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file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Tim/Desktop/carburetor-manual-welcome/index.htm[4/25/2009 11:42:20 AM]
August 19,1980 is an important date
for all air arm procurement officers.
AIR
International
Vol ume 18
Number6
June 1980
CONTENTS
F RONT COVER A CASA C-212 Aviocar military transpon in service with Spain's Ejerc;to
del A ire. (Photo " Knario" Azaola) .
267 SUPER80FORTHE ' EIGHTIE S As
the number of McDonnell Douglas
DC -9s of all variants delivered approaches
1,000, the Super 80 version is in the final
stages of cenification. Its new features are
described in detail in this review of the DC-9
family.
AIR
COVER
UP ·
273 IBERI A N
GRADED Reorganisation and modernisation of the Ejercito del Aire effected during
the past few years has added to Spain 's
defensive muscles, as related here by Jos6
Luis Gonzalez Serrano.
Managing Editor
William Green
Editor
Gordon Swsnhorough
Modelling Editor
Fred J Henderson
Contributing Artist
Dennis Punnstt
Contributing Photographer
Stephen Peltz
Editorial Representstive, Washington
Managing Director
Publisher
Norman Polms!
DonlJld Syner
Keith Attenborough
Financial Director
Claire Sillette
Elizabeth Bllksr
Advertising Director
Advertising Manager
Roger Jewels
Subscription Manager
Shllilagh Campbllll
Disuibution Manllger
William Strllllk
278 THE BELFAST GOES CIVIL Three
years after being retired from RAF
service, the Short Belfast is back in opera tion, this time as a specialised commercial
freighter. The story of its certification and
introduction into service by TAC Heavylift is
related here.
285 EL f URY ESPA NOL Only three
examples of the Hawker Fury bipla ne
reached Spain, but they enjoyed a cheque,ed career during the Civil War to be recorded
in a m61ange of fact and fiction. As this
feature article reports. two of the Spanish
Furies survived until 1948, the last of their
breed to remain airworthy.
Editoria l Offices:
The AIR INTERNATIONAL. PO Bo)( 16,
Bromley, BR2 7RB Kent.
Subscription. Ad vertising and
Circu l ation Offices:
The AI R INTERNATIONAL. De Worde
House, 283 Lonsdale Road, London
SW13 90W. Telephone 01-878 2454.
US and Canadian readers may address
subscriptions and general enquiries to
AIR INTERNATIONAL PO Box 353, White stone, NY 11357 for onward transmis sion to the UK. from where all correspondence is answered and orders
despatched .
281 COMBAT AIRCRAFT: THE CURRENT ISSUES Roy M Braybrookcontinues his
Personal View series with an overview of the factors currently influenCing the combat
.
aircraft market
I A Be i
290 EMBRAER ' S NEW TRAINER Latest details of the T -27 basic trainer, scheduled to
begin its flight testing in August
MEMBER OF THE AUOIT
BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS
Subscription rates, inclusive of postage,
direct from the publishers, per year:
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(7' 50
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£:8·00
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S2(}()()
Rates for other countries and for air mail
subscriptions available on request from
the Subscription Depanment at the
above address.
On that day, Embraer's new
EMB-312 turboprop trainer will
make its maiden prototype fligh t.
Especially designed for military
pilot training, and powered by a
turboprop engine since its inception,
Before ordering aircraft for
military training purposes, you owe
the EMB-312 will offer impressive
advantages over every "conventional it to your country to ask for details
engine to turboprop" adapted
of the EMB-312, now.
aircraft currently in use.
Exc lusive U.K. Sales Rep.: CSE Aviation Limited , Oxford Airport,
Kid lington - Oxford OX5 IRA - Phone 867 54321 - Telex 83204 AZTEC OXFORD and 17 ot her representatives all ove r the world.
~:IIIII
~~!Y!I
!.e~!,-a
sao
12200.
J~
dos Campos. ~ Paulo.
Brazil. TELEX (391) U22445 E8AE BR
Visit us in Famborough ' 80 South Hall Stand n.o 80.
The AIR INTERNATIONAL is published
monthly by Fine Scroll Limited, distri buted by Ducimus Books Ltd and printed
by William Caple & Company Ltd,
Chevron Press, Leicester, England.
Editorial contents © 1 980 by Pilot Press
Limited. The views expressed by named
contributors and correspondents are
their own and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the editors. Neither the
editors nor the publishers accept re sponsibility for any loss or damage,
however caused, to manuscripts or
illustrations submitted to the AIR
INTERNATIONAL
262 AIRSCENE The monthly round -up of new s and background to the news presented
under section headings for Military Affairs, Aircraft and Industry. Civil Affairs and new
Civil and Military Aircraft Contracts.
301 MODEL ENTHUSIAST Modelling comments, the latest kits reviewed and a page of
colour profiles of the Boeing P-26.
306 FIGHTER A TO Z Continuing the '·AIR INTERNATIONAL" encyclopaedia of the
world's fighter aircraft. from the General DynamiCS F· 16 to the Gloster Nighthawk,
308 T ALKBACK Readers of " AIR INTERNATIONAL" offer comments of general interest.
309 IN PRINT New aviation literature noted.
311 AIRDATA FILE Technical data, photographs and general arrangement drawings for
the Bell 0 · 326 Clipper, Piper PA-32 Saratoga and Rockwell Jetprop Commander 840
and 980.
WRENDEZVOUS WITH WREN
I:::r.::===::ll GA~q
=
Second Class postage approved at New
York, NY. USA Mailing Agents: Air-Sea
Freight Inc, 527 Mad ison Avenue, New
York, NY 10022.
ISSN 0306 -5634
"CBn you come in J.J.
- I think we ',e on to something!"
AIRS
MILITARY AFFAIRS
AUSTRALIA
The Australian government has sanctioned a
AS200,OOO (£98,690) modification programme
ror the RAAPs two VIP Boeing 707s. One of
the two aircrafi is to be fitted with a secure
teletype system similar to that installed in the
service's p-3e Orions and the other aircraft is
10 be rewired 10 acce pt the teletype system so
that the equipment may be moved between the
two aircraft as required.
AUSTRIA
The report thaI the Army Aviatio n Force
( Heeresjliegerkriijte) is to purchase the
Mirage 50 (Airscellef May) would now seem 10
have been premature. The Austrian ckren<:e
c:ouncil is appa rently studying the General
Dynamics F-16/J79 as an ailemalive to the
Mirage 50 and plans to announce a final
decisio n la Ic Ihis month (J u ne),
BELGI UM
The General Dynamics F-16 has been mentioned by the Chief-of-StafT of the Foru
Aerienne Beige as letlding caadidate 8$ a
successor to the Mirage 58 from 1984 onwards.
The FAc8 ordered 106 Mirage 58A and 580
aircraft in 1968, these bein~ assembled by
SA8CA and entering servIce from 1972
onward. Attrition has reduced these to some
80 aircraft and procurement of a successor was
originally planned to commence in 1987, but
the changin8 tactical situation in Central
Europe, coupled with growing awareness of a
need to reach a decision within the next 18
months in order to avoid an industrial rundown following completion of existing F-16
contract work, has attached greater urgency to
the question of a Mirage replacement. The
only other potential candidate so far considered is the Alpha Jet A which has been
promoted as a less expensive solution, but the
F Ac8 has stressed that this aircrart lacks the
range capability necessary to fu lfil NATO
missions in Central Europe from Belgian
bases.
The Belgian government has indicated its
wilUogoess 10 sell one squadron of F AcB FI04G Slarfigbiers 10 the Turkish Air Force. The
number o f aircraft involved is understood to
be IS-24 and will include several TF-I04Gs,
and if agreement is reached, the aircraft will be
transferred to Turkey as F- 16As and F- 168s
a re delivered by SA8CA to the FAcB to
replace them. No price has yet been quoted but
it has been suggested that, in view of Turkey's
current economic difficulties, the sale will not
be on a straight cash basis.
The FAeB has informed NATO that, owing to
fi nancial problems directly related to fuel
costs, the service will be unaMe 10 participate
this year in the annual manoeuvres of the Allied
Mobile Force in Turkey in September.
8RAZLL
A substantial iDcrease in shipboard aviation has
been foreshadowed by the 8razilian Navy
Minister in outlining a new naval construction
pro~mme which will include two aircraft
carriers. The two carriers, one of which may be
nuclear powered, will replace the 8razilian
Navy's current helicopter carrier, the Minas
Gerais, and the minister envisa~ that the
complement of these carriers will mclude both
helicopters and fixed-wing V/STOL aircraft.
CANADA
In mid-April. the Canadian government
PAG E 262
signed a target-incentive-type contract fOf" 137
McDonnell DouglasCF- 18 Hornets to fulfil its
NFA (New Fighter Aircraft) requirement, the
tar~et price being USS2,211m (£996m) and the
ceiling price being USS2,369m (£I,067m). The
contract provides for 10 additional aircraft to
be purchased with funds resulting from cost
saVlOgs between target and ceiling prices, these
being calculated on delivery o f the 50th CF-18.
The contract also contains provisio n to reduce
the number of aircraft in the event that the US
government insists on levying a proportion of
research and development costs associated
with the F-18 programme. The Canadian
government has already requested that these
charges - which could amount to as much as
USSI m (£450,000) per aircraft and could result
in the number of aircraft being procured for
Canada being reduced by as many as eight be waived (and it is interesting to note that no
such waiver was granted Belgium, Denmark,
the Netherlands and Norway when purchasing
the General Dynamics F- 16). The first CF-1 8 is
scheduled to be delivered to the Canadian
Armed Forces in October 1982, and the 137
aircraft will comprise 113 single-seat CF- 18As
and 24 two-seat CF- ISBs, current CAF
planning calling for the basing of two CF- IS
squadrons in Canada (one on the East and the
other o n the West Coast) and a third squadron
in Europe. Production of the CF- 18 at St Louis
will be interspersed with US Navy and USMC
F- 18s, building to a peak of two monthly in
April 1983, with the final aircraft being
delivered in September 1988. The CF- IS will
d iffer from the F- 18 essentially in only th ree
areas, these comprising the installation of a
600,000 candlepower spotlight o n the portside
o f the forward fuselage, incorporation of a
cold weather survival Ic.it and the replacement
of the carrier-peculiar instrument landing
system.
INOlA
Unconfinned reports from India suggest that
an order has already been placed with
Hindustan Aeronautics on behalf o f the Indian
Air Force for the first balcb of 46 Jaguars to be
built at Bangalore where the first components
are scheduled to arrive this month (June).
These aircraft, which will augment 40 to be
delivered by 8ritish Aerospace from Warton
and a further IS now being delivered on loan
from the RAF, will be followed, according to
present planning, by a further 64 HA L-built
Jaguars which will enter the IA F inventory
during the mid-'eighties, but it is anticipated
that the IAF will require at least another 50
aircraft to cover attrition and to provide
adequate reserves for the Jaguar force currentlyenvisaged.
IRAN
Agreement reached in March between the
Iranian and Italian governments for the
dell, ery to Iran of eight Agusta-built CH47C
Olirtook heticopters after President Bani Sadr
had claimed that they were requi red for rescue
and relief work in southern Iran was thwarted
in April by President Carter's decision to cut
off diplomatic ties and impose additional
economic sanctions against Iran. Delivery of
the C H-47Cs, which have been ready for
delivery to Ira n since last autumn but could
not be accepted owing to lack of Iranian
aircrews, was first embargoed by the Italian
government in Dea:mber in compliance with a
US State Department req uest. Iran had
ordered a total of 92 CH-47Cs (22 Boeing
Vertol-built and 70 Agusta-b uilt) during the
Shah's regime, all having been delivered apart
from those currently embargoed. Agusta is
complying with a US request to supply no
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
spare parts to the Iranians for any helicopters
(including the A8 205 Iroquois, A8 206 ,
Jet Ranser, the AB 212 and the A8 214
Isfahan) and the breakdown in the logistics
system to keep the large Iranian Air Force and
Army helicopter fleets operable, coupled with
a dramatic shortage of aircrews, has res ulted in
some 60 per cent of all Iranian helicopters
being inoperable at the present time.
IS RAEL
Defence Minister Ezcr Weizman recently
stated that he was " thinlc.ing of purchasing FISs" 10 replace the Israel Defence Force's
Phanloms for the air superiority and intercept
roles, and Israel is believed to be considering
initial procurement of about lOOexamples ofa
land-based Hornet essentialIy similar to the
C F-IS, but earlier ideas o f building an F-1 8
variant in Israel under a co-production scheme
have now been discarded following the
decision to proceed with development of the
indigenous Lavi, which, Minister Weizman
says, will become "the backbone aircraft" o f
Israeli close air support. Procurement of the
F-IS. and that of additional F- I6s which it
would now seem will follow o n the 75 currentl y
being delivered, is likely to be largely funded
from US aid, for which the US House Foreign
Affairs Committee recently approved an extra
USS200m (£9Om) over the USS2.000m
(£9OOm). Within the overall total is USS785m
(£353'5m) in economic aid and USS I,4OOm
(£630'5m) in military credits, the additional
sum having been voted to meet Israel's "cash
flow problem". Isracl's defence budget for
Fiscal 1980-81 , at Shekels 21,000m (£2.4OOm),
represents nearly o ne-third of the overall
national budget and an increase o f about 17
per cent in local currency expenditure over the
year.
JAPAN
The Air Self-Defence Force anllClpates the
inclusion of funding in the Fiscal 1981 defence
budget for a secoad balch of fou r Grumman
E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft for delivery in
Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985, at a total cost in
excess of US$I6Om (£72m). The initial four
E-2Cs. ordered in Fiscal 1979, a re scheduled to
be delivered in Fiscal Years 1982 (two) and
1983 (two).
The ASOF is to selc<:t a sucassor 10 the
Kawasalc..i-built Vertol V·I07·11 rescue helicopter before March of next year, advance
planning calling for total procurement of some
30 helicopters of the selected type for the reequipment of ASOF rescue elements.
In addition to proposed procurement of the
AH-IS HueyCobra anti-armour helicopter,
the Ground Self-Defence Force is planning
replattmelll from the late 'eighties of its 60 V·
107-1J assault transport helicopters by the
Boeing Vertol CH-47 Chinook and three
helicopters of this type are to be funded in the
Fiscal 1983 budget for initial evaluation.
Replacements are also being sought for the SO
Fuji-built Bell UH-IB Iroquois helicopters in
GSOF service, altho ugh deliveries are continuing of the UH-IH Iroquois from Fuji to
meet total orders for 67 to datc. A half-dozcn
UH-I Hs remain to be delivered to the GSOF.
Kawasaki completed delivery to the GSDF of
the first batch of 10 licence-built HuJhes 5000
helicopters in March, present planOlng calling
fo r thIS service to receive a further 46-4S over
the next five years.
