which will
reportedly be essentially similar to the Foxbat-
B, are to be delivered to India late 19820r early
1983.
The IAF is expected to phase out the last of its
Gnat lightweight fighters by March-April of
next year. Nos 9 and 18 sq uadrons. formerly
equipped with the Gnat, havenow re-equipped
with the Ajeet, and of the remaining Gnat
squadrons (Nos 2, 22 and 24) two will convert
to the Ajeet and one to the MiG-2lbis over the
next few months.
The Indian Navy anticipates receiving its first
Kamov Ka-lS Hormone helicopter this month
(November) with the belated arrival of the fi rst
of three Kril'ak class des troyers from which the
Ka-25s are intended to operate. INAS 333.
formed specifically fo r the operation of the Ka-
25, has now completed crew training in the
Soviet Union and will deploy one helicopter
aboard each destroyer. a total of five Ka-2Ss
being on order. The Indian Navy was reluctant
to procu re the Kamov helicopter as it
considered it irrational to add in small
numbers yet another operational aircraft type
to its inventory and particularly so as the six
Godevari class frigates now being built in
India, with the first scheduled fo r commission-
ing in 1982, will each accommodate two Sea
Kings. However, the Soviet Union refused
Indian rcquests that the Kril'ak class vessels be
adapted to accommodate the Sea King.
insisting that the destroyers be accepted with
the standard Soviet weapons systems. Delivery
of the vessels to India is now some two years
late and it may be assumed that the Ka-2Ss
(like the 11-38s serving with Indian Naval
Aviation) are refurbished ex-AV-MF aircraft.
INTERNATIO NAL
The first two German production Tornadoes
were delh'ered to the Trinational Tornado
Training Establishment (TTTE) at RAF
Cotlesmore on 2 and 3 September, the aircraft
being GT OOS and GT 004 respectively. The
arrival of the German ai rcrafi brought the
num ber o f Tornadoes at Cottesmore to fiVe.
the others being BS 002, BT 002 and 004, the
last-mentioned having arrived on 2 September.
Three service instructor aircrews have now
taken up their duties at the TTTE. Duri ng the
peak period of training there will be almost SO
Tornadoes at the lTTE, 40 per cent of which
will be provided by the RAF, 4S percent by the
Luftwaffe and Marinejfieger, and the re-
mainder by the Aeronautica M ilitare.
JAPAN
Defence Agency requests for the Fiscal 1981
budget show an increase of 9" per cent over the
previous year and include 58 new aircraft for
the three services at a total cost of £288· 3m as
follows: (ASDF) three Mitsubishi F-Is, four
Grumman E-2Cs, six Lockheed C-130Hs, nine
Mitsubishi T .. 2s. two Kawasaki KV- I07-2s
and one Mitsubishi MU-2: (MSDF) I I
Mits ubishi SH-3Bs, four Beech KingAir C90s,
one Fuji KM-2 and one Mits ubishi S-6IA:
(GSDF) two Mitsubishi LR-Is (MU-2s); six
Fuji UH- I Hs and eight Kawasaki OH-6Ds.
During Fiscal 1981, the ASDF will form an F-
ISJ Eagle test squadron and the sixth and last
F-4EJ Phantom squadron (the 306th at
Komatsu AB), in addition to the service's first
"aggressor" training unit with five T-2s and
two T-33As (at Tsuiki AB). The MSDF
proposes to reconstitute the current p..2J-
equipped Okinawa Air Unit as the Sth Air
Group and to form a new ASR squadron
(initially with two S-61 As) at Iwojima.
MALAYSIA
Vought, Lockheed Air Services, Grumman
and McDonnell Douglas are all bidding for the
sizeable refu rbishing contract resulting from
procurement by the Malaysian government of
88ex-US Navy A4Skyhawks to be wi thdrawn
from storage at the Davis-Monthan AFB,
Arizona. The Royal Malaysian Air Force is
understood to require a number of two-seat
Skyhawks for conversion and continuation
training, but it is not yet known if these will be
conversions of single-seaters. The RMAF
anticipates operating the A-4 for "at least eight
yea rs" and the fatigue life remaining to the
aircraft being purchased is reported as "more
than adequate" to meet this requirement.
Although no refurbishi ng contract had been
announced by the time of closing for press. the
RMAF anticipates receiving 2S percent of the
aircraft "next summer".
The US Defense Department has informed
Congress of a proposed letter of offer to the
Malaysian government covering the sale of two
Northro~ RF..SEs for the RMAF at a cost of
S38·2m (£IS·9m).
NETHERLANDS
The Dutch decision to procure additional F.. 16
Fighting Fakons was confinned mid-September
when details of the 1981 budget were released.
It was stated that the KLu plans to order 24
more F- 16s and has earmarked £2m for
preliminary funding in the budget. A Dutch
official spokesman has told the five-nation
steering committee of the F- 16 multinational
co-production programme that the 24 aircraft
will be the first balch ofa total of III aircraft,
30 of which will be utilised to make up attrition
suffered by the 102 aircraft currentl y on order
for the KLu, the remaining 81 replacin$ the
service's fleet of NF-Ss. Although 11 is
anticipated that the additional KLu F-I6s will
be assembled by Fokker after completion of
current F- 16 contracts mid-1984, the Dutch
have not excluded the possibility ofadirect ofT-
the-shel f purchase from General Dynamics as
studies have indicated that such could save
some £83m. The Dutch decision for a uni-
lateral procurement programme for additional
F- 16s came after they had failed to convince
the Belgians o f the desi rability of advancing
their replacement date for the Mirage 5.
SufTering serious economic problems and still
undecided as to the most suitable successor for
the Mirage. the Belgian government still
believes that a decision is unnecessary before
1982-83. The Dutch order (which will almost
inevitably be placed with Fokker), unaccom-
panied by follow-on o rders from Belgium.
Norway and Denmark, could lead to a change
in the current five-nation memorandum of
understanding which could possibly be re-
placed by a bilateral agreement between
Holland and the USA.
SPA IN
The Army avia tion component, FAMET
(Fuer:as Aeromoviles de EjercilO de Tierra), is
scheduled to receh'e the first 10 of 60 M BB BO
IOSC helicopters to be assembled in Srain by
CASA before the end of this yea r. 0 the 60
PAG E 205
helicopters (of which a further 30 will be
delivered by CASA during 1981), 28 will each
be armed with six HOT anti-armour missiles
and a single fixed 2()..mm cannon, 18 will be
cannon-equipped reconnaissance models and
the remainder will be unarmed liaison heli-
copters. Crew training al the elmlrO de
Instruccion y Applicocion of FAMET at Los
Remedios, Madrid. has been underway for
several months on 11 pre-series BO lOSs
originally obtained by the Federal German
Huresjlieger for use by its Versuchsstoffel, the
operational trials unit, at Celie and rendered
surplus to requirements earlier this year with
the initial deliveries ofthe first 80 105 PAH-\
helicopters. The ex-Heeresjfieger helicopters
have been purchased outright for F AM ET and
will continue in the training role after delivery
of the CASA-assc:mbJed 80 105s.
TU RK EY
Some criticism has been voiced in Ankara of
the re plattment of the more aged of the
Turkish Air Force's fleet of F- J04G Star·
fighters with well·worn ex·KLu F- I04G Star·
fighters. deliveries of 25 of which commenced
in August. and plans to acquire yet more
second-hand F· I04Gs from BelgIUm (see
separate item). By means of the NATO
programme assistance fund . these F· I04Gsare
being purchased at a token unit price of
S75,000 (£31.250) as compared with a normal
price of a well·maintained F·I04G of between
S2m and S4m (£833,000 and £1,667,000).
according to avionics and other equipment.
The F·I04G primarily equips the 141 Filo at
Miirted and the 191 Filo at Balikesir, within
the Turkish 1st Tactical Air Force, these two
squadrons operating the survivors of the 38
MAP F·I04Gs delivered from 1963 and
supplemented in the early 'seventies by II F-
100Gs transferred from Spain. The ex-KLo F-
100Gs are apparently intended primarily to
make up allr1ll0n sulTered by these squadrons,
but if the ex-Belgian aircrart are also acquired,
it is anticipated that sufficient aircraft will be
available to form a third F- I04G squadron. In
reply to press criticism that the Air Force is
replacing "old F· I04s with more old
F- I04s", the Central Command commented
that the second-hand F- I04Gs will adequately
meet Turkey's most pressi ng needs until the
mid -'ei~ties, by which time Turkey will be
producmg its own fighters! This comment
presumably refers to the long-delayed plans
for the licence manufacture by the TUSUS
organisation of the Northrop F-5E Tiger II
and. later, the F-5G. but a contract has still to
be signed and a factory has still to be built.
suggesting that statements that the F-5E will
be in production in Turkey by December of
next year are somewhat optimistic. Prior to the
arri val of the ex-KLu aircrafi. the Turkish Air
Force had rettived totals of 55 F-I04Gs and
eight TF-I04Gs, proposals in the late 'seven-
ties to transfer 20 F-I04Gs from Aeronautico
Militorf! ltalialla surplus stocks having failed
to see fruition.
UN ITED KI NGDOM
British Aerospace hopes to be awarded shortly
a two-year fea sibility stud y on the RAFs
" large aircrart replacement programme"
under which it is hoped to select a single basic
replacement for virtually all of the service's
currcnt range of large aircraft in the ·nineties.
Preliminary consideration is now being given
to programmes to replace the Nimrod MR Mk
2. the Victor and. eventually. VC10 tankers,
and the Hercules and VCIO transports with
o ne basic airframe. The Ministry o f Defence
believes that the use of a single basic airframe
would be a sensible and cost-effective way of
replacing the RA Ps fleet oflarge aircraft and a
major step towards the aim of dramatically
reducing the number of individual aircraft
types the service operates. British Aerospace
will. under the anticipated contract, study how
PAGE 206 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 19BO
new versions of the A300 Airbus might meet
up to four very dilTerent specialist roles in RA F
service.
AI RCRAFT AND I DUST RY
ARGENTINA
The Fllbrica Militor de Aviones (FMA) has
now decided to install the Garrett-AiResearch
TFE 73 1-3turbofan in the first three prototypes
of the IA 63 basic jet trainer and the fourth
prototype will be powered by the Pratt &
Whitney JTl 5D-5 for comparison purposes.
The design of the IA 63 has now been defined
and the first metal will becut early next year to
meet a late 1982 or early 1983 first flight date.
Design development of the IA 63 is being
undertaken in close co-operation with Oor-
nier. a number of whose engineers are now
working at C6rdoba while II. number of FMA
engineers arc now working with Dornier in
Germany. the Gennan company having been
responsible for the design of the supercriticul
wing. Several variants of the IA 63 are
currently foreseen. including a single-seat light
CAS vel1iion and a light strike model optimised
for naval use, the COlllatuJode Aviacion NOI'ors
basic/advanced trainer needs being fu lfilled by
the recently-placed order for the MB-339 (see
Military Contracts). the IA 63 time scale
having been unsuited to the Navy's training
requirements. Since publication of preliminary
details of the IA 63 (AirDOlo File/September).
the FMA has issued a number of revised
figures. the clean take-olTwei$ht with fuel for a
621-mile/ l ()()().km range havmg been reduced
to 7,562lb (3 430 kg). the maximum level speed
(at 13.125 ft/4000 m) and stalling speed (in
landing configuration at 7,652 Ib/3430 kg)
now being quoted as M - 0·7) and 83 knots
(154 km/h) respectively, and range (in ferry
configuration) being quoted as 932 mls ( I 500
km). These figures are understood to be based
on the use of the 3,480 Ib( 1 580 kg)TFE 731-2-
2N ra ther than the approx 3.700 lb (1680 kg)
731-3 for which the FMA has now opted.
AUSTRALIA
Through a contract signed on 27 August
between Hawker de Havilland Australia and
British Aerospace, Australia has become a
participant in the Airbus production pro-
gramme. with an initial contract to produce
150 aircrafi sets of wing in-spar ribs.
CANADA
Steps taken by Caaadair to reslore the
guaranteed performance of the Qaa,lIenger -
particularly to respect of range - will lead to
the introduction ofa fuselage fuel tank of 241
US gal (9 121) capacity and an increase in mu
take-off weight to 40.125 Ib ( 18200 kg).
Compared with the ori3inal guarantee o f a
4,000 oaut ml (7403-km) range to dry tanks,
the Challenger as certificated in August at a
gross weight of 34,500 Ib (15650 kg) can
achieve only 2.870 naut mls (53 16 km), with
NBAA IFR reserves. However, the first 15
customer aeroplanes are being delivered for
operation at a gross weight of 36,000 Ib f 16 330
kg), which will allow an extra 1,500 Ib (680 kg)
of fueito be carried with the normal puyload.
and modification to the wing ribs, wheels and
brakes will then allow the wei~ht to go to
38,500 lb ( 17 464 kg) and the fu ll mtegral wing
tanka~e of 14.960 Ib (6786 k$) to be carried.
Effective with aircrart No 60, to August 1981.
Canadair will introduce the extra 1,640 Ib (744
kg) of fuel capacity in the fonn of two free-
standing tanks under the cabin floor; these will
bring the basic operational weight upto 22,675
Ib (10285 kg) from 20,300 Ib (9208 kg) but
with the increase in take-off weight will
provide an increase of 250-300 naut mls (463-
555 km) in range. Kits to retrofit the earlier
aircraft will be provided by Ca nadair at no cost
to the operator. A series of aerodynamic
improvements is being studied to reduce drag
in order to obtain improved range and to
restore some of the losses in field perfonnance
consequent upon the higher weights. These
include a drooped leading edge. possible
leading edge devices. winglets and changes in
the nacelle pylon and tail plane junction
fairings. Further reference is made to these
improvements in Air Data File/page 248,
together with the latest data for Challenger E.
CH INA
According to reports from Pekin~. flight
testing of 11K> '11'-1 0 four-engined airliner (sec
Airscl'nelJuly 1980) has recently begun. The
aircraft is said to seat 120- J 40 passengers. to
have the same general configuration as the
Boeing 707 and to be powered by four Pratt &
Whitney JTJO turbofans. The same sources
are also quoted assaying that China is building
its own versions of the Antonov An-12 and
An-24 tu rboprop transports.
FE DERAL GERMANY
Dornier has received a contract from the
Bundesministeriums for ForschulIg Ulld Tech-
nologie (BMFT - Ministry of Research and
Technology) to cover a three-year development
and flight-test programme on the Do 24Tf
(Technologielriiger - technology vehicle)
amphibian. The Do 24TT will comprise an
existing Do 24 boat hull on which will be
mounted a new wing incorporating features of
the TNT already flown on the Do 28
Skyservant test-bed. with three Prall &
Whitney PT6A-45 turboprops, and a land
undercarriage. First flight is expected to be
made in mid-1982 and the Do 2411 is intended
to provide the basis for development of a JO..
seat ocean-going flying boat or amphibian for
military or commercial use. The Domier
company has been stud ying projected develop-
ments of the original Do 24 flying boat for
many years and started definition of the Do
2411 in March 1979.
FRANCE
Flight testing of the stretched version of the
Aerospatiale Super Puma. the AS 332L. bega n
at Marignane in late-September. The AS 332L
(sec A irscene/ March 1980) has a 2 ft 6 in (76,5
cm) section inserted in the front fuse lage,
increasing the cabin volume by 67, 1 cu fi (1,9
ml) and allowing three-four more passcnJel1i
to be accommodated, according to versIOn.
Fuel capacity is increased by 110 Imp gal
(5001) to 453 Imp gal (20601). giving this
variant a range of 553 mls (890 km). but an
extra 227 Imp gal (1 030 I) can be carried in
auxiliary internal and external tanks to stretch
the range to 720 mls (I 160 km). The prototype
AS 332L is the fourth production Super Puma:
the first two are in use for certification trials
and the third is the first customer aircrafi. for
Petroleum Helicopters.
First fligbt of the two-seat Fournier RF-6B "'itb
a 120 bp Lycoming 0-235-L2A engine in place
of the original 100 hp R-R Continental O·
200A was made at Nitray on 14 August.
Production of the earlier variant totalled 43
aircra fl. Fol1owin~ certification, the new
version will be put mto production in the UK
by Vickers-Slingsby (see AirscenelOctober
1980) and Fournier will market the British-
built aircraft in France and French territories
overseas. The French company will in future
concentrate its production effort upon the RF-
9 powered sailplane.
INTERNATIONAL
The most recent information concerning the
EH 10 J ASW and medium-lift helicopter
projet"t (see Airscene/August) from EH In-
dustries Limited, the Anglo-Italian manage-
ment company jointly owned by Westland
Helicopters and Agusta. indicates that anti-
cipated maximum all-up weight has now risen
to some 28,660 lb (13000 kg) and that
disposable load at 13,2271b (6000 kg) will be
some 50 per cent greater than that of the Sea
King. The first thi rd of this dccade will be spent
in defining the EH 101 and prototype trials arc
unlikely to commence before 1985, wi th
deliveries commencing "in the late 'eighties".
It is anticipated that prototype trials will be
conducted with General Electric noo turbo-
shaOs. but a definitive decision regarding
engines for the series production EH 101 is
unlikely to be taken much before mid-dccade
and the forthcoming Rolls-Roycerrurbomeca
RTM]21 is being "viewed with some interest".
While the EH 101 has betn conceived
primarily to meet the needs of the Royal Navy
and Italian Maritlal'io for a Sea King replace-
ment from the late 'eighties/early 'nineties, and
the aim is to evolve a helicopter in which the
versions for the two services will employ
common airframe, power plant. dynamic
components. basic systems and basic avionics.
the only major dilTerences being in specialised
role equipment, the strictl y limited potential
market for helicopters in this category has
resulted in increased emphasis now being
placed on the development of a baseline
aircraft with considerable potential commer-
cial appeal. EH Industries will sub-contract
development and production of the EH 101 in
approximately equal shares to Westland
Helicopters and Agusta. and there will be no
duplication of component production. but
both companies will establish assembly lines
and EH Industries is seeking the sale of at least
750 EH 101 helicopters. both milita ry and
commercial, in the first decade-and·a-half of
production, approximately one-third being
military, including procurement of about 60 or
the ASW modcl by the Royal Navy.
MBB and Kawasa ki have formally launched
production of the BK 11 7 multi-purpose
helicopter with approval for an initial batch of
100 to be laid down. Meanwhile, the backlog
of orders and options has now passed the 100
mark. The development programme to date
embraces the PI ground test vehicle at Gifu,
engaged on endurance trials: the P2 (Otto·
brunn) and P3 (Gifu) flying prototypes, which
have completed 245 hrs: the P4 (Onobrunn)
for static trials and fatigue tests and the SOl
pre-production machinc which is to be used
with P3 for certification flying. Flights have
been made at weights up to 6.283 Ib (2 850 kg),
compared with the initial certification figure of
6.1731b (2 800 kg), or 6,6141b (3000 kg) with
eJtternalloads. The envelope explored includes
a speed of 150 kt (277 km/h), altitude of 15,000
ft (4575m)and 2g turns at 100 kt (185 km/h)at
mu weight.
ITALY
Siai-Marchetti began flight testing during July
at Vergiate a version of the SF 260 po.."ered by
a 260 hp Allison 250B-17C turboprop. The
engine, similar to that used in the Siai-
Marchetti SM 1019, offers several advantages
for users of the SF 260 in the training role,
including better "hot and high" performance.
lower operating costs and easier fuel avail-
ability. The installation increases the length of
the SF 260TP to 24 ft 2~ in (7.38 m) from 23 fi
3! in (7.10 m).
SWITZE RLAND
Pihatus can now claim total firm sales of 160
PC-7 Turbo Trainer basic trainers to eight air
forces on four continents. all customers to·
date also having options on additional aircrafi.
these currently totalling a further 120 trainers.
The firm orders comprise 16 for Burma
(deliveries completed). 12 for Bolivia (deliver-
ies completed). 10 for the Chilean Navy (two
remaining to ~ delivered), 12 for Guatemala
(deliveries completed), 52 for Iraq (45 remain-
ing to be delivered). 38 for Mexico (30
remaining to be delivered) and 20 for two as yet
Modifications are being made to the Aero-
spatiale TB-3O Epsilon to o l"ercome a pilch-yalt'
coupling problem rel'eoled during flighl testing
o/Ihe two prototypes ( which made their first
jfights on 21 DecemlNr 1979 and 12 July 1980
respectil·ely). The fust prOIOtype wos ex~ft'(1 to
resume lesting lost month (October) in the/orm
depicti-d in this drawing, with revised wing-tips
and a completely new rear fuselogl' and tail ullit.
Ol'erall dimensions of the Epsilon are increased
by these modificalions to a span 0/25 /t II! in
( 7.92 m ) and length ofU ft /04 in ( 7..59111).
unidentified air forces. Negotiations with a
ninth air force (reportedly in South·East Asia)
for a substantial number of Turbo Trainers
were in thei r final stages at the time of closing
for press and production tcmpo at Stans. at
present averaging 4·5 aircrafi monthly and
rising to 5·0 per month, will rise still further to
6·0 monthly early next year in order to meet
delivery schedules up to the beginning of 1982.
Approximately 80 Turbo Trainers are ex-
pected to have been delivered by the end of this
year. The extended operational evaluation of
two production Turbo Trainers by the Swiss
FlugwalJe is virtually complete. the two
aircrafi having been utilised for a full year in
regular training courses at the FlulJ ....·olJe·s
basic and advanced flying schools. Prehminary
results indicate that their use has enabled
pupils to graduate to much hi$her training
standards in considerably less flYing time than
fellow students on piston-engined equipment
and. in consequence, it is anticipated that an
initial Turbo Trainer production order for the
Flugwaffe will not now be long delayed.
Among several foreign services that have
recently evaluated the Turbo Trainer, the
CanadIan Armed Forces are understood to be
looking favourably on the Swiss aircraft as a
potential successor to part of their cr-114
Tutor fleet.
TAIWAN
At the time of going to press, first fli ght was
imminent in Taiwan or the XAT-3 basic jet
trainer. developed at thc Aircrafi Industry
Development Centre (A IDC) with technical
assistance from Northrop Corp. Similar
assistance had been extended by Northrop to
CASA at the initial design stage of the CASA-
101 Aviojet, which the XAT-3 resembles in
overall configuration: also of the same general
appearance is the Northrop-Vought sub-
mission in the US Navy VTXTS competition.
The XAT-) is powered by a pair of Garrett
Ai Research TFE 7]1 turbofans and with a
gross weight of about 11 ,000 Ib (5000 kg) is
reported to have a max level speed ofM = 0·85.
There is a local requirement for about 60
aircrart of XAT-3 type.
UNITED KINGDOM
British Airways Helicopters has publicly
indicated its interest in the Westland WG 30, a
cabin mock.up of which was shown at
Farnborough In BA livery. Captain Jock
Cameron. BA H managing director, said tbat a
"firm agreement" between the two companies
was likely to be signed before year-end,
making British Airways the first customer for
the WG 30, and that by the mid-'ei$htics BAH
could need about 25 of these hehcopters. A
pacing factor. however (see "WG 30: Towards
Production"jOctober 1980) is likely to be the
availability of the uptated Gem 6O-series,
nceded to give the WG 30 the ability to carry a
full 17-passenger payload on typical North Sea
oil support operations, for which role it is
needed by BAH as a Sikorsky S-6 1 replace-
ment. Westland's management has recently
authorised production of an initial batch of20
WG 30s.
Exhibited in the static park at Famborough
prior to having made its first flight , the Nash
Petrel is a two-seat li~1 tGUrer and glider tug
developed from the Single-seat Procter Kitti-
wake, two examples of which were built to the
designs of Roy Procter some years ago. A 160
hp Lycoming 0-320-D2A engine powers the
prototype, which has a gross weight of 1,680 Ib
(762 kg). span of 29 ft 4 in (8.94 m) and length
of20 fi 5 in (6,22 m): engines of 118 to 180 hp
can be fitted according to the intended role.
With a fixed tricycle undercarriage. low wing
and side-by-side seating. the Petrel is semi-
acrobatic and has been designed to retain the
excellent handling characteristics of the Killi-
wake. Construction of an initial batch offive is
planned by Nash Aircraft Ltd of Farnham
Trading Estate. Surrey.
USA
In what is known as the Multinational Staged
Improvement Program (MSIP), General Dyn-
amics is proceeding with two separate modi-
fication programmes for tbe F- 16 Fighting
Falcon. One of these programmes, Engineer-
ing Change Proposal (ECP) 425, provides for
the introduction of an enlarged tail plane, with
30 per cent greater area and of revised
construction in which titanium is wholly
eliminated, and mechanical fastening takes the
place of bonding used at present to attach the
graphite epoxy skins to the aluminium honey·
comb. This new tail plane will overcome
manufacturing difficulties that have been
encountered, will be considerably cheaper and
will not be dependent upon scarce titanium
supplies. It also will serve to improve F-16
handling, which has sulTered with weight
growth, particularly when the co is at the aft
limit and behind the centreoflifi; the Fighting
Falcon is now cleared for operation at weights
up to 35.400 Ib (16057 kg) subject to
limitations on the angle of attack in certain
external load configurations. and a further
increase to 37.000 lb (16 783 kg) is expected.
Some of this weight growth is associated with
the futu re addition of new avionics and
weapons, to provide for which the second
modification programme, ECP 350, is being
undertaken. This comprises a number of
internal structural and wiring changes that can
best be made at the production stage, although
the equipment installation will come in the
1983-86 period. ECP 350 serves to strengthen
the eqUipment racks in the fuselage bay;
increases the capacity of wing pylons No 3 and
7 from 1,000 Ib (454 kg) to 3,500 Ib (1588 kg)
each; provides for fitting a landing parachute
in the base of the fin (to meet a Norwegian
requirement) and strengthens the air intakes to
PAGE 207
allow carriage of pods containing terrain-
following rada r onc side and low-ailitudc
navigation ta rgeting infrared (Lanlirn) the
other side. The S1rengthened wi ng pylons will
permit carriage oflhe adva nced medium-range
I\A M and newintemal eq uipment will include
an advanced jamming system and a new fire
control radar.
Boeingand USA F have begun a 'year-long test
programme for the modernisation of the 8 -
52G/ H Stratoforlress fleet in SAC~rvice, with
a 8nil fUghe on 3 September a t McConnell
AF B, Kansas. of a B-S2G carrying the new
offmsh-e avionics system (OAS). This system is
commo n to bot h the B-52G and B-52 H. but
only the former models are IQ be converted in
due course to ca rry Boeing AG M-8S B ai r-
la unched cruise missiles (A LCM). whereas
both are to be ada pted to carry the Boeing
AG M-69A short-range attac k missile
(S RAM). The single OAS pro to type will
the refore progressively test the SRAM wing
pylo n, the SRAM Internal launcher, the
ALC M wing pylon a nd the ALC M rotary
lau ncher (which ca n acco mmodate SRAM
also), and will make 52 flights totalling 400 hrs,
incl uding o ne missile launch o f each type from
wing pylons and one each from the ro ta ry
launcher. SAC plans to have the A LC M-
equipped B-52G operational in the fi rst
SQuadron by the end of 1982 (see Airscen~/
September 1980).
The VAV-8C prototype, in use to develop a
series of new fea tures tha t the US Mari ne
Corps pla ns to introduce progressively o n its
fleet of AV-8A Harriers. was lost on 5
September when it crashed into the sea arter
taking off from the USS Tarama amphibious
assault ship. The pilot ejected safely. u si n~ the
Stencel SillS sea t; the speed was 90·5 kt {167
kmlh) a t 26 ft (8 m) above the sea with the
aircraft pitched 10 deg nose up. and the
ejection was the 13th using this type o f sea t, all
with complcte success. A second YAV-8C is
available to continue the programme, which
embraces the int rod uction of a new VHF
radio. a chaff and fla re d ispensing system, lift
improve ment devices, a radar warning system
and secure voice equipment. The AV-8C
modification may also introd uce the G eneral
Electric GE525 (GA U- 12) 25·mm five- barrel
Gatling-type gun , in one o f the ventral pods.
replaci ng the 30-mm Aden gun usually carried.
while ammunition is carried in the other pod,
with a s ui table cross feed system between the
two. A trial installation of this new weapon
system was to be fl own in October with firi ng
trials starti ng in November, but loss of the
YA V-8C may delay this programme.
L..ossof the McDonnell DouglasfNorthropTF-
18 two-seat Hornet o n 8 September shortly
a rter its departu re from Famborough, whe re it
was displayed daily throughout the period of
the show. led to a te mporary grounding of the
eight o ther Ho rnets engaged in the fl ight
development programme. Both pilots ejected
safely after power was lost o n the starboard
engine and control problems occurred: pre-
liminary evidence indica ted a fail ure in the LP
turbine of the General Electric F404 engine,
ca using d isinleJra tion a nd consequential
da mllge to the 8lrframe. The ai rcrart was the
fi rst of two two-sea ters in the batch of nine
FSD ai rcraft; its place will be take n by the
ot her two-seater (the ninth aircrart ), which will
conti nue the accelerated service test portion of
the programme. Tota l Hornet hours up to the
time of the crash were 2.246.
Lockheed has a nno unced that wor k on the L-
400 T"ln HHCu&es has been see p ded. nine
months after the decision was taken to proceed
with full scale development. The go-ahead was
given in response to the fi nn interes t shown by
several potential customers. including Spain
PAGE 208 AIR INTERNATI ONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
and Venezuela, but funding priorities in these
nations have since changed and the prospect of
orders being placed for the Twin Hercules has
receded. Work on the L-400could be resumed
at any time in the fu ture should the market
situation change; meanwhile. Lockheed has
expressed interest in the possibility of finding a
partner for joint development of the Twin
Hercules, perhaps in another country.
Hughes Helicopters exhibits at Farnborough
included the 500M D Defender II. la test
development of the multi-mission Model 500
in the ligbl gunship role. The principal new
feat ure is the Martm Marietta mast-mounted
sight (M MS), which was shown in its first
experimental application on the SOOM D at the
Paris Air Show last year and has now been
fu lly integrated into the helicopter'S weapons
system. Removal of the earher M 65 nose-
mo unted sight fo r the TOW missiles allows the
weight to be redistri buted and the twin ·TO W
launchers can now be attached to the standa rd
fuselage-side hardpoi nts. Opera ting at the
original gross weight of 3.000 Ib ( I 360 kg). the
Defender II can carry the 30-mm Hughes
Chain G un (developed for the AH -64) under
the fuselage in place of the TOW installation,
and with the gun fi lted can still carry a pair of
G D Stinger AAM s; other optional eqUIpment
includes a pilot's night vision sensor. a radar
warni ng system and an advanced avionics!
mission equipment package. A fo ur-bladed tail
ro tor. developed for the commercial Model
SOOD, cuts perceptible external noise by abo ut
50 per cent.
The McDonnell Douglas DC·9 Super 80 was
cerrifialted by the FAA on 26 August. at the
conclusion of a 10-month programme d uring
which 795 fl ights were made. to talling 1.085
hrs. The FAA certification permits opera tion
o f the Super 80 by a two-pilot crew, altho ugh
the size of the crew complement remains a
controversial issue with some pilot unions.
includin$ ALPA in the USA. The manu fac-
tu rer claIms that the SUJ?C r 80 is the " world's
q uietest commercial jetliner" o n the basis of
FAA tcsting. which shows that it s urpasses the
most stri ngent req uirements of FAR Part 36
Stage 3 (although it was required o nl y to
comply with Stage 2 o f this Regulation). A
total of 87 fi rm o rders has been placed fo r
Super 80s, with 28 more o n cond itional o rder,
fo r 10 airlines and two leasing companies. First
to operate the Super 80 was to be Swissair,
which took delivery of the firs t of 15 on o rder
on 12 September and was inaugurating service
on 5 October on the Zurich· Londo n and other
European routes.
The Swearingen Metro III. iatrocluted at the
NBAA Convention in late September. is a
refined version of the Metro II comm uter, the
principal new feat ures of which are a IO-ft
(l-m) tA tension of wi ngspan and the use of95O
shp Garrett Ai Research T PE 331-11 turbo-
props in place o f the 840 shp engines used
previously. Slow-running propellers reduce
noise levels, and the uprated engi nes improve
perfonna nce and aJlow the gross weigh t to be
increased from 12.500lb (5670 kg)to I 4,000 lb
(6350 kg). First orders for the Metro 111 have
been placed by Crossai r in Switzerland and
Austrian Air Service.
C urrent Boeing tho ughts o n the projected
Boeing 737· 300, as ex pressed at Fam borough.
are to insert two fuselage plugs to increase the
length by 7 ft (2. 14 m) to add two seat rows.
and to fit new high by-pass ratio engines such
as the C FM 56-] or RJ500of 20.000 Ibst (9072
kgp) each. The basic wi ng would be re tained.
with some struclUral strengtr.e ning for the
higher weights, revised leading and trailing
edge flaps and wi ng-tip f1 uller booms filled. A
small dorsal extension of the fin wo uld be
required and the nosewheel leg would be
lengthened by 7·2 in (18 em) to give the new
engines the necessary ground clearance.
CIVIL AFFA IRS
CHI NA
An air sen;ces agreement between the USA
and ChiDa will allow one desi ~ated airline of
each natio n to operate a semce linking New
York. San Franctsco and Honol ulu on the one
hand with Beijing (Peking) and Shanghai on
the other hand, with an intennediate technical
"OF (no traffic rights) in Tokyo. The service
.....i! be operated once a week by each airline
in the first instance and it is expected that
Pan. American will be designated as the US
ca rner.
UNITED KINGDOM
A series of route cuts and freq uency reductions
is anno unced by British Airways following a
serious short-fall in expected reven ues in the
current fi nancial year (since April). A pre- tax
loss of £ 17m was recorded in the fi rst quarter
and earnings were II J?Cr cent below target.
About 50 ro utes are being cut. represen ti ng 8
per cent of the nonnal winter capacity a nd the
status o f these ro utes will be reviewed nex t
spring. Amo ng the cuts, effective from I
November, is the Concorde service to Bahrai n
and Singapore. Reductio ns in North Atlantic
frequencies have released one Boeing 747 for
immediate sale and the Super VC IO flee t has
been reduced to two. for final retirement next
spring (see AirsCt'neJSeptember 1980). No cuts
are planned in announced orders for new
aircraft but delivery of the Boeing 757s may be
stretched o ut.
Brita••la Airways has won a two-year exten-
sion of its contract with G ibraltar Airways to
operate a scheduled sen ·ice. on the lau er's
behalf. bet"efti London (Gatwick) uti Glbral· •
tar. The company flies a Boei ng 737 three times
a week o n thiS service. which it introd uced fo r
an initial two·year period in April 1979 in
succession to the earl ier service from Hea th ·
row flown by British Airways Tridents. The
Gibraltar service is Brita nnia's only sched uled
service. The compan y is one o f Britai n's largest
inclusive tou r a nd charter operators. fl ying o ne
third o f all "package" holidaymakers from the
U K, and has recen tl y an nounced its 1979
fi nancial res ults. in which a pre- tax profit of
£ 11 ·8m was recorded on total turnover of
( 107m; the profit after tax was £3m. or less
than £ 1 fo r every passenger carried. The recent
introduction of a new fleet livery has been
accompanied with the introduction of na mes
for the all-Boeing 737, 25-aircraft fleet. usi ng
names of fa mo us travellers, ex plorers and
aviation pioneers. The US Export-Import
Bank has recently announced that it plans to
approve a private loan guarantee of S223·5m
(£9]m) fo r Bri ta nnia to buy up to five Boeing
767s; the company has to date announced an
o rder for only two. for s pri ng 1984 delivery.
but during September Britaania anno unced
that it had selec:ted the General Electric C F6-
80A to power lite 7675 and had placed a S28m
(£1 1·7m) order for 14 of these engines.
Less tha n a year a ft er its formation. by a
merger between BIA and Air Anglia, Air UK
has been fo rced to an nounce a series of cut-
Ncks designed to combat the effects of a
decline in business and sharpl y increased
operating costs. Service o n 12 ro utes is bei ng
suspended " until there are signs of an up-turn
in the economy a nd people begin to fl y in the
numbers needed to sustain them" and fre-
quency is being reduced on five o ther routes.
T he operating fleet fo r the winter period is
being reduced by 10 aircraft. to comprise 14
Fokker 1-"27s. eight Heralds and three Ban·
deirantes, plus the four One-Elevens com-
mitted to IT operations. The second FoHer
F28 in the fleet has already joined the first on
lease to Air Alsace, for a minimum three-year
period; one Bandeirante is on charter to
Bristow and two o lhers are available for lease
and some or a ll of seven Heralds withdrawn
from service may now be cannibalised. The
fleet reductions will result in the Squires Gate,
Blackpool. engineering base being closed. and
this and other changes will lead to 400
redundancies. Meanwhile. Air U K has won a
licence to operate scheduled services between
Stansted and Paris, with effect from April
1981. A twice-daily service is planned but no
starting date has been a nnounced.
USA
Following its nomination to operate Anchor-
age-londo n and Honolulu-London services,
Western Airlines anno unced that it will
ina ugura te service on the new ro ute on ]1
October. with two fl ights a week by DC- IO. By
operating by way of Anchorage, the service
cuts some 500 mls (800 km) otT the previous
most direct Londo n-Honolulu route via San
Fra ncisco; Western's fa res offer red uctions of
some £84 o n the excursion fares now available
by way o f SF and up to £634 off the one-way
fi rst-class fare. as well as reduced fl ying time.
Substa ntial savings also are offered o n the
London-Anchorage leg.
CIVIL CONTRACTS AND SALES
Aerosplltiale AS 332 Super Puma: Petroleum
Helicopters has ordered six. including three of
the first AS 3]2C production models and three
AS 332L stretched versions.
Airbus A3 10: Kuwait Airways ordered five
more A] lOs. adding to six previously ordered.
Total A3 10 orden now 76 firm and 68 on
option.
Bell 214B: M itsui and Co, Bell's Japanese
dealer a nd licensee. ordered six 214 Bs for re-
sale to commercial opera tors in Japan engaged
in electrical power construction projects and
for general use. Delivery will be completed
early in 198 1, when Bell will end 2 14B
productio n unless substa ntial new orders are
received.
Boeing 727: Alitalia o rdered one - its 18th -
fo r delivery in December 1982.
Boeing 737: Federal Express Corp sold two of
its four Boei ng 737·200QCs to Aramco
Services fo r operation in Saudi Arabia in
support of oil construction and extraction
activities. 0 Indian Airlines has tak.en delivery
of one additional 737, not previously announ-
ced. 0 LAN-Chile ordered two, for delivery
November 1980 and November 1981. 0
Ecuado rian domestic carrier TA M E ordered
one 737. delivered at the end of September. 0
Air Pacific ordered o ne 737. for October 198 1
delivery. 0 Southwest Air Lines of Okinawa
will ta ke delivery of its fifth 7]7 in October
1982. 0 New Genna n charter operator Supair
Inte rnational ordered two for 1982delivery. 0
Air Malta leased one from T runsavia fo r
November operation, with two more 10 fo llow
in April, all o n two-year lease.
Boeing 757: American Airli nes has confi rmed
that it holds unpaid options on a numbe r of
Boeing 757 delivery positions, but is not close
to confi rm ing an order. The options were made
available by Boei ng to American and several
o ther customers for the 727-200 who might
wish to convert existing orders for the latter
type to orders for the 757.
British Aerospace HS 125: Manufacturers
Hanove r Corp of New York City bough t two
Srs 700s. bnnging the sales total to 500.
including 142 Srs 700s.
Britisb Aerospace BAe 146: Second announced
sale of BAe 1465 is for two aircraft to be
delivered in November 1982 and March 198]
to an unnamed US scheduled airline.
De Han lland DHC-7 Dash 7: The manufac-
turer states that negotiations with Prinair for
the saleoft .....o Dash 7s (announced earlier this
year, with an option on two more) have been
terminated because financia l tenns could not
be agreed.
EMBRAER EM~I I O Bandeirante: Alexan-
dria Aviation ordered two Pis, for operation
by Euroair of Biggin Hill on ~h arter duties. 0
Loga nairordered one more Pl . 0 Air Littoral
ordered one P2. 0 Comair Inc of Cincinnati
became 12th US commuter airline to buy the
Ba ndei ran te with order for one PI and options
on two more.
EMBRAE R EM8- 120 Brasilia : The opt ion
tota l rose to 86 with a letter of inten t given by
CSE Aviation for 10 and an option on three
ta ken by Bri tt-Ai r.
Fokker F27: Angolan state oil company
Sonangol has ordered one F27 Mk 500 fo r
M arch 1981 delivery. for oil-support duties. It
will be in combi configuration with fo rwa rd
cargo door. 0 Air New Zealand ordered two
more M k SOOs, fo r delivery in July and
October 198 1.
FoHer F'l8: Air Alsace has taken a three-year
lease on the second Air UK F28. following
earlier lease of the same company's first F28.
H andley Page Oart Henld: Air Algerie has
leased four from British Air Ferries, for
domestic operation. 0 Air UK retired se"'en
from service, will offer for sale or lease. o r
cannibalise.
Ha,..ker Siddeley Argosy: IPEC in Australia
sold one of its three Argosy lOOs to World
Vision, to be opera ted by Kris-Air out of Hong
Kong o n refugee relief fl ights into Kampuche..
and ot her SE Asian countries.
Ilyushin 11-76M: Syrianai r has ta ken delivery
o f o ne 11-76M fre Ighter, becoming the third
operator of the type after Aerotlot and Iraqi
Airways.
L.ockbeed L- I()O..30 Hercules: PEMEX (Petro-
leos Mexicanos), the Mexican government-
owned oil consortium. has acquired one -]0,
deli"'ered in September. Mexico is the 48th
country to acquire Hercules, total orders for
which have now reached 1,609.
Lockbeed L-JOlt TriStar: Delta Air Lines has
converted one option to a finn order for a L·
10 11· 1. to bring its total fleet to 40 by June
1982. 0 BWIA ordered two more L-IOII-
500s. fo r delivery in mid- 1982.
McDonnell Douglas DC-8: O R BIS, an affiliate
of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, has
acquired one DC8 to be used, after modifica-
tion by Tiger Air, as a fl ying hospital, to make
trai ning faci lities a nd equipme nt available to
eye doctors around the world.
McDonncll Douglas DC- tO: Egyptai r hus
fi nally d ropped its options on fo ur DC- lOs.
citi ng recent losses as the reason. The first two
ai rcraft are close to completion and will be
available fo r lease or sale by the manufaclUrer
at the end of the year.
Sub-Fairchild 340: First customers. as an-
no unced at Farnborough but s ubject to final
contracts being concluded. are Crossair for
five with five on option, Swedair for five -se"en.
a nd Stillwell Aviation as Australian distri-
butor, for 12.
Shorts 330: Orders have been announced for
four more 330s by members of the AJ1egheny
Commuter Group - two for Suburban
Airlines and one each for Crown Airways and
Pennsylvania Commuter Airlines. Orders now
total 70.
Shorts J6O: First customer for Shons' new
derivalive of the Model 330 is Suburban
Airlines of Reading, which ordered four,
including the first production aircraft in late
1982 and three more in 1983. Suburban is a
member of the AJ1egheny Commuter Group,
operating in the states of New York. New
Jersey and Pennsylvania .
Swearingen M etro I II: First orders have been
placed for the new Metro III by Crossair of
Switzerland, for th ree. and Austrian Air
Service, for two. Deliveries will begin in spring
198 1.
MILITARY CONTRACTS
Aermacchi MB-3J9: An order has been placed
on behalf of Argenti na's COn/ando de A\'iadon
Nam/ for 10 MB-339 two-seat basic/advanced
trainers fo r 198 1 delivery. This is the second
export order fo r the M B-]39, the previous
order (see Mililary Contracts"AuguSt) placed
on behalf of the Fuer:a Airea Peruana now
being k.nown to call for 14 aircraft.
Agosla/Boeing Vertol C H-47C Chinook: The
Egyptian government has placed a contract
valued at £58·5m with Agusta for IS CH ·47C
Chinook helicopters, the contract including
spares support and technical back-up with the
first delivery scheduled for late this year.
British Aerospace Bulldog: The £350,000 order
for five Bulldog trainers for an unspecified
customer announced earlier this year (see
Mililary Contracts/September) is now known
to have been a follow-on order from Jorda n
wit h deliveries scheduled for early in the New
Year.
CAS A C·212-200 Aviocar: Spain's Ejerdto del
Aire has placed an order with CASA for four
Series 200 C-2 12 Aviocars equi pped fo r
search-and-rescue duties.
Fokker F27 Mlrilime: One F27 Maritime sea
surveillance aircraft has been ordered on
behalf of the Angolan Popular Air Force and
Anti-Aircraft Defence, FAPA/ DAA. and was
scheduled to be delivered to Luanda last
month (October). See Military Affairs.
'orlh American QF-86F Sabre: Sperry Aight
Systems has been awarded a contract by the
US Naval Weapons Center for the conversion
of 10 F-86F fighters as QF-86F target drones.
The 10 conversions will be completed by
November 198 1 and the val ue of the contract is
approximately $350.000 (£145.830), with
potential follow-on orders for the conversion
of a fu rther 90 F-86Fs.
Pilatus PC·7 Turbo Trainer: Latest an nounced
order for the Turbo Trainer is for 10 aircraft
fo r the Sen'ido de Aviadon de la Arll/(Illa lie
Chile. eight of which had been delivered at the
ti me of closing fo r press.
Westland Lynx: Orders have been placed fo r 14
Lynx A H Mk Is for the British Anny and 10
Lynx HAS M k 2s for the Royal Navy, bringi ng
to tal numbers of Lynx helicopters ordered for
the UK armed forces to 11 4 for the Army and
80 for the Navy.
WHlland! Acrospatiale Gazelle: Orders have
been placed by the Ministry of Defence for a
furthe r ]8 Gazelle helicopters fordelive ry to all
three British military services from April 1982.
PAGE 209