KENYA
The firsl two of 15 Hughes 500D Scout
Defeoders for the recently-established air
component o f the Ken ya n Army were shipped
to Nairobi in April, these joining two standard
Model 50005 delivered for the training role in
November last year. Fifteen Scout Defenders
and 15 TOW Defenders, plus the two standa rd
Model 500D trainers, arc being supplied to the
Kenyan Anny by the US Army under its
Foreign Military Sales programme, Hughes
having been awarded a USS3 1m (£13·95m)
contract in July last year. Arming of the Scout
Defenders, which will include the Hughes 7,62mm chain gun and 2·75-in (7-cm) rockets, will
commence later this year. The TOW Defenders
will be delivered dUring lhecourseofnext year.
NORWAY
The Norwegian government is considering the
possibility of either presenting or selling an
undisclosed number of North rop F·5 aircraft
to the Turkish Air FOf"cc as they arc replaced by
F- I6s in the RNoAF. The proposal is being
examined at the request of NATO following
Turkey's bid for military and economic aid to
assist in overcoming the country's present
difficulties. The RNoA F currentl y operates 60
F-5As, 13 RF-5As and 13 two-seat RF-5Bs.
Unofficial reports have suggested that Norway
is the " undisclosed European country which
has already ordered Lynx" nego tiating pur·
chase of the Westland WG.30 to meet an
outstanding requirement for 34 helicopters in
this category. It is understood that, in
anticipatio n of the finali sation of orders
currently under negotiation, Westland will
shortly lay down an initial production batch of
20 WG.30s.
a government-to-government contract involving approximately SIOOm (£44'5m) to be
shared between US MAP funding and the
Portuguese government. The A-7P is a reworked A-7A, 200fwhich are to be withdrawn
from sto rage. with similar avionics to the A-7E
and the TF30-P-6 turbofan replaced by the
latcr TF30-P-408 engine.
TURKEY
A report from the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee states that fewer than half of
Turkey's combat aircraft are, in fact , combat
worthy a nd that a number ofaircrafi officially
included in the combat inventory have already
been cannibalised for spares. The inventory of
the T urkish Air Force allegedly comprises 70
McDonnell Douglas F-4E and eight RF-4E
Phantoms, 80 Northrop F-5As and fou r RF5As, 66 Lockheed F- I04G and F-I04S Starfighters, 50 F- IOOC and -1000 single-seat and
50 F-IOOF two-seat Super Sabres, seven C
130H Hercules and 20 Transall C.l60s. Some
effort is being made by several NATO
countries to boost the Turkish F-5 (Norway)
and Starfighter (Belgium and the Netherlands)
fleets by transferring aircraft as F-I6s become
available to replace them, but the principal aid
in arresting and revers.ing the dechne in
Turlc.ish military capability is expected to result
from the Defence and Economic Co-operation
Agreement signed at the end of March under
which US forces regai n availability of the
Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, four
intelligence-gathering installations and seven
communications stations.
PORTUGAL
In mid-April. the Forra AireD PorlUguesa
(FAP) received at Alverca 12 additional exLuftwaffe G.9IR light strike alrcraft (see
Air$ceneIMay) under the German-Portuguese
co-operation agreement (inVOlving the use by
the Luftwaffe o f the Beja air base) to make up
attritio n suffered by the FAP's Montijo-based
Esquadra.
The US Defense Department has infonned
Congress tha: it plans to sell 30 ex-USAF
Northrop T-J8A Talons to the Turkish Air
Force for USS3 1·5m (£ 14·2m). Thirty T-38A
Talons were delivered to Turkey last year and
these arc curren tly serving with 121 Filo in
which they have replaced some of the ageing
T-33As, the last of which will presumably be
phased out of the Turkish training aircraft
IOventory with the delivery of the additional
T-38As.
USA
A Lock heed stretched C· 14JB Starlifter
arrived In the UK for the first time during April,
flying non-stop from Beale AF8, California, to
Mildenhall with a cargo load that would have
required the use of two C- 14IAs. The latter
would also have been forced to make en-route
refuelling stops, since they lack the in-fli~t
refuelling capability of the C-14IB, whIch
made the journey in I I hr 12 min. Also during
April, the first C-14 1B to enter operational
service with MAC was delivered to thc 60th
Military Airlift Wing at Travis AFB; previously-delivered 8 models have been assigned
to training and test schedules.
Two Air National Guard sq uad rons are to give
up their Cessna 0-2A observation aircraft and
will receive instead Cessna OA-37B o,.agooAies. The OA-37B is a new modification o flhe
basic aircraft (itself an armed light attack
derivative of the T-378 trainer) for Forward
Air Control duty. Units scheduled to re-equip
on OA-378s are the 103 and 172 TASS; the
ai rcraft will become available for conversion
next year when two Air Force Reserve
squadrons, the 45 and 47 TFS, exchange their
Cessna A-37Bs for Fairchild A- lOA Thunderbolt 2s.
AIRCRAFT AND INDUSTRY
FEDERAL GERMANY
Oornier expects to receive a go-ahead shortl y
to
for the construction ofa full-scal e SKF
be test-flown on the first production Alpha Jel
off the Gennan assembly line. The SKF wing
has a supercritical section and has already been
tes ted by scale model in the ON ERA wind
tunnel at Modane. As well as having a new
section, the wing incorporates single-slotted
manoeuvre !laps that are used as nonnal
trailin$,edge flaps for take-off and landing. and
at angles from 5 to 15 deg in high-speed turns.
The wing offers increased volume for fuel
tankage and improves the Alpha Jet's
manoeuvrability and altitude performance.
Right testing is expected to begin late this year
or early-1981 and the SKF wing may be
adopted on later Alpha Jet varia nts.
win.
It has been unofficially reported that the FAP
is 10 procure an additioul Lockheed C-130H
Hes-cules which may be equipped for the
maritime ~ trol role. It is also reported that the
FAP a nllcipates evaluating the EM BRAER
EM 8 I II maritime patrol aircraft later this
year.
From late 1981, the FAP is to lake deii,ery or
20 Vought A-7P Corsair attack aircraft under
Although it has been in service with &viet Frontal Aviation uniufor some si."'( years, the Sukhoi Su24 Fencer t .....(}-o$eat ground auackfighter with ~'ariable geometry has still not bun clearly illustrated.
The t .....o new photographs (abo~e right ) gil'e a general impre$sion ofthe shape ofthe aircraft and the
/lew provisional three-view line draWing ( below) is beliel'ed to be the most accurate yet published.
•
•
o
00
0
FRANCE
Delays in the development of the ThomsonCSF/ Electroniquc Marcel Dassault RDI pulse
Doppler intercept radar mean that the Mirage
ZOOO will DOt be fully equipped fOf" its inlended
air-superiority role with the Armee de fAir
un til 1985. This is some two years later than
had been planned, and three years after the
aircraft is now expected to enter service. To fill
the gap, the initial aircraft are now to be fitted
with the Thomson-CSF ROM multi-mission
radar, originally developed for possible future
foreign buyers of the Miragc 2000 who might
not want a dedicated air superiority version of
the aircraft. Some 80-100 Mirage 2000s are
now expectcd to be delivered to the Armee tie
fAir with ROM radar, and a substantial
number of these will be ret rofitted with ROI
radar after 1985. Starting in 1986, the Armeede
rAir will also take delivery of a num ber of
Mira~e 2000s fo r use in the penetration role,
carrymg the ASMP nuclear weapon, and these
will have EMO{fhomson-CSF Antilope
PAGE 263
radar. None of the three Mirage 2000
prototypes has yet been fined with radar; the
ROM system has been under test ror some time
in a Vauiour and the first Ilight was made
recently (jf the ROI equipment in the nose of a
Falcon 20. The prototypes had totalled some
400 hrs in 430 sorties by the end of March, and
arc now ftyinS with 19,840 lb (9000 kg) thrust
(with reheal) SNECMA M.S3-S engines,
having first fl own with 18,740 Ib (8500 kg)
M.53-2s. The M.53-S will be the engine
standard for early production Mirage 20005;
eventually. the M.53-P2 will become the
sta ndard engine, wilh a dry thrust of 14,400 Ib
(6530 kg) a nd a reheat thrust of 21,385 lb
(9700 kg), The fourth and final single-seal
Mirage 2000 prototype should have flown by
the time this note appears in print and the twoseat prototype is expected 10 fly by carl y
October.
Aerospatialc is studying a maritime patrol
l'crsloa of the TraMIIlI. as o nc of a series of
possible derivatives of the military freighter
that has recently re-entered production.
Known as the Transall ASF. it would have
four principal modifications to suit it to the
mission, which would include detection a nd
attack of surface ships, and search and rescue.
These modifications comprise installation of
Thomson-CSF iguane search radar in a
retractable radome in the front fusela$c;
providing wing strong p'oints to carry two 8t fto-surface AM-39 miSSIles; fillin g observation
windows o n each side of the fo rwa rd fu sel8~e
and installing two panoramic cameras In
fairings on each side oflhe rear fu selage. Other
Transall variants under study include a water
bomber, which could carry systems offered by
MBS, AJkan and the American MAFFS
company. Each of these systems could be
easily installed in the standard cargo-carrjing
aircraft. which could carry 2,640 Imp gal
(12000 I) o f water or chemical firc-retardent.
A further delay in deliveries of lhe DassaultBreguet HU-25A GUlirdlan for the US Coast
Guard now seems likely (see Airscene/April
1980) and Ihe earliest date for delivery of the
fi rst aircraft is now given as February \98!.
This represents a slippage of 18 months from
the original contract date, the la test delay
being caused by the failure of the Garrett
ATF3-6 turbofan to meet FAA requirements
for bird ingestion. Modifications are being
made to the fan blades to allow the engine to
withstand the impact of a 1' 5-lb (O,7-kg) bird
and maintain 75 per cent power. The new
delivery target depends upon certification of
the modified engine by J uly and if all then
proceeds as planned, the last of the 41 HU25As ordered by the USCG will be delivered
only slightly later than the original schedule.
INTERNATIONAL
An initial joint study by British Aerospace,
Dassault-Breguet Aviation and Messerschmiu-Bolkow-Blohm aimed a t defining a
DeW European ctJm NI alro-afl (ECA) has been
completed. The three companies have now
reported to their respective governments that a
significant level
commonality has been
established and have recommended that
studies should continue with a view to
fi nalising ajoint configuratio n. The objective is
to produce a new European fight er for service
from the beginningofthe next decade. capable
of replacing the Jaguar strike fighter and close
support aircraft in the RAF and the Armie de
I'Air, and the F-4F Phantom in the Luftwaffe.
The respttlive national requirements are
defined as AST.403 (Britain). TKF.90 (Germany) and ACT.n (France). Inilial discussions involving the BAe Warto n Division and
MBB have more recently been extended to
include Dassault-Breguet and a joint AngloFrench·German team was then set up. meeting
in turn at Warton, St Cloud (Pa ris) and
or
PAGE 264
Ol1obrunn (Munich). The three air forces have
an estimated requirement for some 700 aircraft
of the ECA type. and studies are concentrated
upon a single-seat twin--engined design, the
likely power plant being the Turbo-Union
RB.l 99 o r the as-yet-undeveloped SNECMA
M.88. A canard configuration with delta
wings, somewhat resembling the Saab Vi~en.
appears 10 be favoured by the indiVIdual
project teams and is likely to provide the basis
for a joint proposal.
Following two weeks after the third British
production Tornado (see Airscene/ May 1980),
the second German aircraft, GT002, was fl own
for the first time o n 31 March at Manching.
This aircraft is destined for use eventually at
the TITE at RAF Cotlesmo re. Tornado
testing. now in its final stages prior to
inlroduction into service, suffered a setback on
16 April when the proto type 04 crashed in
Gennany, killing the two M BBcrew members.
Boeing interest In a new IJO/15O-seat alrllntr
was underlined recently when company chairman T A Wilson said in To kyo that il was
ready to begin a feasibility study into a joint
programme for such an aircraft with Japan.
The Japanese governmenl has already indicated its willingness in principle to support the
Y-X-X propmme fo r such an aircraft. but
most attentIo n had been given previously to
joint development with a European company
- either Fokker, on the F-29, Airbus on the
SA- I/-2/-3 projects or Dassault-Breguel.
Boeing has indicated that an improved 731 or a
short-fuselage 757 might be developed to meet
the requirement for a 130/ 150-seater, using the
19.000 Ib st (8618 kgp) RJ-500 engine.
SOVIET UNION
An Ilyushin 11-76 has recently entered service
a t the Cosmo nauts Training Centre at Shchelkovo. near Moscow, for short-tenn weightJess..
ness Iraining and other purposes. It replaces a
Tu- I04 that has been used for the same
purpose for several years; the latter aircrafc has
~oi ned others once used by Soviet cosmonauts
In the Training Centre Museum .
USA
Northrop is accelerating its de,'elopment of tbe
F-5G, the si n$le-engined derivative of the F-5E
Tiger II that IS competing for US government
approval in the FX IOtennediate export fighter
(see Airsune/ March 198O). The current work
force of 200 engaged on F-5G develo pment is
expected 10 be doubled by the end o f the year.
Powered by a 16,000 Ib st (7258 kgp) General
Electric F404, the F-5G will have some 60 per
cent more thrust, offering improved take-off.
climb, acceleration, speed, ceiling and turning
performance. It will also feature an innovative
flight control system. and the application of
advanced graphite composite structures.
Flight testing of the Sikorsky S H-MB Sea·
hawk is accelerating followi ng the first flight of
the second prolotype on II February and the
third prototype during March. By the end of
February, the fi rst SH-6OB had com pleted
abo ut 15 hrs o f shake-down tests a t the
company's facilities at West Palm Beach.
Meanwhile, Sikorsky has delivered 50 UH60A Black Hawks to the US Anny, and three
companies of the 158th Aviation Battalio n,
10ist Airborne Division (Air Assault) are now
fully equipped with 15 Black Hawks each.
During January and Februa ry, the ' 0 ' Company took 12 o f its Black Hawks on their first
deployment to Panama, fo r j ungle training.
Hughes Helicopters now has five prototypH of
lhe AH-64 attack helicopter in flight test,
following the first night o n 16 March of AVO6, the third o f the Phase 2 YAH-64s. This
aircraft has a new, smaller, stabilator than the
versio n originally fl o wn on AVO-4 (see
AIR INTE RNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
Airscene/february 1980). and a larger tail
rotor. of 110 in (279 cm) instead of 100 in (254
em) diameter. The smaller stabilator was Hown
for the first lime on AVO-4 on 14 March. The
three Phase 2 YA H-64s are now all in use at the
company's test facility at Palomar while the
original AVO-2 and AVO-3 prototypes are at ...
an Army test si te.
Flight testing of the Voughl TA-7H two-seat
va riant o f the Corsair II for Greece: began at
Dallas on 4 March . Vought is producing five
new-build T A-7Hs and is converting one of the
60 A-7Hs previously supplied to the Hellenic
Air Force. It is also now developing the A-7K
two-seat versio n of the A-7D, for use by the
Air National Guard.
A successful flight was made on 23 March by
the first Chinook HC Mk 1 for the RAF at
Boeing Vertol's airfield at Ridley Township,
Ph iladelphia. The 30-minute flisn t covered a
number of systems checks. Dunng April, the
aircraft was being transferred to the American
Electronics Laboratories (AEL) test site at
Monmouth CoUnlY, NJ. fo r electromagnetic
compatibility testing. Deliveries to the UK will
begin in September.
McDonnell Douglas roUed out the first KCIDA tanker/transport version of the DC-I 0 Srs
30CF at Long Beach on 16 April. and first
flight foll owed d uring May. Deliveries o f KCIOAs are scheduled to be$in later this year,
against initial orders for SIX and a projected
total purchase of 26. They will be based at
Barksdale AFB for service with SAC's Eighth
Air Force.
McDonnell Douglas will soon start flighttesting an F- 15B Eagle eq uipped wjlb a
modified Hughes APG-63 "sYnlhelicapert ure"
radar as part of the company's Advanced
Fighter Capability Demonstration Programme. The radar has a ground mapping
capability at ranges of uf to 58 mls (93 km),
allowing it to "see" smal and distant targets.
This F- 15B also carries two FAST packs and
has three weapons stations on which 30-mm
ca nno n pods can becarried . It will also be used
to flight test a chin·shaped pod under the
forward fuselage which could be used to house
electronic equipment associated with identification and destruction of enemy ground·toair missile installations.
In a US Navy funded programme. Kaman
Aerospace is fl iaht testing an HH-2D Seasprite
helicopter fitted with a four-bladed circulation
conlrol rotor. The test-bed, which completed
an initial phase of 15 hrs of hovering and low
speed flights between September and December 1979, is designated XH-2/CCR. A second
phase of testing is scheduled fo r June/July,
covering about 40 hrs of fl ight at speeds up to
130 kt (241 kmjh). The XH-2/CCR has a 44-ft
(13,4-m) diameter rotor, the blades o f which
have trailing-edge slots through which com·
pressed air is ejected to take advantage of
Coanda effect to increase blade lift. By
modulating the amount of com pressed air
blown out of the slots as the rotor revolves, the
lift generated is varied. and mechanical cycling
of blade pitch is consequently no t necessary.
Responding to vigorous ai rline interest,
McDonnell Douglas has resumed its design
and engineeri ng efforl on the ATMR advanced
technology medium·range transport (see
AirDara File/ February 1980) after a brief
interruption while maximum attention was
given by the company's Douglas Aircraft Co
division at Long Beach to Ihe fonnation of a
leam to work o n the CX proposal (see
Airscene/ March 1980). The company expects
to com plete definition and performance spttifications of the ATM R this year a nd to be in a
position to launch by year-end in order to
achieve a projected entry-into-service date in
1985. Meanwhile. a preliminary approach has
been made to several European companies
with a view to forming partnerships for
ATMR-II development .
General Electric has completed and Slarted
testing a second example of the CF6-80
lurbofan, the fi rst prototype o f which ran in
October 1979. The new test engine is in CF680A configuration. as specified by a number o f
customers for Ihe Boeing 767 and almost
identical with the CF6-80A I to be used in some
versions of the Airbus A310. The initial thrust
rating of the -80A is 48,000 Ib st (2 1 773 kgp)
up to 92 deg F; the first prototype has already
been tested to 58.000 Ib st (26309 kgp) on a 53
deg F day. For later introduction, theCF6-80B
and -80BI will offer 54,000 Ib st (24494 kgp)
up to 86 deg F, for use on increased-weight
versions of the 767 and A31 0; and the CF680C and -8OC I which will olTer 56, 100 Ib st
(25 447 kgp) at 86 deg F by 1984 and may have
applications in future versio ns o f the Boeing
747. Meanwhile, plans have been made to
flight-test the CF6-80A in the Boeing-<>wned
747, starting in January 1981.
As an alternative to the Sabreliner Model 85
project (see AirData File/January 1979),
development of which has beenjeopardised by
the Rolls- Royce decision not to proceed with
the RB.401 turbofan , Rock"'ell International
is stud ying a possible stretch o f the Sabreliner
7SA as the Sabrcliner SOc. With the same deep
cross section as the Model 75A, the new
aircraft would have about 2 ft (0,6 1 m) more
length in the fuselage, combined with a new
supercritical wing and 4,000 Ib st (J 815 kgp)
Garrett Ai Research TFE73 1-5turbofans. It is
estimated that the Sabreliner 80C would have a
VFR range of about 2,600 mls (4184 km)
compared wilh 1,715 mls (2760 kIn) for the
Model 75A. and it would be certificated for up
to 10 passengers.
On 5 May. the tall and rear fuselage aft o f the
pressure bulkhead separalecl from a DC-9
Super SO at Edwards AFB during high sinkrate landing trials. At the time of closing for
press, Mc Donnell Douglas was unable to
determine whether this accident will delay the
test programme or the initiatio n o f deliveries,
but preliminary data does not indicate any
mechanical malfunction. The DC-9 Super 80
programme is described in a feature article
commencing page 267.
CIVIL AFFA IRS
INTERNATIONAL
Braniff has announced it will terminate its
interchange agreement with British Airwa ys
and Air France for operalion of Concordes
between Dulles International and Dallas/ Fort
Worth, with elTect from I June. The company
blamed rising fuel costs for the decision,
having more than doubled since the service
was inaugurated on 13 January 1979; as a
res ult, load factors no longer reached the
break-even point. With more Concorde flying
time available as a result of the Braniff decision
a nd a sixth Concorde to be added to its fl eet
later this summer, British Airways is planning
to increase the frequency of its London-New
York service from 1210 14 fli ghts a week. and
to add a fo urth flight a week on the LondonWashington route. Air France is thOUght likely
to ma ke similar increases in the frequency of its
Concorde services.
Following the Pan American-National metger, the CA B has given approval for operation
of the Miami-london service by Pan Amerinn;
previously, National Airlines was the nominated US ca rrier on the ro ute. The route is o ne
on which dual designation is to be permitted
under the terms ofthe revised Anglo-American
air services agreement, and a number of other
applications are being considered by the CAB.
CIVIL CONTRACfS AND SALES
Boeing 707: Canadian charter operato r Ontario Wo rldair has added an ex-Pacific
Western Airlines 707-35 1 to its original exQantas 707-338 and is seeking a third 707. 18
months after starting operations.
Boeing 737: Aloha Airlines took up options on
four Advanced 737-200s, with o ne to be
delivered in March 198 1 and three in 1982.0
Trans-European Airways in Belgium ordered
three more Advanced 737-2005, for delivery in
April and May 1980 and one in June 1982. 0
An order for 10 Advanced 737s by Piedmont
Airlines took the total sales to 806. Deliveries
are four this year, four early in 1981 and two in
the summer of 198 I.
Boe:ing747: Air New Zealand is ordering five
747-200s, fo r deliveries from mid-1981 to late1982, mark.ing a gradual switch from its
present fl eet of DC- lOs. Rolls- Royce RB.2 11524s have been specified. 0 British Airways
has o rdered its first 747F freighter. for delivery
in September.
Boeing 757: Aloha Airlines has announced its
decision to buy, subject to fi nal negotiation.
three 757s. and has specified General Electric
C F6-32 engines. 0 Transbrasil is negotiating
for three 757s for delivery in October/
November 1983 and June 1984. and is expected
to select CF6-32 engi nes.
Boeing 767: Britannia Airways has ordered
two 767s for delivery early in 1984, becoming
the 12th cuslomer airline and the first in
Europe. They are to be the high-grass-weight
variant - 310,000 Ib (140620kg) - with 265
seats in a one--class layout; a choice of engine
has yet 10 be announced. 0 Braathens SAFE
has ordered two 767s. with two mo re on
option, for delivery in February and November 1984.
BrlCish Ae ros pac~ One-Eleven: Philippine
Airline is taking delivery in July of two Srs
500s. bringing its fleet of the type to I~ the
aircraft have been reconditioned by British
Aerospace at Hurn and were previously
operated by Arkia and Aviateca respectively.
Turbo-Union has purchased a Srs 400 from
British Aerospace to carry engine parts and
personnel between the RB. I99 production
centres in Britain, Germany and Italy. Originally sold to LACSA and later operated by
TACA, it has been fined with hush-kits and a
large freigh t door, a nd has a rear passenger
cabin with 24 seats; it is operated for TurboUnion by Rolls- Royce.
o
CASA C-2 12 Aviocar: Ptlita Air Service is to
acquire 12 more NC-212s from Nurtanio in
Indonesia, with six delivered this yea r and six
later; two o thers are already in service. 0
Merpati Nusantara Airlines is acquiri ng two
more NC-2 12s from Nurtanio, adding to two
in service. 0 Air Logistics of Alaska has a
third C-2 12 o n order for near-future delivery.
Convair 440: Cosmopolitan Commuter Airlines of Farmingdale, NY, purchased three
4405 from Finnair. Only o ne now remains with
the Finnish company.
De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8: The
Province of Ontario has agreed to purchase
two of the new Dash 8 STOL commuterliners
for operation by norOntair, which provides ai;
service to communities throughoul northern
Onta.rio.. with financial support from the
prOVinCial government. First delivery is ex-
pected to be made in July 1984.
EMBRAER EMB-I IO Baodelnn l ~: Loganair
took delivery of its first EMB-I 10PI, for use on
scheduled services in Scotland. 0 Sicilian
Airlines is negotiating to buy three Bandei rantes for local services.
Lockheed IAO II T riStar: Air Lanka, the flag
carrier of Sri Lanka , ordered two TriSta r 500s
and took o ptions on two more, for delivery in
1982. 0 The previously-announced Alia order
for five TriStars is confirmed as being for Srs
2005, for delivery in November/ December
1981. March and July 1982 and May 1983.
MBB 80-105: Pertamina is negotiating the
purchase of 30 Nurtanio-built BO-105s; theX
will be operated by Pelita Air Service on OIl
exploratio n support, with deliveries starting in
198 1. Pelita already opel1ltes six BO-105s
purchased from Nurtanio. 0 The Indonesia n
Ministry of Agriculture has placed a leiter o f
intent for six Nurtanio-built BO-105s for use
by the Forestry Commission.
McDonnell Douglas DC-9: Pacific Southwest
Airlines has contracted to buy seven more DC9 Super 80s. making a total of 20 on order and
to be delivered by 1982. In addition, options
have been taken o n six more Super 80s for 1983
delivery. 0 Hawaiian Airlines is offering fo r
sale two Srs 50s, to be replaced by two Super
80s soon to be delivered.
Sikorsky S-6 IN: Okanagan Helicopters has
taken delivery of another S-6 1N, its eleventh.
Sikorsky 5-76: Evergreen Helicopters has
ordered 20 Spirits - the largest single order to
date for the new helicopter, total sales of which
have now reached 350.
Swearingen Metro: Air Virginia ordered five
more Metro 115 fo r local services. 0 Inland
Empire Airlines is acquiring three Metro lis.
Big Sky Airlines of Montana is acquiring four
Metro Os to replace three Jetstreams. 0
Northern. the new Australia n Northern
Territory airline set up to replace Connair, has
taken options o n Metros for delivery from
1981 onwards. 0 Austrian Air Services has
taken delivery of two Metro lis and inaugurated services on I April from Vienna 10
Salzburg and Klagenfurt and between Klagenfurt and Graz.
MILITA RY CONTRACTS
BAe Hawk: On 29 April, the RAF announced
a follow-on order for 18 Hawks to supplement
the 175 previously ordered.
Beecheraft C- I2D: On 25 April . a SI2m
(i5'3m) contract for additional C-12D utility
aircraft for the US Army was announced. To
follow o n six C I2Ds ordered mid-1979 (these.
in turn. following 60 C I2As and 14 C- 12Cs).
new aircraft will be delivered from May 1981.
IA I Westwind: An order has been placed on
behalf o f Federal Germany's Marinejlieger for
four West winds which are to be operated
under contract as high-speed target tugs by
RFB. The Westwinds arc all scheduled to be
delivered du ri ng next year.
Gates Learjel 35A: The Fuerza Airea Argen·
tiM has ordered a fifth Learjet 35A for 198 1
delivery. To be equipped for airport and
a irways calibration, the aircraft is to cost
approximately S4m (£ I· 75m).
Vougbt A-7P Corsair II: Vought is to rework
20 ex-US Navy A-7As as A-7Ps for the Forra
Aerea Porluguesa (sec M ililary Affairs) under
an approx SIOOm (£44·5m) contract.
PAGE 265
Jaguar Intern ational is the developed version of th e aircraft whi ch
forms the tacti ca l strike spea rh ead of both the Royal Air Force in
Britain and Germany and L'Armee de I'Air in France and overseas,
Already in servi ce w ith th e air forces of Ecu ador and Oman and
chosen to equip squadrons of the Indian Air Force and to be manu·
factured in India, Jaguar Intern ational is an advanced weapon system,
specialised to provide a cost· effective answer to tactical defence
needs throughout the 1980s and beyond.
•
it is supersonic and has outstanding wea pon · load/ range
performance ;
•
it can penetrate sophisticated defences at high speeds and low
levels to make one-pass attacks in poor weather with consistent
an d deadly accuracy ;
•
it is cleared to operate from roads. grass and desert strips, or other
semi-p repared surfaces, an d to recover to airfields with damaged
runways.
•
it has formidabl e air·combat capa bility, enabling it to operate in
hostile air spa ce;
•
it ha s exception al survi va l ability, based on structural ruggedness,
twin -e ngine con fi guration and duplicated systems ;
•
it has proven reliability and maintainability and ca n sustain high
mission -rates even fro m forward bases providing only minimal
technica l support.
Designed lind built by
S.E.P.E.C.A.T.
Brit ish Aerospace Ai rcraft Group,
Kingston-upon-Thames. England.
Avions Marcel Dassault/Breguet Aviation,
BP 32 92 Vaucresso n, France,
SUPER
our contribution
~'~.' .;
Aeritatia, a member of the IRI·Finmeccanica Group,
and Italy's largest aerospace manufacturer.
is playing a significant role
in technological progress.
BOEING 767
•
It is engaged in the research , design, devellopm,m
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-l0, 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 programmes:
Spacelab, Ariane, Slrio, OTS, ECS, Marees,
the ESA-NASA space telescope.
the Utex telescope, as well as
in the design and
FOR THE 'EIGHTIES
INSTRUMENTS ANCl',;:9.'.
AVIONIC SYSTEMS
"stretchability" be the yardstick of successful commercial
Iall-time
aircrart design, then the DC-9 must surely be adjudged the
gold-medal winner. In 15 years since it s first Hight, the
F
"-,
integration of complete avionics systems
and in applied electronics. In addition,
it designs and produces aircraft instruments.
automatic and inertial navigation systems
for civil and military applications,
and military optical systems.
Aeritalia has a bout 10,000 people
in its six ind ustrial centres
at Naples. Turin and Milan.
This human and industrial potential is ready
to meet the needs of tomorrow.