HE BRITISH AEROS PACE (m?e Hawker Siddcley) Hawk has
T now been in service with the Royal Air Force for fo ur
years, and with some 140 aircraft deli vered, over 60,000 hrs
have been Hown at the two principal training establishments -
No 4 FrS, RAF Valley. a nd the Taclical Weapons Unit a t
RAF Brawdy. Since the a rrival of thc fi rst two Hawk T Mk Is
at Valley on 4 November 1976, the story has been o ne of
undramatic but solid achievement, with the Hawks smoothly
taking over the advanced jet fl ying training and weapons
training tasks from, respectivel y, the G na t a nd the Hunter.
As the Hawk is more than 20 years later in concept than the
aircra ft il has replaced. substantial improvements were 10 be
expected in the various pa rameters by which a modern training
aero plane is j udged: parameters that are less concerned with
the higher end of the perfo nna nce spectrum tha n with the
niceties of handling - which must balance vicclessness wi th
enough " bite" to be representative of the most ad vanced
combat ai rcra ft - and with reliability a nd maintainability
factors that have a critical bearing o n training costs. In these
respects, the message that has come back from the RAF is one
of complete sa tisfac tion. In the words of the CF I at Valley, Wg
Cdr Doug McGregor, the Hawk " is allowing us to prod uce
fa st jet pilots better trained than ever before" . Compared with
previous types of training ai rcraft, the Hawk has been found to
require, in round figures, only half the maintenance manho urs
per flying hour and the specifi ed rates for ma intena nce and
reliability performance have in fact been bettered.
With the solid foundation s o f RAF operating experience
now laid , the Hawk has passed, during 1980, a number of new
milestones that will help to expand both its uti lity and its
marketability in fut ure. These milestones include the fi rst
export deliveries; flight testing of a number of sma ll but
importa nt aerodynamic refi nements a nd of uprated engines;
initial Sidewinder firing trials a nd the winning of a study
contract to continue the effort to sell Hawk to the US Navy to
meet its VTXTS requirement. Also noteworthy was the
placing of the first repeat order fo r Hawks by the RAF, a nd the
introduction o f Hawks fo r the 1980 season by the Red Arrows.
The year also saw the first li ve ejectio n fro m the Hawk, and
a lthough this was possibl y a milesto ne the ma nufact urers and
the RAF would have preferred no t to have reached. the
effect iveness of the Martin Baker zero-zero seats was
PAGE 210 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOV EMBER 1980
demo nstrated in ext remely critical circumstances and witho ut
loss of life or serious injury.
Exports begin
At the time of wri ting, British Aerospace has delivered the first
Hawks to two o f the three export custo mers who, to date, have
o rdered a tota l of 70 Hawks. First to go, in mid-year, were a .
trio of Hawk Mk 52s to what British Aerospace continues to
identify (in accordance with the terms of its customer's
contract) as "an African air force " . It is widely, if unofficially,
known, that the country in question is Kenya. Prior to
delive ry, six Kenya Air Force pilots a ttended a conversion
course at the Flight Test Cent re at Dunsfold, including a week
at ground school and four-an d-a-half weeks flyi ng, during
which time each pilo t went so lo o n the Hawk. For the first
delivery, two o f the Hawks were fl own by SAe test pilo ts, and
the third by a KAF pilot; the fonnalion staged through
Sigonella (Sicily), Cairo and Khartoum to Nairobi, where the
Hawks were welcomed by Kenya's Permanent Secretary for
Defence and Chief of Sta ff.
Kenya has ordered 12 Hawk Mk 52s. In commo n with the
other aircraft for export, they have five weapon stations (one
o n the fu selage and two o n each wi ng) whereas the RAF
a ircraft have o nly three stations. They also have a customer-
specified avionics fit and - an excl usive feature so far - a
braking parachute.
The first Hawk Mk 53 fo r the Indonesian Anned Forces -
Air Force was ha nded o ver o n 10 July at Dunsfold to the
Indo nesia n Ambassado r, H E Saleh Basarah , this bei ng the
fi rst of eight on o rder, fo r service with the No I Training Wing
of the TN I-A U at Ja karta . Four of the eight were leaving the
UK in September a nd after flying o ut by way of Malta, Cairo,
Ba hra in, Kar achi, Bo mbay, Ca lcutta and Bangkok , were
expected to fly-pa st a t the Indonesian Armed Forces Day
celebra tions on 5 October.
Delivery of the Finnish Hawk Mk Sis ha s al so begun.
IImOl'oimaf was the first export customer to order the Hawk, in
December 1977: 50 are to be acquired, of which fo ur are bei ng
delivered this year (the first in September) as complete aircraft
from the UK and the remainder will be assembled in the period
198 1-85, by Valmet OY at Halli; of these, the first was
despatched by land and sea in July and should fl y ea rly next
year. Most of the airframe components will be supplied by
British Aerospace but Valmet is building the tailplanes, fin s
a nd rudders and is also assem bling the Rolls-Royce Adour 851
turbofan engines. The Hawks differ from the RAF standard in
having Saab gunsights and in their avionics fit; they are to be
used primarily to replace Fouga Magisters at the Centra l
Flying School ( I1masolakoulu ) at Kauhava.
Engine and airframe development
As mentio ned above, the sta nda rd engine for the export
Hawks (to da te) is the Adour 851, itself the export version of
the Adour 151 that powers the RAF Hawk T Mk I. This non-
afterburning turbofan has a basic thrust of 5,200 Ib st (2 360
kgp)at sea level. As part of its planned develo pment of up rated
Adours for the Hawk, Jagua r a nd o ther applica tio ns, Rolls-
Royce Turbomeca Ltd - the joint Anglo-French com pany
responsible for design , development and production of the
engine - has offered the Adour 86 1 with a basic thrust of
5,700 lb st (2 585 kgp) at sea level. This engine, ifproduced, will
be a versio n or the RT. I72-56 fea turing a revised LP
compressor and HP and LP lUrbines that offer improved surge
margins as well as higher thrust. Installationally interchange-
a ble with the Adour 85 1, the Mk 86 1 not only provides some
8-10 per cent more thrust for take-off, depending o n ambient
temperature, but 15-20 per cent mo re a t speeds up to M = 0·8
at sea level, wh ich is particularly valuable in respect of
performance with heavy and high-drag external loads.
Conversion of earlier engines to the new standard will be
possible.
Since May 1979, the company demonstrator Hawk Mk 50
(registered G -HA WK and bearing the military seria l num ber
ZA 101 to allow it to make live weapons trials) has been fl ying
with a specially-modified Adour that achieves the Mk 861
thrusts although it does no t have the new internal features of
the later engine.
G- HA WK has been used during 1980, in conjunctio n with a
programme of wind-t unnel testing, to obta in higher lift co-
efficients from the basic wi ng, without changing the aerofoil
section. This work , which is supported by an MoD
development contract, was undertaken initially to reduce the
minimum approach speed (VPA MIN) in o rder to demonstrate
compliance with the US Navy VTX specification (115 ktsj2 13
km/h). Although the Hawk was o riginally designed to have a
double·slotted fla p across the entire trailing edge between the
ailerons. early flight testing led to the outboard flap vane being
cut back in o rder to obta in required cha racteristics for the
( Headingphoto,opposite) Theftrst Hawk 53 o/eigh/ ordered by Ihe Indonesian Armed Forces- Air Force. Deliveries began in Sep/ember. ( Below) Air
Vice-Marshal Peur La/ham. AOC II Group , RAF, arrh'es a/ RAF Chil'enor in a Hawk bearing the insignia of No 63 Squadron to es/ablish at this base
the newly{ormed No 2 Tactical Weapons Unil.
RAF. For the G-HA WK tria ls, the original flap configuration
was restored. a nd the size a nd loca tion of the " breaker strips"
(small metal wedges) on the leadin g edge, that serve to control
the way in which airflow breaks away at the approach to the
stall , was cha nged.
These modifications served to increase the maximum lift co-
efficient on the approach by about one-third and to red uce the
stalling speed by about 12 kts (22 kmjh). The size and location
of the win g fences has subsequen tl y been varied o n G-HA WK
in order to obtain improved cha racteristics in the full range of
external store configuration handling. As a result, the clean
Haw k with half fuel now has a stalling speed of Jess than 90 kts
( 167 kmfh).
The combination of uprated engine and improved lift co-
efficients goes hand·in-hand with the applicatio n of heavy
external loads to the Hawk, which has now fl own with 6,500 Ib
(2950 kg) underwing. Each of the five stores stations
(includ ing the fuselage centreline) is stressed to ca rry 1, 120 lb
(508 kg) up to a factor of 8 g; when heavier loads are carried,
there is a lower g limit imposed. Twin store ca rriers on the wing
pylons make it possible to carry up to eight bombs - eg, four
1,000 Ib (454 kg) and four 500 Ib (227 kg); in another
configuration, four I,ooo-ib (454-kg) bombs were carried
o utboard and two 100 Imp gal (4551) drop tan ks inboard. To
im prove the la nding performance in extreme conditions, an
enla rged diameter brak ing parachute is also ava ilable,
measuring 8 ft 6 in (2,59 m) compared with 7 ft (2, 13 m) a nd
this has been flown on G- HA WK.
Sidewinders for the RAF
The fi ve-station Hawk has been demo nstrated ca rrying a pair
of A IM -9 Sidewinder air·to-air missiles o n the outer wing
position s, as one of more than 50 possible weapo n
configurations. However, the missiles have not been fired from
this positio n, as none of the customers to da te has called for
this particular a rmament. The decisio n to adapt a proportion
of the RAF's Hawks to ca rry Sidewinders as a mea ns of
supplementing the U K air defence force therefore ca lled for a
full clearance programme to be conducted. Also, as the RAF
aircraft a re operated in three-sta tio n configuration (with the
necessary structu.re for the outer wing stations included, but
without elect rical cables or " plumbing" ) it became necessary
to clear the Sidewinder (A IM -9G as well as AIM-9L)
installatio n on the inboard wing pylons. The first phase of this
work has now been completed and a number of firi ngs has
been made, wit ho ut any problems being encountered.
PAGE 211
 Including the 18 add itional aircraft ordered earlier this year, embrace low-level tactical Hying (pilot and naviga tor), air
the RAF has a total of 193 Hawk T Mk Is on order a nd it is combat, air weaponry and forward air cont rol.
expected that kits will be procured to convert abo ut half of this The expansion of the RA F air defence fo rce, with the
total to ca rry Sidewinders. Details of deployment have not creation of a third Ligh tning squadron and the fort hcoming
been revea led by the Mo D but it seems safe to assume thatlhe introduction of the Tornado F Mk 2s, has increased the
Hawks used by the Tactical Weapons Units will be those training req uirement on the Tactical Weapons Unit. As a
modified and thai in the event of hostilities they would be result, the Unit was di vided in to two wit h effect fro m I August
Hown by T WU instructors and other qualified pilots for the this year, with No I TWU. remaining at Brawdy a nd No 2
defence of key installations. The Sidewinders wiU nol, of TWU taking up residence at RA F Chi venor. Two of the three
course, be carried while the aircraft are engaged in thei r sq uad rons at Brawdy (Nos 63 a nd 234) will be full y esta blished
normal training dUlies, which as fa r as the TW U is concerned a t Chivenor by ea rly 198 1 with some 40 Hawks.
( Opposite page) The camplmy demonstrator Hawk 50 has been much used for the development of weapans food carrying and fo r Ihe aerodynamic
re}inements described ill Ihis account; il is shown here carryingfour 1,()(){)-lb (454-kg) alldfo ur 500-lb (227-kg) bombs on twin carriers Oil thefoul wing
haldpoints, plus the cenlre-line gun pod. ( Top) One of tire Hawk T Mk Is of the RAF's TWU at RAF Brawdy all a rocket firing sortie; it carries the
markings of No 234 Squadron. ( Below) All Indonesian Hawk 53; Ihefirsl af these export Hawks f/ew VII 6 JUlie, being Ille 1401h of Ihe type lOfty ,

PAG E 213
 Few readers will be unaware that Hawks, as well as being in
service with the TWUs and 4FTS, are now flown by the Red
Arrows, who are completing their first full season on the type
after 16 yearson the Gnat. In the hands of what is undoubtedly
the world's premier formation jet aerobatic team, the Hawk
has already given excellent service and has been described by
Team Leader Sqn Ldr Brian Hoskins as "the best aircraft I
have flown in the aerobatic role. It is extremely manoeuvrable,
stable in formation and rolls beautifully along its own axis" .
The Red Arrows aircraft are standard T Mk Is with some
small modifications, the most significant of which concerns the
cent reline pod, used to carry the dyes to be injected into thejet
exha ust, by way of pipes over the jet pipe, for the production of
red, white o r blue "smoke". The other most obvious difference
is the colourful finish for the 10 aircraft (including o ne
reserve).
It was during o ne of the ea rly displays of the 1980 season, on
17 May, tha t the Red Arrows team suffered one of its rare
accidents and the first Hawk was lost. While performing over
the sea fo r the benefit of spectators o n the front at Brighton,
one of the Hawks struck the top of the mast of a yacht that is
reported to have moved into the display area after the display
had started (the report of the official inquiry into the accident
has no t yet been published). The impact severed the wing tip
and left one ailero n uncontrollable; although the pilot was able
to pull the nose up, he had no lateral control and the aircraft
rolled inverted. Ejection was initiated in this position at little
more than 100 ft (3 1 m)ofaltitude and.the parachute deployed
as the pilot was about to enter the water; he suffered only
minor injury. A replacement aircraft has now been modified to
Red Arrows standard.
The US Navy requirement
A majo r opportunity now exists for the British Aerospace
Hawk to meet the US Navy requirement for a new basic/
advanced jet trainer to enter service in 1986/87. Needless to
say, competition was intense and in the first phase of the
VTXTS programme seven prime contractors made nine
separate aircraft proposals to the Navy; six of these proposals
- including the Hawk - have been selected for the second
phase, a six-mo nth study period leading to selection of one or
more finali sts. The request for proposals had been issued in
December 1979, with a return date of March 1980, and as the
VTXTScipher indicates, the requirement is not j ust for a naval
training aeroplane (VTX) but for a complete training system
(TS).
At the present tjme, US Naval student pilots begin their
training with 70 hrs on the Beech T-34C. They are then divided
into three streams, one to specialise on helicopters, one to
proceed to muhi-engine training (on the Beech T -44A) and one
- the largest group - to become strike or fast jet pilots. For
this last-mentioned group, training is given a t present on the
Rockwell T-2C Buckeye followed by the McDonnell Douglas
TA-4J Skyhawk. The US Navy inventory comprises some 314
TA-4Js, of which about half are assigned to the pilot training
programme, and some 205 T-2Cs, all but about 20 as pilot
British Aerospace is one of six companies awarded contracts during
August to continue studies of the Hawk as a trainer meeting the
requirememsoflhe US Nally 's VTXTS.
trainers. Allowing for increased training efficiency and high
utilisation from a new type, it is assumed that the Navy will
buy some 300 of the winning VTXTS; this number could well
increase if the same type is selected to fill certain other
specialised tasks, and there is the attractive possibility that it..
will provide the basis for meeting the USAF's requirement. in
a later timescale, for a T-38A Talon replacement.
In seeking a trainer to meet VTXTS, tbe Navy indicated that
it wished to consider all options from updated versions of
existing types through off-the-shelf buys to development of
new aircraft. In keeping with this objective, the submission
made in March covered three available European trainers, five
o rigi nal designs by American manufacturers and a derivative
of the T-2e. The European designs were the Hawk (submitted
by British Aerospace in partnership with the Douglas Aircraft
Co division of McDonnell Douglas), the Alpha Jet (submitted
by Dassauh-Breguet in partnership with Lockheed) and the
Aermacchi MB-339. Original designs were submiued by
Genera l Dynamics teamed with American Airlines (in respect
of the training system aspect), Grumman teamed with Beech,
Northrop teamed with Vought, Rockwell's Colu mbus
Division and McDonnell Douglas (with British Aerospace in
partnership on the indigenous Do uglas design from Long
Beach as well as the Hawk). Rockwell also submitted the T-2X
improved Buckeye. The MB-339 and the original designs by
Rockwell and GO were eliminated in August, leaving six to
proceed into the next study phase.
Of the nine original proposaJs, the Hawk is unique in being
single-engined. All the new designs. as well as the Alpha Jet
and T-2X, favoured the use of twin engines, wit h the Pratt &
Whitney JTI SO the choice in most cases. The single-versus-
twin engine argument need not be reiterated here; suffice to say
that the Navy did not indicate a preference in its VTXTS
specifica tio n (the TA-4J is single-engined) and tbat the 60,000
hrs Hown by the RAF o n the Hawk without a single engine '
failure that endangered the aircraft powerfully reinforce the
British Aerospace philosophy.
To meet VTXTS, the Hawk needs o nly minimum
modification . As already described, compliance with the VTX
carrier approach speed requirement of 115 kt (213 km/h) has
already been demonstrated, with a margin of some 7 kts (13
km/h), and in other performance parameters the Hawk meets
o r exceeds the requirements. An arrester hook would be
added, the nosewheel a nd leg would require modification for
catapult launching, a nd all undercarriage units would be
modified for carrier landings, to absorb vertical velocities of
about 23 ft /sec (7,0 m/sec) compared with 15ft/sec (4,6 m/sec)
at present. Naval instrumentation and avionics would be
installed, including head-up and CRT displays.
The submission of the Hawk for VTXTS has been a valuable
exercise for British Aerospace and has increased the
compa ny's confidence that the aircraft is as good as any basic!
advanced trainer either available or planned. Export sales, it
has to be said, have not matched some of the early projections,
but this is not because the Hawk is losing out to the
competition but because economic and other factors have
imposed restraints on air forces that need to buy new trainers
but cannot afford to do so while also re-equipping front- line
units. In this context it is worth recalling that single-seat strike
variants of the Hawk have been projected and could be
developed relatively easily if a positive market requirement
was identified . Typically, a single-seat Hawk could have a
built-in armament of two 30-mm canno n (thus freeing the
fuselage centreline for carriage of bombs or fuel tanks;
additional internal fuel and a new front fuselage with a single
cockpit.
Such developments are stiIJ some way in the future,
however. For the present, the emphasis remains firmly upon
the two-seat Hawk which, as this year's milestones show, is
beginning to reap the benefits inherent in its design. 0
PAGE 214 AIR INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1980
ACE QUAllFYI &AI
RI~~
IofTtheeighties,
IS 0700HOURS and the temperature, already well into the
will climb into the high nineties before much more
morning has passed. Despite the early hour, the Ilight
line presents a scene of considerable activity as a half-dozen
fighters, their drab grey-and-green North European camou-
flage unseemly in the bright eastern Mediterranean sunljght,
are readied for the day's tasks. This comparative tranquillity of
scene is suddenly disrupted by the pulsating roa r of paired
Avons as a banner-towing Canberra gathers speed down the
runway, takes-off and climbs away in a sout herly direction
towards the firing range to initi ate the morning's activities,
soon to be followed by the first of the fighters, which , between
them, will fly mo re than a score of sorties by 1300 hou rs.
The venue is RAF Akrotiri, o n the Akamas peninsula, in
Britain's Western Sovereign Base Area of the 3,000 square
mile (7 770 km l ) island of Cyprus. The fighters are Lightnings
or Phantoms of one or another of the nine air defence
squadrons on detachment from the UK or RAF Germany for
its annual Armament Practice Camp (APC). The temperature
may vary 10 or IS degrees and the squadron emblems sported
by the fighters may change, but in all other essential respects
this scene win be repeated every working day for 10 months of
the year as each squadron, in turn, spends a month honing its
air-air gunnery proficiency to achieve NATO ACE (Allied
Command Europe) qualification .
Air-air gunnery is essentially a visua l ski ll, which, despite the
advent of the AAM as the primary fighter weapon, is as vital a
faculty as ever was in short-range close-in manoeuvring
combat, and proficiency can o nly be achieved and maintained
by practice using live ammunitio n. The RAF is therefore
singularly fortunate in having facilities available at Akrotiri,
where, not only does good weather permit an intensive tar get
firing programme for most of the year, but a n adjacent clear
sea area a llows live firing without hazarding shipping.
RAF Akrotiri, which fo r the past two years has provided the
locale fo r the APCs, is a comparatively young sta tion, which,
named after a n adjacent village, in fact celebrated its quarter-
century last mo nth (Octobe r). Originally established as a Near
East Air Force strike and reconnaissance base, a nd ideally
situated in that all approaches and departures can be made
over the sea. RAF Akrotiri became the service's largest multi-
role statio n, with three operational wings, a fully-developed
air defence system, supporting engineering and administrative
units and some 4,000 service personnel, with a total RAF
community of the order of 11 ,000. The station was heavily
involved in the 1974 emergency, when nearly 25,000 British
civilians and tourists of all nationalities were flown oUi of the
island, but as a result of the Defence Review of the following
year, all the fixed-wing squadrons and their supporting
elements were redeployed, leaving Akrotiri with one squadron
of Whirlwind helicopters.
The period of relative inactivity that was to follow was to
prove short-li ved, however, for the decision tocemre the APCs
o n Akrotiri has contributed in major extent to restoring this as
o ne of the RAF's busiest bases. In its heyday as an NEAF
base, RAF Akrotiri operated 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, 365 days of the year. Joday, the base is restricted to an
. eight-hour operating window during the week's fi ve working
days, although. in pract ice, it does open up outside tha t
window for special high priority fiights. But despite the fact
that it is no rmally open only 160 hours monthly, during those
hours it handles an average of80 aircraft with more than 4,500
passengers and some 330 w'IIIes of freight , a part from its
intensive APC activities and those of the Whirlwind Mk 10
helicopters of No 84 Squadron's "A" FJight which is home-
based at Akrotiri. Providing the air head for the United
Nations Forces in Cyprus, Akrotiri handles numerous foreign
military and civil charter flights on their behalf; advantage is
taken of the generally excellent winter flying conditions by
training detachments from UK operatio nal conversion units,
a nd earlier this year, the Red Arrows and Falcons teams spent
some time at Akrotiri working-up prior to their display
season. In fact, in a nyone month, as many as 20 different types
of aircraft can stage through the base, demanding considerable
versatility o n the part of Akrotiri's ground personnel.
Commanded by Gp Ca pt A Parkes BSc, RAF Akrotiri is
spread over much of the SO square miles (130 km 2) or so of the
Western Sovereign Base Area established, together with the
similarly-sized Dhekelia SBA to the east, when Cyprus became
a fu lly independent and sel f- governing Republic. Apart from
the two SBAs, there arc a number of retained sites and training
areas, which, Cypriot territory, are used on a privilege basis.
Most of Akrotiri's aircraft are transient, the o nly permanent
flying unit being the previously-mentioned No 84 Sqdn, the
fo ur Whirlwinds of this squadron'S "A" Hight maintaining a
IS-minute SAR standby with two helicopters whenever an
APC is operating and one on 9O-minute standby around the
clock. The other permanent operational unit is No 34 Sqdn
RAF Regiment which operates as a field squadron for the
defence of the airfield. RAF Akrotiri parents No 280 signals
PAGE 215
 ( Aool'(> (lnd top right) A Lighllling counrr)'side after completing a
fi ring sortie (luring ' he Squadron',r No 5 Sqdn that accompanied the
Binbrook Wing 's F M k 6s for 'he 6s - a No I I Sqd" aircraft in the
fo regrollnd alld '11'0 more of'he ;q,;~d,;; during A IR I NTERNATIONAL'S visit