~ERrmUA
80125 NAPOLI Piazza Ie Tecchio 51
Tel. 619.522 Telex 710370 AERIT
PAGE iii
DC-9 has grown f~om an airerafl that , in round figures, carried
65 passengers for 1,000 mls (I 6 10 km) to one that can carry
over 170 passengers and has a ra nge of over 2,000 mls (32 18
km). Productivity thus has bee n more than doubled - a
remarkable achievement that c.to be matched by few other
airliners. With the recent addition to the DC-9 family of the
Super 80 version, scheduled to enter service later this year,
there are five different fuselage lengths. a multitude of gross
weights and fuel capacities and seven engi ne sizes associated
with the type. Alternative versions have been developed fo r
passenger, convertible freighter , all-freighter, executive,
military transport and military ambulance roles.
When the Douglas Aircraft Compa ny· decided to launch its
Model 2086 project as the DC-9 early in 1963, market surveys
indicated possible sales of up to 1,000 aircraft in the twin-jet
short-haul category. Douglas estimated it might sell 400-500
DC-9s in 10 years. Today, 17 years on, the company is close to
selling its 1,100th DC-9, about one-half of the total twin-jet
sa les by the three manufacturers producing aircrafl in this
payload/range category (including Soeing and SAC/ SAe); as
a proportion of the total, the original Douglas sales estimate
has thus proved remarkably accurate, but overall sales have
certain ly achieved a higher level than anyone could have
fo recast when the programme began. In fact, the DC-9 is the
third commercia l jet to reach that magic four-figure delivery
total (the others being the Boei ng 727, and , in the biz-jet field,
the Lcarjct; Soviet sources also indicate that 1,000 Yak-40s
have been bui lt), an achievemen t undoubtedly attribu table in
no small measure to the proliferation of variants that has
appeared since the DC-9 Srs 10 fi rst took to its wings on 25
• As il Ihell ""us. The merger l1'ilh McDol/lleli came ill /96 7, and loday
Doug/as Aircraft Company is one oJ Ihe 111'0 major divisions oJ
McDonnell Douglas Corp. Allhough lhe DC-9 is now cOllsidered to be a
McDonnell Douglas t)'pi' so far as marketing image is concerned, it
remains essentially a "Douglas" product QI the Long Beach Jacility
....·here it first entered production.
February 1965. Even the Super 80 may not mark the end of the
process ---' studies at Long Beach have shown that a few more
feet could probably be added to the length without going
beyond the practica l limits - but in a ny case the addition of
this latest member to the DC-9 famil y scemscertain not on ly to
increase the aircraft's utility but also to extend its production
life well into the present decade. Although sales of the DC-9
have not been quite us vigorous as those of the pace-setting
Boeing 727, the Douglas twin has benefited from the upswing
in airline demand of the last two-three years and production
has had to be accelera ted to kccp pace. From 1965 to 1973,
deli veries averaged almost one hundred per yea r, the 700lh
DC-9 (a US Na vy C-9B version) being delivered on 27 July
1973. The production rate had by then tailed off, however, and
it took Douglas nearl y another six years to deliver the next 200
aircraft, with the 900t h DC9(a Srs 30 for Texas International)
being handed over on 14 March 1979. The extent to which
business has picked up is shown by the fact that the company
will reach the I ,OOOth delivery milestone not much more than
two years later, with KLM the recipient.
Super 80 definition
The DC-9 Super 80, as Hying today and expected to enter
service later this yea r, is the outcome of a process of
continuous evol ution which began before ever the basic DC-9
itself took shape; more speci ficaJly. however, this latest
"stretch" of the DC-9 can be sa id to have started its life in
1973, soon after the Srs 50 had been launched on the back ofa
10-aircraft order placed by Swissair (deta ils of the Srs 50 and
the ea rlier DC-9 variants are given later is this account).
Immediately after the Srs 50 launch, Douglas began discussing
with Swissair, and with va rious other airlines, the possibility of
building another version wbich would have new engines and a
small increase in fuselage length. Fuel efficiency was only just
beginning to emerge as a decisive factor in airline equipment
decisions, but it was already known that the external noise
levels of new aircraft would have to be considerably reduced in
order to meet forthcoming legislation. Any new version of the
DC-9 would therefore need 10 have an engine that was quieter
PAGE 267
The third DC-9 Super BO. in Austrian Airlines colours. takes-offf rom LAmg Beach Municipal Airport. Well shown in this view are thestrakesfilled to the
engine nacelles to improve airjfow over the tai/when the aircraft is at high angles ofattack; similar strokes on the nose.first adoptell 0 11 the Srs 50. serve to
increase fin effectiveness.
Mc Donnell Douglas DC-9 Super 80 Specification
Power PI. Dl: Two Prau & Whitney J1'80 -209 turbofans each
rated al IS,5OO Ib st (S 392 kgp) wit h 750 Ib (340 kg) reserve, or
JTSO-2 17 lurbofans each rated at 20,000 Ib st (9072 kgp) with
S50 Ib (386 kg) reserve. Silencers and target-type thrust reversers
fitted . Fuel capacity, 5.779 US gal (2 1876 1) in wing integral and
centre section fuel tanks.
Perronn.oce: VNE, 537 kt (994 km/h); cruising speed, 570 mph
(9 12 km/h) at max cruise thrust at 31,000 n (9 450 m); bala nced
take-offfieid lenglh, (-8 1), 7,200 n (2 195 m), (-S2 al 140,000 1b!
63504 kg), 7, 150 n (2 179 m); FAA landing fie ld length, 4,600 n
(1402 m); range with 137 passengers and baggage, 35,ooo-n
(J0668-m) cruise, (-SI), 2.014 mls (324 1 km), (-S2), 2,348 mls
(3778 km).
Weights (-S I): Manufacturer's weight em pty, 75.075 Ib (34054
kg); operating weight empty. 7S.717 1b (35 706 kg); max take-off
weight, 140,000 Ib (63504 kJ>; max landi ng weighl, 12S,OOO Ib
(58060 leg); max zero fuel WClght. I IS,OOO Ib(53 524 kg); weightlimiled payload, 39,2831b (17 819 leg).
Weights (-82): Manufacturer's weight em pty. 75,86 1 Ib (344 10
kg); operating weight empty. 79.503 1b (36062 k~; max lake-off
weight, 147,000 Ib (66678 k~); max landing weight. 128,000 Ib
(58060 kg); max zero fuel weight. 118,000 lb (53 524 kg); wcightlimited payload, 38,497 lb (17 462 kg).
Dimenslort<;: Span. 107 ft 9 ~ in (32.85 m): length overall , 147 ft I I
in (45,08 m); height overall. 29 ft 7 in (9.02 m); gross wing area,
1.279 sq ft (118,S ml); sweepback, 24·5 deg at 25 per cent chord;
aspect ratio, 9·62: I; undercarriage track, 16 ft 8 in (5,09 m):
wheelbase, 72 ft 5 in (22.06 m).
Accommod.lioo: Flighl crew or two; Iypical mixed-class
accommodation, 12 first-cla ss four-abrea st at 3S-in (96.5-cm)
pitch. and 125 tourist-class five-abreast at 34-in (86-cm) pitch; up
to 172 passengers five-abrea sl at 30-in (76-cm) pilch. Three cargo
holds, total capacity 1,253 cu rt (35,48 ml ) .
12 Windscreen panels
13 Cockpi t eyebrow windows
14 First officer'. seat
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
pa:,:",!,,~(~~~}(
PILOT PRES S
CO PYRI GHT
DRAWIN G
Overhead
.witch
Captain'sseat
Nosewheel steering
Underlloor electrical and
electronics bay
Nose strake
Retractable airstairs
Door mounted escape chute
Forward passenger door.
and had better specific fuel consumption than the JT8 D-17 in
the Srs 50; it would also have to be more powerful to ma tch the
projected increase in size and th erefore weight. Between 1973
a nd 1977, engi ne availability consequently played a key role in
definiti o n o f what became the DC-9 Super 80.
By the end o f 1973, Douglas was ta lking o r a DC-9 Srs 60,
wi th a modest ruselage stretch o r 6 ft 3 in (1,9 m) to provide two
mo re sea t rows, and 18,000 Ib st (8 165 kgp) JT8D-II 7
refanned engines. T his was o ne of a series o r JT8D derivatives
proposed by Pratt & Whitney, using the HP compressor, HP
turbine spool a nd combustio n sectio n of t he basic JT8D with a
new LP comp ressor, fa n and turbine section . Initial airline
reaction to this proposal was no t over-enthusiastic, and the
compan y then switched its attention to the possibili ty of using
a pair o f CF M Interna tio na l CFM -56 engines, offeri ng up to
22,000 Ib st ( 10000 kgp) each . This ex tra power in turn opened
up the prospect o r even higher weights, a nd in the course o f
1974-76, a who le range o f DC-9 projects evolved as Do uglas
sought to defin e the best combination of size, weight , engine
power, perfo rman ce and econo mics. In this period , as pa rt o f
the NASA-funded research programme on refa nned engines,
Do ugJas insta lled two JT8D-I09s in a DC-9 and , starting on 9
January 1975, made 54 Hights tota lling 871 hrs. In 1977, a
JT8D-209 was Hown for 50 hrs in one of the McDonnell
Starboard service door
Forward galley
Toilet compartment
Wash hand basin
First·class seating
compartment. 12 passengers
four -abreast
Df F loop aerials
VHF aerial
Curtained cabin divider
Cabin window panel
Pressurisation va lves
Fuselage lower lobe frame
co nstruction
Wardrobe
Tourist class seating, 125
passengers five-ebreast
Overhead stowage bins
Cabin roo flrames
Air conditioning ducting
Cabin roof Irim panell
Floor beam construction
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
McDonnell Dougl.s D C - 9 Su p er 80
Cuta w a y Drawing K ey
88
89
, ..-~"'.
42 Forward freight hol d,
capacity 849 cu It (24,04
m'l
8
9
10
11
Rudder pedals
Instrument panel
Instrument panel shroud
Windscreen wipers
PAG E 268
AIR INTERNATIONA L/ JUNE 1980
43 Forward freight hold rear
door
44 Port overhead stowage bin
rack
45 Fuselage frame and str inger
construction
46 leading edge slat central
hydraulic lack comrol
47 Wing panel centreline joint
48 Floor beam construction
49 Centre fuselage construct ion
50 Cabl e drive to leading edge
slats
109
11 0
11 1
11 2
113
Tailplane de-icing air duct
Rear entry airstairs tunnel
Ai r conditioning plant
Engine pylon
Port engine thrust reverser
doors. closed
11 4 Radial lobe engine silencer
11 5 Nacelle strake
116 Bleed air piping
117 P,au & Whitney J T80 -209
turbofan engine
118 Engine accessory gearbox
119 Port engine intake
120 Rear underfloor freight hold,
capacity 445 cu It (12.60 m~)
121 Wing root trai ling edge fillet
122 Port inner double · slotted
lIap
123 Flap ri b construction
124 Flap vane
125 M ain underca rriege
mounting
126 Main undercarriage leg Strut
127 Inboard spoiler
128 Flap down position
129 Outer double· slotted flap
130 Outboard spoilers
131 Aileron tabs
132 Port aileron
133 Fixed portion of trailing edge
134 Static dischargers
67 Inner double-slotted flap.
down position
68 Inboard spoiler
69 Starboard emergency exi t
windows
0,,"
Entry lobby
1 Rsdome
2 Weather radar scanner
3 Front pressure bulkhead
4 Pi tottube
5 Radio and electronics
6 Nosewheel well
7 Twin nosewheels
Douglas YC- 15 prototypes, t his being the first fligh t of that
engine type.
The fi rst half of 1977 saw the compan y engaged in fina l
t rade-off st udies and in negotiations with several potential
launching airlines. By this time, it had been decided wi th
reasona ble certainty tha t additio nal wing a rea would be
needed a nd thi s wo uld be achieved by fitt ing a 63-in ( 1,60-01)
51 Starboard wing integral fuel
tank: total system capaCIty
5.779 USgal (218761)
52 Fuel lystem piping
53 Ventral wing fence
r 'vortilon" )
54 Pressure refuelling
connections
55 Leading edge sial segments.
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
ope"
Qverwing fuel filler cap
Starboard nalligation lights
Extended wing tip
Rear navigation and Strobe
lights
Static dlscharQ8f1
Starboard aileron
Aileron ta bs
Starboard outer doubleslotted flap. down position
Flap hydraulic jacks
Flap hinge brackets
Outboard .poilers
Starboard engine intake
Detachable engine cowlings
Cabin rear bulkhead
Rear galleys. port and
starboard
Toilet compartments. port
and starboard
Rear pressure bulkhead
Rear en try door
Engine thrust reverser, open
po. ilion
Fin root fillet
A ir conditioning ram air
intake
plug a t each wing root; a la rger tailplane wo uld be requi red ,
a nd a stro nger undercarriage. T he Srs 60 project, wit h " 10to nne" engines (CFM -56 o r JT IOD) was projected with a to tal
fuse lage stretch of 22 ft 1 in (6,74 m) in two plugs. A mo re
modest stretch of only 7 ft I I in (2,41 m), in a single plug a head
of the wing, was planned fo r the DC-9- 17S with JTSD-I7 R
engines and t he DC-9-RS with JT8D-20gengines; the S in each
designa tion indica ted "stretched" and the R indicated the
refanned engine. The same fuselage st retch a nd refan ned
engines were combined with a completely new supercrilicai
wing in the DC-9-SC project, while the DC-9- RSS (refann cd,
super stretch), later named the DC-9 Srs 55, had a stretch of 12
ft 8 in (3,86 m) in two plugs, an extra 4 ft ( 1,20 m)of spa n by tip
extensio ns, and JT8D-209 engi nes. Alongside this "mainst ream " of develo pment. DougJas was also continuously
studying short-field versio ns. wi th an eye in particula r on lhe
70 Pressure 1I00r above wheel
bov
71 Port emergency exil
windows
72 Hydraulic reservoir
73 Main undercarriage wheel
w ell
74 Rear cabin touri.t class seats
75 Cabin attendant's fold ing
~"
76 Rear service door/ emergency
exit
77 Rear underfloor freight hold
doo.
78 Cabin wall trim panels
79 Oller head stowage bin.
90 Fin construction
91 VOR aerials
92 Rudder feel system pressure
sensor
93 Tailplane trim tack
94 Stsrboard tailplane
95 Elevator horn balance
96 Starboard elevator
97 Elevator tabs
98 Tailplane bullet fairing
99 Elevalor hinge con trols
100 Tailplane pivo t mounting
101
102
103
104
105
106
Port elevator
Tailplane construction
Rudder construction
Rudder tab
Static dischargen
Tailcone, jetti.onable for
emergency exit
107 Air conditioning louvres
108 Sloping fin attachmen t frames
135 Rear navigation and strobe
lights
136 Retractable landing lamp
137 POrt navigation lights
138 Leading edge slat segments
(fully open posi tion)
139 Slat guide rails
140 Front spar
141 Wing rib construction
142 Port wing integral fuel lank
143 Rear spar
144 Wing stringers
145 Ventral wing fence
( " vortilon"')
146 Wing skin plating
147 TWin mainwheels
148 Slat de-icing air duct
149 Air supply duct
150 Wing root fillet
151 Taxying lamp
PAG E 269
potential Japa nese market. These versions have tended to
reature shorter, rather than longer, fuse lages, since the 4,000-ft
(1200-m) runway perrormance could not be reconci led with
the higher weigh ts o f the stretched variants; the DC-9-QSF
(Quiet, Short-field) for example. in 1976 had a Srs 40 fuselage
a nd JT8D·209 engines, and the later Srs 22 proposal was based
on the ori ginal short fuselage of the Srs 10. Some aspects of the
short-field project work had applications in the Super 80
definition. however.
To launch yet another version of the DC-9 beyond the Srs
SO, which by mid-1977 had been in service for two years but
was selling in rather smaller numbers than the company had
expected, Douglas had to convince the parent McDonnell
Douglas Corpora tion tha t a t least 300 would be sold . It had
become clear that the projected Srs 55 was gaining most
acceptance among potential customers, particularl y so far as
the engine was concerned, since the basic JT8D was getting too
noisy and the CFM- 56 was still a relatively unknown quantity.
Only the precise si7..e of the fu selage remained to be defined and
when the go·ahead was finally a nnounced on 20 October 1977,
this was set at 14 ft 3 in (4,34 m) more than the Srs 50 fuselage,
with a 152-in (3,S6-m) plug a head of the wing and a 19-in (48
em) plug be_hind the wi ng. With introduction into service
planned for 1980, the new DC·9 was named the Super 80, and
the launch was based on a package of orders and options for 40
aircra fi, comprising IS (+ 5) fo r Swissair, 8 (+ 4) for Austrian
Airlines, 4 (+ 4) for Southern Airways and a letter of intent for
three fro m LA V in Venezuela. The Swissair and Austrian
orders were signed in a joint ceremony in Zurich but the
Southern Airways order remained conditional and fo llowing
that operator's merger with North Central to fo rm Republic
Airlines, it has been dropped . The order boo k has subsequently risen to a total of 80 for 12 customers, plus more than
20 options a nd condi tional orders, taking Douglas one-third
of the way towards its brea k-even ta rget.
S uper 80 del ails
In its la unch configuration, the DC-9 Super 80 was 43 ft 6 in
(13,2 m) longer than the original Srs 10 and 14 ft 3 in (4,34 m)
longer than its immediate predecessor, the Srs 50; as noted,
most of the extra lengt h was forward of the wing. The wing
itsclfwa s some 28 per cent larger than that of the Srs 50, tha nks
to the wing root plugs, 5 ft 3 in (1,6 m) each side. and the 2 ft
(0,6 1 m) extension at each tip; the latter too k the form of
constant chord inserts just inboa rd of the curved tips, which
were retained unchanged. The new wi ng roots allowed internal
fuel capaci ty to be increased by 1,520 US gal (5753 1) to a total
of 5,779 US gal (2 I S741). New root plugs also increased the
spa n of the tailplane by 40 in (1.02 m), and required a small
modification at the top of the fin, which is otherwise standard .
The extra wing span, increasing aspect raLio from S'71 to "
9·62, results in an additional double-slotted fl ap section and an
additionalleadi ng.wge slat section being fitted on each wing.
Also, the Super 80 int roduces a '"dial-a-Hap" comma nd system
that allows the pilot to select virtually any flap position
between " up" and ""full deflection " and the leading edge slats
a re now three-position, with an intermedia te IS-deg position
for use during climb-out, when the trailing edge flaps are at 13
deg. Other changes in the control system include a new spoiler
on each wing, in board, and a new anti-Hoat tab on each
elevator, outboard, to improve the elevator respo nse at low
speeds. The vortilons on the win g - in effect, underwing
fence s that were adopted to improve the original DC-9's
stalling cha racteristics - are reloca ted farthe r outboard ;
strakes on each side of the front fuselage, first adopted on the
Srs 50 to increase fin effectiveness a t high angles of attack, arc
retained a nd the Super 80 has introduced similar strakes on the
outsides of the engine nacelles to improve airflow over the
tailplane at high incidence.
Structurally, the Super 80 closely resembles the earlier DC·9
variants, subject to some local strengthening and the wing
revisions already described . There is a new service door in the
starboa rd side j ust ahead of the nacelle, requiring some revised
structure, and a new wing/fuselage fairing has been adopted .
The undercarriage is strengthened to cope with the higher
weights and, like the Srs 50, incorporates a Mk Ili A a nti -skid
system . Other features already proved on the DC-9 arc
electronic engine synchronisation, dual a utomatic electronic
pressurisation a nd weather radar with digitalised display. New
to the Srs 80 are the Sperry digital autopilot, which can
optionally be integra ted in a digital flight-gu ida nce system,
and an optio nal Sundstrand head-up display.
In its sta ndard mixed-class layout, the Super 80 is described
as a I 37-passcnger aeroplane (12 first-c lass, 125 coach-class);
all-cconomy, it will ca rry 155 passengers at 33/ 32-in (84/8 1cm) pitch or 167 at 30-in (76-cm) pitch and the maximum highdensity a rrangement is 172 a t the latter pitch , wi th fewer toilets
a nd intended only for short ranges. The ex tra fu selage lengt h
provides addi tional underftoor car go capacity, a nd a seco nd
door has been added for the fo rward com partment because of
its increased length . With a maximum range of over 2,000 mls
(3220 km) carryi ng 137 passengers, the Super SO comes close
in size a nd performance to the original DC-8 (and Boeing 707120) of little more than 20 years ago. Not only does this
underline the way in which technology has advanced in two
decades; it also raises the Question of crew complement. No
one wou ld have suggested tha t the original jet transports
should be operated by a two-man crew, a nd there is one school
( AbOl'e left) n,efirst Sllper 80 - also shown in the heading shot on poge 267 - and (~Iow) the Srs 30 on which Douglasfiwjlew a poir o/lT8D-J09
engines in 1975, seen making iufirst take-off on 9 l anuarJ' that J·ear.
PAGE 270
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
of thought that believes the Super SO should be manned by
three; on the other hand, the grea t majority of the 1,000 DC-9s
built so far are flown by two-man crews and the Super SO,
despite its increased capacity, imposes no greater work-load in
the cockpi t - indeed, new equipment, new systel"{ls and
judicious redesign may be claimed to have made it easier to
operate. The two- versus three-man crew issue is one that
remains to be resolved by a number of operators, some of
whom are amo ng the likely future customers for the Super SO,
and its resolutio n could materially afTect the economics of this
aircraft on certain route networks a nd thus, in the long term,
the company's ability to reach its break-even sales target.
As first announced and ordered, the Super SO is powered by
a pair of Pratt & Whitney JTSD-209 turbofans. Based on the
JTSD-9 variant of the basic engine, this introduced a new LP
compressor o f advanced design, a new LP turbine, a singlestage fa n of increased diameter and new exterior casing. Its
development began in July 1974 and the fi rst run was made in
May 1976, followed by first Hight (in the ye-15) on 4 March
1977. There is a multi-chute mixer upstream of the thrust
reverser a nd extensive use of sound-absorbent materia ls in the
cowling, which is largely of Kevlar epoxy composite
const ruction. As a result, the Super SO can claim to be the
quietest, in PNdB terms, of any commercial jet transport now
in production, able to satisfy the most stringent noise
regulations yet proposed by ICAO (CAN 5) and significantly
quieter than the standards set out in FAR Part 36 fo r US
operations.
The JTSD-209 is rated at IS,500 Ib st (S 392 kgp) for take-ofT
and has an additional 750 Ib st (340 kgp) in reserve, applied
automatically by the remaining engine if one should fail . With
the gross weight set at 140,000 Ib (63 504 kg), however, the DC9 Super SO is more WAT-limited than some operators would
wish and this has led Douglas to ofTer, as an alternative, the
JT8D·2 17 rated at 20,000 Ib 51 (9072 kgp) with 850 Ib 51 (386
kgp) in reserve. Based on the JTSD- 17, the -217 has the same
new features as the -209, but necessarily comes out a little
noisier and wi th slightly poorer sfc. It allows the Super SO to be
opera ted at weights up to 147,000 Ib (6667S kg) where there
are no runway limitations, and considerably improves the
payload/range performance o ut of altitude or temperature
limited runways. The first operator to b uy the uprated version
of the Super 80 was Aero Mexico, which o rdered three in
September 1979. Douglas subsequentl y adopted the designa-
tions -8 1 and -82 respectively for the Super 80 varia nts with
-209 and -2 17 engines, and has projected an a ll -freight version
of the Srs 82 which could carry a 46,200-lb (20 956-kg) cargo
load a distance of 1,040 naut mls ( 1 926 km), with the abili ty to
accommodate nine pallets 96 in by 135 in (2,44 by 3,43 m).
When the Super 80 programme was launched, the firs t flight
target date was May 1979 and deliveries were expected to begin
in March 1980. Completi on was delayed, however, by a threemonth strike of workers at the Long Beach faci lity in 1978 and
by delays in deliveries of some materials and components. It
was always intended to use three aircraft in the development
programme (Nos 909, 917 and 924 in the DC-9 production
sequence) but only the fi rst two were to be instrumented; when
it became clear that the Hight test programme was going to
start some six months behind schedule, however, Douglas
decided to instrument the tbird aircraft also. The extent of
instrumentation varies from aircraft to aircraft according to
the particular role each plays in the certification programme.
Finished in Douglas house colours (blue, gold and white),
but event ually destined fo r Swissair, the fi rst Super SO Hew
from Long Beach on 18 October 1979 and after a th ree-hour
flight landed at Yuma, Arizona, where subsequent flight
testing was to be based. The two pilots - H H Knickerbocker,
Douglas chief test pilot and John P Lane, Super 80 project
pilot - were accompanied by Virginia A Clare as Hight test
engineer: a sign of the times, and just possibly the first woman
to participate in the maiden flight of a nything but a light pla ne.
The second and third Super SOs, respectively in Swissair and
Austrian Airlines colours, were rolled-out at Long Beach on 9
November wit h duece(emony, and made their first fli ghts on 6
December 1979 and 29 February 1980 respectively. About
1,000 hrs of Hight testing will be required to complete
certification, which is now expected to be achieved in July, with
the first deli very being made to Swissair in the same month.
Following its now well-established policy of tailoring '
va riants of the DC-9 to meet identifiable airline needs,
Douglas is already talking of several possible derivatives of the
Super 80. These include a Super 80SF short-field version which
would have the fuse lage length cut back to 127 ft 3 in (38,79 m),
just slightly more than that of the Srs 40. Combining this
fuselage with the JTSD-209 engines and advanced wing of the
Super 80 produces a gross weight of 121 ,000 Ib (54 885 kg) and
a n a ircraft that would carry 125 passengers for 1,270 naut mls
continued on page 292
McDONNELL DOUGLAS
DC-9 SUPER 80
................................. I@t:!:••••••••• ,
PAGE 272
AIR INTERNATI ONAL/JUNE 1980
Six years ago, A IR I NTERNATIONAL surveyed Spain's air arm, the Ejercito del Aire. which, at the time, was in the initial
stages of a thoroughgoing modernisation programme. Since then, the l'ervice has undergone reorganisation on an
administrative level and restructuring on an operational level, and is now steadily taking on muscle, as related here by Jose
Luis Gonzalez Serrano_
at the map of Europe suffices to reveal the vi ta l
im portance to West European security presented by the
geostrategic positio n of Spain. Dominating the Strait of
G ibraltar and its approaches, and, by means of the Balearic
Islands, the western end of the Mediterra nean - today
unquestionably among the world's most sensitive areas Spain, unli ke other non-aligned countries around the
European periphery, is well removed from the WarPac bloc.
Thus, the nat ure of threats to Spanish sovereignty is not so
clearly defined . Spain's key positio n can almost guarantee
involvement, however, in the event of hostilities between the
major powers, and its future military posture is, in
consequence, a subject for continuous - and sometimes
hea ted - debate between right wing fac tions favouring
pa rticipation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisatio n, those
of the left propounding a policy of Swedish-style armed
neutrality and those believing p ractical a middle road loosely
linking Spain's armed force s with NATO's European defence
structure under a mutual defence agreement imposing no
strictures on Spanish freedom of action.
Whichever path is eventually followed, there can be little
doubt that the capability growth of the Spanish armed forces
seen over the past decade will be accelerated throughout most
of the 'eighties, and no more dramatic enhancement in the
services is li kely to be forthcoming than within the air arm, the
£jercito del A ire (EdA), which will be replacing the bulk of its
existing combat aircraft inventory as well as most of its
training aircraft fl eet, will be phasing in new weaponry and will
be upgrading its enti re infrastructure.
Currently eleventh in the world league of industrial powers
and the second la rgest of West European countries, with a
total surface area, including the Balearic and Canary isla nds,
of 194,908 square miles (504 8 11 km 2 ), Spain has, for political,
economical and even historical reasons, devoted rather less
expenditure to its a rmed forces than most of'the principal nonaligned countries a nd appreciably less than NATO o r WarPac
countries. Realisation of the fact that increased defence
spending is necessary if Spain is to possess the ability to
exercise an active and decisive military presence in its areas of
greatest concern was perhaps reflected by the uplift in
A
GLANCE
PAGE 273
expenditure on the armed forces as a proportion of the gross
national product in Fisca l 1979-S0, the defence budget
totalling Ptas 23 1,300m (approximately £1,542m) of which
Ptas 45,338m (£302m) was a llocated to the EdA.
Altho ugh the EdA has existed for two score years, having
celebrated its 40th anniversary on 7 October last, the service
has, in fact, seen more fundam ental changes over the past two
years than at any time since-establishment as an a utonomous
service equal in stat us to the Army and Navy. These changes,
which have been la rgely pa ra lleled in the other armed services,
began on 4 July 1977, when, by decree, the separate ministries
for Army, Navy and Air Force were disbanded and a single
Ministry of Defence created in their place. In May of the
foll owing year, a thoroughgoing reorganisation of the EdA
itself was lau nched under the two-phase ORGEA (Organizacioll del £jercilO del Aire) programme, the initia l phase
involvi ng the reorganising of the administration and the
second being devoted to operatio nal restructuring.
The new structure that emerged was no lo nger based on
traditio nal geographical but on functional co nsiderations, the
restruct ured EdA comprising three fundamental functional
groups: the Ctwrtel General del Ejercito del Aire (CGEA), o r
Air Staff, with Headq ua rters in Madrid, the Fuerza Aerea
embodying all operational elements of the EdA, and the
( Head ofpage) Mirage FICE interceptors of Escuadron 141, currently
the only operational element of Ala de Caza 14 based at Albacete, and
(below ) an F-4C( S ) Phantom of Escuadron 122. one of the two
component Escuadrones of Ala de Caza 12 based at Torrejon.
'/(nario' Azaola.