•
!=~~~~~~~==~~::=~:~==~~~::=~~~!!!!!!unit which mans the radar on Mount Olympus, this being the
6,400-ft (I 950-m) tip or Troodos, the highest point on the
island, and also provides a parenting service ror the Air
Headquarters at Episkopi, other RA F units in Cyprus and
also ror Army units on the peninsula,
Commenting that Akrotiri is probably the most popular or
RA F bases, Gp Capt Parkes told AIR INTERNATIONAL that, at
times, it is one or the busiest. " On the broader scene," he
continued, "we have recently been involved in two major
events, RAF Akrotiri having been the mounting and reception
base ror the Iran evacuation and also the staging post ror
Operation Agila which in volved the positioning and subse-
quent withdrawal or troops, police and civilian administra tors
in Zimbabwe to supervise the ceasefire and elections, Such
events highlight the importan'ce or RAF Akrotiri , Night fl ying
in the UK in summertime when darkness lasts ror only a rew
hours inevitably attracts many com plaints rrom the local
populace, so this summer we alleviated the problem, at least,
insorar as the Lyneham area was concerned, by exportin g the
noise generated by the Hercules OCU to Akroliri. Indeed,
apart rrom the Armament Practice Camps, RA F Akrotiri is
nowadays a very busy. acti ve station.
" A unique point about Akrotiri is the ract that we have
troops rrom five different Corps working here, Consequently,
ir we add the total service personnel, their dependants and

PAGE 217

locally-employed civilians, the sta tio n popula tion in a working
day swells to something o f the o rder o f 4,000 people. Of
course, the population tends to be more transient than
permanently based , a fac t presenting some problems, but as
one o f the few remaining penna nent RA F overseas bases,
Akrotiri o ffers good value for the tax payers' mo ney."
Armament Practice Camp
At the time o f A IR INTERNATIONA L'S recent visit to RAF
Akrotiri, No 5 Squad ron, o ne o f the com ponent units o f the
Binbrook Wing, had j ust succeeded its sister sq uadron, No II ,
which had Hown the nine Ligh tning F Mk 6s and one T Mk 5
- in fac t a mix of the two sq uad ro ns' aircrafl - out fro m
Binbrook several weeks earlier over the somewhat more than
2,000 miles (3220 km), allowing for the doglegs necessary in
transit. with the aid of six refuellings by Victor tankers for the
sin gle-sea ters and 10 refuellin gs for the two-seater.
No 5 Sqdn, commanded by Wg Cdr Terry Adcock, was, in
fact, the first operatio nal unit to equip with the Mk 6versio n o f
the Lightning, having been re-fo rmed at Binbrook o n 8
October 1965. ta king delivery o f this mo re effi cacio us and,
insofar as the RAF was concerned, defi nitive versio n of the
fi ghter from December and operati ng it continuously since
tha t time. Fifleen years is a long time in the life of a fi rst-line
fighter and the Lightning was evolving mo re than a decade
before it reached No 5 Sqdn. but the pilo ts' enthusiasm and
affectio n for this now q uite venerable warplane was
impressive. If perhaps lacking in sophistica tio n by today's
standards, the Lightning F Mk 6, we wece assured by every
pilot. remains an excellent air-air fighter a nd its passing fro m
the RA F's first line in the mid 'eighties and with it the era of the
single-seat interceptor in the RAF - at least, until the ECA o r
something of its il k hopefully appears in the ' nineties - will be
deeply regretted.
PAGE 21 8 A IR INTERNATIONAL/ NOV EMBE R 1980
A Binbrook Wing Lightning F Mk 6 loxying in 01 Akroliri afler
completing a shoot (left) . and No 5 Squadron's T Mk 5. the lask of
",hich at Akrotiri ",as primarily dual checks bUl also flew range safety
missions. coming in 10 kmd.
Flt LL Tim Neville, whose task was tha t of IWI (I nterceptor
Wea po ns Instructor), while admilling that the Lightning
presents its pilot with a fai rly high workload , stressed tha t it is
"a pilo t's aero plane a nd , being hi ghly responsive. thoroughly
satisfying to fly. It is an excellent turning aircraft a nd,
consequentl y, effecti ve in traditional air combat manoeuvres,
but it is in the vertical plane that it excels - if we use the
vertical and our opponent elects to turn and engage he is
dead!" Wg Cdr Terry Adcock added tha t the Lightning may
appea r inelegant to some but its lines exude st urdiness and , in
fact, in his view it is proba bly one o f the most robust fi ghters
ever built. "Nowadays," he commented, " it is necessary to
conserve the g life of the a irframe and we therefore ra rely p ul1
mo re tha n 3·5 g, but nevert heless, a l1 o ur pilots enjoy the '
Li ghtning and gain much satisfactio n from it . It has. of course,
something of a reputa tio n as a "gas·guzzler", burning about
20 Imp gal (90 1) a minute of its 1,200 Im p gal (5 455 1) a t
tactical speed s and this consumptio n increasing tenfo ld in a
cl imb with ful1 reheat selected, and I, fo r o ne, would li ke to see
the overwing ferry tanks reint roduced. But then, the Lightning
was conceived as a U K-based pure interceptor to meet a high-
altit ude high-perfo rmance threat. One thing is fo r sure; in a
--hot" situation we wo uld all be ha ppy to be fl ying the
Lightning a nd none of us is looking forwa rd to the day when
we join the ran ks o f the WEWOLS·,"
Each Armament Practice Camp (APC) lasts a tota l of five
weeks of which four a re devoted to intensive ai r-air gunnery
practice, the remainder comprising the first few days o f general
shake-down a nd the last few days occupied in recovery. The
partici pating unit flies between 0700 and 1300 ho urs each
working day. "A" Fligh t occupying the shooting positio n for
the first two weeks, with " B" Fligh t running the operatio na l
side. and the position being reversed fo r the second two weeks.
Each o f the squad ron's 16 pilots flies a total o f nine live fir ing
sorties, a fter a cine camera work-up, against banner targets
towed over a 2,000 squa re mile (5 180 kml) ran ge to the south
o f the Island by Can berra B Mk 2s of No 100 Sqdn.
Two Can berras normally Hy either two o r three two-hour
sort ies each day, 30 minutes o f each sortie being occupied by
tra nsiting and find ing a clear a rea. The pi lot o f the Ca nberra
tar get tug a lso serves as ra nge safety o ffi cer, and he normally
Hies at abou t 180 knots (333 km/ h), a speed limitatio n imposed
by the brea king st ra in o n the 300-yard (274-m) ca ble towing
th'e 24 ft by 6 ft (7,3 m by 1,8 m) banner. After about one-and-
a-half ho urs the banner begins to tear a nd every effort is
t he r~ fore made to minimise banner time to red uce wea r. Sqn
Ldr Alex Ford, CO of the No 100 Sqdn detachment, admitted -
• WEWOL: We ....·ere on Lightnings.!
that the limitations of the ban ners currently used are
inhi biting, but said that higher-speed banners are expected to
be available for next year's APCs. "The APCs," he said, "keep
us pretty busy througho ut most o f the year. We fl y the
Canberras out fro m RAF Marham in two legs with a night
stop at Naples prima ril y to suit the Akroti ri air window, each
leg taki ng about 2 hr 4S min. Our pilots each do more than one
deployment to Akrotiri a nnually, some do ing as many as four,
although the intensive fl ying here imposes something of a
strain as does the heat in the cockpit during the summer
months, our B Mk 2s having strictly limited -du ratio n cold air
units!"
Sqn Ld r Ford explained tha t, with one fighter on the banner,
the Canberra follows a simple race-t rack pattern, but wi th two
aircraft on the banner a fi gure-of-eight is adopted. As a safety
factor, the Can berra assumes 30 deg of ba nk o nce the fighter
has positioned itself, and the latter must no t come within 300
yards (274 m) and a 12 deg a ngle-off or else its pilot is
scra tched. There is thus compa ra tively little risk o f a bullet
strike on the towpla ne, although there is, of course, a lways the
possibility o f a runaway gun.
Each fighter pilot Hies a number of ci ne camera sorties un til
he has demo nstra ted tha t he ca n consistently achieve the
required safety pa rameters o f ra nge and a ngle-off. The IWI
then clears the pilot " live" (ie, cleared to fire live 30-mm shells
against the banner). He then Hies six academic shoots in order
to gain ACE q ua lified. T he ACE qualifica tion is a percentage
score based o n hits made against rounds fired and the sta nda rd
is la id down by SHA PE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers
Europe), litis standard being commo n to a ll air fo rces in
NATO. There a re many factors affecting the num ber o f hits on
the banner, some o f these being outside the pilot's control,
such as gun movement, velocity jump and bullet spread. These
facto rs mean that less tha n 50 per cent of the rounds fired have
a chance o f hilling the ban ner and clearly rendering the pilo t's
task a difficult o ne.
After completing his six academic fi ring sorties - a lways
assuming that the pilot has not ACE q ua lified in fewer shoots
- he then Hies what is known as a limited academic sortie in
which he is pennitted a maximum o f five passes, commencing
with the usual ci ne dry run, a fter which he is cleared to fl y the
operational shoot. Fo r this only 20 ro unds are provided each
gun and the sortie consists o f o ne cine and two li ve passes. In
this insta nce, lite fighter meets the towplane head-on, the
( Below left ) Wg Cdr Terry Adcock and the f W f examine the banner after afiring sortiefor the indMdual scores. and (below right) Lightnings being re-
armed at Akrotiri between firing sorties.
I
Canberra then going into o rbit and both firi ng passes having
to be completed within 540 deg of turn. T he ba nners are
d ropped over the airfi eld by the Canberras after each sortie
and the scores achieved are carefull y recorded , the hits
obta ined by each indi vid ual pilot being identifi ed by staining
produced by the coloured dyes applied to the bullets. The score
is a lways based on a fu ll shoot even if the pilo t has fa iled to
expend all his ammunitio n. As lite Seed Trophy is awarded
each yea r to the sq uad ron displaying the most prowess in a ir-
air gunnery during its A PC, there is considerable competitive
spirit.
- In addition to their air-a ir gunnery sorties, the squadrons
mount theatre fami liar ity nights and practice intercept (PI)
missions, and o ne o f the ma ny valuable benefits of the annual
A PCs is the experience tha t they provide the squadro ns in
long-d istance ta nker refuelling sorties during the one-hop
transits to and from Akrotiri. Nonna lly each sq uadron flies its
own aircraft to A krotiri fo r its A PC, but this year, fo r reasons
of airspace management convenience, the two Binbrook-
based Lightning F Mk 6 sq uadrons operated as a wing, No II
Sqdn fly ing the aircra ft to Cyprus a nd No 5 Sqdn Hying them
back. Both transits were accomplished with the aid of six
Victo r tankers operating in relays of three, fo ur single-seat
Ligh tnings accompa nying each o f two ta nkers and the
remaini ng single-seater a nd the two-seater accompanying the
third. The return " hop" fro m A krotiri to Bin brook was made
via Sicily, during which leg each F Mk 6 received three
refuellings - wi th the T Mk 5 receiving five - at which point
the relay of tankers changed , and then via Pa lermo, Nice and
Bo ulogne, with a similar num ber o f refuellings. the average
tra nsit speed being M =0·75.
There ca n be little do ubt as to the considerable value of the
annual Armament Practice Camps in maintaining the RAF's
a ir-ai r gunnery ca pabili ty at peak efficiency, nor o f the cost
effectiveness of the use of RAF Akroti ri as their venue, but
perhaps most impressive insofar as this writer was concerned
was the fact that the APC being conducted d uring A IR
INTERNATIONAL'S visit · and involvin g the Binbrook Wing
provided ample evidence that, despite its age, the Lightning
rema ins, as it ever was, a superb figh ting vehicle that,
somewha t short-legged and demand ing in pilot workload
though it may be, will give a very good account of itself aga inst
a ny potential ad versa ry if ca lled upon to do so fo r some years
to come. 0
PAGE 219
 VERSATiliTY
UNliMITED
-the Boeing
KC-135 Story
EW military aircraft production programmes undertaken
F since the end of World War II can compare with the
Boeing KC· 135 in size. speed of execution. cost-effectiveness
and operational success. In a period of8~ years, Boeing bui lt
no fewer thun 820 of these four-jet tankers (including 88
closely-related different-role variants); buill at an average rale ~AlUoyd
of seven a l110 mh throughout that period. these aircraft were
delivered to the USAF allhe lowest cost per pound of airframe
weigh t o f any military aircraft then in production in the USA.

at 15 ai rcraft
Between ~~~~~~:~~~:E~~:~~i~
Junea
the last orlhe KC-1 35s at the
announce that the production value the aircraft buill
was about $ 1·66 bi llion. or some $2m per copy.
The USAF certain ly has had va lue for its money. Since the
end of 1965. when the last of the piston·plus·jet
1. . .IlI• • Stratorreighters was withd rawn from service with ~::~i~~~
Air Comma nd, the KC-1 35As have been the sole air rl
tankers in general service with USAr·. The force is managed
by SAC but has responsibilities far beyond the operational
support of SAC's own strategic bombers (B·S2s a nd FB·l ll s);
KC 135As also serve the 4,400 fighters of Tactical Air
Command , the transports (C-5s and C-141 Bs) of Military
Airlift Comma nd , and aircraft of the US Navy and Marine
Corps, a nd NATO ai r force s in Europe. Included in the force
a re a number of units manned by the Air National Guard,
these units sharing with the regular squadrons in maintaining
the Tanker Task Forces (lTF) that a re deployed at various
bases around the world to support specific operational
missio ns on a regular or transient basis.
Of the tota l production quantity of 820 of the Boeing jet
tanker family, no fewer tha n 732 were built to a common
standard (subject to the usual progressive introduction of
production-line modifications) as KC-135As. Such con-
sistency was itself unusual for so long a production run of a
multi-engined aircraft. but it has been more than offset by the
extent to which subsequent modification programmes have
produced distinctive va riants. Apart from the KC- 135A, six
other designated va rian ts came olTthe production line, but the
-135 family has subseq uently grown to a current total of 37
variants tha t are identifiable by prefix and suffix letter
designa tions, with a number of sub-variations within certain
series. Furthermore, because the KC- 135A retains such a n
important role in the USAF inventory, it is the subject of
ongoing modifications and development programmes which
will produce further variants in years to come; the most
important of these is the programme to fit CFM-56 turbofans
in about half of the 640 KC-1 35As (and KC-1 35Qs) that
remain in the active inventory in 1980, as described la ter in this
account.
Boeing's tanker boom
The Boeing company's first aSSOCiatIOn with aiHo-air
refuelling dates back to 1929, when a Boeing Model40-B was
used as a tanker and a Model 95 ma ilplane served as the
receiver fo r trials in which a trailin g hose extended from the
( Above) A J959-vintagt short-finned KC-135A in bart metal with day-
glo orangt conspicuity markings on tht nost and wing tips and round tht
rtar fustlagt andfin. ( &Iow) The/amous brown--and-ytllow Dash 80,
grandaddy of all tht BOt'ing jtt transports, with a mock·up a/ tht boom ·
optrator's position undtr tht rtar fuselagt.
fonner was grasped by a crew member in the latter so that the
nozzle could be inserted into the fuel tank fille r pipe. These
experiments had no practical outcome, however, and the more
relevant origins of the KC-135A are to be found in the request
fro m USAF's Air Materiel Command in November 1947 that
Boeing should investigate air-to-air refuelling methods a nd
installa tion.
The studies then begun led eventually to the development of
Boeing's " fl ying-boom" system , first used on B-29 Super-
fortresses converted for use as tankers. In the interim period ,
the USAF had put into service a number of B·29s modified to
use the British-developed hose·type refuelling system, in which
a hose trailed by one aircraft was " hoo ked" in fli ght by a
weighted line trailed by the receiver. To improve on this
system, Right Refuelling Ltd developed (he "probe-and-
drogue" system which has become the standa rd fo r aircraft of
the RAF a nd has been widely used by the US Navy up to the
present time, and was a lso used for some time by the aircraft of The measunt of the effectiveness of the Tornado Air Defence Variant is that it has
USAF's Tactical Air Command . Comparative evalua tion of the ability to establish and maintain t he air superiority which ensures that dog-fight
the FR a nd Boeing systems led the USAF to opt for the latter situations do not even develop. By combining the latest missile, radar and systems
technology. it provides innovative solutions to the problems of electronic stand-off
however, and to follow the 11 6 boom-eq uipped K.B-29Ps, the combat, typified by ability to detect and idtnt ify hostile aircraft at 100 nm range and
to destroy them at 25 nm range with missiles with exceptional snap·down
·The HC- l30Ps of tht Atrospace Rescut & Recol'try Strvict art manoeuvre capability. And Tornado ADV can do all this independently of AEW or
equipped only to refutl htlicopttrs. using the pra~--and-drogut mtthod. ground radar to provide a completely autonomous area defance capability.

PAGE 220 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 19BO PAGE


our contribution
Aeritalia, a member of the IRI·Finmeccanica Group,
and Italy's largest aerospace manufacturer,
is playing a significant role
in technological progress.
It is engaged in the research . design , devel'apm',"1
and production of military aircraft :
the multi-national Tornado, F-104S, G 91Y.
of transports : G 222.
and of assemblies for airliners:
DC-9, DC-10, B 727 and B 747.
It is participating in the design, development
and production of the B 767
advanced commercial aircraft.
..........---.
It is involved in major space prog rammes:
Space lab, Ariane. Sirio. OTS, ECS, Marecs,
the ESA-NASA space telescope ,
the Utex telescope, as well as
in the design and
INSTRUMENTS AND";.y.
AVIONIC SYSTEMS
integration of complete avionics systems
and in applied electronics . In addition ,
it designs and produces airc raft instru ments,
automatic and inertial navigation systems
for civil and mil itary a pplications,
and military optical systems .
Aeritalia has about 10,000 people
in its six industrial cen tres
at Naples, Turin and Milan.
This human and industrial potential is ready
to meet the needs of tomorrow.
~ERrD\UA 80125 NAPOLI Piazzale Tecchio 51
Tel. 619.522 Telex 710370 AERIT
PAGE it
USAF acq uired a tota l of 814 KC-97 Stratofreigh ters. The To achieve a better strength-to-weight ratio, the -1 35
first of the KC-97 tan kers entered service in 1951 , and as the structures were designed to a "safe-life" philosophy, whereas
importance of these aircraft become more completely
appreciated in support of SAC operations world-wide, it soon
became obvious that a new tanker was going to be needed to
match the performance of the front-line jet bombers a nd
the 707/720sl.rUCI Ures are ;'fail-safe", as req uired to meet FAA
regula tions. In material terms, the tanker utilises a 7178
aluminium alloy while the commercial model is la rgely
fabricated in the 2024 alloy.
~ ",' fighte rs. Adding jet pods to some of the KC-97s and to 136
Superfortresses that were also modified to KB-50 tankers was
Among the differences between the KC- 135A and the early
production commercial 707s (the 707- 100 series with JT3C-6
no more than an interim solution . turbojet engines-) was the lack of air intakes at the root of the
BOEING 767 Formal expression of the fu ture requirement came towards engine pylon where it joined the engine cowling. On the 707s,
the end of 1953, when the USAF indicated a need for 800 jet these intakes served the turbo-compressors (driven by engine
tankers to support the SAC fl eet of 8-52s and 8-58s. Boeing, bleed air) that pressurised the cabin; on the KC- 135A, engine
Convair, Douglas, Fairchild , Lockheed and Ma rtin were bleed air was uti lised directly for pressurisation and the intakes
invited to respond to the RFP in May 1954, but Boeing had were therefore not needed. The absence of windows in the
already pre-empted the fie ld by completin g the design a nd fuselage was another obvious difference, as well as the fl ying
launching co nstruction of a prototype jet tanker-transport boom and boom operator's station in the underside of the rear
well ahead of the USAF's form al action . Clearly, the Seattle
fu selage.
company's close contact with the USAF in developing a nd Less obvious but equally sign ificant were the diffe rences in
producing the K8-29, KB-50 and KC97 ta nkers had given it a dimensions. T he span of the - I 35 and the 707- 100 is 130 ft 4 in
/ .. , ~ . close insight into SAC's needs. A series of design studies, (39,72 m) while the 707-300/400 spans 145 ft 4 in (44,30 m).
.!.:..--~
"- conducted under the same Model 367 designa tion that applied Fuselage lengths (excluding the tailplane, which projects
to the KC-97, had led eventually to the 367-80 configuration
a nd the famou s '; Dash 80" prototype, Built as a private • Boeing Sales Departm ent identifies the original short-bodied
venture at a cost ofS l 6m, the Boeing 367-80 was intended not commercia/jet transport as the -120 with turbojets and -/ lOB with JT3D
turbofans; the long-bodied ~'ersions with Pratt &: Whitney engines .....ere
only to meet USAF's tanker needs but also to serve as a -320 and -320 B. "'hUe the -420 had RR Con"'ay turbofans. Engineering
prototype for a commercial jet tmnspo rt. the potential for Deportment designationsfor these some aircraft "'ere -Joo. -JooB, -300,
which had already been so clearly demonstrated by the de -3()()B and 400 respeclil'ely.
Havilland Comet. Rolled out on 14 May 1954, the Dash 80
took to the air on 15 July and only three weeks later - before
the refuell ing capabili ties had even been demonstrated, let
alone proved - the USAF announced that it would purchase
29 of the Boeing aircraft ; the official contracts were completed
on 5 October 1954, at which lime the KC-135A designation
was adopted . Less tha n two years would elapse before the first
production KC- 135A Stratotanker (serial 55-3 11 8) would
roll-out at the company's Renton factory on the shores of
Lake Washington , to fly on 3 1 August 1956.
Although both the KC- 135 family (Boeing Model 717) and ( Abo~'e) A KC- 135A taking off/rom Hickham AFB. Hawaii, shoK'ing
the commmercia l 707/720 family have a common origin in the the adaptation to fit a refuelling drog ue to the refuelling boom.
Dash 80 prototype, it is wrong to regard the tanker as a
military var ia nt of the commercial transport; the 707 was
developed from the prototype in a parallel programme -
making its first Hight some 18 months after the firs t KC-1 35A,
on 20 December 1957 - and the two types share little but their
-~",,~ ,
--" .-
overall configuration and the basic wing box. The 707 differs,
notably, in having a slightly larger fuselage diameter with a
double lobe cross section, which meant that Boeing could not
build the two types in common fu selage jigs. This difference
was emphasised when the USAF la ter bought some
commercial 707s off-the-shelf for VIP (a nd Presidential) use
and designated them as C-1 37s rather than C- 135s.
( Abol'e right) In o ~'erall grey finish . this KC· 135A is in the markings of the 16()th A RG. Ohio Air National Guard. Rickenbacker A FB. Ohio. ( /klow) A
tall1inned KC-135A , 1963-~intage, in Corogardfinish with the SAC " Milky Way" band and crest round the centre fuselage.
.,
PAGE 221

•
beyond the end of the fuse lage) are 128 ft lOin (39,27 m) for the
-135, 138 rt 10 in (42,32 m) forthe 70(- 1OOand 145 ft 6 in (44,35
m) for the 707-300/400. The difference in fuselage diameter is a
mere 4 in (IOem), the smaller -135 being a n exact 12 ft (3,66 m)
at its maximum - 5 in (12,7 em) larger than the Dash-SO. The
wing planforms of the -135 and 707- 100 a rc similar with 338-
in (8.59-m) root cho rds and 11 2-in (2.84-m) tip cho rds, single-
sweep leading edges, and single-sweep trailing edges with the
exception of the wing trailing edge root fillet s. The 707-300 has
a 347- I-in (8,82-m) root chord and a lip chord of 11 2 in (2,84
m), single sweep leading edge a nd double-swept trai li ng edge
- the break in the trailing edge being inboard of the inboa rd
nacelle.
Delivery of the KC-135As to the USAF began on 30 April
1957 and SAC put its new Stra totankers into service o n 18
June that yea r, with the 93rd Air Refuelling Squadron at
Castle AFB, Calif. By that date, a total of215 KC-135As was
on order; 130 mo re were o rdered in Apri l 1958 and further
increments were placed a nnually to bring the total order book
to the followin g:
732 KC-135A Stratotankers (SAC)
17 KC-135 B Stratotankers (SAC)
10 RC- 1358 (SAC)
15 C- 135A Stratolifters (MATS)
30 C-1 35 B Stratolifters (MATS)
4 RC-1 35A (MATS)
12 C- 135F Stratotankers (French Air Force)
The last of the KC-135As was delivered to USAF at Seattle
o n 12 January 1965 and was assigned to the 380th Aerial
Refue lling Squadron at Pla ttsburgh AFB, NY. The following
mQnth, the production line cl osed with deli very of the last RC-
135B, although the final aircraft to be handed over were the
four RC- 135As, retained until January 1966 fo r installa tio n of
special equipment.
The KC-135A in detail
The KC-135A was designed, in the fi rst instance, to meet the
air refuelling/transport needs of Stra tegic Air Command, with
tanks in the lower fuselage and in the win gs to carry both air
PAG E 222 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
refuellin g and aircraft fuel. The main cabin area is available fo r
cargo/troop transport pu rposes - 80 to 160 troo ps or up to
83,000 Ib (37 650 kg) in pa yload - a nd a main ca rgo door
mea suri ng 72 in by 114 in ( 1,83 x 2,90 m) is loca ted'; n the port
side forward of the wing. A no nna l crew of four com prises ~
pilot, co-pilot, navigator and boom opera tor. Four J57-P-59W
or J 57-P-43W8 turbojet engines equipped with wa ter injection
power the aircraft (although the first production batch lacked
water injection a nd operated a t a lower gross weight). Thrust
reversers are not fitted. A sin gle H F probe a ntenna is mo un ted
at the top of the vertical fi n, ex tending forwards.
Prima ry fli ght control is provided th rough manual, non-
hydraul ically boosted systems for the a ilerons, spoilers,
elevators and rudder. Aerodynamic balance panels and
balance tabs assist the flight crew in operat ing the primary
flight co ntrols. Secondary flight controls consist of Fowler
flaps o n the wing trai ling edge, with split fiUet flaps, speed
brakes and a n adjustable horizontal stabiliser.
The inboard ai lerons a re used throughout all flight speed
regimes, whereas the outboard aileron s are used fo r low speed
fli gh t o nly. When the fl aps are retracted, a lockout mechanism
in the ailero n control system disengages the o utboa rd ailerons,
which are moved by direct ca ble control - not a control tab. A
force-relief tab reduces control wheel forces. Normal flap
operation is through the hydraulic system. A ma nua l o r
electric back-up flap opera ting system is provided , the former
on a ll KC-135A a nd KC-1 35A-derived models, the RC-135 8
a nd its derivatives, and the elect ric back-up system on o ther
models of the - 135.
Early KC- 135As were delivered with a manually-operated
rudder. These aeroplanes had a height of 38 ft 5 in (11 ,7 1 m)
and were identifiable by the fin cap being mounted directly
a bove the rudder; they were retrofitted, and later production
-135s were delivered, with a powered rudder. This cha nge,
which resulted in a 40-i n ( 1,02-m) fin extensio n, significantly
improved aircraft sta bility and control at lower speeds, and is
identifiable by the fin extension above the rudder with the fin
cap insta lled o n top. The overall height of the aircraft was
increased to 41 ft 8 in (12,7 m).
The KC- 135A 's fuel system is made up of22 tanks, 12 in the
win g and nine in the fuselage, with a total capacit y of 31 ,200
US ga l ( 11 81051). Each wet wing has two main ta nks a nd a n
outboard reserve tank, while the cen tre wing tank is made up
of six bladder cells. Four bladder cells comprise the forward
body tank, which is located in the lower fuselage just a head of
the front wing spar ; the aft body tank is behind the main
landing gear wheel wells and consists of five bladder cells.
There is one tank above the cabin floor, in the aft end of the
fuse lage. In normal ope ra tion, direct tank-lo-engi ne fuel feed
uses the main wing tanks; however, any engine can be fed
through a cross-feed system from a ny tank. The body fue l
tanks no rma lly provide fue l fo r refuelling; all onboard fue l
may be used by the engines; and a ll but 1,000 US gal (3785 J)
may be used for refuelling. Usable fuel quantities a re
approximately 5,800 US gal/37,7oo Ib (2 1955 1/1 7 100 kg)
from the forward ta nk and 6,378 US ga l/41 ,457 Ib (24 143 1/
18805 kg) from the aft tank. The fuel nozzle pressure is
regulated to approximately 45-50 psi (3,2-3,5 kg/cml ) and the
fuel flow rate is approxima tely 5,850 Ib/min (2654 kg/min) in
the basic aircraft, altho ugh there are plans to increase this
through a future modificatio n programme as noted la ter.
The fl ying boom refuelling system in the KC-135A is similar
in concept to that pioneered by Boeing on the KB-29, KB-50
a nd KC-97; it comprises a rigid boom that can be lowered and
telescopicaUy-extended from the underside of the tanker and
then " flown" by a boom operator until the tip makes contact
with a refuelling receptacle in the receiver aircraft that is
fo rmating behind and below the ta nker. Fuel is pumped from
the fuselage tanks through check valves, directly into the air
refuellin g ma nifold , to the air refuelling line valve, through the
a ir refuelling pressure regulator and fuel fl o w transmitter, and pilots' station . the receptacle being ma ni folded into the
then o ut through the boom. Some aircraft a re equipped with a aero pla ne's air refuelling system .
reverse-fl ow refuelling system so that a receiver aircraft can From its inception, the KC-1 35A was designed to operate in
assist the tan ker sho uld the latter itself be short of fuel. the boom/receptacle mode. By 1960, it had become apparent
AII -1 35 aircraft have a boom operato r's station pod bulging that the St ratotanker could also be used to support TAC
beneath the rear fu selage; in some of the special-duty varia nts, fighters then fitted fo r probe-and-drogue refuelling, and a hose
the sta tio n is not used. On tanker a ircraft, this statio n has and drogue were designed to be attached to the KC·135A
positions for a boom operator, an instructor and a student boom. For this purpose, a collapsible drogue and coupling
ope rator. Three pa llets ("' ironing boards") with safe ty were fitted to 42 in (1 ,07 m) of hose and 48 in (1 ,22 m) of rigid
harnesses, communications equipment and oxygen equipment tubing, which in turn was attached to an adapter, thus fo rming
are available for each crew member. One set of boom theentire hose a nd drogue assembly. a lmost 13 ft (3,96 m) lo ng
operati ng controls is installed in the compartment , consisting a nd approximately 12 1 Ib (54,9 kg) in weight. Aeroplane
of an instrument panel, boom hoist lever a nd boom telescope performance with the drogue installed is degraded by an
lever for use by the opera to r's left ha nd and a ruddevator increase in fuel consumptio n of approximately I lb (0,45 kg) of
cont rol stick for use by the operato r's right ha nd. A periscope fuel per hour.
may be used to increase the opera tor's field of vision.
Two types of air refuelling booms may be used on the KC- Tanker variants
135A - high speed and standard speed - using interchange- Fifty-six KC-135As have been modified into KC-135Qs fo r
able booms. Use of the high speed boom with matched use by SAC. These aircraft have specialised avionics for
ruddeva tors places no restrictions over and above the normal rendezvous with the SR-7IAs and a fuel system capable of
clean aeroplane placard speeds, whereas a ircraft equipped
with standard speed booms are restricted to 330 knots (611
km/h) calibra ted air speed or Mach 0·85, whichever is less.
High speed booms have ex tended latch fairings to reduce drag
and are placarded HIGH SPEED BOOM on the latch fairi ng. The
ruddevators that control the " fli ght" of the boom must be
matched to the boom, and high-speed ruddevators are
placarded HI G H SPEED BOOM o n both the upper a nd lower
surfaces; they are also identifiable by the full -span o ne-piece
trim tab, as compared to the ha lf- span three-piece tab o n the
standard-speed ruddevators. The refuelling boom consists of
I WO concentric tubula r sections capable of extending over a ( Above) aile of the four RC-JJ5As operated by the JJ70 th Photo
range of 28 to 47 ft (8,5- 14,3 m). Nomina l travel oflhe boom is Mapping Wing. showing the camera ports in the f airing that extends
in a cone withi n 30 deg left a nd right azimuth and an eleva tion f rom the nose wheel bay to the wing leading edge. These aircraft did not
hal'e ref uelling equipment installed but have now been com'erted to KC-
of + 12·5 degand - 50 deg. IJ5Ds fo r use as tankers.
Two rows of lights are mo un ted on the bottom of the
fuse lage between the nose a nd main wheel wells, and serve to
provide instructions to the receiver a ircraft pilot for
co rrections in forward, aft, up a nd down movement. A
fluorescent yellow stripe 8 in (20 cm) wide and 65 ft (19,8 m)
long, between the directo r lights and the boom pod , serves as
an additional visual aid to the receiver aircraft pilot for
maintaining lo ngit udinal alignment behind the tanker aircraft.
Many of the KC- 135 varia nts a re also equipped with an air
refuelling receiver (ARR) system. An ARR slipway and
receptacle, covered by slipway doors when no t in use, are
insta lled on the top centreline of the fuselage slightly aft of the
( Abol'e right) aile of the three short-jinned "boomless tanker " KC- IJ5As supplied. to MATS prio~ to de.lil·ery of their own C-JJ~A~. This a~rcraft
e,'entually became an RC-JJ5D. ( Below) A turbofall-engined. tall-finned C-J35B In M ATS markings with day-glo orange consplculty markings.
PAGE 223
 Boeing KC-135 Cutaway Dra w i ng Kay 152 Port navigation light 171 Bulkhead section 194 Scanning side window 211 Tail plane support litting
153 Port wingtip 172 Cargo deck 195 Boom operator's pressure 2'2 Tail plane centre-section
1 Detachable ,adome 62 No 4 main tank: capacity 101 Keel beam antenna bay 133 Wing ribs 154 Port outer aileron 173 Soundp!'oofing/ insulation window 213 Tail plane end plate
2 Weather radar scanner 2,062 US gal (78051) 102 Bulkhead section 134 Lower surfaca inner stringers 155 Aileron control tab lining 196 Inward -o pening fairing door 214 Ribs
3 Radar array 63 leading-edge wing flap 103 Fuselage light (wing 135 No 1 main tank: capacity 156 Bus quadrant 174 Cabin ai r duct (with w indow) 2'5 Port tail plane
4 Forward pressura bulkhead 64 No 4 engine nacelle illumination) 2,062 US gal (78051) 157 Port outer double· slotted 175 Cargo trallersing rails 197 Pod pivot/a uachment boom 216 Elevator torque tube
5 Forward fu selage structure 6. No 4 engine luel ei r starter 104 Wingroot / fu selege lillet plate 136 Front spar flap 176 Cargo "ing/ hoist leiring 217 Elevator internal balance
6 Pilafs side console tank 10. Front spar pick· up point 137 Fuel filler access 158 Port outer spoiler.; 177 Midships emergency rescue 198 Cargo deck penel
7 Rudder pedal assembly 66 Oil cooler chin inteke scoop 106 Port landing lights 138 Strengtheners 159 Port inner aileron CUi -out points '99 Aft pressure bulkhead 218 Port elellator
8 Central console 67 Engine inlet nose cowl 107 Air-conditioning pack (port) 139 Dry bay. 160 Aileron conlfollab 178 Ah luselage underfloor fuel 200 Fin root lairing 219 Elevator control tab
9 Instrument panel 6. Nacelle pylon intake scoop 140 Pylon lairing 161 Hinge lairing tanks (lille tanks) : capacity 201 Fairing formers 220 Tailplane actua tor tab
10 Windscreen defrost / rain 6' Dry bays 10. leading-edge structure 141 Strut access 162 Port inner double-sloned 6,378 US gal (241431) 202 AN / APN -69 receiver 221 Boom rudde llatorl
remOllal 70 No 4 reserve tank capacity 10' Wing ITont spar 142 Hinged cowling panels flap 179 Cabin side window transmitter 222 Boom neck lairing
11 Windscreen panels 434 US gal (1 6(31) 110 Inboard wing stringer.; 143 Engine inlet nose cowl 163 Port inner spoilers 180 Bulkhead stationl 203 Tailtin spar attachment 223 Tail nalligation light
12 Co· pilot's seat 71 Wing outer leading-edge 111 No 2 mein tank inoar wall; 144 Nacelle frame 164 Wing lillet !lap 181 Wingrootlairing points 224 Crash locator beacon
13 Eyebrow windows 72 Starboard navigation light capacity 2,275 US gal 145 Pylon structure 165 Undercarriage attachment 182 Fuselage skinning 225 Ah frame
14 Ditching external handholds 73 Starboard wingtip (86121) 146 Pylon su pport strut fairing 183 Ah escape hatch (starboard 226 Tab hinge fairing
15 Overhead console 74 Starboard outer ailelOn 112 StitfeneNi 147 Fixed ah panels only) 227 Rudder trim tab
16 Crew instructor's seat 7. Aileron lockout mechanism 113 Engine bleed air manifold 148 Nacelle support ah fa iring 228 Starboard elevator
17 Pilot's seat 76 Flap torque tube linkage 114 Water injection manifold 149 Wing outer leading -edge 229 Rudder anti -balance tab
18 Crew instructor's console 77 Aileron balance tab 11. Four· wheel main landing · 150 No 1 reserve tank; capacity 230 Fairing
19 Escape spoiler 78 Actuating links gear 434 US gal (16431) 231 Rudder frame
20 Entry and escape hatch 79 8us quadrant 116 Torsion links 161 Rear spar 232 Rudder post
21 Nosewheel hydraul ic 117 Landing -gear trunnion 233 Rudder internal balance
actuator 118 Wing rear Spar penel
22 Entry/ escape tunnel 11 9 Angled ribs 234 Rudder control quadrant
23 Crew entry door 235 AN / APN -69 radar beacon
24 Ladder antenna
25 Twin nosewheels 236 VOR antenna
26 Fuselage frame 237 Fin leading-edge
27 AC power shield 238 Fin structure
28 Electrical equipment racks _ HI 239 Rudder filted !railing edge
240 Audder upper hinge
241 HFantennae
242 HF probe antenna

29 Supernumerary crew
observation)
s,atio"~:2~f~~~i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1~~~i
30 Navigator's Slool (Celestial:
31 Navigator's seal
32 Navigator's instrument panel
33 Overhead storage rack
34 Celestial observation
windows
35 Window defrost
36 Electronics rack
37 Flight deck door
38 Circuit breaker panel
39 Toilet
40 Battery
41 Cargo door frame
42 Forward fuselage undartloor
fuel lanks (four tanks) :
capacity 5,800 US gal
(219551)
43 Floor support beam
44 Cargo deck: 5,000 Ib lind
10,000 Ib (2268-4540 kg)
tie-down finings
45 Cargo door hinges
46 Mein cabin air supply risers
(starboard)
47 Door upper frame
48 Cabin air duCI
49 Fuselage frame
50 Engine inlel nose cowl
51 No 3 engine nacelle
62 Oillmer access
2.50 166
167
Port landing-gear well
Landing-gear pivot
168 Side strut
169 Undercarriage retract ion strut
170 Rear spar pick· up point
80 Starboard outer spoilers
81 Starboard outer flep
82 Flap track
83 Snubber
84 Trim actuator
85 Aileron control tab Boeing K C-1 3SA S iratotanker Specification
86 Starboard inner aileron
87 Hinge feiring Power P la nl: Four Pratt & Whitney J 57-P-59W turbojcts cach
88 Actuator linkage rated at 13,750 lb SI (6 237 kgp) for take-ofT, with watcr injcction.
89 Starboard inner double- Fuel capacity, 31,200 US gal (1 181051) in integral tanks in each
slolted flap wing. bladder tanks in centre sect ion. fore and aft underfloor in
90 Flap track the fuselage and abovc deck in the rear fuselage ,
91 Starboard inner spoilers Performance: Typical cruis ing speed, max load refuelling
92 Wing rear spar
93 Oorsal identification mission, 532 mph (856 kmfh) a t 35,000 n ( 10 668 m); initial rate
94 Cabin air duct of climb, 1,290 n /min (6,65 m/sec); one engine-out climb rate,
95 Starboard midships 184 Ahluselagestructure 580 ft/min (29,5 m/ sec); timc to 34.500 n (9300 m), 27 min;
escape hatch 185 Conditioned air connection c ritical field length . max weight, ISA +17 deg C al sea le vel.
96 Centre-facing troop (Arctic capability) 13,700 n (4 176 m ): missio n radius. 3.000 naut mls (5 552 km) to
seating (80) 186 Boom operato'-s air duct offioad 24,000 lb (10 886 kg) fucl, 2.000 naut mls (3700 km ) to
(window demiSI) offioad 74 ,000 lb (33 566 kg) fu cl. 1.000 naUI mls (I 850 km) 10
187 Ah emergency rescue cut- o moad 120,000 Ib (54 432 kg) fuel.
188 g~!;~:k opening (boom Weights: Operating weigh t empty. 106,306lb(48 220 kg): norma l
operator's position eccess) take-ofT weight, 301 ,600 Ib (136806 kg); max ollerload weight.
189 Boom operetor's station 316.000 Ib (143 338 kg),

i
~i~il~~~li"1'~~i~'~~j~!'9l~o .!oo~m~h~"·1"~/~"~'''''~;Ope~;~.~1~Oli~" ~"':il0~",~,!s:pa~n, in
53 Surge bleed outlet
54 Nacelle pylon coniroil (40.99 m); height overall. 41 n 8 in (12,69 m); wing area, 2,433 sq
191 Student',/ observer's pallet ft (226,03 m l ) ; sweepback, 35 degon quarter c hord line; dihedral,
(ilarboard) 7 deg constanl; undercarriage track, 22 ft 1 in (6,73 m ):
13lYn 10 (39,88 m); length overall. 134 n 6 in
wheelbase, 45 ft 8 in (13.92 m).

". 243 Aerial reluelling boom

(deployed)
244 800m operator's window
245 Scanning side window
120 Pylon/wing fairing
121 Pylon strut access
'22 No 2 engine pylon PI LOT PRESS
123 Nacelle CO PYRIG HT
124 Engine inlet nose cowl
55 Pylon strut access 125 Oil cooler chin in take scoop DRAWING 204 Auto pilot servo Underfloor ah fuel tanks
56 Wing leading-edge 126 Pralt & Whitney J57- P-59W 205 Ah bulkhead (five)
57 No 3 main fuel tank: capacity turbojet 206 Ah upper deck tank: capacity 247 Air·conditioning pack inllke
~oop

2,275 US gal (86121)
58 Fuelliller access
59 Starboard inner pylon light
(fuselage illumination)
60 Pylon strut attachment
61 Wing Iront spar
Troop 5eatsuppon rails 127 Engine drive alternators 2,174 US gal (82301)
98 Centre-section w ing link: 128 Oil tank 207 Tank support beam 248 Cergo door (open)
capacity 7,306 US gal 129 Teil pipe 208 Pod line 249 Underfloor forward fu el
(33141) 130 Exhaust outlet cone 209 Aerial reluelling boom tanks (four)
99 Port midships escape hatch 131 Necelle su pport ah lairing 192 Boom operator's pellet (stowed) 250 Refuelling enllelope central
100 Wing centre-section top skin 132 leading-edge wing flap 193 Ins!ructor's pallet (port) 210 Tailplane jack screw di rector lights

PAGE 224 AI R INTERNATIONAL/ NOV EMB ER 1980 PAGE 225


,.
L (11f t ) Three-~ie14'Jrawingof the Boeing KC-135A in its standort/form,
handlin g the specia lised JP-7 fue l fo r the "Blackbirds", An
ext ra TACAN antenna has been installed externally. Some
a ircraft a re " partials" operated by various SAC refue lling
units in conjunctio n with their regular KC-135As; the only
refuelling unit equipped exclusively with the KC-135Q is the
lOOth Air Refu elin g Wing located at Beale AFB, Californ ia.
Twelve C I35Fs were procured by the French Air Force
(Armee de rAir) in 1964, to provide a global capability for the
Strategic Air Force Mirage IV bombers. Using the probe and
drogue refuelling system, these aircraft were o riginally
assigned to three units - 91st. 93rd and 94th £Scadres de
Bombardement. On 1 July 1976, the 93rd Escadre was
disbanded a nd all of the C- 135Fs were reassigned to the 9 1st
and 94th £Scadres. Procured from Boeing through US
government cha nnels, the C-135Fs carry USAF serial
numbers 63-8470 thru' 63-8474 a nd 63- 12735 thru' 63- 12740;
one of the 12 is no longer in service.
C-1355 for MATS
Fifteen C-1 35A and 30 C- 135 B Stratolifters were procured by
the USAF fo r use by MATS as long range logistics transports
starting in 1961, as a stop-gap measure pendi ng delivery of the
Lockheed C- 141 Sta rLifters. The C- 135As had the same
engines as the KC-135A whereas the C- 135Bs introduced Pra tt
& Whitney TF33-P-5 turbofans, with thrust reversers. Able to
ca rry up to 126 troops o r 89,000 Ib (40 370 kg) of cargo, the C-
135s had the refuelling boom and associated gear deleted,
a lthough retaining the boom operator's station; they were
built with the taller fin and powered rudder oflater KC-135As.
but pending delivery of the first C-135As, Boeing modified
three short-tailed KC-1 35As to an interim C- 135A configura-
tion a nd the first of these flew on 19 May 1961. The first
C-135 B fl ew on 15 February 1962.
PAGE 226 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
The fleet ofC-135 Bs was equally divided between the 1611 th
Air Transport Wing of MATS at McGuire AFB. NJ. for use
by the 18th and 41 st Air Transport Squadrons, on the Eastern
Transport Air Force (EASTAF) routes to Europe and the
Middle East; and the 150 lst ATW at Travis AFB, Calif, fo[
the 44th ATS o n WESTAF routes to the Far East. In addition.
McGuire received 13 C-135As and T ravis received one; one
other C- 135A was assigned to the Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratories at Los Alamos, New Mexico (as described in
Part Two of this account) but in practice the Tra vis and Los
Alamos aircraft (serials 60-376 a nd 60-377) were opera ted
alternately.
Beginning in 1965, the Boeing transports were replaced by
Lockheed C- 141As as the mainstay of the airl ift Command
(MAC), and the C I35A/ B fl eet was then dispersed in the Air
Force Systems Comma nd (AFSC) test fleet , SAC recon-
naissance fleet , MA C VIP fleet and Air Weather Service
fl eet. Two C-135As were assigned to the 89th Military Airlift
Wing (MA W) of MAC at Andrews AFB. Ma ryla nd . for usc
as administrati ve support aircraft in 1975. one wit h a VIP
interior installed. In 1977, two C- 135As (60-376 and 60-378)
were assigned to the 55th Strategic Reconnai ssa nce Win g
(S RW) of SAC at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, fo r administrative
support d uties. The other remaining C-135A (60-377) is
currentl y assigned to the 4950th Test Wing, AFSC, Wright-
Patterson AFB, Ohio for R&D missio ns.
Five C-135 Bs, convened into VC- 135Bs in 1975. were
assigned to the 89th MA W, Andrews AFB (serial numbers 62-
4 125. -4 126, -4127, -4129 and -4130). They were operated in
consort with the VC-137s (see Part Two) as high level
government transports but by August 1977, only two (62-4126
a nd -4 127) remained with the 89th MA W. The others reverted
to C-135 Bs; o ne (64-4 125) was assigned to the 435th Tactical
continued on page 236
with definilil'e /all fin . ( Below, top to bol/om) Side vit'ws of the early
shorl-jinned KC-/35A ; the short-Jinned C-/35A ; the RC-/35A .. the tall-
filJlled C-/35 B with turbofan engines alld the KC-135RE with CHI-56
turbofans.
B who, from the o utset, placed all emphasis o n aerodynamic
Mitsubishi Ki.46 ...
among the most graceful warplanes of
U NQUESTIONABLY
any nation deployed during Wo rld War II and included
with the most efficacious. Mitsubishi's ballerina-like Type 100
Command Reconnaissance Aircraft, or Ki .46, was unique in
being the only land-based warplane designed from the outset
specifica lly for the stra tegic reconnaissance role to see
operational usage by any combatant. From its first clandestine
overflights of Malaya before Japanese forces la unched
hostili ties until its surveillance of the Superfort ress bases in the
Marianas as these hostilities drew to their close, this supremely
elegant creation of the immense Mitsubishi conglomera te
served Im perial Japan as a fa r-seei ng eye. Ranging across the
vast expanses of the Pacifi c, the Ki.46 was a painful thorn in
the side of the Allies over Malaya. the Dutch East Indies, New
Gui nea, Burma, China and the Philippines; indeed, wherever
Japanese forces were engaged this warpla ne was to be
encountered and, to the perturbation of the Allies, such was its
performance that until virt ually the final phases of the war it
fu lfilled its task with impunity.
The fact that Japan alone among the futu re combatants of
World War II had considered the strategic reconnaissance
mission of sufficient imponance to warrant development of an
aircraft solely for its fu lfilment was not, in itself, surprising in
view of the geographical scale of operations envisaged by
Japanese militarists in the late 'thirties, when concluding that a
Pacific conflict was no longer merely desirable but inevitable.
What was surprising was the extent of the advance in the state
of the art demanded when , in 1937, the Imperial Army's Air
Headq uarters, or Koku Hombu. formulated its specification
for a dedicated strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Issued to
Mitsubishi on 12 December 1937, this called for an aircraft
possessing a six-hour endurance and a speed performance
enabling it to evade interception by any fighter existing o r
known to be under development ! The design team was given
an entirely free ha nd in the mea ns that it employed in meeting
these primary requirements.
The task was assigned to Tomio Kubo and Joj i Hattori ,
cleanli ness, adopting the minimum practical fuse lage cross
sectio n and the thinnest available wing section, while the
Aeronautical Research Institute of the University of Tokyo
devoted its attentio n to the devel~o~p:m~e~n~t~o~r~c~lo~se
:.:fi~tt~in~g~.~I~O:W~._ _'::;;~:=:~~::~===:;:==;:;==;';;;;::;;::::i
WARBIRDS __________I
drag cowlings for the Mitsubishi Ha·26 14-cylinder two·row
radials that had been selected to power the new a ircraft, which,
meanwhi le, had been assigned the Kitai (Experimental
Airframe) designation Ki.46. The basic design that evolved
was an all-metal stressed-ski n low-wing monoplane with a
fully retractable undercarriage. the cockpits of the pilot and
radio-operato r/gunner being separated by the main fuel tank
bay close to the aircraft 00. The wing comprised a si ngle main
spar and two auxiliary spars, provision being made for fuel
tanks fore and aft of the main spar, both inboard and
outboa rd of the engine nacelles, these combining with the main
tank to provide a total capacity of 328 Imp gal ( 14901). All
fixed surfaces had f1u s h-riv~ ted li ght a lloy skinning, the fl a ps
were metal skinned. and the ailerons a nd movable tail surfaces
were fabric covered. The fu selage was a n oval -section flu sh-
riveted scmi-monocoquc, and some measu re of defence was
provided by a single 7,7-mm Type 89 machine gun on a flex.ible
mountin g in the rear cockpi t. The Ha-26-Ko engines each
possessed a military rating of 875 hp at 11 ,8 10 ft (3600 m),
offering 780 hp at 2,540 rpm for take·off and d riving 9 ft (2,75
m) diameter three-bladed Sumitomo (Hamilton Standard)
co nstant-speed propel1ers.
The Ki.46 was subjected to the most intensive wind tu nnel
programme conducted in Japan to that time and emerged as a
highly refined design, the first prototype being completed
during the co urse of October 1939 at the Kagamigahara plant,
north of Nagoya , where it was to enter flight test early in the
( Head ofpage and below) The most widely utilised version of the Type
J()() Command Reconnaissance Aircraft was the Ki,46-0tsu, the first
Ha -J02-engineJ mode/which sow st'TI'iu throughout/he Pacific conjfict.
PAGE 227
following m o mh . R espon s ible for initial tria ls was Major there was reaso n to s uppose that develo pment of the H a-26 59 OKYgen hose 82 Fuselage structure 149 Aileron fiKed tab
60 Seat support frame 83 Dorsal identification lighl 150 Port aileron frame
Yuzo Fujita, the Im peria l Army's foremost test pilot a nd a with a two-speed supercharger a s the H a- I02 t he n in progress 61 Controllod linkage 84 Aarial 151 Aileron actuating hinge
member o f the s taff of the T ech nical Bra nch of t h e Kokll would e nable t h e sh o rtfa ll in s peed performance to be made 62 Wingroot fi1let 85 Aarial lead-in lairing
63 Wing front spar/fu selage 86 Radio installation 152 Pon wing tip structure
Hombll that had fo rmulated the specification to w hich the good. frame 87 Anti-vi blation mounlings 153 Pon nalligation tight
Ki.46 had been evolved. From the outset, it was obvious that Prod uctio n had a lready been a uthorised of a p re -series o f... 64 Main spar centre-section 88 Cenlle·section side window 154 Front spar
the Ki .46 possessed insufficient power to achieve the 373 mph a ircraft a s t h e T ype 100 Command Reconnaissance Airc raft cafl)' -through 89 Main reconnaissance camera 155 Pitot tube
65 Wing control surface installation 156 Wing ribs
(600 km/ h) m aximum speed at 13, 125 ft (4 000 m) called for b y Model Ko· w ith similar Ha -26-Ko engines to t he prototypes,
the specificatio n , clocking only 336 mph (540 km /h) at this a nd the K agamiga ha ra p la nt was inst r ucted to proceed with .i 66
67
actuating rods
Canopy !rack
Canopy fiKed aft glazing
'"
altitude during s peed tria ls, but in every o ther respect the new these while d evelo p ment was pursued of a n H a- 102-engined 68 Armoured headrest suppan
reco n naissance aircraft met o r exceeded requirements, and m o d el, the Ki.46-0tsu·, a s the initial opera tional version. The
p re-series Ki.46-Ko aircraft began to a ppea r in t h e late s prin g
'J 69
70
71
Aerial mast
Dorsal decking
Fuselage main (contoured
o f 1940, these being a ss igned a s avai la ble to a s pecially.created cut-out) fuel tank PI LOT PRESS
unit for intensive service evaluation and the Shim oshizu Arm y 72 Spring -loaded hand/ entry COPYRIGHT
grips DRAWING
73 Cockpit fOl mer longeron
• The Kanj i characters Ko, Ots u, Hei, etc, possessed a sequential 74 Fuel feed lines
significance in word meaning if not always in aClUai practice, Ko 75 Cenlle-section camela
signifying "premier" or ''primary'', Otsu indicating "secondary", Hei mo unting rings
standing fo r ""tertiary" , and so on. 76 Venllal sliding hatch
77 Halch actuating lever
39 Unstepped nose glazing 78 Venlral glazing
40 Inner coaming 79 Centre-section compartment
41 FiKed frame 80 Centra-section camera
MIt.ubl. hi 42 Nose panels stowage
43 Nose landing tamp 81 Suppon Irame
Ki,46-Hel w:~~')f~i'):;,1':~ 44
45
Starboald mainwheel
Nose access/ {optional)
Cutaway Dra wing
camera hatch
1 Starboard navigation light
2 Starboard wingtip
3 Wing front sp.ar 11 3 Rudder upper hinge 157 Wing structure
4 Main spar 114 Rudder frame 158 Access panels
5 AUKiliary rear spar 11 5 Rudder lIim lab 159 Wing main sp.ar
6 Starboard aile ron 11 6 Rudder actuating hinge 160 l eading ·edgefuel tank
7 Aileron hinges 11 7 Rudder tab hinge fairing 161 Filler/access
8 Aileron ectuating hinge 118 Rudder post 162 Centre fuel lank
fairing 11 9 Rudder conto ured lowel 163 Aft fu el lank
9 Aileron fiKed tab section 164 Nacelie formels
10 Access plates 120 Tail navigation light 165 Bulkhead frame
11 Conlrol rods 121 Elevator trim ta b 166 Engine bearer ring support
12 Leading-edge fuel tank 122 Tab actuating hinge attachment
13 Filler/ access points 123 Elevator frame 167 Port nacelle oil tank
14 Rib station 90 Aft cockpit 124 Elevator hinge 168 EKhaust slots
15 Centre sp.ar 91 FiKed glazing 125 Elevator balance 169 Wing inner centre fuel tank
16 Centre fuel lank 92 Canopy sliding section 126 Tailplane Slluctule 170 Wing inner aft fuel tank
17 Ah fuel lank 93 Canopy frames 127 Tailplane front spar 171 Wing main sp.ar allachment
18 Flap profile 94 Aft bulkhead 128 Control cables 172 Wing fron l sp.ar allachmant
19 Starboard flap outer section 95 Canopy track 129 Ribs 173 l eading-edge ribs
130 Tail plane taillin front 174 Cowling fram e
20
21
22
Starboard nacelle aft fa iring
Wing inll&r ah fuel tank
Wing inner centre fu el tank
" 96 Dorsal g un stowage trough
(deleted)
97 Canopy end gluing
spar/fuselage integral
member
175
176
Cowling inner Irame
Engine bearer ring
23 Nacelle panels 131 Tailwheel retraction guide 177 Undercarriage retraction strut
24 Access Irack 178 Cooling gills
25 Engine bearer ling sup port 132 Shock absorber strut 179 Mainwheel leg pivot
26 Cooling gills 133 Tailwheel retraction strut 180 Engine bearer ring lower
27 EKhaust slots 134 Suppon flame support strut
28 Cowling inner ring 135 Relfaclable lailwheel 181 EKhaust
29 Intake trunking 136 Tailwheel doors 182 Mainwheel door
30 Intake slot 137 Fuselage lIentral panelling 183 Mai nwheel leg
31 Spinner 138 Lower longeron 184 Port mainwheel
139 First-aid/ access 185 AKle
140 Inspection/access panel 186 Braka line
Milsubishi Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance 187 To rque links
Aircraft r, .. .,,""'" 188 Shock strut
Power P lant: (Ki.~Olsu) Two Mitsubishi Ha-102 (Army Type 189 Lower inlake
I) 14-cylinder two-row radial air.cooled engines each rated a t 32 190 Engine cowling nose ring
191 Inner ring
1.080 hp at 2,700 rpm for take-ofTand 1,050 hp at 9.185 ft (2 800 192 Gear housing
m) and 950 hp at 19,030 ft (5 800 m) at 2,600 rpm, dri ving three- 193 Three -blade Sumitomo
blade constant-speed Sumitomo propellersof9 ft 8i in(2,95 m) propellar
d iam. Total internal fuel capacity, 364 Imp gal (16571). (Ki.~ 194 Spinner
H el) Two Mits ubishi Ha-112-0tsu (Army T ype 4) 14-cylinder ;;;:~:::~~':95 Sianer dog
two-row radial air-cooled engines each rated a t 1,500 hp at 2.600
rpm fortake-ofTand 1,350 hpat 6,560 ft (2000m)and 1,250 hp at
19,030 ft (5800 m) at 2.500 rpm, driving t hree-blade consta nt-
speed Sumitomo propellers of 9 ft 8, in (2,95 m) diam. Total
internal fuel capacity, 41 7 1mp gal ( I 895 1) a nd provision fo r 101
Imp gal (4601) dro p ta nk o n fuselage centreline.
Perfonnaoce: ( Ki.46-0Isu) Maximum speed, 375 mph (604
km/ h) at 19,030 ft (5800 m); ra nge c ru ise, 265 mph (426 km/h) 98 Fuselage panelling
at 13, 125 ft (4000 m); max ran ge, 1,537 mls (2 474 km ); ti me to 99 Fuselage structure
26,245 ft (8000 m), 11·96 min; service ceiling, 35, 170 ft ( 10 720 46 Nose (optional) fuel tank 100 Fuselage frames
m). ( Ki,46-Hel) Maximum speed, 391 mph (630 km/h) at 19.685 47 Fuselage forward frame 101 Tail surface control lines
ft (6000 m); range cruise, 257 mph (414 km/h ) at 14,765 ft 48 Rudder pedal assembly 102 Whing tube
(4 500 m); max ra nge (with drop tank), 2,485 mls (4000 km ); 49 Control column 103 Taillin root fa iring
50 Throllie quadrant 104 Starboard tailplane
time to 26,245 ft (8000 m), 20·25 min; service ceiling, 34,450 ft 32 Tllree· blade prope1ler 51 Seat adjustme nt lever 105 Elevator balance Fuselage skinning
(10 500 m). 33 Staner dog 52 Contlol hOlD 106 Starboard elevator Retracta ble crew entry slep 196 Propeller hub
Weights: ( Ki .~Otsu) Empty, 7, I931b (3 263 kg); loaded, 11,133 . 34 P,opeller hub 53 Compass housing 107 Eleva tor hinge Wingrool fillet 197 Intake trunking
Ib (5 050 kg). ( Ki .~ Hel) Empty, 8,446 Ib (3831 kg); loaded, 35 Rolduction gear housing 54 Starboard eleetrics panal 108 Taillin leading-edge 144 Pan flap inner structure 198 Intake slot
12,6 15 Ib (5 722 kg).
I,
Dimensions: Span, 48 ft 2i in (1 4,70 m); length , 36 ft in ( 11 ,00
m); height. 12 ft 8i in (3.88 m); wing a rea, 344'46 sq ft (32,00 ml ).
36
37
Cowling nose ring
Mitsubishi Ha· 11 2 Dtsu
radial engine
38 EKhaust manifold
55
56
57
58
canopy sliding section
Pilot's headrest
Pilot's 13-mm back armou r
Pilafs seat and harness
109
110
111
112
Tailfin forward spar
Taillin structure
Aerial allachment
Rudder balance
145
146
147
148
Pan nacelle aft fairing
Pan flap outel section
Flap profile
Aile ron hinges
199 Ventral {centre· li ne) tank
pylon
200 AUKitiary ventlal fuel tank
(101 Imp gal/460 I cap.acily)

PAG E 228 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980 PAGE 229

 powered pre-series ai rcraft, was hurriedly assigned to a half-
dozen independent compa nies ( Dokuril su Doi Shijugo
Chulais) activated between July and September 194 1 at the
Kagamigaha ra air base specifically fo r the strategic recon-
naissance role. These chUlais - the 50th, 51st, 70th, 74t h, 76th
and 81st - were despatched as fo rmed to Manchuria from
where they were immediately redeployed to strategically
si tuated bases ena bling them to reconnoitre - on occasions
under local Imperial Navy command - vi rtually the entire
South-East Asian scene of fut ure operations, the 5 1st Chulai,
fo r example, moving, in September, to Kompong Trach,
Cambodia 1 from where it flew clandestine overflights of
Malaya wi th Ki.46-Ko aircraft.
The Ki.46 was soon ubiquito us in South· East Asia and
much of China; wherever Japa nese forces were to strike the
ta rget was first reconnoitred by this outsta nding aircraft
which had little di ffic ulty in evading fighter interception, a nd
even when the USAAF was to deploy P-38F Lightnings to the
Pacific a nd the RAAF was to receive some Spitfire Vs for the
( Abo.'e) A Ki.46-0 Isu ofthe8ls1 Sentai's 2nd Chulai. The81S1 WCl$ one oftheftrst Sentaisformed on the Ki.46 and saw service Ol'er China, Indochina, defence of Northern Australia, which was being reconnoitred
Malaya, Sumalra, Java and Burma. ( Below) A Ki.46-0Isu of the 82nd Sentai, which,formed in the autumn 0/1944, operaled ol'er China, Korea and by Ki .46s based on Timor, the successful interception of the
Manchuria.
Mitsubishi reconnaissance aircra ft remained very much the
exception. Nevertheless, the advent of more efficacious Allied
fighters was obviously but a ma tter of time, and in the summer
of 1942, work was proceeding on a version of the aircraft
offeri ng an even more advanced perfo rma nce, the Ki .46- Hei.
It was at this ti me that lhe Directorate of Intelligence of the
Allied Air Forces (Southwest Pacifi c Area) assigned the
reporting name Dinah to the Ki .46, which, by now was viewed
as one of the most troublesome (to the Allies) of any aircraft
fielded by Japan and certain ly one oflhe most respected. Apart
from poor reliabil ity of the oxygen supply system and
proneness of the mai n undercarriage legs to fatigue fai lure,
both air and ground crews thought highly of the characteristics
of the Ki.46, which, despite a compa ratively light structure,
was surprisi ngly robust. It was trusted by its pilots who were
confident of their ability to evade enemy fighters - which was
just as well as they were seated ahead of a large, unprotected
fue l tank, were provided with no form of a rmour protection
and the single 7,7-mm machine gun could hardly be considered
to represent a serious means of defence - and the fact that the
radio equipment was unreliable was of little consequence as,
on most missions, the strictest radio silence was maintained
thro ughout. Various cameras could be installed in the rear
cockpit, varying from 24 cm to 1,0 m in foca l length, and the
Ki .46 was extensively employed for the so-called lchi·Kohka
Sosoku (one-pass scou ting) type of mission, ta king-off from
one base, overfl ying the ta rget and continuing on to land a t
another base.
The Ki.46-Hei took advantage of the avail ability of the
Mitsubishi H a-1 12-01Su (Anny Type 4) engine, which, with
direct fuel injection, offered 1,500 hp at 2,600 rpm for take-off,
1,350 hp at 2,500 rpm at 6,560 ft (2000 m) and 1,250 hp at
2,500 rpm at 19,030 ft (5 800 m). To ca ter fo r the increased fuel
consumption of the more powerful engines, the fuel system
was redesigned and an additional unprotected tank int roduced
a head of the pilot in the extreme nose, raising total internal
fuel ca pacity to 417 Imp gal ( I 895 1), while provision was made
for a 101 Imp gal (460 I) ventral drop tank by means of which
maximum endurance was raised slightly to six hours. The aft-

Fl ying School fo r pilot training. The teething troubles suffered
by the Ki.46.Ko during these first months of service were
mostly of a comparatively minor nat ure, the most serious
bein g associa ted with the fuel a nd oil systems, the former
tending to create vapour locks a nd the latter overheating
under certain conditions, and these problems were to take
some time to resolve and then by the rerouting of some fue l
runs and comparat ively substantial changes to the oil system,
One problem that did not immediately reveal itself a nd was to
remain with the Ki.46 throughout its subsequent service life
was a weakness in the oleo-pneumatic shock absorber leg of
the main undercarriage which was to display a tendency to fail
at the attachment point. Oxygen supply reliability was also to
prove itself a problem never to be satisfactorily overcome.
From the viewpoint of the pilot, the Ki .46 possessed no
serious vices. Although the nose-up attit ude of the aircraft
tended to produce restricted forward view until the tail came
up, the handling characteristics during ta ke-off were generally
good. The rudder was not as effecti ve as might have been
desired a nd aileron response tended to be letha rgic, but the
role tha t the Ki.46 was intended to fulfil did nOl call fo r
extreme agili ty a nd it was generally considered that the
controls were adeq ua tely effect ive thro ughout the speed range.
Full -scale production of the Ki.46-0tsu had mea nwhile
been lau nched at Mitsubishi 's No 11 Plant a t Nagoya, the fi rst
example of this model bei ng completed and fl own in March
1941 . Structurally, this differed in only minor details fro m the
pre-series Ki.46-Ko. Its Ha- 102 (Anny Type 101) engines
ut ilised the same bearers and engine cowlings to those of the
H a-26-Ko that they replaced but drove margi nally la rger
propellers of9 ft 8* in (2,95 m) diameter a nd offered 1,080 hp
at 2,700 rpm fo r ta ke-off, with nominal ra tings of 1,050 hp at
9,185 ft (2800 m) and 950 hp at 19,030 ft (5800 m) at 2,600
rpm . Fuel ca pacity was augmented by the introduction of
tan ks in the ':Ving leading edges, total capacity being raised to
364 Imp gal (1657 1), and various economies red uced em pty
weight by 2561b (116 kg) to 7,194 1b (3263 kg), maximum
loaded weight rising from 10,630 Ib (4822 kg) to 11 ,133 Ib
(5050 kg).
Enter Dinah
The additional power provided by the Ha- 102 engines full y
made good the shortfa ll in level speed performance, 375 mph
(604 kmfh) being attainable at 19,030 ft (5800 m), and
endurance at 5·8 hours at 265 mph (426 km/h) was only 12
minutes less than that called fo r by the specification. Tomio
Kubo and his team were elated by the success of Ki,46-0Isu
trials, elation shared by the Koku Hombu which was convinced
with some j ustification that Japan had created the most
advanced vehicle for strategic reconnaissance extant and one
virtually immune from interception. The fi rst Ki.46-0ISU
reconnaissance aircraft were completed in parallel with the last
of 34 (including prototypes) of the Ki. 46-Ko version, a nd the
more powerful model, together with a number of the Ha-26-