""'''OJ...."'''-
S ix ex-US Na vy P-JA Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, including that above, equip Escuadron 12 J, the o~rat iona/ component of M ATAC's A /a 12
based at Jerez, and the only M A T AC unit o~rating the SF-5A (below) is Escuadrlm 21J, which, together with the Su~r Saeta-equipped Escuadron 114,
f orms Ala 11 at M oron. From the mid- 'eigh ti~s, the SF-5A will be supplanted by the FACA . ( Photos 'Knario ' Azaola)
Th~ Mirage FI CE,se~n above in the insignia of Escuadron UI , is scheduled to remain ins~rvice with the Ejirc:itodel A ir~ into th~ 'nin~ties anda IOlal of
71 M irage FI CE and FlDE aircraft has been orderedfrom France. Th~ F-<lC( S ) Phantom, seen below in th~ illSigniaof Escuadron 112, is scheduled to
give place to the FACAfrom obout the middle of the decade. ( Photos 'Knario' Azaola )
PAGE 274
AIR INTERNATIONAl/JUNE 1980
The SA R component ofthe Mando Aer~ de Canarias, &cuudr6n 802, includes in its inventory a trio of Fokker F-27-400 M PA Maritime Friendships,
one of which is seen obol'e.
Lcgislica Aerea comprising all support component's a nd
training elements. The Fllerzo Aerea was subdi vided into four
Commands: the Mal/do Aereo de Combate (MACOM), or Air
Combat Comma nd ; the Mando Aereo Taclico (MATAC), or
Air Tactical Comma nd; the Mando Aereo de Transporte
( MATRA), or Air Transport Command, a nd the Mando
Aereo de Canarias (MACAN), or Air Command of the
Ca naries. The Legislica Aerea was subdivided into the Mando
de Personal (MAPER). or Personnel Command; the Mando de
Material (MAMAT), or Mate rial Command , and the
Direccion de Injraestrllclllra Ai!rea (DINFA), or Air Infrastructure Directora te.
The combat elemenl
The EdA currently possesses an inventory of some 700 aircraft
of all types and a personnel strength of approxi ma tely 43,000
of which about 21 per cent are civilians, its largest component
element being, of course, the Fllerza Aerea, the principal tasks
of which are the maintenance of aerial superiority in areas vital
to the national defence, the control of national airspace a nd
defence of national territory against air a ttack, the destruction
or suppression of enemy forces, operations in support of the
ground and naval fo rces, and air transportation, Its units are
under the direct control of the Air Force Chief of Staff who is
respo nsible to the Minister of Defence, currently Tnte Gen
Emiliano Jose Alfaro Arregui .
MACOM , which has the primary task of air defence with
seco ndary strike and ground support roles, currently possesses
three fighter wings: Ala de Caza II at Manises-Valencia
consisting of Escuadrol/es 111 and 112 which share 19 Mirage
III EEs (of 24 procured in the early 'seventies) and six two-sea t
Mirage IIIDEs; Ala de Caza 12 with Escuadrones 121 and 122
at Torrejon and each having 18 F-4C a nd two RF-4C
Phantoms, and Ala de Caza 14 at AJbacete, which, a t the
present time, consists on ly of Escuadrim 141 with 24 Mirage
FI CEs, but EsculldrOIl 142 has already been form ed and will be
similarly equipped, 24 additional Mirages being on order for
this wing of which 20 are single-seat FI CEs and four are twosea t FI BEs. Each of the two component Esculldronesof Ala 14
will be assigned two of the two-seaters a nd it may be presumed
that Escuadron 141 will relinquish two of its single-sea ters to
Escuadron 142.
Whereas the Mirage FIC will continue in service with
MACOM throughout the 'eighties and into the 'nineties, the
successor to both the Mirage 111 EEs of Ala II and the F-4C
Pha ntoms of Ala 12 from the mid-'eighties was expected to be
announced shortly after this issue of AIR INTERNATIONAL
PAGE 276
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
closed for press a nd at which time frontrunner as the EdA's
FACA (Fuluro Avion de Combate y Araque, or Future Comba t
and Attack Aircraft) appeared to be Northrop's F-1 8L.
Current planningcaUs for procurement of two batches each of
72 FACAs in which CASA will have substantial manufacturing participation and which will almost certainly be linked
with the pending renewal of the five-yea r agreement for US use
of Spanish air and naval bases. It is anticipated that FACA will
enter EdA service from about 1985, and more than half of the
anticipated 144 aircraft will be assigned to MACOM to equip
four EsclladrOlles each with 24 aircraft (probably incl uding
two two-seaters). Pending availability of FACA, it is expected '
that the EdA will procure up to a dozen ex-A rmee de ('Air
Mirage illEs to bring Ala II up to full statutory strength.
In addition to its flying units, MA COM possesses an Ala de
Alerta y Cotllrol (Ea rly Warning Wing) which operates SADA
(Sistema de Dejerlsa Aerea Semiaillomalizado), the semiautomatic air defen ce warning and command system which
has seven sites with AN/ FPS-90 and - I 13 long-range radars, a
comprehensive communications network and a combat
operations centre where computers a utomatically process the
radar data . The SADA has been developed under the Combat
Grande progra mme, with both US and Spanish companies
participating, and the first phase was completed late in 1977,
with the seco nd phase, Combat Gra"de fI, commencing in the
follow ing year. The latter phase, which is still in process,
includes the addition to the system of a new rada r site in the
north-west of the Iberian peninsula, the upgrading of the
microwave network, the progressive integration of the Mirage
FICE interceptors into SADA, and an increase in the
effectiveness of integration with the Anny's SAM system.
The remaining MA COM unit is the Escuadrilfa 901, a light
transport a nd liaison flight equipped with CASA-buih
Domier Do 27As and based at Torrej6n de Ardoz, near
Madrid.
The MAT AC, or tactical element of the Fllerzll Aerell, is
intended to provide support for, to protect and to complement
the surface force s, although from some aspects this Command
might be considered more symbolic at the present time than
efficacious as it possesses but one fighter-bomber wing, a
maritime patrol and surveillance wing with only a half-dozen
aircraft, and AOP and liaison elements. The first-mentioned,
Ala 21, comprises Escuadron 211 with 17 single-seat RF-SAs
and F-SAs, and two two-seat F-SBs, and EsculIdro" 214 with
20 HA-220 Super Saetas and four HA-200 D Saetas, both
Esclladrolles being based at Moron. From the mid-'eighties,
the CASA-built North rops will be phased out in favour of
FACA, a nd the Super Saetas may follow suit, although it is
likely that the latter will be replaced by the anned version of
the CASA C- IOI Aviojet currently under development a nd
which may comprise the planned follow-on batch of28 C-IOl s
announced ea rlier this year by the Defence Mi nister.
MATAC's maritime unit is Alo 22 based at Jerez a nd which,
until July 1978, was operating the survivors of the 13
Grumman HU- 16B Albatross amph ibia ns received in the
'sixties, plus two of the three ex-US Navy Lockheed P-3A
Orions obtained in 1973. With the phase-out of the Albatross
amphibia ns, Ala 22 was reduced to a mere token unit
consisting of the two Orions of Escuadron 221 , and was hardly
able to patrol Spanish wa ters effectively. However, four more
P-3As were subsequently released from the inventory of the
US Navy and these have now been added to the strength of
Escfwdron 22 1 to provide a total fleet of six Orions.
AOP and tactical liaison tasks are fulfilled by Escllatlrilla
407 from Tablada, which operates the fi ve or so aged survivors
of the 13 Cessna 0- 1A Bird Dogs received from 19S8 onwards
a nd about 16 CASA-buiJt Do 27As. The future of this
MATAC unit is somewhat uncertain at the present time as the
Bird Dogs will shortly be phased out and the Do 27As will not
be long in following them. In view of the several other and
higher-priority programmes demanding funding in the coming
years, little is likely to be available for procurement of
replacement aircraft, although it is possible thaI a version of
the side-by-side two-seat primary curren tly under development to meet the EdA 's pilot selection ai rcraft req uirement
may provide an answer. Do 27As are also operated by
MAT ACs liaison flight , Escuadrilla 902, which, home-based
at Tablada, deploys its aircraft to several bases within the
Comma nd.
The Fuerza Aerea's transport force, MATRA, fulfils
missions on behalf of all three services, and its tasks also
include catastrophe relief, evacuation, rescue, etc, for which
three transport wings a re available. The first of these, the
primary task of which is heavy logistic support, is Ala de
Transporte 31 at Zaragoza, which currently operates 10
Hercules within Esclladrones 311 and 312, the fonner
operating the C- 130H and the latter the KC- 130 H version,
although Esctladrim 312 has yet to use its tanker-transport
Hercules for refuelling missions. However, flight refuelling kits
are to be installed in fi ve C-130H Hercules operated by Ala 31 ,
and an order for an additional KC-130 H was announced
earlier this year, bringing to 12 (8 C-1 30H s and 4 KC-130Hs)
the number of Hercules ordered by Spain and of which one of
each version remains to be deli vered. It will be reca lled that
Esculldrim 123, a third component unit of the Phantomequipped Ala 12, operated KC-97 L tankers until disbandment
in the mid-'seventics, and the planned increase in MATRA
flight refuelling tanker strength may presage use of this
technique wit h MACOM's Mirage F ICEs and, of course,
FACA.
MATRA's second wing, Ala de Trallsporle 3S, operates 20
CASA (C2 12AI , AAI a nd ABI ) Aviocars from Getafe for
light cargo and troop transport missions, a nd consists of
Escuatlrottes 3S1 a nd 3S2. The EdA has, incidentally, procured
a total of 7 1 of these extremely successful indi genouslydesigned Spanish light transports, including the two prototypes, and of these, 18 are equipped for photographic a nd
other missions. Some consideration has been given to the
possibility of modifying and re-engining the entire fleet to C212-200 sta nda rds in the mid-'eighties.
The remaining MATRA wing, Ala de Trllnsporte 37,
possesses only one component squadron, & cuadron 372,
which, based at Villa nubla, has 12 of the now elderly and wellworn DHC-4A Caribou transports which it operates in the
medium cargo and trooping roles. The withdrawal of the
Caribou is foreseen over the nex t two or three years, a nd a
successor is bei ng sought under the FATAM (Fu turo A I'ion de
PAGE 277
Trllnsporte Medio) programme which is currently at a fairly
early stage in definition, possible contenders including the
DHC-SD Buffalo recently demonstrated to the EdA,
Lockheed's Twin Hercules and even the Tra nsall C-I60. Like
the other Commands, MATRA possesses its Do 27Aequipped liaison flight , this, Escuadrilla 903, being based at
Zaragoza.
The Mando Aereo de Canarias, or MACAN , was created to
ca rry out the tasks of all three other Fuerza Aerea comma nds
wi thin the geographical zone of the Canary Islands which is
sepa rated from the Spanish mainland by some 810 miles ( I 300
km). With headquarters at Las Palmas, MACAN has a mixed
wing, Ala 46, with one fighter-bomber and one transport
squadron. The fonner , Esculldrim 464, has a complement of 17
F- SAs and RF-SAs, plus two two-seat F-SBs, and the latter,
Esclladrim 461 , has some 10 C-2 12AI/AAI Aviocars a nd a
single C-2 12A V I. During the course of the next two or three
years, the fonner Esculldrlm 462 is to be resurrected to operate
the last ba tch of 24 Mirage FI CEs and FI BEs to be delivered
to the EdA - re-equipment will foll ow that of MACO M's
Escuadron 142 - and result in a very substantial improvement
in MACAN 's air defence capabilities.
The SAR component of MACAN is Escuadroll 802 which
has added three FoHer F-27-400 MPA Maritime Friendships
to its inventory comparatively recently. In addition, this
EsclllIdron has two Agusta-Bell AB 20S helicopters which are
scheduled to be replaced by Agusta-built Sikorsky HH-3 Fs.
MACAN also includes an early warning and tactical control
squad ron which is responsible for the radar surveillance of the
Ca nary Isla nds zone air space and the cont rol of the F-Ss
during missions in support of land or sea forces.
Training and support
All training comes under the aegis of the Mando de Personal
(MAPER), or Personnel Command , of the Legislica Aerea,
which embraces a selection centre, five schools and two fl ying
groups. Future pilots spend a year at the Air Academy
Selection Centre (Cemro de" Seleccion de la Academia Generlll
del A ire) at Granada, the course including grading and initial
fl ying training on the CASA-built Bucker Bu 131 Jungmann,
which, having originated in the mid-'thirties, must surely be ----=;;:;;;:::;;;:;.;;;;;;:;;;::=:.~c~o~nt;nued page 297
on
(Above') Scheduled to be withdrawn soon are' the five or so remaining
Cessna 0-1 Bird Dogs which are operated by MATA C's £.scuadri/lo
407. and also approaching the end of their career in Spanish service are
elderly DHC-4A Caribou transports (be/ow ) oj &cuodr6n 372 at
Villanubla. ( Photos 'Knario' Azao/a)
RA F-specified reserves, and the maximum pa yload for shorler
ranges was 75 ,000 Ib (34020 kg).
Rolled O UI at Shorl 's Queen's Island , Belfast, fa ctory on 8
October 1963, the firs t of the 10 Belfasts initially ca rried the
civil registratio n G-AS KE, although the RAF seria l X R362
was applied befo re the first flight wa s made o n 5 Ja nua ry 1964;
subsequcnt aircraft were seria lled X R363 to XR37 1 inclusive.
Shorts in tended originally to obtain civi l certifica tion ror the
Belrast but soon realised that the production o r only 10 ror the
RAF gave too small a base on which to proceed. As it happens,
the aircraft used to obta in certificat io n in the course of the last
two years is the original G-AS KE, now re- registered G-BE PE
and provisiona lly marked G 52- 14 during fli ght testing.
Deliveries to the RAF bega n o n 20 January 1966, No 53
Squadron a t Brize Norton being the opera ti ng unit. Sho rts had
encountered considerable difficulties in bringi ng the Belfast up
to deli very standard , the payload-ran ge performance being
shown to be so me 10 per cent below specification when the
origina l ai rcraft were flight tested . The princi pal cause o r the
performance short fall was unpredicted suct ion drag on the
underside of the rear loading ramp/door, aggravated by the
int roduction of ventral strakes alo ng the ra mp ma rgins to
improve the low-speed ha ndling. Extensive wind-tunnel and
ad hoc flight testing had to be undertaken to find a so lution,
which eventually involved moving the strakes to the ext reme
rear of the fuselage, cha nging the shape of the tail cone,
improving the shape of the wing/fuselage trailing edge fairin g
and the undercarriage fair ing, a nd optim ising the position and
number or vortex generators o n the wing. Not until the
begi nning or 1968 were all 10 Bclrasts brought up to final
standa rd and rully opera tio na l with No 53 Squadron.
In the next eight years, this Squadro n flew so me 26 mi llion
miles (42·6m km) without major incident througho ut the
world , and particularly down the rou te to the Middle East a nd
Far East. On 14 september 1976, however, No 53 Squadron
disbanded and its aircraft were put up ro r sale; derence cuts
a nd the red uction in British commitments overseas had
rendered the Belfa st surplus to RA F requirements, altho ugh
each aircraft in the fl eet had fl own o n average o nly a litt le more
than 8,000 hrs.
group subsidiary, concluded a purchase agreement with the
MoD fo r ali i 0 a ircran - the Mi nistry being unwi ll ing to split
the balch - havi ng become co nvinced that the aircraft 's
features made it especially attractive for commercia l operation
in the "guppy" tradition . The airrreight market, it shou ld be
said here, ha s been undergoin g a revol ution in the last few
yea rs with the int roduct io n or large num bers of wide-body
passenger transports, the underfloor ho lds or which represent
a massi ve increase in the amo unt or freigh t capacity bei ng
nown around. As a result , ca rgo ca rriers whose fl eets a re
com posed largely of all-freight versio ns oflhe earlier " narrow
bod y" tra nsports, have bccn having a thin time and more than
o ne has go ne to the wal l. Aircraft able to accommodate ou tsize
loads have remained in demand, however - the Guppies, fo r
example, a nd the sole Ca nadair C l -44-0 Skymonster - a fact
tha t encourages Eurolatin to believe that their assessment or
the Belfast's potential in 1977 is valid today.