PAG E 230 AI R INTERNATIONAL/ NOV EMB ER 1980 PAGE 231


, O n 14 June 1944, 8·29 Superfortresses of the USAAF's 20th
firin g 7,7·mm machine gun was discarded together with the
characteristic stepped pilot's windscreen, the latter giving
place to a new windscreen producing an unbroken curve from
the ex.treme nose to the rear of the radio operator's glazed
canopy. While improving the aerodynamics of the airframe
and adding a few knots to the speed, this new windscreen was
to prove unpopular as it resulted in some distortion of visio n.
Two prototypes of the Ki.46·Heiwere completed at Nagoya
in December 1942, and the new model demonstrated a
m aximum speed o f 391 mph (630 kmth) at 19,685 ft (6000 m)
and a range of 2,485 miles (4 000 km) at 257 mph (414 km/h),
but hi gher weights impaired climb ra te and ceiling was
marginally reduced. Production of the Ki.46-Hei was initiated
to supplement rather than succeed the KL46·0ISU, both
models being produced in parallel at the Nagoya facility, the
ea rl ier version not being phased out until la te 1944, by which
time a total of 1,093 examples of the ·Olsu variant were to have
been built. The two models frequently operated side· by·side in
mixed units, but, initially at least, the Ki.46·Hei presented
maintenance personnel with a number of problems, these
being mostly associated with the fuel injection system of the
Ha·1 12·0tsu engine, and these were only fin ally resolved after
the creation of special fi eld teams which visited operational
bases to iro n out the maintenance problems.
The Ki.46- Hei offered a nota bly improved ahitude
performance (ie, between 26,245 n/8000 m and 32,810 ft l
10 000 m) and in a n attempt to improve still furthe r on this
aspect of the fli ght envelope, work began in 1943 .o n a version
powered by exhaust-driven turbo-supercharger-equipped Ha-
11 2-0tsu Ru engines as the KL46-Tei. Mounted in the tails of
the engine nacelles, the Ru- 102 turbo-supercha rgers enabled
the engines to retain their rated power of 1,250 hp up to 26,900
ft (8200 m). Space availability prevented the installa tion of
intercoolers, the inta ke ai r therefore being cooled by
metha nol. Numerous problems were encountered with this
turbo-supercha rging system , and flight testing with the first of
four Ki.46-Tei prototypes did not commence until February
PAGE 232 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOV EMB ER 1980
Tachikawa conversio n line was flown in October 1944, a ircraft occupying an elevated seat beneath a separate canopy with a
being delivered during the following month to the 106th Sentai stepped windscreen .
which had been formed at Kagami ga hara on 24 Octo ber and Production of the KL46-0tsu and -Hei contin ued unabated
was to operate this improvised fighter until its di sbandment on throughout most of 1944, but late in the year the Nagoya
30 May 1945. Others were to be assigned to the 16th a nd 17th facilit y suffered extensive damage as a result of a n earthquake
Independent Fighter Companies ( Dokurjtsu Hiko-Chutais), which seriously disrupted production , furt her extensive
the latter being based at Chofu, Tokyo, and simultaneously, damage being inflicted by 8-29 attacks. Some production of
the Ki .46·Hei KAI was issued to another Independent Fighter the Ki .46·Hei was transferred to a new factory a t Toyama in
Company, the 81st, formed for the defence of Mukden, consequence, but this was to co ntribute fewer than lOOaircraft
Manchuria. Subsequently, the 82nd a nd 83 rd Chutais were to the total of611 reconnaissance ai rcraft of this versio n built ,
esta blished with this type for ho me defence duties, and the these bringing the gra nd total of Ki .46s ma nufactured to
28th Sentai a t Togane, in the Eastern Defence Sector, was to 1,.742, which , incidenta ll y, was the largest number of
opera te the Ki.46· Hei KAI in concert with the Kawasaki reconnaissance aircraft of any single type built by any of the
Ki.102-0ISI'. Other aircraft of this type were to operate in the combatants.
a rmed reconnaissa nce role with the 16th Dokurilsu Hikotai The fina l phase of the Pacific conflict saw Ki.46- Hei aircraft
which also operated prototypes of the Ki.46-Tei. mounti ng a constant surveilla nce of the Marianas 8-29
Some 200 aircraft were converted for the 8·29 interception Superfo rtress bases from Shimoshizu, near Tokyo, with a
task with which they enjoyed only qualified success, being refuellin g stop on Iwo Jima. Even at that late stage in the war,
inhibited by poor climb rate and inadequate firepower. The the Allies had still to resolve the problem of successfully
obliquely-mounted 37-mm weapon proved ineffectual and the intercept ing this aircraft , although when intercepted, the
airframe, sturdy enough for the role for which it was designed, Ki.46-Hei, lacking defensive a rmament and the 13-mm back
lacked the ability to absorb much battle damage. In fact , it had and head armour provided the pilot being no more than a
little more than a good high altitude performance to commend gesture towards protection, presented an easy "kill " . The
it , this including speeds of 379 mph (6 10 km/h) at 19,685 ft Allies were not alone in respecting the capabilities of this
1944 and was to continue into the fo llowing year - in (6000 m) and 356 mph (573 km/h) a t 29,530 ft (9000 m). Mitsubishi reconna issance aircraft , the Technische AmI of
February 1945, one of these prototypes, undoubtedl y a ided by Development of a similar conversion of the Ki.46·Tei was Germany's Reichslu!t/ahrtmillisterium having been sufficiently
strong tailwinds, succeeded in covering a distance of 1,430 proposed but abandoned when little progress was made with impressed to recommend negotiation of a manufacturing
miles (2301 km) at an average speed of no less than 435 mph overcoming the. problems encountered with the Ru· 102 licence under the Japanese-German Technical Exchange
(700 km/h) - ahhough production pla ns had meanwhile been. turbo -superchargers. Programme at one stage.
shelved. Conversions of the Ki .46-Hei for the fi ghter role continued The task of the reconna issance aircraft lacks something of
at Tachikawa until late March 1945, and another conversio n the drama of that of fighter or bomber, but it can be equally
A more militant Dinah of the basic a ircraft but o ne produced in smaller numbers was vital and particularly so in a far-ra nging conflict such as took
the Ki.46·0tsu KAI fo r the pilot training task at the place in the Pacific, a fac t of which the Imperial Army's Air
Bomber Command flew from bases in Chengtu to attack a Shimoshizu Army Flying School, a second cockpit fo r the Headquarters was fully aware, and in catering for this task
target in the Japanese home isla nds for the first time. On this ' instructor being inserted in the main fuel bay of the standard Japan created in the Ki.46 one of the truly outstandingaircraft
occasion, the intruding force, making a nocturnal attack, did aircraft, the main tank being reduced in size and the instructor of World War II. 0
not take fu ll advantage of the high-Hying attributes of the
Boeing bomber, but in so far as the Koku Hombu was
concerned, the writing was clearly on the wa ll ; attacks from
altitudes that could barely be reached let alo ne fought at by
most existin g home defence fighters no w seemed imminent.
Fighters o ptimised fo r the high-altitude role were under
develo pment but a mo re immediate solution to the pro blem
was called fo r; extemporisation was necessary and the most
suitable aircraft for adaptatio n as an extemporary high-
altitude interceptor was the Ki46·Hei.
Lacking the climb rate a nd agility desirable in a fighter -
factors which had led to the discarding of a projected fighter
adaptation of the Ki.46 in the summer of 1943 - the
reconnaissance aircraft had only its high-altitude speed and
considerable endura nce to commend it as a 8-29 interceptor,
but these characteristics were now considered sufficie nt to
warrant reactivation of the Ki 46 fighter project, and in May Ki.46-0tsu
1944, a mo nth before the 8·29 made its debut over Japan,
work had, in fact, been resumed on such an extemporary
interceptor, this task receiving the highest priority in June.
Modification design work was hastily completed, and
preparations were made by the 1st Army Air Arsenal at
Tachikawa to set up a conversion line to which, from August,
Mitsubishi 's Nagoya plant delivered Ki.46· Hei a ircra ft
straight from assembly. The conversion consisted of the
removal of the forward fue l tank and the photographic Ki .46-Hsi
equi pment, a nd the introduction of a stepped windscreen fo r
the pilo t, an entirely new nose mounting two 20·mm Ho-5
ca nnon with 200 rpg, and, aft of the main fuel tank, an
obliquely-mounted 37-mm Ho-203 cannon firing forward and
upward, this being provided with eight 25·round magazines
loaded by the observer.
Designated as the Army Type 100 Air Defence Fighter, or Ki.46 -Hsi KAI
Ki .46-Hei KAI, the first example of the interceptor to leave the
PAGE 233
FIGHTER ATO l
Tile primary operator o/ fhe GL·ZI (abo~'e alld below) was Finland, an
example in Finnish sen 'ice being illustrated by the phQl ograph.
GOURDOU-LESEURRE GL-21(TYPE B2)FRANCE
With the end of World War I, Charles Gourdou and Jean
Leseurrcestablishcd their own company at SI Maur les Fosses,
cont inuing development of lhc GL-2 fighter monoplane as the
GL·21 (Type B2)exhibited at the Paris Salon de I'AeroflQuriqlle
of 1920. The GL-2 1 was, like its predecessors, powered by the
180 hp HS BAb water-cooled engine, bUI the broad cho rd
ailerons with horn-balance areas layi ng within the wing
planform were replaced by longe r-span and narrower
conslanl-chord ailerons, the rudder was enlarged and the
series model introduced additional undercarriage braci ng
struts. Armament comprised two 7,7-mm Vickers machine
guns in the fuselage. One GL-2 l was purchased by Finland in
1923, followed by a further 18 in 1924, an additional aircraft
later being assembled in Finland from spares, a nd these
remained in Finnish service until 193 1. A total of30 single-seat
fighters of this type was built. Max speed, 149 mph (240 kmfh)
at 3,280 ft (I 000 m). Range, 280 mls (450 km). Empty weight,
1,455 Ib (660 kg). Loaded weight , 2, 11 6 Ib (960 kg).
Dimensions as for GL-2.
A GL-2201ios Type B3 inSl'r~icl' with the Estonian Air Force. A parallel
del'elopment to the GL-21. the GL-ll differed primarily in employing a
new wing profile.
PAGE 234 AIR INTERNATI ONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
GOURDOU-LESEURRE GL-22 (TYPE 83) FRANCE,
I ;
Evolved from the GL-2 in parallel with the GL-2I , the GL-22
(Type 83) also made its debut in 1920. It differed from the GL-
21 primarily in having a new wing profile, steel-tube in place of
light alloy wing bracing struts, a modified fronta l radiator and
a revised cockpit interior. The HS 8Abengine and twin Vickers
gun annament were retained, but some structural revision
red uced empty weight by 154 Ib (70 kg). The prototype, like
that of the GL-2 1, was initially flown with twin undercarriage
struts on each side, but a triple-strut arrangement was adopted
for the series model. With gun annament the a ircraft was
designated GL-22 C I (C =Chasse), but without annament it
was designated GL-22 ETI (ET = Emrainement de Transition)
and was intended for the advanced training role. The first
order for the GL-22 was placed with Gourdou-Leseurre on 13
December 1920, 20 examples of the single-seat fighter
subsequently being built for export to Estonia, Latvia and
Czechoslovak ia, 30 of the trainin g version being supplied to
France's Aviation Marine . In addition, a manufacturing
licence was acquired by the newly-established Zmaj concern in
Yugoslavia. Max speed, 153 mph (247 km/h) at sea level, 137
mph (220 kmfh) at 16,405 ft (5000 m). Endurance, 2·5 hrs.
Time to 16,405 ft (5000 m), 17·5 min . Empty weight, 1,301lb
(590 kg). Loaded weight, 1,940 Ib (880 kg). Dimensions as fo r
GL-2.
GOURDOU-LESEURRE GL-23 (TYPE 84) FRANCE
The GL-23 single-seat fighter of 1925 was a furth er
development of the basic GL-2 design in which the HS 8Ab
engine and standard GL-22 CI fuselage and annament were
mated with the longer span wing and enlarged rudder first '
applied to the experimental tandem two-seat GL-22 E1'2
(Type 85) tra iner of 1922. A total of nine GL-23 C I ai rcraft
was built at St Maur, two of these having different wing
profiles for comparison purposes. O ne exam ple had its
fu selage elongated by 25·6 in (65 cm) to provide for
accommoda tio n of a single casualty stretcher aft of the pi lot,
this bei ng presented at Le Bourget on 24 April 1925 as the GL-
~
~
I ,
[I 1,1111 I' [! I
0
r-
III III,
' I [t
L
@
~-
'-U.lL UliY
The G L-23, illustrated by the general arrangement drawing above, was
essentially a longer-span deri~'ati~'e oJ the GL-2Z, hut the G L -31 ( below)
.J4t_ .
was on entirely new design , de~'l'lopmem oJ which was early abandoned.
( Abol'l' and below) The GL-40 was designed to Julfil a requirementJor a
high-altitude fighter. but de~elopment did not progress beyond one
prototype.
23 TS, one other example being completed (as the LGL 23 TS)
in the following year. Max speed, 130 mph (210 kmfh) at 3,280
ft ( J 000 m). Range, 373 mls (600 km). Empty weigh t, 1,45 5 Ib
(660 kg). Loaded weight, 2,1161b (960 kg). Span , 36 ft I in
(1 1,00 m). Length , 21 n 3i!J in (6,50 m). Height, 7ft 9, in (2,37
m). Win g area, 251·88 sq fl (23,40 m 2 ) .
GOURDOU-LESEURRE GL-31 (TYPE 13) FRANCE
Although retaining the basic parasol monoplane configur-
ation of preceding Gourdou- Leseurre fighters and similar
construction (ie, all-metal structure apart from wooden wing
ribs a nd fabric skinning), the GL-31 single-seat fighter was an
entirely new design whereas its predecessors had all been
extrapolations of the original GL-2. Designed to the
requirements of the 1921 CI programme, the GL-31 CI was
powered by a 420 hp Gnome-Rhone 9A Jupiter air-cooled
radial and had provision for two fuselage-mounted 7,7-mm
Vickers guns and two unsynchronised Darne guns of similar
calibre in the wings. The rectangular wing pla nform
characteristic of all earlier Gourdou-Leseurre fighters gave
place to a trapezoid with marked leading-edge taper and the
profusion of wing bracing struts was supplanted by one pair of
struts on each side. In the event, the 192 1 CI programme was
overtaken by that of 1923 and the GL-31 by the Gourdou-
Leseurre contender for the later programme, the GL-32, and
the sole prototype did not fly until 1926, development being
discontinued thereafter. Max speed, 161 mph (260 km/h).
Range, 373 mls (600 km). Empty weight, 1,929 Ib (875 kg).
Loaded weight, 2,976 1b (1 350 kg). Span, 34 n 5, in (10,50m).
Length, 23 ft 7, in (7,20 m). Height, 8 ft lOt in (2,70 m). Wing
area, 226·05 sq ft (2 1,00 ro 2 ).
GOURDOU-LESEURRE GlAO (TYPE G) FRANCE
The GL-40 single-seat high-altitude fighter actually preceded
the GL-3I, flying for the first time in 1922. Also a contender in
the 1921 CI programme, the GL-40 was powered by a 300 hp
Hispano-Suiza 8Fb water-cooled engine fitted with a Rateau
turbo-supercharger. The constant-cho rd wing, which featured
slight sweepback, was braced by a similar four-pair strut
arrangement as that of the GL-2 and its derivatives, and
Lamblin radiators were attached to the undercarriage legs.
The GL-40 was capable of altitudes in excess of26,245 ft (8 000
m) a nd, in fact , was claimed to have attained 39,587 ft (12066
m) on 10 October 1924 with Jean Callizo at the controls.
However, this claim was subsequently alleged to have been
fraudulent. Only one prototype of the GL-40 was built. Max
speed, 161 mph (260 km/h) at 22,965ft (7000 m). Range, 497
mls (800 km). Empty weight, 2,392 Ib (1085 kg). Loaded
weight, 3,329 1b ( I 510 kg). Span , 47 n 6,'\- in (14,50 m). Length,
31 ft 2, in (9,51 m). Height, 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m). Wing area, 376·75
sq ft (35,00 m 2 ) .
GOURDOU-LESEURRE GL-SO (TYPE F) FRANCE
In April 19 19, General Duval, France's Directeur de
I'A eronalltique, fonnu lated a programme for the replacement
of the principal categories of combat aircraft serving wi th the
Aeronautique Militaire, two of these being CAP (Chasse,
Reconnaissance d 'Armee et Protection) and CAN (Chasse et
Reconnaissance d 'Armee de Nuit) two-seaters. Although this
programme was overtaken in the followi ng yea r (the CA P
category being discarded), Gourdou-Leseurre designed a nd
built prototypes to meet both requirements, the GL-50 CA P2
(Type F) and the GL-5 1 CAN2 (Type H), which embodied
considerable commonality. The GL-50 was powered by a 300
hp Hispano-Suiza 8Fb water-cooled engi ne and was intended
to have a Rateau turbo-supercharger, a lthough, in the event ,
this was not to be fitted , a nd annament comprised two fixed
forward-firing 7,7-mm Darne machine guns and two guns of
similar calibre on a swivelling mount in the rear cockpit. A
lo ng-span, untapered wing was fitted and the arrangement of
the bracing struts was similar to that of contemporary
Gourdou-Leseurre single-seaters. The GL-5 1 CAN2 was
essentially similar apart from havi ng a 380 hp G nome-Rhone
9Ab Jupiter radial engine, a reduced loaded weight (3,968 Ib/
J 800 kg) and a marginally higher maximum speed (140 mph/
225 km/h). Both prototypes were flown in 1922, but no
production followed. The following data relate to the GL-50.
Max speed, 131 mph (2 10 kmfh). Loaded weight, 4,431 lb
(2010 kg). Span, 47 n lot in ( 14,60 m). Length, 30 n 8* in (9,35
m). Height, 9 ft 4! in (2,85 m). Wing area, 430·57 sq ft (40,00
m 2 ).
' . ..
- ~~t
. ,
. -, . .:--~
J. .-
~~--=
~
I
( Abo~e and below) The GL-50 II'lU intended as a two-seat multi-r611'
figh ter, the GL-5/ de~eloped in parallel being essentially similar apart
-
Jrom having a radial engine.
,
,
. ~,
• \
I E
iIIIIII II II ~I
I
[I I I II L
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I
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,
-
PAGE 235

One of the 12 C-135Fs delivered to the Annee de l'Air in 1964, refuelling 0 Mirage IV by means of the probe-llnd-drogue system . The JJ surviving C·
J35Fs were returned to Wichita in 1978/ 79 to hore their lower wing skins replaced.
BOEING KC- /35 from page 226
Airlift Wing of MAC at Ramstein Air Base, Germa ny, for use
as a VIP transport for high level government offi cials within
USAFE direction and the other two were transferred to the
55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SR W), SAC, Offutt
AFB, to serve in a staffsupport role. These changes resulted in
three KC-135As then serving as staff support aircraft being
reallocated back to the tanker fleet. In December 1977, the two
remaining VC-135 Bs were also redesignated C-135Bs as part
of the Carter Administration "low profile" programme; in
addition, the 89th MA W at Andrews was downgraded to the
89th MAG as a cost savings measure and whereas the VC·
135Bs had carried the 89th MAW colours of white, light blue
and gold, the C-1 35Bs were now painted an overall while to
preserve the a usterity image.
Four RC·135As (serials 63·8058 to 63-806 1) were delivered
to MATS in 1965-1966, these actually being the last
production-line aircraft in lite KCjC·135 family delivered to
the Air Force. The prime mission of these aircraft was
photomapping and geodetic surveying, for which purpose they
were operated by the 1370th Photo Mapping Wing, Air
Photographic and Charting Service (APCS), MATS, Turner
AFB, Georgia. A camera compartment replaced a portion of
the normally·installed forward fuselage fuel tank, with two 30-
in (76-cm) diameter, 2·5 in (6,3 cm) thick opticall y-ground
camera windows in the bottom of the compartment; an
external track-mounted door slid aft to expose the camera
windows.
By July 1972, all four RC-1 35As had been reassigned to
SAC fo r command support missions O u( of Offutt AFB. The
photomapping equipment was removed a nd passenger seats
were installed, although the camera compartment remained.
By lite end of 1980 these aircraft will have been further
modified into KC-135Ds to serve in the ta nker role. The
reason for this new designation is that ma ny of the aeroplane
systems are not the same as those on the KC-135A because
they were origi nally built to a MATS specification and a
refue lling system was not part of the original RC-135A .
Scheduled modificatio ns
With a fl eet of over 760 aircraft in service, slow tanker
replacement programmes, and the versatility of the ·135
airframe, efforts to extend its structural life a re on-going.
Engineering work packages for inspection , repair and
modification are currently in progress. These packages include
an acoustic crack detection system, structural fatigue
packages, wing splice modification, and a wing reski n
programme.
The acoustic crack detection system provides for early crack
detection and warning to concealed skin in the lower surface of
PAG E 236 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
the wing cent re section. Early crack detection will increase
structural integrity by ensuring that small cracks will be
repaired prior to becoming large enough to reduce the wing
residual strength to potential catastrophic fai lure levels. The
system incl udes tra nsducers in the wing which are wired to a
single black box in the main cabin of the aircraft. Monitoring
of the black box will reveal potential problems in the wing
structure should the crack s occur. Fleet-wide system
installa tion on affected high-time aircraft is sched uled for 198 I
(average KC· 135A hours is at present about 8,000, far below
the typical figure of 65,000 hrs for commercial Boeing 7075).
Four structural fatigue packages a re bein g installed on
various -1 35 airframes. Each package is destined to remove
certain structural fasteners from the aircraft a nd inspect the
fa stener holes where a history of fatigue testing has'
demonstrated fatigue crack development. The fastener holes
are inspected for minute cracks, reamed to oversize in order to
clean up any actual/potential defects in the holes, and fitted
with new oversized fastene rs. Different a reas are dealt with by
each package, the packages being worked at progressively
increased airframe hours.
The Wing Station (WS) 360 splice is a manufacturing joi nt
which is perpendicula r to the wing rear spar; its cent reline
bisects the inboard spoilers at the rear and intersects the
inboard engine at its forward end. Analysis showed that this
area has a potential for a high number of fatigue cracks in the
fa stener holes in the internal doubler. Modification consists of
the installation of a n external, aerodynamically fa ired,
doubler plate across the lower wing production break. This
doubler provides an external load path of sufficient strength to
carry 100 per cent of the design limit load in the event of a
com plete failure of the internal splice plate. The modificat ion
is being incorporated into high-time tankers, with fleet
completion scheduled for 1981.
Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 405 provides for
replacement of the lower wing skin between Wing Stations
737, left and right, in the area between the outboard engines.
The original 7 I78·T6 aluminium alloy skin is replaced with
skin fabricated from the same 2024-T351 ma terial used on
commercial Boeing jetliners, thereby doubling the service life
(in flight hours) on the -135 fleet, from 13,000 to 26,000 hrs. In
addition, the stiffeners, spars and rib chords are replaced . This
modification affects approximately 1,500 sq ft (139,35 m 2 ) of
structure on the 2,433 sq ft (226,03 m2 ) of wing. The Boeing
Military Airplane Company at Wichita began incorporation
of the first ECP 405 retrofit kit in November 1975 under a 14-
ai rcraft competitive bid programme; it was completed on 12
February 1976 a nd 140 aircraft had received the ECP 405
modification by March 1980. Between Ma rch 1978 and
October 1979 the entire fleet of I J Armee de rAir C- 135Fs also
underwent ECP 405 mod ificati on. The programme is
scheduled for completion on all ·1 35s by 1988.
Avionics changes are also being accomplished on the · 135
fleet. New solid state elect ronic equipment is providing a
qua ntum jump in reliability and weight reduction in aircraft
systems. Forties-vintage vacuum tube type Doppler nav-
igation systems a re being replaced by new lightweight, solid-
state systems exhibiting a higher mean·time-between-fail ure
(MTBF) rate. To compl y with ICAO req uirements for fl ying
the North Atlantic Track System, inertial naviga tion systems
are also being installed on the · 135s; flight testing of a
combined INS/ Doppler na vigation system bega n in 1978 and
was completed by Ja nua ry 1979. Si ngle INS units were
installed beginn ing in January 1979. a nd the combined
INS/ DNS unit s have been ava ilable for installation since April
1980. Total retrofi t of the INS/DNS units is programmed for
the 1982·1983 time frame.
Future updates
Boeing and the Air Force have for some years been studying
several ways in which the performance of the -135 family can
be improved , primarily as a means of red ucing fuel
consumption in order to save operating cost. Three areas are
of particular interest, covering skin drag, the addit ion of
winglets and, most importa nt, the retrofitting of CFM-56
engines. Another package of improvemen ts is at present under
study as the Improved Aerial Refuelling System (lARS).
KC-135A DEPLOYMENT
Strategic Air Command has prime responsibility for the · 135
fleet: maintenance is programmed through the Oklahoma City
Air Materiel Area ( OCAMA), Air Force Logistics Command.
Regular Air Force units within SAC which op8fllte the XC-
135A tankers are as follows (correct at April 1980);
3rd Air Division
43rd Strategic Wing, Andersen AFB, Guam
376th Strategic Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
7th Air Division
306th Strategic Wing. Mildenhall RAF, England
11 th Strategic Group, Fairford RAF, England
8TH AIR FORCE
19th Air Division
2nd Bombardment Wing (H) , Barksdale AFB. LA
7th Bombardment Wing (H) , Carswell AFB, TX
340th Air Refueling Group (H), Altus AFB, OK
384th Air Refueling Wing (H) , McConnell AFB, KS
40th Air Division
306th Air Refueling Wing (H) , Gtissom AFB. IN
379th Bombardment Wing (H ), Wurtsmith AFB, MI
410th Bombardment Wing (H), K.1. Sawyer AFB, MI
42nd Air Division
19th Bombardment Wing (H) , Robins AFB, GA
68th Bombardment Wing (H) , Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
97th Bombardment Wing (H) , Blytheville AFB, AR
46th Air Division
42nd Bombardment Wing (H) , Loring AFB, ME
380th Bombardment Wing (M), Plattsburgh AFB, NY
416th Bombardment Wing (H) , Gtiffiss AFB, NY
509th Bombardment Wing (M) , Pease AFB, NH
16TH AIR FORCE
4th Air Division
28th Bombatdment Wing (H ), Ellsworth AFB, SO
12th Air Division
22nd Bombardment Wing (H) , March AFB, CA
96th Bombardment Wing (H) , Dyess AFB, TX
14th Air Division
320th Bombardment Wing (H ), Mather AFB, CA
100th Air Refueling Wing (H) . Beale AFB, CA
307th Air Refueling Group (H ), Travis AFB, CA
93rd Bombardment Wing (H) , Castle AFB, CA
47th Air Division
92nd Bombardment Wing (H) , Fairchild AFB. WA
57th Air Division
5th Bombardment Wing ( H) , Minot AFB, NO
3t 9th Bombardment Wing (H) , Grand Forks AFB, NO
A study is underway to determine the fuel penalty caused by
the surface roughness of the external paint. Originally, all·1 35
aircraft were delivered in a natura l metal fini sh, and later with
the airframe painted with a metallic-coloured paint for
corrosion control purposes. This silver a nti-corrosive finish
was Coroga rd - an aluminium-filled, vinyl-modified poly-
sulphide that is flexible and resists attack by the MIL·H-5606
hydra ulic fluid used in military aircraft. Its major drawback is
that it has a higher drag coefficient than the polyurethane
paints used on commercial aircraft. However, polyurethane
pa int requires greater maintenance. Currently, most -135
aircraft are being painted with aliphatic polyurethane, which is
a gloss grey with a lower drag coefficient tha n the Corogard.
Winglets were installed on one NKC-135A (55-3 129) fo r
tests by NASA at the Dryden Flight Test Center, Edwards
AFB, California, under a contract signed on 10 June 1977.
Small, vertically canted winglets, approx imately 9 ft (2,74 m)
long, were mounted on the wingtips of this aircraft, which was
first fl own on 24 July 1979. Preliminary studies indicate a 7-8
per cent lift·to-drag ratio improvement with a corresponding
reduction in fue l consumption. If tests prove the installation
beneficial, the Air Fprce could realise a n ann ual fuel saving of
about 45 million US gal (170 m li tres); fleet installation of the
winglets could begin as early as 1983.
The lARS update programme has recently received USAF
fundi ng for the research and development phase and is likely
to be applied in due course to some or all of the KC-135s. It
Commencing in the summer of 1975, SAC began delegating
PlJrt of its air refuelling operation to the Air National Guard and
Air Force Reserve - the first time a Slrlltegic mission was
allocated to non ·regular forces. Reserve/Guard units operat-
ing the XC - 135A lire as follows (current ar April 1980);
AIR FORCE RES ERVE
10TH AIR FORCE .
452nd Air Refueling Wing (H)
336th Air Refueling Squadron (H) , March AFB, CA
93151 Air Refueling Group (H)
72nd Air Refueling Squadron (H), Grissom A FB. CA
940th Air Refu~i ng Group (H)
314th Air Refueling Squadron (H), Mather AFB, CA
AIR NAT IONAL GUARD
10151 Air Refueling Wing, Bangor, ME
126th Air Refueling Wing, Chicago, IL
14151 Air Refueling Wing, Fairchild A FB, WA
171 st Air Refueling Wing, Pittsburgh, PA
128th Air Refueling Group, Gen Billy Mitchell Field, WI
134th Air Refueling Group, Knoxville. TN
151st Air Refueling Group, Salt Lake City, UT
157th Air Refueling Group, Pease AF B, NH
160th Air Refueling Group, Rickenbacker AF B, OH
16151 Air Refueling Group, Phoenix, AZ.
170th Air Refueling Group, McGuire AFB, NJ
189th Ait Refueling Group, Little Rock AFB, AR
190th Air Refueling Group, Forbes ANG Base, KS
C· 13I A Operating units
55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Offutt AFB, NE
4950th Test Wing, Wright· Patterson AFB, OH
C-'3I B Operating Units
4950th Test Wing, Wright - Patterson AFB, OH
55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Offutt AFB, NE
89th Military Airlift Group, Andrews AFB, DC
435th Tactical Airlift Wing, Ramstein AF, Getmany
C-'3IC Operating units
Det. 1, 890th Military Airlift Group, Hickam AFB, HA
Det. 1, 4950th Test Wing, Andrews AFB, DC
C-'3I F Operating Units
91 st ESClJdre de BomblJrdemenl, ArmH de rAir
94th Escadre de Bombardemenl, Armee de rAir
PAG E 237

This N KC-J35A is being used by NASA at the Dryden Flight Test
Center, Edwards A FB, 10 evaluate the benefits thai might be derived
from the we of the 9-ft (2,74-m ) long winglels. Fuel sOI'ings resulting
from the reduced lifHo-drag rm io CQuld offset the coSI ofintroducing the
modification on afleet-wide basis.
embraces four major items. some o f w hich are an o utgrowth of
Boeing's own development work for the 13 Boeing 707·3J9C
ta nker-transports delivered to the Im perial Irania n Air
Force-; they comprise the installation of high rate of fl ow
pumps, a tail-mounted fl oodlight, an improved probe-and-
drogue system and a head-up displ ay for the boom operator.
T he new pumps will increase the maximum rate of fl ow
through the boom from 900 to 1,200 US gal/min (3 407-
4542 1/ min), thus matching the capabili ties of the newer
receiving a ircraft now entering service. A new tail-mounted
flood la mp will better illumina te t he whole of tbe receiver, and
not j ust the refu elling receptacle; tests have a lready been made
with such a la mp insta lled in a fai ring at the top rear o f the KC-
135A's fin . The possibility of installing an HD U (hose drum
uni t) in the belly of the KC- 135A, fo r ward of the boom
operator's positio n, is receiving attention, as an a lterna tive to
the hose-and-drogue adaptor kit previously develo ped by
Boeing, which has opera lio nallimita tions. InstaUa tio n of this
kit renders the boom inoperative, whereas the o ption now
being studied wo uld a llow the KC - 135A to use either system
o n th e same flight. Use of a head-up display at the boom
opera tor's positio n would enhance the effi ciency with wh ich
boom hook-ups are achieved and, with the o ther improve-
ments, allow a larger number of refuellings to be completed in
a given time.
The CFM-56 programme
O n 13 January 1978, the USAF awarded Boeing a contract to
study th e possibilities of re-engining t he KC- 135, and to
estima te the improvements that could then be achieved over a
" baseline" mission invol ving a 2,000 na ut-ml (3700-km )
transit, ofT-loading 9 1,000 Ib (41 278 kg) o f fuel a nd fl ying a
fu rther 1,000 na ut m ls ( I 850 km ) to recovery base. Am ong t he
proposals studied by Boeing were the fo llowing:
KC -1 35 H with TF33-P-7 engines (as on the C- 135B) and a
Boeing 707-)20B wing). Fuel o moad would increase by 55,000
Ib (24 950 kg) or range by 2,000 naUl mls (3 700 km).
KC -135P7 with TF33- P-7 engi nes o n the KC-135A wing.
F uel o fT-load increased by 23,000 Ib (10433 kg) or range by
900 na ut mls ( 1 667 km).
KC -135M E with C FM -56 o r JTI OD turbofans on inboard
pylons o nl y. Fuel omoad up by 26,000 Ib ( II 794 kg) or range
·The &eing 707-jJ9Cs delil'ered to the lIA F between 1974 and 1976
were unique in having the fiying-boom system married to commercial-
type 707 airframes. Six of these aircraft also had Beech Model lOBO
hose-and-droguepods under each wing tip (see AIR INTERNATIONAL/
December 1976) IOUn'e the lIAFGrumman F-14 Tomcats. Boeing had
earlier made a trial installation of these pods on a company-owned 707
and ' .....0 ofthejil'e Canadian Armed Forces Boeing 707s were so filled in
1971. The RAA F is currently considering cOI/I'er/ing three ex-Qantas
707-j20Cs to tanker configuration.
PAGE 238 AIR IN TE RNATIONAL/ NOVEMBE R 1980
up by 1, 100 naut mls (2038 km).
KC- 135X: As KC-135 H but with CFM -56 o r JTIOD
engines. F uel off-load up by 6 1,000 Ib (27 670 kg) or range up
by 2,600 naut mls (4 8 16 km).
KC-135Y: As KC- 135X with new technology wing. Omoa'!
up by 69,000 lb (3 1 300 kg) o r range up by 3,200 naut mls (5 927
km).
These studies were interesting in showing the extent to
which performance could be improved, but had to be related to
cost. Boeing estima tes of uni t costs, assuming a substa ntia l
Anyone can get it right first time.
propor tion of the KC-135 fl eet was to be converted , ranged
from a lowof$3·7m for the KC- 135M E to $ 10'6m for the KC-
135 Y. In the event, none of these options was chosen; on 23
Janua ry 1980 the USAF signed an init ial contract with the
Boeing MiLita ry Airplane Co to proceed with th e design of a
CF M-56 retrofit fo r the KC- 135A, without changing the wing.
T his varia nt is currently referred to as t he KC-1 35 R E.
Meanwhile, in a joint private venture with General Electric
and SN EC MA (manufacturers of t he CFM -56 through CFM
Interna tiona l), Boeing had insta lled four of these new
turbofans o n a 707-300, which made its fi rst fl ight o n 27
November 1979. In 86 flights, this aircraft accrued 164 hours
and 20 minutes, and a ircraft performan ce, engine perfo rmance
and noise reduction were fo und to be as predicted . Minor
problems encountered in testing necessitated tests with chined
nacelles to improve the flaps-down stall speed by 3·5-7 knots
(6,5- 13 km/h), and installation o f surge bleed valves to
im prove engine low-RPM stability. T est results surpassed the
DHL delivers
F AA requirements fo r bird ingestion, fa n blade-out and water
ingest ion conditio ns. Earlier in 1980, the re-engi ned test-bed
707 made an 18-state, 20-stop to ur o f SAC, Air Natio nal
G ua rd and Air Fo rce Reserve bases operating the KC-1 35As,
time after time after time.
demonstrating the benefits of the re-engining to military
o ffi cials a nd community leaders.
Funds are included in the 198 1 Defence budget to provide'
fo r the conversion of o ne KC -1 35A to the new configuration,
with fi rst flight scheduled to be made o n I October 1982; a 200- A lot of air courie r services will do you a Division - commercial-value items, samples, spare
hr flight test programme would be cond ucted a t Edwards
favour the flfSt time you use them. After all, parts, computer tapes a nd similar non-dorument
AFB, being completed by M ay 1983. The USAF hopes to
convert up to 300 KC-135As, but the initial object ive is a 100- they're after your business. commodities.
aircra ft programme, with funds fo r the firs t 10 of these to be But after that they don't always care. Or Call the Hotline, or send in the coupon
included in the F Y82 budget. If this p rogramme goes to plan, can't always deliver.
deliveries of KC-135 R Es to the USAF wo uld begin in 1984. In
addition, the Armee de I'A ir has already anno unced its
DHL can - and does. We deliver your urgent
documents or small parcels very quickly, very COURIER
intention to fit CFM-56s to its I I C - 135Fs. The modified reliably, very inexpensively.
HOTLINE
a ircraft a re expected to have an increased gross weight of DHL is the largest service of its kind in the
325,000 Ib ( 147 420 kg), up [rom 316,000 Ib(143 338 kg), with a world. We have over 160 permanent stations.
01-7471331
st rengthened underca rriage. For a given m ission , the KC- From Abu Dhabi to Anchorage, Zurich to Tokyo.
135 R E will be able to offl oad up to twice as much fuel; there
-------------,
will also be important ad vantages in the take-off perfo nnance
Within our global network your consignme nt
in hot-and-high cond itions, in reduced external noise levels is delivered desk-to-desk. Our schedules are
measured in hours. Overnight between many • Please send me full details on your worldwide courier
and reduced fuel consumption by the ta nker fl eet. O ne
estima te puts the fin al saving fro m the re-engi ned KC - 135 points or just as fast as planes fl y. I
services. 0 Please arrange for a DHL Representative to call. 0 I
tanker fleet at some 2· 3 millio n barrels a year, or about 3 per And the cost is extraordinarily low. I
DHL Interna tional (UK) Ltd.. DHL House, Great West Road. I
cent of the USAF's total annual fue l consumption .
The fo rthcoming introductio n into the USAF inventory of
You are never bound by a holding contract.
So trying us out on o ne job is reassuringly simple.
I
London W4 SQR. Telex: 8814414 DHLHR G. I
more than 30 Mc Do nnell Douglas KC- IOA Extender ta nkers
will give a maj or boost to the Air Forces' aerial refuelling
No-one can match our combination of I
NAME, I
capabilities, but will do little to reduce the significa nce o f the
speed, reliability and economy.
Because we know that if we got it wrong for
TITLE· I
KC - 135 fl eet; la rge numbers of tan kers continue to be needed
you the last time, it could be the last time. I
COMPANV,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
to meet daily operational tasks a nd the larger fu el load carried
by each KC-1O is valuable o nly in respect of certain specific DHL Document Courier Service - for the I
ADD~, I
carriage of all documents and business papers.
missions (see A I R INTERNATIONAL/ October 1980). The
DHL SPX (Small Pa rcel Express) Courier I "" I
a irframe life o f the KC- 135s poses little limi tation, as a lready
noted; fitt ing new engines, plus the vario us o ther updates ·
I TEL NO I
descri bed in the forego ing accounts will produce a tanker well
a ble to meet USA F needs up to t he year 2010 o r beyond. 0 I
.._----------- .JI
The concluding instalment of this account. ( 0 be published nex t month,
",ill gj\'e details of the EC-/35, RC-/35 and other special-purpose
I'ariants of the basic aircraft. Desk-to-desk throughout the world. .The International Network
PA GE iii
 NEW IN P8INI________1
"ugion Condor 1916·1919; £ine iIlustril'rlf'

AVIATION Dokultlentation ..
by Karl Ries and flailS Ring
Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. Main=-Ebersheim.
DM68

TITLES 188 pp. 8i in by I IJ in. illustrated

TWO acknowledged exponents or Wo rld War
II Luftwaffe literature. Herren Ries and Ring,
have here combined rorces and talent to
produce what is arguably the definitive

FROM HANDPAINTED SQUADRON, COMMAND AND

UNITWALLSHIELDS
r
pictorial work or rererence on the part
Germany played in the air war over Spain
between 1936- 1939.
In 288 pages, and almost 500 pictures. they " Legion Condor /936-1939 " revieK'ed on this page is hea~ily illustrated throughout. the I'ost

JANE'S
on wood bases 6 ~)(
have achieved that acme or pictorial compila· majority of these illustrations having remained unpublished hitherto. T .....o 0/ these pholOgraphs
Price £7,85 including UK post and VAT reprot/uced here depict (abol'e) a Hf 109D 0/2.jJ88 and (beloMl) 0 Irioof He 5 Is o/l .jJ88, Ihot in the
tion: the breath or li re, Every page exudes the
Reduced prices for quantities of the same design fo reground beingfloMln by Stoffelkapitlin Horro Harder.
flavou r or the times. - This is not just another
lumping together of contemporary photo-
CRESTED AND STRIPED TI ES.

MOSQUITO BADGES. ENGRAVED TANKARDS

A Pictorial History of the D H98
PHILI P BIRTLES
Philip Birtl es tells the story of this truly
remarkabl e aircraft from the 'inside'
including revealing episodes during the
construction of the prototype and has
interviewed manyof those involved in the
design, production, development and
operations. Illustrated with many hitherto
TO SPECIAL ORDER
graphs on a common theme, but rather a
carefully chosen. knowledgeable and objective
selection of illustrations which accompany the
reader through 16 chronological chapters
STILL AVAILABLE RAF DIAMOND JUBILEE charting the causes, the course and the
outcome or the Spanish Civil War as seen
Ties, navy or maroon
Squares. red, light blue, dark blue
£2·65 including post
£2·35 including post through the eyes of the Legion. One minor
Shields £4·90 including post criticism for the English-speaking market is
that the text. unlike many of the authors'
Royalties to the Benevolent Fund previous books. is not bi·lingual but in
C. H. MUNDAY LTD
German alone. Much interesting detail is
inevitably lost.
8 St. John's Road, St. John's, WOklng, Sur re y However, drawing heavily on their own
Te l: Woking (04862) 71588 specialised fields o r Luffl!,'Qffe markings and
personnel respectively, the authors present a
rascinating collection of photos depicting the

--
Legion's aircraft in a wide variety of hitherto
unpublished photographs from the unknown and unsuspected fini shes and mark-
de Havilland archives the book includes
~ 'Ihisisforyou
ings, together with portraits and inrormal
appendices giving details of specifications,
production, service and surviving aircraft.
group shots of many a youthrul face and
ramiliar name destined soon to gain rame on a
wider stage. And there is much more besides;
~ ~.- ...
hundred o r SO illustrations! The first sectio n of tome rrom its shel r and perused its packed
ill ustrations of Italian and Spanish aircraft. the this book, comprising some 50 pages, is pages.
£8.95 192pp 11 " x 8 '/," The Royal Ai r Forces Association-a worldwide devoted to succinct descriptions of the world's
organi sa tion offering welfare and social servi ces to serving a nd latter both Nationalist and RepUblican, and
ranging from such antiquities as the de air fo rces, each illustrated with national "Air POI...,!r: The World 's Air Forces"

HEINKEL HE III ex-service members of Her Majesty's Royal Air Forces.

A Documentary History
H EINZ NOWARRA
Never before has the history of this
remarkabl e bomber been covered in such
depth. Lavishly illustrated with rare
photographs and meticulously
documented, Heinkel He 111provides a
detailed history of the backbone of the
Luftwaffe's bomber force and a key aircraft
throughout World War II.
£8.95 248 pp 9'/., " x 6"
A vailable through your local bookshop or in case of
difficulty please contact the M arketing M anager;
Janes Publishing Company Ltd., 238 City Road,
London ECTV 2PU.
JANE'S
Pensions, employment, legal
matters and housing are
Havilland D.H.9 up to "modem" American
tourers. There is also a leavening of the tanks
and armoured vehicles as used by both sides
the many everyday (the most intriguing perhaps being several very , air power - and, fo r the most part, photos or BOOKS purporting to provide a detailed survey
~~ffi~:~h:~and'ed
~ by the
on behalf of
DIY Republican armoured lorries), plus some
evocative shots or the towns and landscape
which the combatants fought ror and over.
All this, together with maps, tables and close selves and is a picture burrs delight. with
on 40 pages orcomprehensi \'e appendices (unit
emblems. codes. serials, suCttsses and losses,
etc), makes for an absorbing volume by any
yardstick. and one which mo re than justifies its
Panof '~n'
rather steep cover pritt at today's rate or page three-view colour drawings by Keith
many wit~ exchange. - JW
'"The Encyclopaedia 0/ World Air Po .....er ..
enjoy Consultant Editor Bill GunSlOn
pleasure Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. Fcltlralll ,
are, so much a part Mddx. 115'OO
Service life . 384 pp, 9 in by II~ in. il/ustraletl
There are more than If EVER there has been a lour de fo rce among
110,000 members who books devoted to the current military aviation
benefit from all that the scene then that book must be " The £ncycltr
RAFA has to offer. IJyou are paedio of World Air Po.....er .., with its sixteen
not yet one of them you
are Invited to apply fo r
membership details to the
Secretary-General, Central
-£I"en do.....n /0 K'hot the .....ell-lJressed airman
.....ore K'hen perforce patronising 3./) .88·s ex-
Headquarters,43 Grove Park Road, London W43RU fHJSf'd and draughty thunderbox in the depths of inflated book prices, but will not seem
(Tel: 01·994 8504), or to your local Area Office . a Spanish .....inter!
insignia in full colour - these being. incident- Edited by Amhony Robinson
ally. noticeably more up-to-date than those Orbis Publishing Ltd, London, 19'95
included in other recent books surveying world 304 pp, 8~ in by Iii in, illustrated
representative aircrtlft equipment. The major or the world's air arms are now legion and " Ai,
proportion of the book, consisting of 300-plus Po .....er .. can be numbered among the better of
pages. is concerned with the aircraft them· them. Essentially a spin-olT rrom the weekly
part-work lVings in being assembled from a
hundreds of illustrations - black·and·white series of articles that appeared in that
and full colour photos, general arrangement publication. " A ir Po ...·er·· is none the wo rse for
and comparison d rawings, colour profiles and that - unless, of course. you subscribed to
some superb, albeit oddly arranged, double- Wings - and is a handsome volume superbly
illustrated throughout in colour and or a
Fretwell - that will satiate the gourmand and standard orprinting that is a credit to the Hong
provide plenty for the gourmet. Kong printing house responsible, Overall it is a
The fi nal section of the book surveys air· competent reference albeit suffering in some
launched missiles, although, regretta bly, only measure rrom the fac t that the diverse authors
a proportion of these missiles are actually contributing the component parts or this
illustrated - with the amount or money that volume have adopted differing standards or
has o bviously been expended on illustrating detail, while the chapter ostensibly devoted to
Ihis lavish publicatio n, this reviewer would the Warsaw Pact air forces (but, in fact ,
have imagined that the added cost of a rew line making no reference to any air arm other than
drawings of missiles could have been no more that of the Soviet Union and then only in
than a drop in the bucket. The aircraft rather sweeping general ities) would seem to
coverage or this book is genuinely encyclo· have been intended for a somewhat more
paedic and its content olTers many hours o r juvenile readership. An odd reature of the
fascinating browsing. The retail prioc may book concerns national insignia . which .
sound rather high, even in these days o r grossly scattered through the relevant chapters. are as
often as not unaccompanied by identification.
inordinate once you have herted this weighty Theoretically, the insignia illustrations mate

PAGE iv PAGE 241

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with adjacent photographs of the aircrart of
the air force concerned, but there are a number
of instances where the insignia cannot be secn
on the aircraft and others whcre obsolete
insignia is illustrated with the current insignia
seen in the photographs, or ~ice \'erso. The
colours of some o f the markings - particu-
larly the blues - are decidedly odd in places,
but, overall, this book is good val ue for money
by today's standards and to be recommended.
'The Stirling Bomber"
by M J F Bowyer
Faber & Faber, London, £10
226 pp, 6 in by 9* in, illustrated
Of TIlE four-engined bombers that served the
RAF during World War II , the Short Stirling
was the least successful - the inevitable
consequence, perhaps, of being first , The
Specification which produced the Stirling
defined a quantum jump in heavy bomber
design , rcquiringan aeroplane that would have
greater range with heavier bomb load than any
previous RAF bomber, without sacrificing
performance. Both for the Directorate of
Operational Requirements at the Air Ministry
and for Shorts' design team at Rochester, the
Stirling was a step into the unknown, and it
was to suffer the price of being a pioneer.
Operationally. the Stirling was soon over-
taken and surpassed by the Halifalt and the
Lancaster; left to serve out the war in roles
other than bombing, it has until now attracted
only scant allention from the writers of Wo rld
War II history, With this book, Mike Bowyer
goes a long way to redressing the balance. An
avowed Stirling enthusiast since the earl y war
days when "as an impressionable teenager, I
had thrilled to the sight of those mighty
machines", he traces in this volume the
difficult gestation of the giant bomber, its
important contribution to the Bomber Com-
mand offensive until 1943 and its later use on
other duties.
The latter included troop transport and
glider towing in support o f the invasion of
Europe in 1944, passenger and freight trans-
port, service with the Special Duty squadrons
in support of SOE operations a nd electronic
warfare in No 100 Group. All these activities
are faithfully recorded. Appendices give details
of Stirling production, Stirling squadrons and
other operating units, and list by serial number
the aircrart used by each squadron and their
fates.
There are many interesting photographs, a
number of them not previously published, and
a series of d rawings depicting the camouflage
schemes and markings.
" Halifax "
by K A Merrick
Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, Surrey, £9·95
224 pp. 6f in by 9i in, illustrated
AfTER all the publicity enjoyed by the Avro
Lancaster - deservedly rega rded as the most
outstanding heavy bomber of World War 11 -
it is good to see both the Halifax and the
Stirling enjoying a somewhat belated recog-
nition of their respective contributions to the
war effort. This " illustrated history of a classic
World War II bomber" is the second Halifax
book to appea r recently (see "Raider",
reviewed in the February 1979 issue) and it
makes a good companion volume to Mike
Bowyer's "Stirling" reviewed on this page.
The genesis of the Halifax, by way of the
twin-engined H.P.55 and H.P.56, is traced
PAGE 242 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
somewhat sketchily, but can be found in more
detail in Chris Barnes' excellent history of
" Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907" (Putnam.
1976) and in other works dealing with the pre-
war evolution o f bombers fo r the RAF. The
account of operational initiation, the early
trials and tribulations and the consequent
development of the Mk II and later marks sets
the scene for the chapters that follow. These
describe, in adequate and interesting detail, the
use of the Halifax to support the Bomber
Command offensive and the major develop-
ment effort that went on at the same time to
improve its efficiency.
Unlike the Lancaster, the Halifax bomber
saw quite extensive service in the Middle East,
North Africa and italy, as described in one of
the chapters here. At home, it took on several
other important roles, serving with Coastal
Command fo r maritime reconnaissance, as a
troop transport and glider tug, as an agent-
dropper for the SOE and with No 100 Group
on electronic countermeasures. As a cargo
carrier, the Halifax sported a pannier sus-
pended in the bomb-bay and this in tum gave
rise to the post-war civil versions including the
Halton, which entered service with BOAC
soon after the war ended. All these many
aspocts of the Halifax story are fully covered in
a well-illustrated volume, which has the
inevitable and necessary appendices listing
RAF user-units, production details. a list of
civil-registered Halifaxes and a summary of
design da ta for'all the many variants.
Civil registers
THE civil aircraft enthusiast, spotter and
registration collector are well served by a
number o f recent publications from the
specialist publishers. The titles listed below
have reached us for review.
The two Air-Britain registers follow the
customary format but " Airline Fleets '80"
introduces some changes, including the addi-
New editions
"Aircraft Annual 1981"
Edited by Martin Horseman
Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, Surrey, [3·95
J30 pp, 7 in by 9i in, illustrated
A DOZEN articles and photo-features provide
something for most tastes, ra nging in their
content-maller from World War I to the
present day and embracing military and civil,
with many photographs.
" The Soviet War Machine"
Edited by Roy Bonds
Salamander Books Ltd, London, £7·95
250 pp, 8i in by J I i in, illustrated
ONE of the well-known Salamander "War
Machines", making a second appearance in a
slightly revised and updated version. Useful
compilation covering the strategy, tactics and
weapons of the Soviet Air Force, Navy and
Army.
"Jane's Weapon Systems 1980-81 "
Edited by Ron Prelly
Jane 's Publishing Co Ltd, London, £40
934 pp, 8i in by 12i in, illustrated
THE ANNUAL revision of an important Year-
book, now in its 11th edition, By its nature, this
one lacks the wider appeal of the " Aircraft"
and "Ships" Yearbooks but it is not one iota
less valuable in its more specialised field, which
it covers authoritatively and comprehensively.
On lhe noslalgia Irail
Farnborough Commentary
by RaYlllond Baxter
Patrick Stephens Ltd, Cambridge, £6,95
I J2 pp, 8 ;n by 9* in, illustrated
ANYONE who, like the author of this volume.
(and the writer of this re view), has attended all
the Farnborough air shows will almost
certainly enjoy a nostalgic journey through
these pagcs. Raymond Baxter, as a BBC
commentator th roughout that time, has
enjoyed a privileged view of successive Faro-
boroughs. orten from a seat in one or other of
the aircraft on display, so he has some
interesting and amusing anecdotes to tell. He
has, mo reover, a professional way with wo rds
which makes for pleasant reading.
At more than 6pa page, however, it has to be
said that the book is not outstanding in value-
for-money terms, There are, it is true, more
than 200 photographs - the majority depict-
ing aircraft displayi ng at Farnborough al-
though there are 17 of the author - but none
are in colour. There is no t a lot of space left for
words, but Raymond Baxter does succeed in
capturing much of the atmosphere, drama and
sheer pleasure that characterised the Farn-
borough shows of the 'fifti es and 'sixties.
Readers who did not have the opportunity to
attend those shows may not find it so easy to
understand the enthusiasm he describes or to
appreciate j ust how much it has changed (not
necessarily for the bener) by being enlarged to
include "foreigners" (ie, non-British exhibits).
tion of major US third-level airlines, to bring
the total number of operators listed to 875 in
159 countries. Both spiral-bound and perfecto '
bound editions are available, the quoted prices
being inclusive of postage from theAir-Britain
Sales Department, 9 Rook Oose, Elm Park,
Hornchurch, Esselt, RM 12 5Q H.
The two MCP registers, like the previously-
published " British Civil Aircraft Registers",
are historically complete from the start of the
respective listings (in Norway, N-I issued in
1919 and in Belgium, O-BABA in 1920). Every
registration is listed, with details of aircraft,
c/n, owner, and eventual disposition.
"Southern Europe and the Middle East Civil
Aircraft Regislers 1980"
Edited by Ian P Burnett
An Air-Britain Publication, £4,50
132 pp, 7 in by 9i in, illustrated
" /980 Registers of Germany, D- DM-"
Compiled by P M Gerhardt
An Air-Britain Publication, £6·00
154 pp, 7 in by 9i in, illustrated
"Airline Fleets '80"
An Air-Britain Publication, £6·(}()
269 pp, .Ii in by 6i in
"Belgian CMI Aircraft since 1920"
by John Appleton and Armond Thys
Midland Counties Publications (£3·95 soft-
bock or £5,95 hardbock ) Jrom 24 The Hollow,
Earl Shilton, Leicester, LE9 7NA
128 pp, 5f in by 8i in, illustrated
"Norwegian Civil Aircraft since 1919"
Compiled by Kay Hagby
Midland Counties Publications (address as
above) , £3·95 softbock or £5·95 hardback
120 pp, 5f in by 8i in, illustrated
Plaudits for the
Peripherals
VERY LEtSURE INDUSTRY attracts to its
E periphery like to a honeypot a (,dnge
bees
o f small organisations operating within the
shadow of the mainstream companies; peri-
pheral concerns metaphorically scooping up
the fall-out left by the activities of the leaders
fo rming the vertebrae of that industry'S
backbone and fulfilling functions non-viable in
the context of big business. The model aircraft
kit industry is no exception and many are the
small companies around its fringe supple-
menting the output of the hardcore of
established kit producers.
Some of these peripherals are transient,
soon wilting and dying, while others fl ourish
and their appellations become, if not exactly
household names, then comparatively well-
known to thc modelling fra ternity - what
reader of this column can lay hand on heart
and declaim that he has never heard of, say,
Rareplane or Modeldecal? Producing vac-
forms, limited-run injection-moulded com-
ponents, conversion kits, decals and other
adjuncts to our pastime, they invariably have
two things in common: they are run by
enthusiasts and they are small - frequentl y
little more than one-man businesses. Their
enthusiasm and size are vital to their survival,
for they cater primarily for the cadre of truly
dedicated modellers who have built up a high
degree of expertise over the years but represent
a strictly limited proportion - perhaps 10 per
cent or less - of the overall market for aircraft
kits.
The peripherals make an extremely val uable
contribution to the modelling scene which
grows in importance with the passage of the
years, Forexample, the increasingdiscernment
of the modelling fra ternity is being paralleled
by a demand for decals other than those
accompanying the kits and concerns such as
Microscale and Modeldecal, to mention but
two from a blossoming fringe industry. have
responded in sterling fashion to establish what
is now accepted as a highly desirable back-up
for the major kit producers around which the
whole of this leisure industry might be said to
rotate.
Vac-forms, too, are now well established,
catering primarily to the tastes for the more
exotic o r esoteric subject matter o f the more
skilled modeller, but more recent of con-
ception are the limited-production injection-
moulded components now often incorporated
in what are primarily vacuum-formed kits.
These are made by an injection process
utilising small machines and dispensing with
the immensely expensive hardened-steel moulds
necessary for conventional injection moulding,
and the cost is low enough to render runs even
as short as a thousand kits a viable proposi-
tio n. The results now being obtained by such
small organisations as Guano in the USA and
Veeday in the UK are highly encouragi ng; they
have succeeded in manufacturing by this
method and successfully marketing complete
injection-moulded kits at prices well within the
reach of most modellers and, what is more.
within the average modeller's ability to
translate into models standing comparison
with most o f those that they make from
conventional kits. For proof, o ne has only to
look at the recently-released IK-2 from Guano
and B.E.2c from Veeday.
Yet another facet of this expanding frin ge
business takes the form of accessories, which,
although as yet barely more than lining up for
take-off, has considerable promise. We have
had items such as drop tanks and bombs, and
aerofoil-section strips for struts, and last
month we reviewed in this column the first kits
of cockpit details for the larger-scale models
which may be utilised to achieve true exhibi -
tion standa rds, For long may these peripherals
prosper for they provide a service which we
need and. owing to sheer economics, can never
be provided by the major kit producers.
Failures recaUed
"You win a few and you lose a few" - a saying
that might be viewed as apposite to the British
aircraft industry (or, indeed. any aircraft
industry) during WW II, for it had its share o f
spectacular successes and a leavening of
abysmal failures, Two o f its failures, if not
exactly abysmal, were the Armstrong Whit-
worth Albemarle and the Blackburn Botha,
both of which were built in large numbers
despite being fo und unsuited for their intended
roles because once production momentum had
been built up widespread disruption would
have followed in the wake of sudden and total
cancellation . Thus, the Albemarle, designed as
a reconnaissance bomber, saw service as a
special transpon and glider tug, and the Botha,
intended as a general reconnaissance and
torpedo-bomber, served out its days as an
operational trainer, These undistinguished
aircraft are never likely to find favour with the
major kit manufacturers and Contrail has
elected to replace the existing vacuum-formed
kits Ihal have been listed in its catalogue for
some time past with two completely new
1/72nd scale kits of the Albemarle and Botha
representing a major improvement on what
has gone before.
Contrail has made a fine job of both kits,
including, in each case, injection-moulded
engines, propellers, wheels, undercarriage
struts and exhaust pipes. and very good decals.
All of the vac-formed parts - 32 for the
Albemarle and 22 for the Botha - are cleanly
moulded and of more than adequate thickness,
with a considerable amount of fine surface
detailing, while the assembly instructions,
three-view drawings and detail photographs
are of a very high standard. including all
necessary painting information. Flight deck
ENTHUSIAST
interiors are well catered for. and these kits
exhibit a high standard of production through-
out. We have no information as to price at the
time of closing for press, but readers can
contact Sutcliffe Productions (The Orchard.
Westcombe. Shepton Mallet. Somerset) for
more information, although most specialist
model shops can supply these kits.
This month's colour subject
Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation
has. over the years. come in for a lot of
criticism over its high-pressure and often less-
than-candid marketing practices - behind-
the-scenes activities in India to persuade the
powers-that-be to jettison the Anglo-French
Jaguar in favour of the purely French Mirage
2000 have seen much press milcage of late,
particularly in the UK - but, in o ur view, if
the heat gets too great one should get out of the
kitchen; no amount of pressure, covert or
overt, will today persuade a major air force to
accept an incompetent aero plane and Dass:mlt-
Breguet's aeroplanes are anything but that!
Indeed, this highly virile French company's
Mirage series of fighters have successively
demonstrated an expertise that other. less
successful European aircraft manufacturers
can but envy!
The swept-wing Mirage Fl is now busily
emulating the success of the delta-winged
Mirage fighters that preceded it and wi th
production rate currentl y running at abo ut a
half-dozen per mo nth - small beer by US or
Soviet standards perhaps - this versatile
figh ter has been rolling off the assembly line for
almost -a decade yet more customers always
seem 10 appear on the horizon. The Mirage FI
has fared quite well at the hands of the plastic
kit manufacturers and is toda y represented by
three kits, two to 1/72nd scale and one to
1/48th scale. In the former, there is a choice
between Airfix and Heller, both making up
into good, well detailed models, but the French
company's kit has a n edge, particularly in the
finish of the component parts and gcneral
finesse. On the other hand, the Airfix product
scores when it comes to price, so far as the UK
is concerned at least, so choice may well
depend upon whether or not the extra touch of
class justifies to the individual modeller the
additional cost. In the larger 1/48th scale
category, Esci has comparatively recen tl y
produced a Mirage F I kit, which, distributed
in the U K by Humbro!. is an accurate and well-
detailed product to be unhesitatingly recom-
mended.
Phanlom precursor
Our first impression on opening up Airfilt's
new kit of the McDonnell F2H Banshee was
one of surprise not evoked by the kit itself but
by the box which seemed to be abo ut twice as
large as was necessary to comfortably house its
contents! Is this really an ap propriate kit for
inclusion in Series 4, Airfix? In o ur view, it
should have been placed fairly and squarely in
Series 3. but here it is, reminiscent o f the
"before and after" slimming advertisements.
with a skeletal figure wearing the suit o f a very
obese indi vidual!
Insofar as the kit itself is concerned, this is
certainly a nice enough product, and as the first
PAGE 243
 and so far the o nly injection-moulded kit in
1/72nd scale of the aircraft that really placed
the now-distinguished McDonnell concern on
the map is particularly welcome. Conceived
during the closing mo nths of WW II , the
Banshec was to be built in six major modcls
• delivered between August 1948 and October
195), a total of 892 production aircraft being
bui lt, its career including service in the Korean
conflict. The basic version selected by Airfix
for its kit is the F2H-2. characterised by a
slightly longer fuselage and wingtip tanks, and
(Above left) The upper surfaces of Mirage there are 57 component parts moulded in
FleE C.14-4. a nd (above right) the upper midnite blue plastic, plus a very clear one-piece
surfaces of Mirag e F1C 5 - 0C . transparent cano py.
adequate. but the kit includes a good selection
of external stores, these including the wingtip
fuel ta nks. and fou r bombs a nd four rockets.
each with its individ ual pylon .
An alternative nose section is provided to
produce the F2H-2 P photographic model , the
basic nose having to be CUI away along lines
scored inside the fu selage to effect the
transfo rmation, but Airfi x has not included
the appropriate transparent panels for the
cameras - three each side - wh ich arc simply
marked in outline on the plastic. These panels
were rectangular and fl at, and so may quile
easily be added by the moddier, but we would
have liked to have seen them included in the kit
the same scale by" Matchbox" and Heller, and
two larger versions by Heller (l /5Oth) and Esci
(1/48th). Confi ning ourselves to consideration
of the smaller-scale versions only, we can
eliminate the "Matchbox" oITering as this kit,
admittedly a very early eITort, is simply not in
the same class as the competition, while the
new Airfix kit has fonnida ble competition
from the preceding Heller offering both as
regards quality and price.
Treating the Airfix kit on its own merits,
ho .....ever, it is very well proportioned and
accurate, with 64 well-fitting components in a
medium shade of grey plastic with a one-piece
clear canopy. The surface detailing is generally

I We cannot fa ult this kit on outline accuracy

(Above) Mirage FleE of Escuadr6n141 (Ala de Caza 14) of Spain 's
Ejercito del Aira b ased at Albacete, and ( l ett) the embl em of Al a
14. The Mirage F1 CE is schedu l ed to rem ain in service with the Air
Combat Command (MACOM) of the Fuerza AMea throughout the
'eig hties.
and the surface detailing is neatly realised, part
being engraved and part being raised but all
fine. The fi t of the component parts is good
throughout. and the ailerons and rudder have
been fonned as inset sections in order to ensure
adequately thin trailing edges. All three
undercarriage units are nicely sim ulated, but in
each case the wheel well is 100 shallow, a fau lt
which we would hardly expect to encounter in
a modern kit. The cock pit interior, which
includes a pilot figure, is no more than
- the boxtop illustration shows them clearly
enough! The decal sheet is good and offers
markings for a US Navy F2H -2 from VF-I72
and a USMC F2H-2 P fro m VMJ- l, both of
which were Ko rean conflict participants. This
kit is retailed in the UK at £ '·65.
Alpha Jets ad infinitum
With the advent of a 1/72nd scale kit from
Airfix, we calculate that there are now no fewer
than five currently-available kits of the
Dassault-Breguet/ Dornier Alpha Jet, two to
very fine. withjusl a hint of heaviness here and
there, while the encapsulated cockpit inlerior is
good. although .....e admit to a twinge of
sympathy for the two pilot fig ures whose legs
have been amputa ted at the knees - we
appreciate that plastic is expensive nowadays,
but there are limits beyond which economies
are self-defeating! Both Genna n and Belgian
versions of the Alpha Jet are ca tered for by
mea ns of alternative nose tips, and there is a
selection of ordnance applicable mainly to the
fonner which also has an arrester hook not

(Immediately below) Mirage F1 C of the Escadron 2 / 5 lie de Fra nce (58 Esca dre de Chasse)
of the Armee de I' Air at Orange, this being illustrated in the standa rd CAFOA
(Commandement Air des Forces de Defe nce Ae rienne) air superiority finish . This fini s h is
a lso applicable to the aircraft of which scrap details are s hown below. Note tops id e
planview at head of opposite page.