At the end of October 1977, Eurolatin joined rorces with
The Cunard Stea m-Ship Co (part of the Trafalgar House
Group) to fo rm a com pany called TAC Heavyli ft to operate
the Belfasts, Cuna rd holding a two-t hirds sha re a nd Eurola lin,
o ne-third. The na me TAC Heavylift was logical a t the time,
since Trara lga r House a lso cont rolled Transmeridian Air
Ca rgo (TA C) and it was foreseen that TA C Heavylift wo uld
runction as a di visio n of TAC. al so tak ing o ver the latter's Cl44-0 Sk ymo nster. When Tra ralgar House subsequent ly (in
August 1979) sold its interest in TAC to lAS Air Cargo,
lead ing to the fo rma tion of British Ca rgo Airlines, TAC
Heavylift remai ned a Cunard/Eurolatin subsidiary outside the
Commercial inleresl
THE BELFAST aUES CIVIL
HE a ir freighting business has long been called the
"sleeping giant" of the transportatio n market so it is not
T
wholly inapposite, perhaps, to say that the Short Belfast has
been the "sleeping gi~nt" among specialised air freighters.
Now, the Bel fast has awakened, and enters the field as the
newest cargo-carrier available to handle bulky, outsize and
awkwa rdly*shaped loads. Civil certification was awa rded to
the Belfast on 6 March 1980 by the CAA , just over 16 years
a fter first flight, and commercial operation began later in
M arch.
10 the intervening period between first flight a nd current use
as a civil cargo carrier, the Belfast has enjoyed a somewha t
chequercd but not unmeritorio us career. Originally conceived
to explo it the wing of the Bristo l Britannia, with civil
applications as much in view as military, the Short S.C.5
eventually took shape during 1959 to meet the specific
requirements of the RAF for a long-range strategic freighter
(to Specification C.203). The carriage of T itan and Blue Streak
missiles, and heavy and bulky items of ground equipment,
between the UK and the missile test range in Austra lia, was a
PAGE 278
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
As is custo mary with surplus military equipment , the Bclfa sts
were offered for sale by the Mo D. and this action drew the
a ttention or the Eurolatin Group, a compan y that had previously been associa ted with one or two of the smaller British
independent a irl ines. On 23 March 1977, Eurolatin Aviation, a
( Below) Pholographed at Slallsled 011 6 March - the day 011 which civil certification was obtained- Belfasl G- BEPE display s its T A C Heavylift til'ery,
also sholl'lI (opposite page) Oil the secolld of the civil BelfaslS, G- BEPS. Straighl-ill loadillg to the Belfast 's capacious hold is Olle of the aircraft 's
importanl features for civil freighlillg eluties.
primary design objective. Early hopes tha t the RAF would
o rder 30 were dashed when defence economies began to bi te,
and the contract fina lly placed in late 1960 was for o nly 10;
Sho rts planned to build 12, allowing two for possible civil
sales, but in the event these were never built.
By the time design was finalised, the Belfast C Mk I, as the
Short S.C.5 had meanwhile been named, had a closer affinity
with the Canada ir e lM than the Britannia (although the
C l-44 was itself, of course, a derivative of the Bristol turboprop airliner). The ClM's "wet" wing and Rolls- Royce Tyne
R.Ty. 12 engines were married to a completely new fu selage
which inco rporated sponson fairings to accommodate the
revised eight-wheel bogie main undercarriage units. This
undercarriage brought the fuselage cl ose to the ground to
facilitate straight-in loading thro ugh the rear-loading ramp.
The fu selage was of circular cross section, pressurised to a
differential of 6·55 psi (0,46 kg/cm2) and with an outside
diameter of 17 ft 7 in (5 ,36 m). Designed to cruise at 340 mph
(547 km/h), the Belfast was required to ca rry a 30,000-lb
(13608-kg) payload a distance of 3,450 mls (5552 km) with
PAGE 279
merger, but it was still intended that SCA would operate the
Belfasts on behalf of this company. With the collapse of S CA
earlier this yea r, however, TAC Heavylift has emerged as an
opera ti ng company in its own right.
While these somewhat drama tic developments a t compa ny
level took place, T AC Heavylift had been proceeding wit h the
considerable tasks of civil certification , for which the practical
assistance of Marshall of Cambridge was secured. Meanwhile,
a re-appraisai of the commercial prospects led Euro la ti n to
conclude t hat it wou ld not require a 10-aircraft fl eet,
pa rticularly as a very large supply of s pares had been obtained
fro m the RAF. Three Bel fasts were selectcd fo r civil
conversio n and the others were sold to Rolls- Royce Ltd,
(which was thus able to fulfil Aeritalia's urgent requirement
for a hatch ofTyne engines to power G.222 L transports for sale
to Libya!). In the event, four Belfasts were broken up by RollsRoyce at Hucknal l after removal o f th e engines and a fifth was
donated by R-R to the RAF Museum. TAC Heavylift has
secured an option to re-acquire the other two, making a
possible fleet of five eventually.Although Shorts had embarked o n civil certification an d
had applied fo r a C of A in 1965, a lmost half o f the task
remained incomplete when the decision was taken not to
proceed. The firs t job for Ma rshall of Cambridge, therefore,
was to analyse the vol umino us data supplied by Shorts, both
to establish the work t ha t rema ined outstanding and to make a
sta.rt on writing the necessa ry manuals. Certification of the
Rolls- Royce T yne was already completed. For the most part,
-/11 afidition 10 lheftrsl cM/ Belfasl, the fleet comprises G-BEPS ( teslflown by Marshall as G52-13) , ex- XR368: G-BFYU, ex-XR367 and the
/11'0 aircraft in reserl'e XR363 and XR365 .
the task - begun in July 1979 - proceeded smoothly; 120 hrs
o f flight testing were flown , but the la rger task of assessing and
writi ng-up the aircraft 's characteristics required 20,000 design
man-ho urs and 25,000 engineering ma n-hours.
As certificated in March, the Belfast is not quite unrestricted,
the CAA having required installation of a stick-pusher to'"
provide full stall protection. The RAF had been happy to
accept the Belfast's docile stalling characteristics with a dual
sta ll-warning system - stick shaker an d stick knocker (the
lat ter with an audio warning) - but the CAA has insisted o n a
stick-pusher because there is little aerodynamic warning of the
sta ll. As the stick-pusher will not be available fo r several
months, a special category C of A has been issued permitting
operation of the Belfa sts without them, and subject to ce rtain
restrictions, until January 198 1. Only then will the Belfasts be
allowed to carry passengers, using the so-called minstrel's
gallery - a short upper deck just behind th e flight deck o n
which up to 19 seats ca n be fitted .
By the end of 1980, TAC Heavylift expects to have three
Belfasts operating. They a re certificated to be fl own by threeman crews - two pilots a nd a fl ight engineer - but a fourth
man is also being carried on all flights until the unrestricted C
o f A is obtained, to meet the CAA requirement fo r a third pilot
to monitor airspeeds during all critical stages of flight. The
fourth man will also act as navigator until long-ra nge
navigation equipment - OMEGA o r I NS - has been fitled .
Flight refuelling probes carried by the military Belfasts have
been removed and the Smiths SEP 29 autopilo t has been
modified to a single cha nnel system since t he autoland
provision has been deleted. The mandatory cockpit voice and
fli ght recorders have been fitted, together wit h civil radio and
wea ther radar displays for the captain's position (originally
o nly the second pilo t'S panel had a display).
TAC Heavylift 's opera tional base is Stansted, from where
the Belfast's first revenue fli ghts began in mid-March. The .
engineering base is Southend , where the conversion work on
each aircraft is handled. To date, the company estimates it has
spent £4m to get the Belfast into operatio n; a no ther £ Im will
be spent converting the second and third aircraft and
developing and installing the stick-pusher. With a gross weight
o f 230,000 Ib (104 330 kg), the Belfast will carry a payload of
nearly 75,000 Ib (34020 kg), a nd its combination o f ho ld size
and ease of straight-in loading makes it unique. It is this
uniqueness that leads TAC Heavylift to believe tha t its three
aircraft will be able to achieve a n average utilisatio n of about
2,400 hrs a year each and thereby justify the investment that
has been made. 0
( Below) Olle ofTAC Heavy/ifl 'S Belfasls cruises ol'er SE Eng/and. ( Abo ~e left) The Belfast G-BEPS as originally paintedfor commercial service in
1979, when the operating company was 10 ha~e been Transmeridian Air Cargo; after the lafler company merged inl() the now.tJefuncl British Corgo
Airlines, lhe BelfaslS remained in the hands of T A C Heavylift.
COMBAT
AIRCRAFT:
THE
CURRENT
ISSUES
is mai nly concerned with discussing particular
aspects of combat aircraft design, development, operaT
tio n a nd marketing. However, it may be useful at this stage to
HIS COLUMN
take a b roader look at the current state of t he art, and run over
some of the major issues tha t are exercising the minds of the
decisio n-makers in the fighter and ground attack areas.
Starting at the lower end o f the spectrum , the most
important question is what kind of aircraft constitutes the
bottom li mit of the market, ie, what is the least expensive
ground attack aircraft that is still credible in the light of
developments in surface defences.
It would appea r the height of fo lly fo r an operator to invest
funds in a n aircraft that will hopefully stay in service for 15-20
years, yet which is too slow to attack insurgents armed with
today's SA-7. To the best of this writer's knowledge, the speed
th at is requi red to defeat this type of surface-air fire is a round
450 knots (835 km/h). This speed has to be achieved with
weapons in place. It might a lso be estimated that later models
o f these man-portable SAMs will push the speed demand up to
500 knots (925 kIn/h) before the end o f the century.
One class of a ircraft that will be affected by this minimum
speed issue is the new turbofan-powered primary-basic tra iner
generatio n, exemplified by the USAF XT- I (T-37 replacement). Powered by a singlc engine of 2,200-3,000 Ib (1 0001 360 kg) or two engines each of 1,000-1 ,600 lb (455-725 kg),
these aircraft will presumably reach a round 350 knots (650
km/h), and will thus (in my view) lack cred ibi lity in any
opera tional role. However, the XT- I manufacturer might well
ta ke a different view. In this same perfo rma nce category, Siai
Marchetti promotes the close support potentia l of the S. 211
trainer wi th what appears to me to be scant regard fo r the
lessons of the 1973 Middle East War and the counterinsurgency operation in Oman.
Moving higher up t he performance scale, Aermacchi deny the
existence of a target speed cut -off fo r the SA-7, emphasising
instead that somewhat slower speeds than this writer
advoca tes allow the attacking aircra ft to fl y lower, reducing
exposure time to ground defences a nd improving the chance to
manoeuvre to attack offset targets.
Confidence in this philosophy has enabled Aermacchi to
invest company money in developing a sin gle-seat version of
the MB 339 tra iner as a dedicated close support a ircraft. I can
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
\
PERSONAL VIEW BY ROY BRAYBROOK
SA-7: It changes everything
PA GE 280
I
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRIS WREN
o nly say tha t if I ran a small compa ny that had the world 's
best-developed basic jet t ra iner, one-third of the AMX
programme a nd a worthwhile production load o n t he Aerita lia
G.222 and Panavia Tornado, I would be less than eager to
invest in a ground attack aircra ft that achieves o nl y 485 knots
(900 km/h) clean. However, the future is difficult to predict: it
might well incl ude the single-sea t M S 339 selling like hot
cakes, a nd my good fr iend Dr Erma nno Sazzocchi (General
Manager, Technical, of Aermacchi) taking over t his column!
To me, the MS 339 appears to be a marginal case rela ti ve to
the 450 knot (835 km/h) criterion fo r penetration a nd attack
speeds, although a n increaSe in thrust or an improved wing
design may yet boost its credibility. In contrast, with a clean
level speed of o nly 368 knots (682 kIn/h) the credibility of the
Fairchild A- IO Thunderbolt II must rely heavily on the
reduced vulnerability to gro und fire achieved by armour,
separated engines and duplicated systems.
The current lack of export o rders for the A- IO must be partly
due to the aircraft' s limited maximum speed, but its unique
GAU-8/A canno n may also be a stumbling block to sales. If
this gun lacks credibili ty as a ta nk-killing weapon, then
Fairchild is partly to blame, having publicised trials in which
the GAU-8/A was fired horizontally at a tank lying on its side
in the desert. T he result was a spectacular photograph of the
projectile passing straight through the tank, but to some
observers it only emphasised the gun 's development background: a CO IN scenario in SE Asia, in which steep dive
attacks could be made against the soft top annour of a ta nk.
If the 30-mm GAU-8/A wi th its uranium -cored projectiles
can really defeat thearmourofa modern Soviet tank, then why
are Western ta nks weighed down with guns of 120-150-mm?
Talking with Fairchild marketeers, I gather the a nswer lies not
in the extra kinetic energy imparted to the round by the
aircraft, but in the fact t hat the A- IO will a ttack the thinner
ar mour at t he sides and rear , whereas NATO tanks need t he
capabili ty to penetrate the front armour.
From accounts of US exercises, the picture emerges o f the
scout helico pter detecting the tan ks, the a rmed helicopter
engaging the supporting ZSU-57-2 and -23-4 fl ak, while the A10 goes gunning for the tanks. All this cho reography must be a
deterrent to the less wealthy operator. Moreover, it is difficult
to visualise the A- IO sta ndi ng off to avoid overflyin g the SA-7s
of the supporti ng infantry, while working a round to the softer
aspects of the tanks.
PAG E 281
An impression of Ihe AMX ground-allock aircraft, now the subject of
join/ ltalianl Bra: ilian (Ie~'elopmenl anti possibly the closest approach yet
to ( 11/ updated I'ersioll of Ihe A-4 SkyhaM'k concept,
However, the uhi ma te comment on the A- IO originated
wit h a " Wa rthog"-driver, who said " This is Ihe ollly airpkme I
knoll' that gets bird-strikes/rom behilld!"
No ne of this refl ects on the use of the A-IO with Maverick
ant i-tank GW in stand-off attacks. Such operatio ns a rc readily
bel ieva ble, as is the employment of the two-sea t N/A W
(N ight/Adve rse Weather) version under margi nal visibili ty
conditio ns, using FLI R and WX-50 rada r to detect a nd attack
front-line ta rgets when vi rlUa lly every other gro und attack
aircraft is useless. One of the more interesting events at the
most rece nt Paris Ai r Show (1979) was a presentation by
Fai rchild Repu bl ic's President Dr Norman Grossmann, which
bega n with the press audience quite openly sceptica l of the
value of the A- lOin Europe, and ended with most apparently
converted to supporters of the two-sea ter.