(Above) Mirage F1 CZ of No 3 Sqdn, South African Air Force Strike

Command, based at Waterkloof. and (left) the emblem of No 3
Sqdn . The Mirage F1 CZ entered SAAF servi ce in 1974. having since
been suppl emented b y the Mirage F1 AZ for the air-ground r 6le.

(Above) Mirage Fl CH of the Royal Maroc Air Force (AI Quwwat Aljawwiya
Almalakiya Mara kishiya) . Deliveries of th e Mirage F1 CH to Morocco commenced
mid -1978. with the last of 50 (includ ing severa l two-seat Mirage F1 BHs) being
accepted rece ntly, some of these being in sto rage and the remainder being operated
by two squadrons.

'" '
(Above) Mira ge F1 CG of th e 1148 Pterighe (Wing) o f th e Hellenic Air Force (Elliniki
Ae roporia) at Tanagra . this Wing comprising the 342 a nd 346 Mire (s quad rons ) each
with 16 ai rcraft plus reserves. ( Be low) Mirag e F1JA of the Escuadrill a de Caccia of
the Fuerza Aerea Ecuatori a na. 16 aircraft (plus two t wo-seat Mirage F1JBs) hav ing
bee n de li vered to Ec ua d or from early 1 979.
The details of Mirage F1 Cs shown a bove are app li cable (top, left to right ) No 9 (30- MF) of
2/ 30 Normandie- Niemen ; No 81 (1 2-ZC ) of 2/12 Cornouaill e (with reve rse of vertica l tail
imm edi ately below); No 54 (12-YH) of 1 / 12 Cambresis (with reverse below); No 1 9 (5-NQ)
of 1 / 5 Vendee (with reverse below) . a nd (left, immediately a bove) No 28 (30- FF) of 3/ 30
l orraine , (Below) Mirage F1CK of Kuwaiti Air Force .

I '"""-
.. ..... .e ..... . _ __
I

PAGE 244 AlA INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBE R 1980 PAG E 245

featured by Belgian machines. The Luflll'afJe
Alpha Jet has a 27-mm Ma user cannon
mounted asymmetrically beneath the fuselage
and the kit includes this item in satisfying
detail. The decals cover an aircrafi ascribed to
Jagdbombergeschwatler 49 at Furstenfeld-
bruck and one of an unspecified unit of the
Force Ahielllle Beige. Being included in Series
3, this kit retails at £ 1. 20 in the UK and
represents reasonable value by present stan-
dards.
Like the Hawk, fea lUred as our colour
subject in the September issue, the Alpha Jet is
now entering service with several ai r arms and,
in conseq uence, a number of diffe rent national
markings and several colour schemes are now
applicable - a Togolesc eltample was de-
monstrated at Farn borough International 80.
French ' Ihirties elegance . . .
The mid-'thirties witnessed the "golden age"
of ai r racing in the USA dominated by
overpowered diminutive project.iles which
gave the impression of being large radial
engines with the minimum of supporting
airframe appended. Then. in 1936. a slim ,
elegant and relatively low-powered mo no·
plane built by the veteran French Caudron
concern and pilo ted by Michel Detroyat
wrested the Greve and Thom pson trophies
from the US contenders and would almost
certainly have swept the board but for its
withdrawal followi ng complai nts - apparent-
ly quite unfo unded - that the French entry
was sponsored by its government.
Prior to this, the Caudro n C. 450/460 racing
mono planes, of which fo ur were built, had
emerged as victors in the '34, '35 and '36 Coupe
DeulSch events, and had also held the world's
landplane speed record for a year, from
December 1934 until December 1935 - a class
record that still stands. Even Heller has not yet
got around to producing a ki t of the Caudron
racer, but we do now have a superb 1/32nd
scale rendering from Williams Brothers o f San
Ma rcos, Califo rnia, as a companion to their
Gee Bee and Wedell-Williams kits to the same
scale. Moulded, apart from the single canopy
transparency, in an appropriate shade of blue
plastic, the kjt consists of 60 pa rts and makes
provision for building anyone of the four
machines. The major d ifferences between the
Caudrons lay in their undercarriages o f which
there were th ree different configurations. two
of these being fi lted with streamlined fa irings
a nd spats, a nd the other being retractable. This
last-mentioned was a pplicable to No 6909, the
Greve[Thompson winner, and if this version is
modelled, the lower wing panels have to be cut
away - they are clearly marked o n the inner
surface - to fo nn the wheel wells.
Externally, simplicity of line was a keynote
o f the Caud ro n racer and the model resulting
fro m this kit reproduces the clean, simple lines
faithfully, while, at the same time, reproducing
every visible feat ure inside the cockpit and also
the forward portion ofth esix-cylinder Renault
air-cooled engine which may be seen thro ugh
the air intake in the nose. The very fi ne surface
detailing includes the flush·mounted radiators
which fonned panels on the port side of and
below the engine cowling, The decals are
extensive and of excellent q ua lity, including
markings applicable to all four aircrafi at all
stages of their racing careers. In fact, only a
small number of these decals can be used for
a nyone machine. The colour scheme was
essentially simple, being overall blue with a
PAGE 246 AIR INTERNATIONAL/ NOVEMBER 1980
thin tricolour band diagonally around the
fuselage, to which was added racing numbers
on the wings and fuselage. and the manufac·
turer's descri ptive legend on the fin and rudder.
The kit is accompanied by a full 1/32nd scale
drawing with every variation of detail and
marking clearly shown. This is an outstanding
kit with tremendous appeal for those wi th a
fee ling for the era of which it was a repre-
sentative.
. . . and American brute force
Representa tive of the powerful radial-engined
racers specially designed fo r the US National
Air Races of the mid 'thirties and typical of the
competition tha t the previously-described
Caud ron had to face was the LTR .14 Pesco
Special, originally built in 19]6 as the Turner-
Laird Meteor by Lawrence Brown Aircraft to
the ideas of that fl amboyant a ir raci ng
personality, Col Roscoe Turner. When the
Meteor's wing loading proved to be too high,
the aircraft was modified by Matty La ird and,
as the Pesco Special with a 1,000 hp Twin
Wasp engine, it was fl own by Turner to victory
in the 19]8 Thompson Trophy Race, re peating
its success in the following year after being
rechristened M iss Champion.
Airframe has selected this racer as the
subject for its latest I/72nd scale vac-fonn, and
for the more experienced it will ma ke up into
an attractive model, especially as the kit
includes a very fi ne set of decals for the ai rcraft
both as Pesco Special and as M iss Champion.
The vacuum-fonned parts total o nly 16,
covering the basic structures of fuselage, wings
a nd tail surfaces, plus the undercarriage legs,
spats and canopy. Among those parts nO I
included are the engine, wheels, propeller and
cockpit interior, and so a high degree of
scratch-building skill is called fo r in complet-
ing this model, There is little in the way of
surface deta iling on the mouldings, but they
are well fo nned and we fee l that many
modellers will find the extra effort required to
supplement the kit contents is worthwhile. Our
sample kit came from John Tarvin who
prod uced it for Burnaby Hobbies (5209
Rumble Street, Burnaby, Be. Canada V5J
2B7). Specialist shops in Canada, the UK and
the USA should be able to supply the kit.
Decal Review
Mieroscale: To descri be the producers o f
Microscale decals as prolific would seem to be
understating the case as Krasel lndust ries seem
to be averaging a new sheet weekly, and this
month we have no fe wer than eight new
releases, all of them for 1/48th scale. The
subject aircraft are all jets, but we have
re presenta tive types for the USAF, the US
Navy and the USMC to ensure variety.
Sheets Nos 48·80 and -8 1 are both fo r F-
lOOO Super Sabres and are intended for the
Monogram kit but are also suitable for that
from Esci. The fi rst sheet covers two machines,
bolh basically in natural metal fini sh. One of
these, PrellY Penny of the 481st TFS Green
Crusullers, has a drawi ng of the lady after
which it was presuma bly named on each side of
the nose, with unit badges and green flashes on
the fin , while the other machine, from the 20th
TFW, sports multi-coloured fin flashes plus
red flashes o n each side of the fu selage, plus
fo ur badges, three on the fuselage and one o n
the fin . There are two more aircraft on No 48-
81 and t.hese are, if anything, rather more
colourful. One Super Sabre from the 450lh
TFS (FW·263) has a stylised white bird motif
on a purple band outlined in white and black
on the fin. and a similarly oUllined purple·and-
white checked nose, a large cobra in green and
yellow decorating the fuselage. The other
machine featu red is from the 49th T FW and
has its entire vertical tail and the nose pai nted
in a red, yellow a nd bl ue design. Buzz numbers
and a host of small markings are included for
all fo ur schemes.
Sheets 48-82 and -83 cover respectively
USMC and US Navy F-8 Crusaders, two
machines from each service and all in the basic
gull grey and white scheme. From VMF(A W).
2]5 comes an F-8E with red areas super-
imposed with white stars on nose, fin a nd
vent.ral strakes, while an F·8C from
VMF(A W)-3]4 sports a stylised red bird motif
o n each side of its fin and red lightning fl ashes
o n each ventral strake. The US Navy aircraft
are an F-8E of VF·24 aboard the USS
Hancock and an F·8 H of VF- II I aboard the
USS Shangri· La, each with very elaborate fin
decorations in red and white, and, in t.he case
of the second aircraft, a shark's mouth for the
air intake, As with t.he Super Sabre sets, there is
a plethora of smaller markings. The recom·
mended ki t is by Esci (ScaleCraft).
Sheet No 84 ofTers two exceptionally
colourful A·7Es. One of these, from VA·83
aboard USS Fo"eswl. sports what we take to
bea Ram's Head, with its nose pointing, rather
oddly, vertically downward o n each side of the
fi n. This motif is in black and white, with a red
eye, while the rudder is white and the fin tip
light blue. There is also a diagonal bl ue band,
edged in yellow, around the forward fuselage.
A similar band, but in black and red, is
feat ured by the other A-7E, this lime from VA-'
195 aboard the USS Killyhawk, and the fin
design of this aircraft almost defies description,
incorporating a bird's head wi th multi-
coloured fea thers, these colours being repeated
o n the rudder. Sheet No 85 provides the
markings of an A-7E from VA-94 Shrikes. also
USS Kill)'hawk, displaying a while rudder with
red and black stars. and black-edged red bands
at top and bottom of the fi n. The o ther
machine o n this sheet, an A-7 B from VA-205,
has a highly-decorative Bi-centennial scheme
comprising eight vari-coloured fl ashes and a
"76" emblem for superimpositio n o n a white
rudder. a large green·and·white bomb-carrying
bird appearing on the fi n. All fou r A-7s a re in
the usual gull grey and white basic scheme.
Microscale suggests use o f the Monogram ki t,
but Esci's kil ca n also be used.
The last two sheets of this batch a re for
USM C F-4 Phantoms, the three o n Sheet 48-
86 being compara tively prosaic, the units
represented being VM FA-232 (two aircrafi)
and VMFA-2]5. The basic colouring of these
aircraft is standard, the individual decoration
being confi ned to the fin s, rudders and nose
radomes. Sheet 48·87 covers three F-4 Bs, one
lettered for the Commander Marine Aircraft
Group 32 (MAG· 32), this having large black-
edged orange fi n flashes and black checks on its
white rudder. From VM FA-3 12 is a Phantom
with a large area of its fi n· and- rudder assembly
decorated with black and white checks o ut-
lined in red and yellow, while VM FA-32] is
represented by an aircraft with black-and·
yellow coiled sna kes on each side of a white
rudder. a nd black bands superimposed with
yellow diamonds on the fin. The recommended
ki ts are Revell for the F-4J and Entex f6 r the F-
4 8. D F J HENDERSON
configuration. although earlier ~:~~~b~~~ i :~
ARGENTINA introduce the -B model on the a
with Ihe 61st series Pucara are nOI now
FMA IA 58B & IA 66 PUCARA pursued. The latest programme calls fo r
WITH 44 delivered to the Fuerza Aerea IOlst and subsequent Puca ras to be of the ·B
Argenlina by the beginning of September. model and this version, with either Turbomeca
when production was runni ng at two per or Garrett-AiRescarch engines, will be avail-
month with planned increase to three (and able for eltport late 1982.
possibly four) monthly by the end of next year, The Astazou·powered IA 58 B Pucara- B
the Pucara twin· turbopro p close air support prototype differs from the current series
aircra ft is now thoroughly established in production IA 58A primarily in havi ng the two
service and the Filbrica Militar de Aviones at 20-mm Hispano HS 804 ca nnon in the
Cordoba is placing increased emphasis on underside of the forward fuselagc replaced by a
variant development. both for indigenous use pair ofJO-mm OE FA 55] ca nnon, the quartet
and for export. In FAA service, the initial of 7,62-mm F N- Bro wning machine guns being
series version of the Pucara, the IA 58A with retained. The larger-calibre cannon have been
Turbomeca Astazou XVIG engi nes, has built accommodated by deepening the forward
up a reputation for sturdiness and nexi bility, fuselage by 6,] in (16 cm) with a nominal
res ulting in a hardening of foreign interest and increase in empty equipped wei~h t, the
three export contracts for two Latin America n maxim um eltternal stores load remai ning ],]07
countries (uno ffi cially reporled to be Domini- Ib (1 500 kg) and maximum take·off weight
can Republic and Venezuela) and one Middle being unchanged. Apart from slight increases
Eastern country are now in the final stages of in ta ke-off and landing run. the performance CANADA IR CHALLENGER AND
negotiation, wi th announcement of the signing of the IA 58 B remains essentially similar to CHALLENGER E
of the fi rst of these believed to be imminent at that o f the IA 58A. In addition to introducing CANADAIR Lm bro ught the No 7 Challenger
the time of closing fo r press. heavier cannon annament and the modifica- Farnborough fo r its fi rst appearance in
The latest variant of the Pucara, which was tions to the fuselage structure that their UK, j ust 22 months after first fl ight and
scheduled to commence its fl ight test pro· installation entailed, the Pucara- B also has a weeks a ft er obtaining Type A
J,p'''." II"!.om
gramme at Cordoba early last month (Octo· new avionics fit. The UHF, VO R/ l tS and or f'""port
ber), is the Garrett-Ai Research TPE331· ADF sets, which are now du plicated, may be
powered IA 66. The design of the TPE]3 1 operated from either forward o r aft cockpit.
engine mo unt and nacelle has been undertaken and provision is made for the Omega n avi~a.
by Vol par Incorporated of Van Nuys, Cal if. o n tion system and weather radar. The follOWing
behal f of the FMA, the US compa ny also da ta relate to the Pucara-B prototype.
being responsible for the fi rst installalion, the PO,,'cr Plane : Two 1,022 ehp Tur bomec3
Pucara Wing, complete with TPE33 1· l l engine Astazou XV IG turbo props each drivi ng
being returned to Cordoba for application to Hamilton Standard 23LF/ 10 15-0 three-bladed
the IA 66 prototype airframe o n 29 August. metal propellers of 8'53-ft (2,60-m) diam.
The recently-certificated T PE33 I-11. wh ich To tal internal fuel capacity, 28 1' 5 Imp gal
drives a Dowty Rotol R316 four·bladed metal
propeller in its IA 66 insta llation, is rated at
1,000 shp, and the FM A believes that its
availability as an option to the Astazou will
markedly improve the prospects o f the Pucara
on the eltport market. Work will shortly
commence on two pre-series examples of the
TPE331-powered IA 66, which, intended for
eval uation by Ihe FAA. are scheduled to be
completed in March.
The FM A envisages o ffering the IA 66 wi th
bot h Garrett-Ai Research and T urbomeca
engines, and o ne version o f this aircra ft fo r
which a fi nal decision as \0 en~ n e type has still
to be made is a special airline pilot trai ner
va riant to be delivered to the INAC (National
Institute of Civil Aviation) at Moron next
year, although the fi rst of three· fo ur Pucarils to
be utilised by the INAC will have TPE331s. ( Abol'e and below) The prOIOI)'pe PucarQ·B which has now compleled more ilIOn 150 hours lesling
The IA 66 trainer wi ll have full dual control and will bejoilled nexl year bY l wo Similarly-configured T P£331-ellgined IA 66 PucarOs.
and the special school by which it will be
operated will effectively provide the FAA with
a pool of commercial pilots possessing Pucara
training available to the service in an emer·
gency. A further version of the Pucara now
under development for the FAA is a maritime
surveillance and attack model, with search
radar and a reconnaissance camera fi t. Changes
are to be embodied in the cockpits aimed at
increasi ng crew comfort for long-endurance
missions - the official req uiremen t calls fo r a
I O-hour endurance but this can be achieved by
the standard IA 58A when carryi ng maltimum
eltternal ferry fuel and few changes in the fuel
system are therefo re called for.
Aight development of the IA 58 B Pucara- B,
Ihe prototype of which (AX-05) - act ually a
modification of the 25th series aircrafi -
commenced its test programme in the late
spring of last year, is continuing and the
prototype has now completed more than 150
hours flyi ng; the two TPE331-engined pre· _8
series JA 66s to be delivered for FAA
eval uation next spring will be o f Pucara·B
PAGE 247

L
(Abo l'~) A r~viff!d thru-view of the Conadair ClAW ChoJ/enger E showing the u tended span,
/eading-edge devices, chimged spoiler configuration and revised engine pylOn!. ( Below) CL-fJ()()
Challenger No 7 in TAG markings 01 Farnborough.
""""----
• 1 1 1 • •
Certification proved to be a lo nger and more
difficult task than expected. prmcipally be-
cause it was the fi rst modern jet aeroplane
certificated by Transport Ca nada to the latest
and most stringent regulations, the precise
interpretation of which had not previously
been established . By 11 April. when the Type
Approval was awa rded, the four trials aircraft
had made nearly 850 flights tOlalling some
I,SOO hrs. including exhaustive stalling tests
that called for more than 2.000 sia lis to be
made in every possible combination o f con-
fi guration and condition of entry. In additio n,
the ratigue test specimen had made nearly
11 ,000 simulated fli ghts, representing more
than 9,000 hrs.
The T ype Approval included a num ber or
res trictio ns, the lining or which depends o n
completion or certain other tests o r meeting
certain conditions. Canadair spelled out these
initial restrictions as rollows:
Maximum opera ting altit ude 40,000 n
( 12 192 m) pending completion ortestson crew
oXY$Cn equipment.
AIrspeed limit or 3 17 kt/ M = o-79 (587
kmfh) lAS and take-off and landing max
weights limited to 33.000 Ib (14970 kg) a nd
30.500 lb (1 3835 kg) respecti vely, pending
approval o r the tail loads survey rep~)rI .
No fli ght into known ici ng condItio ns un til
flights in na tural icing have been completed.
No opera tions rrom standing water, slush or
snow until tests in these conditio ns have been
completed.
Thrust reversers not to be used until tes ting
completed.
Most or the outstanding work. needed to
clear these limitations was being undertaken
on Challenger No 2. while No 4 (which is
owned by Avco Lycoming) has been eannark-
ed as the fl eet leader ror engine proving in a
L..-_.......,
Canadair/ Lycoming I,OOO-hr pro-
, rOOI. Leading edge flaps and slats are likely to
gramme. Aircran No 2 is assigned to a
perrormance improvement programme, in
which No 9 will also participate, with special
rererence to aerodynamic improvement, and
No 5 is the Canadair demonstrator.
Now that the initial task or certification has
been completed , Canadair is turning ils
a Uention 10 a number or possible improve-
ments and refi nements, some or which are
directed towards the rorthcoming Model 6 10
Challenger E while others will have application
on a ll models in the ramily. These Improve-
ments include an eventual increase in gross
weight to 40, 1251b ( 18 200 kg) rrom 36.000 Ib
(16329 kg) ror the basic Model 600: a drooped
wi ng leading edge (which will be fl ying on test
by the end orthe year): a split nozzle in place or
the present confluent nozzle design and
possibly the additio n or winglets which wind
tunnel testing suggests could add 150 mls (241
km) to the range.
The company holds 48 orders or paid
options ror the stretched Model 610 Challen-
ger E and the Model 601. the latter being the
standard size aircran powered by the Challen-
An impression of Ihe de HOI'illand Dash 8, commilments for which
.:"."""",!"~.",,,'[.c<J the lotes/ Dash 8 model at F'''n,~m·';.~h.
ger E's General Electric CF 34 engines. Since
fonnal go-ahead fo r the stretched version was
announced o n 14 March 1980. the specifi-
cation has been revised somewhat and the data
available at Farnborough are quoted below.
These show increases in weights (see AirDala
File/September 1979) and a 45-in ( 1, I4-m)
increase in wing span. achieved by inserting a
22·5-in (57-cm) section eaeh side at the wing
be introduced on the Challenger E and flap and
spoiler configurations are also being changed.
First flight or the Challenger E is now
expected to be made in the second quarter or
1982. with deliveries starting in mid-1983. It
will be preceded by the first Model 601. which
will fly late in 1981 with deliveries starting a
year later.
The rollowing specification rerers to the
Model 6 10 Challenger E.
Power Plaot: Two General Electric CF34-IA
turbora ns each rated at 9, 140 Ib st (4 146 kgp)
with APR (five-minute limit) a nd 8.650 Ib
(3924 Jegp) without APR: max continuous
power. 8.980 lb st (4073 kgp). Fuel capacity.
2.633 US gal (99671) in wing and centre
section tanles plus 813 US gal (3078 1) in
fuselage tank.; systems tota l 3.446 US gal
(13044 1).
Performance: High speed cruise, M =0·83, 476
kl (882 km/h); l ong- ran~e cruise. M =0· 75. 431
kt (800 km/h); max certificated altitude. 45.000
rt ( 13 7 16 m); ra nge (NOAA I FR reserves. 200
naut ml/370 km alternate). 3,240 mls (6000
km) with wing fuel only, 4.150 naut mls (7687
km) with win$ and rusela~ ruel .
WeiEbts: BaSIC operating weight. 27.950 Ib
(l267g kg); max fuel (wing only) 17.800 Ib
(8074 kg): max ruel (wing and ruselage):
23.300 Ib (10569 kg); payload with rull ruel,
2.000 Ib (907 kg): max take-olT (wing fuel
o nly), 47,500 Ib (21546 kg); max take-off(rull
ruel), 53,000 Ib (2404 1 kg); max landing
weight. 45,000 Ib (204 12 kg); max zero ruel
weight. 32,350 Ib ( 14674 kg).
Dimensions: Span. 65 rt 7 in (19.99 m); length,
77 rt 2 in (23.52 m): height. 20 n g in (6.30 m):
wing area, 490 sq f't (45.52 ml); aspect ratio,
8,77: 1; sweepback, 25 deg at quarter chord;
wheelbase. 32 ft 5, in (9.89 m): undercarriage
track. 10 n 5 in (3.18 m).
Accommodation: Aighl crew or two; typical
layouts provide 14. 15 or 17 passenger seats in
cabin length or 37 n 0 in (1 1.28 m). Cabin
interior max width. 8 n 2 in (2,49 m); width at
floor line, 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m): headroom, 6 rt I in
(0.94 m): vol ume. 1,505 cu n (42,62 ml).
DE HAVIL.L.AND CANADA DH C-8
BY THE EN!) or Farnborough week, de
Havilland's backlog or option commitments
ror the Dash 8 had risen to 90. placing the
company in tbe lead among the group or
manuracturers now offering commuter aircT3n
in the 3O/40-seat category. The largest single
new commitment came rrom Innotech Avia-
A preliminary Ihrt'tH'iew of the 5o0b-Fairchild 340 as now revised, with low-mounted
tailplone and {Mlow {£fl } a model shoM'ing the original configura /ion.
Dash 8 is set for mid- 1983
to the lau nch customer.
NorOntair. in 1984. The most recent additions
to the option list. in addition to Innotech. are
Suburban Airlines (3), Perimeter Airlines (2).
Torontair (I). Wider;c,'s Ayveselskap (6).
Home Oil or Canada ( I) and World Projects
and Trading Corp (I).
Although a rull specification ror the Dash 8
has yet to be released by de Havilland. data
issued at Farnborough showed some revisions
by comparison wit.h the initial release (see A I R
INTERNATIONAL/July 1980). as rollows:
Power P1ant: Two Pratt & Whitney PT7A-2R
turboprops each rated at 1,800 shp ror take-
off. Four-bladed . large diameter propellers.
Perronnance: Max cruising speed. 260 Jet (482
km /h) at 25.000 n (7620 m): max operating
altitude. 25,000 rt (7620 m): range with IFR
ruel reserves and max payload, 400 naut mls
(741 km): range with IFR reserves and 32-
passenger parload. 600 naut mls ( I 112 km):
max range with IF R ruel reserves. 1,100 naut
mls (2038 km): FA R 25 take-ofT and landing
t was able to announce
field lengths. 3.000 rt (914 m) at sea level.
ISA+ 15 deg C
Weights: Max payload. 7,500 Ib (3402 kg):
max take-off, approx 30.000 Ib ( 13 608 kg).
Dimensions: Span. 84 rt 0 in (25.60 m): length.
75 n 6 in (23,01 m): height. 25 n (7,62 m);
undercarriage track, 26 n 0 in (7.92 m).
Accommodation: Aight crew or two: up to 36
passengers rour-abreast at 31-in (78-cm) seat
pitch.
INTERNATIONAL
SAAR-FAIRC HILD 340
ONE OF the several new projects ror commuter
ai rliners in the 30/40-seat category publicised
at Farnborough this year, the Saab- Fairchild
340 has been finned up since the first details
were published earlier in the year (see A IR
INTERNATIONAL/July 1980) and with effect
rrom I September the company has been
willing to guarantee the key perronnance
pa rameters. These, as quoted at Fam borough,
are: a max field length or 4.000 rt (12 19 m);
minimum cruising speed or 298 mph (480
km /h); minimum range or 932 mls (1500 km)
with 34 passengers and max empty weight or
14,400 lb (6 532 kg).
The fi rst phase or project definitio n and
specification work - which began in January
and involved a 1000strong team drawn rrom
Saab and Fairchild and working at Farming-
dale, Long Island - has been completed and
the second phase has now begun, centred upon
Linkoping. Sweden. This phase embraces
detail design, development. tes t and evaluation
up to certificatioll in Dec:ember 1983. The two
fligh t test aircran are scheduled to fly in
October 1982 and January 1983 respectively,
with the firs t production aircT3f't available by
the end of 1983.
Prod uction o r the SF 340 is to be shared on
a n equal basis, with Fairchild building wings.
tail unit a nd engine nacelles at its Republic
Company Divisio n in Fanningdale and Mary-
land. while Saab builds the ruselage a nd is
responsible ror fina l assembly and flight testing
at Linkoping. Certification will be 10 American
FAR-25 and joint European JAR-25 stan-
dards, and the commuter will be the fi rst
airliner to be certificated sim ulta neously to
these latest standards. Marketing is being
handled in the USA, Canada and Mexico by
the Swearingen Aviation Co,! (a Fairchild
subsidiary) and in the res t 0 the world by
Saab-Fairchild HB. ajoinUy-owned company
companies, Crossair.
negotiating a contract fo,e 6,,, ,;, 6"
more on option. to become the first confi nned
customer; in addition, Swedair was negotiat-
ing for five-seven ai rcran and Stillwell Avia-
tion was discussing an agreement ror the
Australian distributorship which wo uld lead
to the placing or a finn order ro r 12. Contracts
in the Swea ringen marketing area were
expected to be an nounced d uring October.
An important milestone in phase I develop-
ment was the selection of General Electric as
the engine vendor. the SF 340 being the first
announced application ror the en turboprop
derived rrom the 1'700 helicopter turbos hart.
Saab-Fairchild claims that the en o ffers 5-15
per cent lo wer ruel consumption than its
competitors: specifically, the ruel cost fo r the
34-seat SF 340 operating 10 fli ghts a day o n a
100-naut ml ( 185-Jun) sector works out at
5430,000 a yea r (ruel at SI ' 50/ US gal),
compared with $510,000 and $610.000 ror 30-
seal a nd 32-seat aircrart with Pratt & Whitney
PT7
I steering, anti-
. All three undercarriage
~if~~;;~.;
~
;;;·,;;t;;~;;;~~,';;·n~d~ retraci rorwards
in case or to
hyd raulic
railure.
Power Plant: Two General Electric Cf'7-5
turboprops eaeh fla t-rated to 30 deg C a t sea
level ror 1.654 shp at take-off. Dowty ROlol
R320 ro ur-bladed propellers o f composi te
construction and 10 ft 6 in (3,20 m) diameter.
Fuel capacity. 880 US gal (3331 1) in two
integral wing tanks.
Perfonnance: Max cruising speed, 260 kts (482
km/h) at 20,000 rt (6100 m): long ra nge cruise.
21 1 kts (391 kmfh) a t 20.000 ft (6100 m): FAR
25 take-off field length required. 3,200 n (975
m) ISA at sea level, 4.400 n (134 1 m) ISA + 15
deg C at 5.000 n ( I 525 m); range with max
payload, 550 naut mls ( I 019 km); range with
34 passengers (IFR reserves). 780 naut mls
(1445 km): max range, 1.570 naut mls (2908
km) with 23 p..'lsscngers.
 Typical OWE. 14,700 lb (6668 kg);
fuel capacity, 5,900 lb (2676 kg); weight-
limited payload, 7.300 lb (3 3 11 kg): max lake-
01T and landing weight. 25,000 lb (11 340 kg);
max lero fuel weight. 22.000 lb (9980 kg).
Dimensions: Span 70 n 3t in (21.4 m); length.
63 n II in (19.5 m): height. 22 n 6 in (6.8 m):
aspect ratio. 11: I: wheelbase. 23 ft 6 in (7.2 m);
undercarriage trac k, 22 ft 0 in (6.7 m).
Accommodation: Flight crew of two with
proYision for si ngle-pilol operation: 34 passen-
gers three-abreast at 30-in (76-cm) seal pilch.
Baggage companmcnI on main deck. volume
225 eu ft (6.4 ml).
ITALY
AERITALIA AIT·230-208
SINCE start ing the project development of a
commuter transport during 1979. Aeritalia has
revised the basic design to ofTer larger capacity
and to take advantagc of the new generation o f
engi nes now on ofTer. Whereas the A IT-230·
204 (as described in AirData File/ March 1980)
wou ld have been powered by PT6A-65
turboprops and accommodate 30 passe ngers,
the current AIT-230-208 has been enlarged to
use the more powerful PT7 A or General
Elect ricCT7 and to seat 38-42 passengers. This
project is the basis on which Aeritalia and
Aerospatiale concluded an agreement in July
to stud y the possibili ty of jointly developing a
40/50-seat commuter liner. to operate over
ranges of 808-932 mls (1300-1500 km) at a
speed of 497 mph (800 km /h). As now st udied.
the AIT-230 closely resembles the 'Aero-
s patiale AS.35, and the two companies sho uld
find little difficult y in merging the two projects
into a single design, should they so decide.
Subject to satisfactory market reaction and
joi nt government backing, initial deliveries
could begin in 1985.
The AIT-230 is meanwhile being continued
so that Aeritalia could. if necessary. proceed
with the project alone. The intention is to
achieve a design that, after full design
defini tion, could go straight into production
without a n intermediate prototype phase. The
A IT-230 is described as a mUlti-purpose light
tu rbopro p transport. the basic version of
which would be a passenger transport for the
upper end of the commuter market; other
va riants would be for commercial cargo use.
capable of accepting standa rd containers, and
for military use with good fie ld performance in
hot and high conditions. The halian company
_ LO'---_ __
Seen in modelform at Farnborough in its definitil'e configuration and illustrated (obal'e ) by a nell'
general arrangement drawing and (beloll'. right) by an artist's impression. the AeritalialAerlllacchi
AM·X tacticaljighter has 0 span (excluding missiles) of 29 fl Ii in (B.BB III) . a length of 44 fl 1 in
( 13.44 m ) and a height of 13ft Bk in ( 4.1 7 m ).
regards the AIT-230 as part of a n evolving
fam ily of designs. including the G 222. and one
which could make use of the company's
growing experience in the mass production of
struc tural components in advanced com-
posites.
The basic A IT -230 is sized to make use of the
new engines of I ,800-2.000 shp; Ihis provides a
fuselage seating 38 in a four-abreast single·
aisle layout (or 42 at reduced pitch). Provision
would be made for subseq uent development of
a 50-passenger version, req uiring a longer
fuselage and increased wing area. The cabin
would be pressurised to a differential of 6 psi
(0,42 kg/cml).
Key feat ures o f the design noted by Aeritalia
are the double-radius fuselage cross-section.
providing spacious overhead baggage stowage
and a good degree of passe nger seating
comfort; high-mounted cantilever wing having
a rectangular centre-section and trapezoid-
shaped o uter sections with integral fuel in the
torsio n box; large-scale use o f metal bonding
in primary structures and of advanced com-
posites in non-structural parts. The A IT-230
will have mechanical fl ight controls with
electric trim: protection agai nst icing on the
aerodynamic surfaces. engine inlets. propellers
and windshields; full ai r conditioni ng by
A;;~;~;~~!~~;;
~;
Flight
crew of two and 38
four-abreast at 32-io (BI-cm) seat
42 at 29'ln (74-cm) seat pilch. with
galley, and rear baggage compartment
ell n (6.5 ml ) capacity.
AERM ACCHI MB-339K VEL TRO 2
tandem two-seat MB-339 basicl
I':' ,,'"'"''
trainer now established in produc-
. the early phases of service with
. Militare. and with the first
Peruano
I which time
, by " stressed for 750 Ib (340 kg). With a typical
some 25-30 hours. and is now the
a marketing drive with deliveries
within 20-24 months at a unit
order of S3m. The MB-339K
F I '80 is not considered by
Macchi as a prototype but as the
. example. having been built on
and tools, and sets of com-
now in hand for three addi tional
which. like all future single-
built on the same assembly line
two-seat MB-339.
M B-339 K, the progra mme cost of
is estimated by Aeronautica Macchi to
o rder o f S6m, is intended solely for
being no indigenous mar ket for
,-"0,' _-_-_-_-c' hydra ulic operation of the flaps.
. nosewhecl steering and brakes:
basic aircraft. wi th full IFR
digi tal cockpi t displays and
weather radar fitted.
PO~'er Plant: Two new generation tu rboprops
of about 1.800 shp each; ego Pratt & Whitney
PT7A-2RII. fla t-rated at 1.800 shp at sea level
up to 72 deg Fwith 1.950 shp emergency rating
at sea level up to 82 deg F. or General Electric
CT7-7, flat-ra ted at 1. 728 shp. sea level up to
an aircraft in this category, and is aimed
primarily at the air forces of third level
coumries with a need for a dedicated light CAS
aircraft o lTering maximum availability and
minimum ground support requirements at a
comparatively low cost. Possessing a high level
of commonality with its two-seat predecessor.
the MB-339 K is largely new forward of the aft-
sloping bulkhead aligning with Ihe wing root
air imakes and utilises experience gained with
the MB-326K (which serves with the ai r forces
of Ghana, Tunisia_ Dubai, South Africa and
Zaire) in having an essemially similar twin-
DEFA 553 30-mm cannon installation.
By comparison with the two-seat MB-339.
the MB-339 K has substam ially increased
internal fuel capacity. offering an improved
payload-radius envelope, and a higher maxi-
mum take-off we i ~ht calering for the higher
load capacities of Lts six wing hardpoints, the
inner and mid-points being stressed for 1.000
Ib (453,6 kg) and the outer poi nts being
military load of abou t 2.400 Ib (I 089 kg), such
as fou r 500-lb (226,8-kg) Mk 82 bom bs and
125 rounds for each DEFA cannon, the radius
of action with 5 min combat varies from 200
nm (370 km) LO-Lo-LO, with 30 nm (55 km)
penetration at 425 knots (787 km/h) and 30 nm
escape at 450 k.nots (5 18 km/h), to 350 nm (648
km) HI-LO-HI with 10 per cent fuel reserve.
A exibility is such as to ailow a wide ra nge of
different missions. For example, a typical
armed reconnaissance mission (one photo-
graphic pod, full cannon ammu nition. two
Matra 550 Magic IR missiles and two 93·5 Imp
gal/4251 pylon tanks) can be performed at a
distance of 455 nm (843 km) from base, while a
150 nm (278 km) LO-Lo-LO close air support
mission can be flown
expendable launchers --- " "
(6.98-cm) rockets represemi ng, with full
cannon amm uni tion. a military load of 2,765
Ib ( I 254 kg),
MB-339 production is now running at 2·0-
2·5 monthly, but is building up to 3·0 per
momh to be allained early in the New Year
and is currently expected to peak at 4·0
monthly late 1981 , this including both single-
and two-sea t models with Aerona utica Macchi
looking for the export sale of 300-400 by the
late 'eighties. In view of the sale to da te of76 1·
(including licence-built examples) o f its pro-
genitor, the MB-326, such a target would not
seem und ul y optimistic.
Power Plant: One 4,320 Ib (1960 kg) Fiat-built
Rolls-Royce Viper 632-43 turbojet. Total
imernal fuel, 446·75 Imp gal (203 11) dist ri-
buted between fuselage and wi ngtip tanks. plus
provision for two 93·5 Imp gal (4251) jellison-
able pylon ta nks.
Performance: (combat configuration) Max
speed, 553 mph (889 km/h) at sea level; limiting
speed, 575 mph (926 km/h){Mach=0·85; max
climb, 7.500 ft/min (38 m/sec) at sea level;
service ceiling, 44,500 ft (1 3565 m); time to
30,000 ft (91 45 m) from brakes release, 9· 15
min; take-off ground roll (clean), 1,870 ft (570
m), (at max take-off weight)_ 2.985 ft (910 m);
landing speed, 102 mph ( 165 km/h); landing
run, 1,345 ft (410 m).
Weights: Operational empty. 6.997 Ib (3174
kg); loaded (clean), 10,974 Ib (4978 kg); max
ta ke-off, 13,5581b (6 150 kg).
Dimensions: Span, 36 ft 2ll1- in (1 [.05 m);
length, 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m); height, 12 ft 9! in
(3.90 m); wing area (including ailerons and
fl aps), 178·83 sq fI (16,61 ml).
FOKKER F29
FOKKER 8V made its first Farn borough appear-
ance following the dissolution of the VFW-
FoHer partnership, and the Dutch company
showed that it was vigorously pursuing its
independence with the well-established F27
Friendship and F28 Fellowship. and also with
the projected F29 twin-turbofan ai rliner. The
company has been wo rking on the evol ution of
this ai rcraft for several years, at first as a
rela tively simple "stretch" of the F28 and more
recently as a more extensive redesign of the
Fellowship that has been tailored closely to the
anticipated needs of the short-haul carriers for

Three-view of the AIT-}30-lOB. the Idlest I'ersion of the Aerilalia project for a 40150-seot
commuter/iner.
86 deg F. Hamilton Standard four-bladed
propellers of [2-ft (3.66-m) diameter. Fuel
capacity. 4.050 [b (1837 kg).
I The MB-339K Veltro} close air support derivative of the MB-339 basicl
;~~~~~~~'~,~w~hich was publicly demonstrated at Farnborough fo r the first time.
an ai rcraft o f relatively large capacity.
The F29 elTort has now reached the point
where, in Fokker's own words, it represen ts
Performance (PT7A-2R engines): Max cruis- .. , .. a major challenge to supply the short-haul
ing speed, 283 kt (524 km/h) at 20.000 ft (6100 needs of the world 's flag carriers." An
m); initial rate of climb. 1.925 ft/min (9.78 estimated 100m Dutch guilders (£2 1'6m) has
m/sec): cruising ceiling. 25.000 ft (7 620 m); been spent to date (of which the Netherlands
single-engine ceiling. 15.000 fl (4 572 m); FA R
25 take-olTfieJd length requi red. 3.870 ft ( I 180
m): FAR 135 landing field length required,
3,280 ft (1000 m); range with max cargo
payload, 95 naut mls (1 76 km): ra nge with 38
passengers and baggage, 710 naut m[s (I 3 15
km ); range with max fuel and 25 passengers.
1,480 naut mls (2 741 km),
Weights: Typica[ OWE (passengers). [9,522 Ib
(8855 kg); typical OWE (cargo). 18.721 Ib
(8492 kg); max take-olT weight. 30,9 10 Ib
(l4020 kgp); max zero fue l weight. 29,210 Ib and Zo;re 17 and 6 M B-
(13 250 kg): max landing weight. 30,688 Ib J26 Ks. In addirion to rhese orders ",'!rith (opart f rom
(1 3920 kg), smoll proportions of the Brazilion and South Ajritan
Dimensions: Span. 75 ft 5 in (22.98 m); length. littntt-builr totals) h'H'e bun flJ.lfilled. Aeronaulita
Motthi is building on addirional small quantity againsr
66 ft 8 in (20,30 m); height. 20 ft 9 in (6,32 m);
wing area. 5 16·7 sq ft (48,0 m l); wheelbase. 23
• El oprions held by DubDi and TlJ.nisia. and Brazil and
" Soulh Ajrito hal'e oprions on SO addirional EM B-
ft 10 in (7,28 m); undercarriage track. 13 ft 10! 326GB Xovonres and jO addirional M B-J26 Ks
in (4.23 m). reJpttri,·ely.

PAGE 260 AIR INTERNATIONALJNOVEMBER 1880 PAGE 261


Three-view 0/ the Fokker F29 as presented at Farnborough. With definition nearing completion. the
company hopes to reach a launch decision .....ithin the ne.tt /1' .... months.
government has contributed 60 per cent) and
negotiations with prospective partners and
la unch customers were at an advanced stage in
September.
The cu~nt Fokker o bjective is to reach a
launch decision in mid-1981. based o n con-
cludingjoint risk-sharing ag,rttments with two
panners: it is widely assumed tha t one o f these
partners will be the Japanese industry con-
sortium that is looking for such a new project
in the YXX category, and which was thOUght
likely to reach a decision favourable to Fokker
before the end of this year. A second partner.
prefera bly in North America, is regarded as
essential by Fokker. The market for aircraft of
the F29 ca tegory is estimated by Fokker to
total 1,500 by the end of the century.
As now planned, the F29 is a 138/ 156-seat
airliner capable of being stretched to 162/ 179
seats, with a fuselage diameter sized to permit
six-abreast seating with a single aisle. About
6.000 hrs of wind tunnel testing have been
completed, and combined with computer
research have led to some recent improvements
in wing technology resulting in a reduction of
about 6 per cent in wing area witho ut any
decrease in lift: as a res ult, the original design
objectives have been maintained so far as
cruising performance is concerned, but the
....'Cight reduction provides an extra row of
seats. reduced drag and imprOVed fuel con-
sumption. On a 500-na ut ml (926-km) sector.
the fuel saving per seat is now some 5 per cent
better than earlier estimates for the F29: the
high aspect ra tio, supercritical wing is esti-
mated to give a fuel savingof 7- 10 per cent over
the current-technology twin jets: an additional
4-6 per cent improvement is claimed from
other design aspects and the engines are
expected to give a 17-19 per cenl reduction, so
that lhe to ta l saving in fuel per seat with the
F29 can be as high as 35 per cent over 0Plimum
ranges.
Although Fokker's original F29 projects
were based on the Rolls-Royce RB,432, this
engine (which has meanwhile become the R-R/
Japanese Aero Engines RJ500-0 1) is no w
jOlfled as a candidate to power the new
transport by the General ElcctrictSNECMA
CFM56-3 of similar thrust. Latest market
inputs have led Fokker to increase the design
rangefrom 1.500 to 1.700naut mls(2 778-3 149
km). and increased weight variants could
eventually carry 138 passengers for 2.500 naut
mls(4630 km).
Based on a mid- 198 1 launch. the F29 in its
initial version could be flying in 1983 with
customer deliveries starti ng in 1985. The
stretched ai rcraft could be available two-three
years later.
Po,,'er Plant: Two wing-mounted high bypass
turbofans of 20,000 Ib st (9 072 k ~p) each: eg,
Rolls-Royce/Japanese Aero Engines RJ500-
01 / 04 or CFM International CFM56-3. Fuel
capacity. 41,000 lb ( 18600 kg) in wing integral
fuel tanks. .
Performance: MMO= 0·79. VMO"" 330 kts (6 11
kmfh) EAS; economic cruising speed. M = 0-75,
430 kts(796 km/h) at 37.000 fI ( II 278 m): max
cruising altitude. 37.000 ft (11278 m); FAR
take-offfieid length required, 7,000 ft (2134 m)
at max weight. sea level, ISA + 15 deg C; FA R
landi ng field length required, 4,000 ft (121 9
m). wet surface, mission weight: range, 820
naut mls (1519 km) with max payload, 1,700
naut mls (3 149 km) with 138 passengers and
baggage; max range, 2,850 naut mls (5 280 km)
with 15,000-1b (6804-kg) lXIyload.
Weights: Typical OWE (RJ500), 74.340 Ib
(33720 kg): typical OWE (CFM56), 74,950 lb
(34000 kg): max take-off weight. 131,770 Ib
(59770 kg): max landing weight. 12 1.9 10 Ib
(55300 kg); max zero fuel weight, 111,990 Ib
(50800 kg).
Dimensions: Span, 107 n 10i in (32,88 m);
length, 128 ft II in (39,30 m): height. 36 ft 6i in
(11 ,14 m): wing area. 1,1 63 sq I't (108,0 ml);
sweepback. 21 deg a t quarter chord: aspect
ratio. 10:1; wheelbase. 40 n 4~ in (12,31 m):
undercarriage track., 22 ft 5~ in (6,85 m).
A«ommod.tlon: Aight crew of two and 138
passengers six-abreast at 34-in (86-cm) seat
pitch or 156 passengers six-abreast at 30-in
(76-cm) seat pilch. Cargo vol ume (underfloor)
1,296 cu fI (36.7 ml) in two holds.
UNITED KINGDOM
NON A.lRCRAF'T NDN 6 FIELDMASTE R
AS ITS second project. to follow the NON I
Firecracker basic trainer, NON Aircraft Ltd
has emba rked upon the development o f an
agricultural aeroplane. After firs t studying the
possibi lity of adapting the Firecracker fo r this
role. NON Aircraft came to the conclusion
that a much larger aircraft had bener market
prospects. Although there arc many agricul.
tural mono planes in product io n. the market
itself is expected to do uble over the next 20
years. from a present level of abo ut 1.400
aircraft a year; of this total, abo ut o ne-third
are sold within the Communist bloc nations
and of the remainder. over half within the
USA.
There is a clear trend ag-plane users
in favour of larger-capacity aircrart, and the
Fieldmaster is an attempt to respond to this
demand: the only aircraft with comparable
load-carrying ability are the jet-powered M- 15
Belphagor (which. because of its high fuel
consumption and. therefore. operating COStS, is
unlikely to achieve sa les outside of the
Communist bloc) and the M-18 Oromader.
which is al ready attracting considerable
attention in Western markets.
Allhough the Fieldmaster appears a t first
glance to be of com'entional ag.plane con-
figuration. it has severa l advanced featu res
that promise to give it an outstandin g
perfonnance and some operating characteris-
tics that will be specially attractive to agricu l-
tural users. These feat ures spring from the
innova tive approach to ai rcraft design of
Desmond Norman, fo under o f NO N Aircraft
and the co-designer of t.he ~s t -se llin g
Islander{frislander utility tra nsport; before
becoming involved in the Britten-Norman
venture, Norman had also acquired first-hand
experience of the agricultural aeroplane
business thro ugh Crop Culture (Aerial), which
had an 80-strong Heet of ag·J?lanes. and as a
di rector of Snow AeronautIcal. where the
Snow S-2 design originated. Also closely
involved in Fieldmaster development is Andy
Coombs, as technical director of N O N
Aircraft: he also was formerly closely con-
nected with design of the Islander.
The most important new design fea ture of
the Fieldmaster is its integral hopper, which is
part of the primary fuselage structure. Located
close to the aircraft's 00, the hopper carries the
engine bearers a t its fro nt end, the cockpit and
rear fuselage structure at the rear and the wing
attachment at the lower edge each side; an
internal bame accommodates the ca rry-
throu$h structure for the wing loads. After
invesllgating stainless steel as the structural
material for the hopper. the designers have
opted fo r titanium (supplied by IMI. fabri -
cated by Middleton Shcet Metal). Although
titanium is some 10 times as expensive as steel.
it is ligh ter and o ffers exceptionally good
fatigue and corrosion resistance. NON Air-
craft estimates that the use o f titanium may
increase the Fieldmaster's first cost by about
£3.000, but that the extra revenue that can be
earned because of its lower weight will offset
this penalty in the first year of operation.
The integral hopper. which has a capacity of
698 US gal (26421). has a n additio nal
advantage in that a smaller fuselage cross
section can be used for a given capaeity.
Combined with the use of a turboprop engine
(the widely accepted Prall & Whitney PT6A).
this leads to a better streamlined shape of
fuselage, smaller frontal area drag and im-
proved propeller efficiency. all o f which go
toward better performance and fue l efficiency.
The company claims, incidentally, that the
Fieldmaster is the first ag-plane designed from
the outset for turboprop power: the several
types now flying with turboprops arc wi thout
exception adaptations o f earlier pisto n-
engi ned types.
Another importan t innova tion o n the
Fieldmaster concerns the use of a full -spa n
auxiliary aerofoil fl ap. into which is incor-
porated the liquid spray dispersal system . The
spray bar is clipped to the rea r spa r of the fl ap
and liquid is ejected through a series of 40
nozzles directly into the down wash of the fl aps.
thus achieving excellent crop penetration . A ap
deflections of 6·8 deg wi ll be used for all
spraying ap plications. in which configuration
the aircraft automatically adopts a nosc-down
attitude, improving still further the pilot 's
view. Conventional ailero ns for roll control arc
located on the trailing edge of thc wing ahead
of the auxiliary flaps. and because thcir
effectiveness is enhanced by the airflow over
the flaps, they are smaller tha n would other-
wise be the case.
The Fieldmaster is being designed as a two-
seater so that a loader o r o ther assistant can ~
carried in a ··buddy scat"' behind the pilot. and
removable dual cont rols will be available for
fligh t training and chcck-out procedures.
Sufficient fuel ta nkage will be built·in to
achieve a ferry range of \,000 mls (16 10 km):
the tanks a re in the outer wi ngs fo r maximum
safety in case of an accident.
A tricycle underca rriage has been adopted
for lhe NO N 6, as the designers believe that the
majority of ag-plane pilots will be fam iliar with
tricycle techniques thro ugh thei r basic fl ying
training. Manyofthe present generation o f ag.
planes a re tail-draggers for the sake of ro ugh-
field operations, but at the heavier end of the
range, where the Fieldmaster fi lS. this aspect is
less relevant. In a ny case, the undercarriage is
of very wide track, with levered suspension
main wheels and a twin nose wheel.
NON Aircraft has o btained the financia l
backing of the National Research Develop-
ment Corporation for the launching of the
Fieldmaster: the cost up to certification. using
a single prototype plus structural lest speci-
mens, is put a t ap proximately £500,000
(excluding the value of NON's input of
technology transferred from the Firecracker
programme). The NRDCcontribution. under-
stood to be abo ut £400,000, will be repaid in
the form of a IeV)' on sales of production
Fieldmasters.
First flight of the prototype is expected to be
made soon a fter the middle of next year and
certification should be completed by Septem·
ber 1982. It is the company's intentio n to
certificate the Fieldmaster to the fuJI relevant
BCARs. without special limitations for agri-
cultural use, and to obtain full cleara nce for
spinning at all co and load combinations.
Productio n is expected to be handled by
NO N Aircraft at the comra:ny's new factory
now being built at Sandown Airport on the Isle
of Wight, and deliveries could begin as soon as
certification is obtai ned. Quantities varying
between two and seven a month are regarded
as viable by the company and. in view of the
promising performance forecast for the Field·
master, do not seem to be over-ambitious.
Estimating thaI the direct labo ur content will
be abo ut 2,700/2.800 hrs, NON Aircraft
anticipates that the Fieldmaster will enter the
market at a first cost of about (150,000.
PO"'er PI. nt: One Pratt & Whitney PT6A-
34AG turboprop rated at 750 shp, drivin ~ a
Hartull three-bladed reversing and feathe ri ng
Three·view a/ the N DN-6 Fitldmaslt!r. the neK' agricultural aeroplane now under construction/or
a first fligh t in mid- / 981.
appearance at Furnborough. the PilOIus Britten-Norman BN-2T
demons"ator was in De/ender configuralion with nose radar.
propeller o f 8 ft )0 in (2,69 m) diameter. Fuel
ca pacity. 208 Imp gal (9461) in fo ur integral
wing ta nks.
Perrormance: Max speed. clean. 163 kt (302
km/h); cruising speed, 149 kt (276 kmfh):
stalling speed (flaps down), 59 kt (1 09 kmfh):
initial rate of climb, 1,200 ftlmin (6, 1 m/sec):
take-ofT ground run. 580 ft (1 77 m): landing
distance (with reverse thrust), 280 ft (85 m):
max range, 1.020 naut mls (1889 km).
Weights: Empty equipped, 3,500 lb (1 588 kg):
useful load, 5,000 lb (2268 kg): certifica ted
gross weight. 8,500 lb (3 856 kg).
Oimensioos: Span, 50 ft 3 in (15.32 m): length.
36 fI 2 in (10,97 m): height. II ft 5 in (3,48 m):
wing area, 338 sq fI (3 1.42 ml ): undercarria$e
track, 16 ft 8 in (5,08 m): wheelbase. II ft 0 In
(3.35 m).
Pl l ATUS BRrnEN-NORMAN UN-2T
TU RBINE ISLAN DER
INITIAL ORDERS were announced in the course
of the Farnborough air show for the new
turbopro p version o f the Islander. two each
having been purchased by Hawker Pacific and
Heli Orient, the company's distributo rs.
respectively, in Australasia and the Far East.
Deliveries will begin early next year.
The BN-2TTurbine Islander was first flown
at Bembridge. lo W. on 2 August 1980, a nd is
now being given a high priority by the
company in view of the increasing difficulties
in ensuring supplies of Avgas (the fuel for
piston-engined aircraft) in various parts of the
world. Specific i ns ta n ~ have already occur-
red of Islander sales bei ng lost because the
poten tial operator could not be ttrtain of
future A vgas supplies.
The BN-2T is the second turbine-engincd
Islander variam : an earlier prototype, develop-
ed by Fairey Britten-Norman and first fl own
on 6 April 1977, had Lycoming LTP 101 turbo-
props but did not prove wholly successful . The
BN-2T is powered by Allison 250-B17C
engines, derated in this application to give 320
shp fo r takc-off and 300 shp for maximum
climb. Little change to the structure of the
Islander is necessary for the turboprop
installatio n. but because the engines are lighter
than the piston Lycomings.theextended wing-
tip fucltank option is not available on the ON-
2T and alternative means of carrying ad-
ditional fuel are under study, including the use
o f underwing long-range tanks o f the type
already available for the Defender military
version of the Islander.
Preliminary performance data for the BN-
2T follow:
Po,,'er Pilnf: Two 400 shp Allison 250-BI7C
turbopro ps each derated to 320 shp for take-
off and 300 shp fo r max climb. Max usable
internal fuel load, 87 1 lb (395 kg).
Performance: Max cruising speed. 180 mph
(290 kmth)at sea level and 197 mph(317 km th)
at 10.000 ft (3 050 m); best range speed. 162
mph (261 km/h): initial rate of climb. 1.100
ftlmin (5,59 m!sec): single-cngined climb rate,
225 fI/min (1 . 14 m/sec); service ceiling, over
20,000 ft (6 100 m); si ngle-cngine ceiling, o'·er
10.000 ft (3050 m); take-ofT distance to 50 ft
(15,2 m), 1.070 ft (326 m); landing distance
from 50 ft ( 15,2 m). I ,080 ft (329 m); range with
max fuel, no reserves. 515 mls (829 km): range
with max fuel, IFR reserves, 385 mls (620 km).
Weights: Aircraft prepared for service (APS)
weight. 4,1 20 Ib (1869 kg); disposable load,
2.480 Ib (11 25 kg): max take-off and landing
weight. 6.000 Ib (2 722 kg).
Dimensions: Span, 49 ft 0 in (14.92 m); length,
35 ft 7i in ( 10,9 m): height, 12 ft4i in (3,77 m):
wheelbase. 13 ft Ii in (4,0 m): undercarriage
track., 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m).
Accommodation: Pilot and nine passengers in
normal commuter configuration.
USA
McDONNELL DOUG LAS F-1S
STRIK E EAGLE
A JOINT VENTURE betwecn McDonnell Douglas
and Hughes Aircraft to gain USAF acceptance
o f a n all-weather interdiction version of the
F- 15 air superiority fighter, the Strike Eagle
represents an investmen t or some S50m
(£20·8m)on the part of the two companies. An
adaptation of the second two-seat F.15B, the
Strike Eagle. demonstrated at Famborough
after a 5 hr 20 min unrefuellcd crossing from
Loring AFB, Maine. to RAF Mildenhall
(about 2,700 naut miles/5000 km). was
scheduled to commence full-scale test late last
month (October) after installation of the
PAGE 2153
 kgp) JTlOD-232, but the engine manufacturer
has now offered a somewhat larger version
that can be used in either the Boeing 757 (the
JTIOD-236 at 36.000 Ib 51/ 16327 kgp) or the
DC·XX (the JT10D·234. derated to about
International
34.000 Ib st/ 15422 kgp).
Douglas has been looking at active controls
for the DC-XX. and has concluded Ihat the
longitudinal system should be active, per· Established as the most successful, largest-selling, European - based aviation
mitting a smaller tailplane area, The wings will monthly, AIR INTERNA TlONAL is a must for all who wish to be well informed on
not use active controls but feature a n advanced
aerofoil section. and an improved high-lift the international aviation scene. Detailed, dynamic, accurate reporting of the
system with three-position slats on the leading following subjects is included in each 56 -page issue . . . contemporary aviation
edge and double-slotted flaps. Considerable technology ... international intelligence report . . . in - depth coverage of latest aircraft ... the
use of advanced composite materials is current military airscene .. . air force and airline operations ... flight test reports ... revealing
planned,
Subject to a finn launch decision being historic features ... exclusive cutaway, co lour and three-view drawings and photographs.
made. the DC·XX is expected to enter service
no earlier than the end of 1985; present airline
difficulties are likely to delay introduction BACK ISSUES
beyond the date that is technically feasible.
Meanwhile, McDonnell Douglas isconlinuing New readers may wish to collect AIR INTERNATIONAL back numbers. Most issues from
The prh'ale-\'enlure Strike Eag/e all-weGlher interdiction de\'e/opmenl of the Mc Donnell Doug/as F- July 1971 to date are still avai lable but some are in short suppl y. We regret the following
15 seen, abol'e, with con/orma/fuel tanks and 22 500·/b ( 226,8-kg) Mk 82 bombs. to seek risk-sharing partners, possibly to be
found within North America since little issues are now out of print: Jun. Aug and Oct 71; Jan to May 72 inclusive; Oct 72; Jun.
synthetic apenure radar (SAR) Hughes ANI body" standards of accommodation in an interest in the project has been shown in Japan Aug and Nov 73; Apr, May and Nov 74; Jan and Aug 75.
APG-63 set fonning the heart of the navl aircraft designed to compete with Ihe Boeing and Europe is rather heavily committed to
attack system. The SA R represen ts an advance 757 (and. if launched. the Airbus SAI /SA2). the Airbus programmes. Cost per copy: 80p <$2'50) including poslage/ packing.
in digital electronics providing a high. This is achieved by adopting a unique (to date) Power Plant: Two advanced-teeh nology high-
resolution ground mappi ng capability to a twin·aisle layout with SIx-abreast seating. Such bypass turbofans underwing; eg, 34,900 Ib st
resolution of about 10 ft (3,00 m) without an arrangement necessarily requires the use of (15830 kgp) Pratt & Whitney JTlOD· 234, BOUND VOLUMES
affecting the radar's air-air ca pability. Night a somewhat grealer fuselage diameter than a 36,500 Ib st (16 556 kgp) General Electric CF6-
and adverse weather capability is provided by six-abreast single·aisle layout for the same 32CI (Improved) or 37,400 Ib st (16965 kgp) Presented in a continuing series of six-issue hard -bo und volumes the
a Pave Tack forward·loo king JR and laser number o f passengers. but the company Rolls-Royce RB.211 -535C2A. Fuel capacity. latest, AIR INTERNA TlONAL Volume 18 containing issues January
designator pod carried under-wing. and a believes that the added passenger appeal will 85.580 Ib (38 819 kg). to June 1980 is now published. This edition, as with each
moving target indicator aids the weapon offset any penalty that might be suffered in Perfonnance (JTJOD): Range with max pay-
system operator (the second crewman) in operating cost. especially in the more sophisti. load. 1.450 naut mls(2 686 km); range with 180 volume in the series includes a detailed index and is
locating and tracking moving ground targets. cated North American markets; a cost, in fact, passengers and baggage, 2,600 naul mls (4816 handsomely bound with full colour laminated dust jacket.
When displayed statically at Farnborough, that is met by filling two extra seats on each km). We regret the fol/owing editions are now out of print: Vol
the Strike Eagle was fitted with five of the new flight . Nevertheless. economic considerations Perfonnance (CF6 or RB.211): Ran~e with 1 Jun / Dee 71: Vol 2 Jan /Jun 72: Vol 4 Jan /Jun 73:
supersonic MER 200 multiple weapon racks have led to the recent decision to increase the max payload, 1,300 naul mls (2408 km); range
(qualified for speeds up to M ::: " 4) - one diameter of the fuselage by 4 in ( IOem), to 173 with 180 passengers and baggage. 2,300 naut Vol 5 Jul/ Dee 73: Vol 8 Jan /Jun 7 5.
under each wing. one under each conformal in (4.39 m). so that seven-abreast (twin-aisle) mls (4 260 km). Volumes currently available: Vol 9 Jul / Dee 75: Vol 10
FAST (Fuel and Sensor Tactical) Pack and layouts will be possible if req uired by the Weights: Typical OWE, 127,700 lb (57 925 kg); Jan /Jun 76: Vol 11 Jul/ Dee 76: Vol 12 Jan /Jun 77: Vol
one under the fu selage - carrying a total of22 operators. weight-limited payload, 52,300 Ib (23 723 kg): 13 Jul/ Dee 77: Vol14 Jan /Jun 78: Vol15 Jul/ Dee 78: Vol
Mk 20 Rockeye dispenser bombs, In addition, The increased diameter also has the effecl of max take·off weight, 213,500 Ib (96844 kg);
the two wing racks each carried a pair of AIM- raising the floor. thus increasing the underfioo r max landing weight, 194.000 Ib (87998 kg). 16; Vo l17 Jul/ Dee 79: Vol18 <as above) . Just published I
9L Sidewinder AAMs. and other weaponry capacity. and of shortening the undercarriage. Dimensions: Span, 13 1 ft 5 in (40,05 m); length. Reprinted editions of Volume 3 JuilDec 72 and Vol-
incorporated in the ground display of the A small change in wing planform has reduced 148 ft 5 in (45,23 m); height, 44 ft 4 in (13,50 m). ume 6 Jan/Jun '74.
St rike Eagle's potential annament included aspect ratio from 9·8 to 9·2. helping to offset Accommodation: Flight crew of two/three and Cost per copy: £5·25 <$16' 95) including postage / packing .
2,000-1b (907-kg) Mk 84 bombs. HARM anti· the extra weight of the larger fuse lage, Weights 180 passengers, mixed class, 14 five·abreast at
radiation missiles. AGM-65 Maverick tele- have gone up, however, and the company has 38· in (96.5 em) seat pitch and 166 six-abreast Please note: reprinted edition of Volume 7 due shortly.
vision-guided missiles. AGM-84A Harpoon been glad, therefore. to take advantage of the at 30-in (76-cm) seat pitch or 244/255 o ne-class
anti·ship missiles and Matra Durandal dibber higher powers now being offered by Pratt & seven-abreast . Underfioor cargo capacity. B INDERS/ INDICES
bombs. demonstrating the versatility of the Whitney for the JT10D. Originally. the 1,843 cu ft (52.19 ml). or 13 containers plus Collect your copies of AIR INTERNA TlONAL in special ly-made luxury binders. Designed for easy referenc~, each
interdiction model. ATMR II was based on the 32.oool b st (1 4 515 376 cu ft (10,65 ml) bulk.
The initial fl ight lest phase now commencing bi nder holds a years supply of 12 issues including two indices. Th e indices to the bound volume series are
concentrates on confinning the operation and Three-view of the McDonnell DOUGlas DC-XX as presented at Farnborough, wilh enlargedfuse/age published separately for this purpose and those for all Volumes 1 to 18 are currently available.
resolution of the radar. weapons separation diameler and JTlOD·234 turbOfans mounted closer inboard than on earlier ATMR /I projects.
Cost per binder: £3·00 <$7·00); per index 25p <$1·25) including postage/ packing .
from the reinforced FAST tanks and in-flight
firin g trials with a 30·mm General Electric
GAU-8 gun pod. The radar trials are expecled
to be completed early in the New Year. after S UBSCRIPTIONS
which blind bombing testing wi ll commence A nnual subscription rates for 12 consecutive issues: UK £7,50; Overseas £8·00; USA/ Canada $20·00.
using the fully integrated system. This system
I provide a manoeuvring attack capability
avoid overflying the ta rget.

McDONNELL DO UG LAS DC-XX When ordering, readers please note. All prices quoted are inclusive of postage and packing. ordinary
FOLLOWING the July decision by the rate. direct from the Publishers. Payment may be made by cheque. UK Postal Order. International
McDonnell Douglas board to continue advan- Postal/ Money Order. Post Office National Giro Account No 5714451 . Overseas readers' (excluding
ced engineering development of the Douglas
Aircraft Company's DCXX project for a
.1 USA/Canada) personal cheques are accepted but please add 50p for bank clearance. It is specially
short/ medium-range medium-capacity air· requested that aI/ orders requiring an acknowledgement of receipt. applications for airmail postage
liner. the company came to Farnborough with rates and enquiries of a general nature be accompanied by return postage in the form of stamps (UK) or

c o...............................;.;."S'..........::t:4
the latest specification. showing several recent International Reply Coupons (Overseas / USA / Canada) .
changes in this project. Previously identified as
the ATMR II (see AirData File/ February
1980). the DC-XX is desti ned 10 enter FINESCROLL LIMITED, DE WORDE HOUSE, 283 LONSDALE ROAD, LONDON SW13 9QW
production as the DC-II if the launch decision USA and Canadian orders. and letter mail only. may be addressed to:
IS taken in due course; t.he programme now in AIR INTERNATIONAL, PO BOX 353, WHITESTONE, NY 11357 for onward transmission to the
hand will continue in any case un til the end of
this year.
o 0 O'LO'---_ _ UK from where all correspondence is answered and orders despatched.
The Douglas philoso phy is to offer "wide·

PAGE 264 AIR INTERNATIONAL/NOVEMBER 1980

 \
De'ence in depl'h
The range of military aircraft currently in production and
development by British Aerospace meets every permutation of
defence requirements from ab initio pilot training to
airborne early warning, from low-level strike to high-altitude
interception. from VSTOL capability to Mach 2-plus speeds, from
1
tactical close support to long-range ocean patrol.

1. TORNADO multi-role combat /litera/It

2. HARRIER VSTOL combat aircraft
3. HA WK ground attack/ trainer
4. JAGUAR tactical strike aircraft-
5. COASTGUARD£R maritimep8tro/aircfafr
6. AEW NIMROD airborne tl8r1y warning system
7. STRIKEMASTER ground attack /trainer
8. BUCCANEER strike / reconnaissance aircrsft
9. BULLDOG basic trainer

t in partnership with MBB, Germany, IIndAeritafia, Italy

• in partnership with DaSS8ult/ Sreguet. France

~q&JaI'-d In'""""", DI'.__......_ ...... pttrtDg~.

B,Ae 19