The credibility of ground attack a rmament is also in
question in regard to some of the older types of rocket
projectile, both in the context of a rmour penet ration a nd in
exposure to return fire, especia lly the SA-7. Rockets a re less
expensive than cluster bombs, yet - given a large diameter
shaped charge and a very high velocity to mi nimise ballistic
drop - they ca n kill a ta nk without requiring the launch
aircra ft to overfly the ta rget. It is arguable that, with the
notable exceptions of Sweden and France, the West has
recently neglected the development of this very cost-effective
weapon.
Skyhawk Replacement
One oflh e largest ma rket secto rs for the 19805 is expected to be
the high-speed light/medi um ground a ttack aircraft , replacing
such types as the Hunter, MiG-17 and G.9 1 with wha t might
be termed an advanced technology A-4.
Two existing projects which may lay claim to fi llin g the need
a re the Hawk and Alpha Jet. In an overload condit ion the
Hawk's warload-radius performa nce is virt ua lly identical to
that of the much large r A-4 ta king-off a t maximum gross
weight. The Al pha Jet, fitted with an adva nced nav-attack
system a nd with Maverick GW in prospect, is now in service
wit h the Gennan Air Force in the light a ttack role, and is in
competition wit h the F-16 fo r selection by Belgium to replace
the Mi rage 5. Both the Hawk a nd Alpha Jet are com para ti vely
inexpensive to operate, but with a fl yaway price in the region of
Dm , they are di fficult to sell in competition with a secondha nd A-4 ma rketed a t a fraction of this price. Life-cycle cost is
still not a widely accepted criterion for procurement , ot herwise
these new lightweight a ircraft would win by a la rge margin.
The Hawk and Alpha Jet were each based on the concept of
spreading R&D costs over a large number of ai rcraft by
designing equa lly for the trainer a nd light attack roles. In
contrast, Saab proposed to develo p what was primarily an
attack aircraft, but could also be used for flying training. A
whole series of project studies ensued - the B3LA, A38, and
PAG E 282
AIR IN TERNATIONA L/ JU NE 1980
the A V-8 B. However, only time will tell if M DC has ga mbled
too heavi ly and too ea rly on carbon fibre. This wing certainly
has a great ma ny mecha nica l fa steners (potential fuel leak
pa th s), and its manufacture is reported ly sti ll labour-i ntensive,
bu t it docs re present a massive achievement in weight-saving,
which is j ust as vitally importa nt to Harrier devel opment as is
increased thrust from its Pegasus engine.
The tragedy is that UK-US collaboration on Harrier
im provement came so late in the day, primarily as a means to
win support fo r the A V-88 in Congress. If M DC expertise in
advanced composite ma terials had been blended fro m the
out set with BAe expert ise in subson ic aerodynamics, the result
would undou btedly have been a wing of bener performance
tha n any last-minu te Brit ish modifica tion to the basic shape
designed by M DC. This America n manufact urer is widel y
regarded as the world's lead ing exponent of supersonic
fi ghters, but the AV-8 B experience has demonstrated tha t no
single company excels across the whole combat aircraft
spectrum .
The AST.403 aircraft to replace Jaguar in RAF service may
also be a VISTOL design, if only to produce somet hing
noticeably di ffe rent fr om the Nort hrop F- 18L. This new
project from BAe Warton Division will differ in several
respects from the AST.409 Ha rrier replacement. Fi rstly, the
Jaguar replacement will enter service in the 1990s, whereas the
Harrier replacement (which will also re pl ace one Jaguar unit)
is sched uled fo r the mid-80s. Secondly. AST.403 involves
supersonic perfo rmance, since, alt hough ground a ttack
remains the primary role. a secondary dogfight C<"lpability is
req uired if only for self-defence in the compara tively long
penetrat ion and ext raction sortie segments.
In addition, the high energy propulsive jets required to
sustain high thrust in supersonic fli ght rule out the possibility
of the AST.403 aircra ft using fro nt -li ne dispersa l, due to
ground erosion problems. Such a supersonic VISTOL aircra ft
may be fully compatible with opera tion from bombed runways
(or from aircraft ca rriers in the case of the Sea Harrier
replacement), but a new form of powerplan t wi ll have to be
in vented before such a n aircraft ca n opera te fro m Harrier
dispersed sites in the close support role. Gencral Electric's tipdriven lift ing fans, and the jet a ugmentors used in the
Rock well XFV- 12A were both a ttempts to produce supersonic
V/STO L ai rcraft that took -off a nd landed on low energy jets,
but neither approach appears to have worked. Short of some
completely unforeseen development in the powerplant field ,
the only ai rcraft tha t can successfully replace the Harrier (and
AV-8A) is an improved Harrier . A commo n V/STOL
replacement for both the Harrier a nd Jagua r is out of the
question.
SK 2- each one being rejected in turn as excessively costly. As
things now stand, Sweden will either modi fy the J 35F Draken
or refurbish the SK 60 to fill the ··ground attack gap", and wi ll
buy a low-cost trainer a broad, probabl y the CASA C- I0 1.
Sweden had tal ked of collaborati ng wit h Italy in developing
a ground attack aircraft, bu t the lalLer's arms exports to South'
Africa ra ised pol itical object ions to the deal. The Aeritalia/
Aermacchi AMX is arguabl y the closest yet to an adva nced
technology A-4, although it does not seem li kely to provide
any significant red uction in size, improvement in warloadradius. or sa vin g in cost. The AMX will certainly bea t the A-4
in ai rfield performance and sustained turn ra te, but whether
these improvements justi fy a new project is deba table. One
interesting lesson for engine manufacturers a risi ng from the
AMX progra mme is that the old Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan
wa s chosen in preference to the Turbo-Union RB.1 99 and GE
F404 beca use these new advanced technology engines were
judged unaccepta bly expensive in the light attack contex t. This
( Abol'e) The Fouga 90, which Aerospatiale has recently decided 10
abandon and ( be/ow) the Sin; Marchetti S.2 11, one of Ihe nell' basic
trainer/clase supporl aircrofl discussed in Ihis article.
column has com mented in the past on the need for simple,
relia ble. low-cost military engines and on the futility of
spendin g astronomic sums chasing the last few percentage
points in specific fuel consumption. Now the Ita lians have
spelled it out to the engine ma kers with their AMX decision.
Despite the moderate cost of the Spey, the AMX will
presumably sell a t around the same price as the multi-role F16, hence it is difficult to see where the export market will lie.
However, one stro ng possibility is Brazil , where Aermacchi is
well established, and where the A-X req uirement (virtually for
a single-engined, half-scale A-IO) is now apparently being
rewritten to suit AMX, a nd a decla ra tion of intent to
participate in AMX development was made in March.
Britain's own ground attack force is expected to run down
until in the second half of the 1980s existin g Ha rriers a re
supplemented (and ultima tely replaced) by the AST.409
aircraft. Whether this big-wing Ha rrier deri va tive is the BAe
"tin-wing" Harrier Mk 5 or the MOe AV-8 B ··Advanced
V/STOL" (reference to the project's origins having been
dropped from AV-88 materia l) is shortly to be decided by
Mo D.
Too Much, Too Soon?
It has been obvious throughout V/STO L development that the
key to improved wa rload-radius perfo nna nce was light weight
structura l material, such as M DC has now used in the win g of
,.,
,.,
mind that country's very limited interest in a ny fQ rm of
stra tegic role. The case for a STOL strike aircraft (such as
Tornado) for the RAAF ha s been argued very strongly in the
past, based largely on the very low quality of most airfields
along the potential invasion coast. However, it now appears
that the RAA F will upgrade its bases in the north, ra ther tha n
specify STOL performance, presumabl y calculating on only
light airfield bombing and on rapid repai r schemes.
It can be argued thaI outside Europe the genera l need in the
strike fighter co ntext is for a n ai rcraft thaI is simpler, less well
equipped, and far less expensive tha n Tornado, accepti ng tha t
thjs means sacrifices in bad weather capability, blind terrain
fo llowing, rad ius of action and airfi eld perfonnance.
One of the major shortcomings in virlUally all strike aircraft
is their very limited penetra tion speed wit hout benefit of
afterburner. The one exception is the BAe Bucca neer, which
combines a reasonable amou nt of dry thrust with a fairl y high
wing loading a nd a rotary weapo ns bay that ca n take fo ur
1,000 Ib (455 kg) bombs a nd additio nal fuel. Th is is one of the
world·s outstanding a llack aircraft , but its pra ises have la rgel y
gone unsung because the RAF inheri ted it from the RN, a nd
beca use SAe a ppare ntly feared a ma rketing clash with
Tornado and Jagua r. However, wit h Tornado out of the
run ning in both Ca nada a nd Austra lia, it may be time for BAe
to ret hin k its attit ude to the Bucca neer.
Given a modern nav-attack system , a nd a longer-lasting
airframe, this aircraft might well find a substantial overseas
market. Fo r hot , high, short airfields, take-off migh t be
improved by replacing the Buccaneer's Speys wi th late-model
TF4 Is, but structural changes may make this expe nsive.
Returning to the multi-role fighter theme, Sweden plans to
develop such an aircraft (currently referred to as JAS-flY) to
A F(lirchil(i A· lOA Thunderbolt II (Iemonstfa/illg its /11t1I1oeUl·rtlbilil)' at
101l'/el·e!. Vulnerability 10 surface· fO-air m issiles is a delerrelltfO such
opera/iolls.
Wanlcd: a poor man's Tornado
This yea r will see the entry into service of the Panavia
Tornado, somewhat la ter tha n its original MRCA-75
designat ion im plied, although well a head of France's PA·7 5
nuclea r-powered aircraft ca rrier.
In its interd ict ion/stri ke version the Tornado should be the
ideal aircra ft fo r operations on the central front, a nd therefore
the ideal aircraft {o supplement and later replace USAF's FIll s in Europe. Unfort unately for Pa navia, thi s ETF
(E nhanced Tactical Fighter) requirement a ppears to be
bogged down by a debate within the USAF as to whether it
should also have a significant capabil ity in the air-ai r role. On
the other side of the Atla ntic, Northrop is hoping that ET F
will go multi-role in order to get the lo ng-awaited F- 18L off the
ground, presuma bly in the two-sea t form represented by a
mock -up at Paris last year.
Strike fighters (for want of a better term) will a lso be a
ta lking point in Australia this year, where the RAAF will
dou btless be out to prove tha t la nd-based air power can
elimi nate the need for a Melbourne-replacement, bearing in
PAGE 283
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replace the ViggeR, possibly in collabora tio n with a nother
Western country. The UK, USA and West Germany have
been talked of as possible partners in this enterprise, but none
of these countries is li kely to enthuse about collaborating with
Sweden, in view of that cou ntry's hard line on exports.
Israel is also to develop its own single-engined design (Lavi
or Young Lion), rather than importing the F·18A or F-1 8L to
replace its present range of ground anack aircraft . One of the
problems in any such new design is the very limited number o f
suitable engine types available. There is currently a distinct
gap in what this writer regards as the most desirable area, ie,
between the 16,000 Ib 51 (7255 kgp) GE F404 (selected for:
Llm) and Ihe 23,800 Ib 51 (10800 kgp) P&W FIOO. One
potential gap-filler is the SNECMA M88, advertised at a
thrust of 16,540- 18,745 Ib st (7500-8500 kgp), ailhough this
spread still appears on the low side.
The next engine generation might ,be the turning point for
SNECMA, a company which appears to have lagged badly
with the Atar series, and produced in the M53 an engine tha t is
not really powerful enough for the Mirage 2000. The fact that
this aircraft had to be withd rawn from the Canadian NFA
contest and was rejected from the Australian TFF contest
must reflect to some extent on the pe~formance achieved wi th
the present M53 . Given the much greater thrust of the P&W
F IOO, the Mirage 2000 might well equal the F-16 and F- 18 in
the dogfight role, and would obviously be far better in the
supersonic interception mission.
The nightmare comes true
Of all the combat aircraft categories, the one that promises to
produce the greatest number of sales is the F-5 replacement , ie,
the low-costlightweight air superiority fighter with a limited
ground attack capability. With F-5E sales declining over the
last several years, there has been a great temptation for other
manufacturers to develop a new aircraft specifically to satisfy
this ma rket. One problem has been to find a suitable engine.
However, an even greater deterrent has been the risk that
Northrop would rehash the F-5E around a more powerful
powerplant, and manufact ure the aircraft at a price that no
brand-new projcct could rivaL
Now that nightmare has come true, as Northrop is
proposing to develo p the F-5G with a single GE F404 (as used
in the twi n-engined F-18) in place of the twin GE J85s used in
the F-5E. If Northrop can get clearance to export this
advanced technology engine reasonably freely, then this
aircraft could sell in the num bers that make aviation histo ry.
The competing F- 16/79, ie, the Genera l Dynamics a ircraft
with a 179 in place of the sta nda rd F I 00, may fall between two
stools, being rather expensive fo r the mass market, yet too
derated for major air forces. The third option, proposed by
Rockwell, is to develop a completely new lightweight fi ghter
around the F404, using a forward- swept wing and composite
materials. Although this may be the best performer of the trio,
R&D costs are probably too high , unless the US comes to see
PAG E 284
AI R INTER NATIONAL/JUN E 1980
C HECK YOUR RECOGNITION:
I. MB 339; 1. Aero L.39; 3. Aero
L.19: 4. Fouga 90; 5. Hawk T Mk J;
6. Strikemaster; 7, CASA C-IO I: 8.
Alpha Jel ; 9. A-IDA : 10. Soko
Galeb; I I. Saab 105; 12. Saab SK-2.
EIFul'Y
Espanol
this aircraft as an even lower-cost complemen t to the low-cost
F-16 in the USAF and with other NATO air forces.
At the o pposite extreme to the F-5 replacement , there must
eventually be a hypersonic interceptor, if only to provide
identification capability against the SST in peacetime. In this
context it may be wo rth noting that the Grumman proposal
for the "Stealth Fighter" had the appearance of a singleengined Mach 3 aircraft in the SR·71 tradition (ie, a modified
delta), but with intake and exhaust "hidden" above the wing.
Nothing has been revealed of the Lockheed project that won
the contract (aside from several crashes), but it is j ust
conceivable that something in the nature of a Mach 3 cruise
fighter is already with us.
Future air superiority fighters may well trade in their gun
and GW armament in favour of some form of beam weapons,
which will eliminate the traditional problems of defl cction
firing, ballistic drop, projectile dispersion, radar glint , decoy
flares, fuzin g delays, etc. Beam weapons already under test
have destroyed small aircraft and missiles. However, if US
reports are truthful, the "gun" is extremely la rge and heavy,
and requires a great deal of power. Moreover, the beam suffers
from atmospheric attenuation at low altitude. This concept is
therefore currently seen as applicable only to bombers,
tankers, etc.
Such weapons may be ruled out for the dogfight aircraft for
some time into the fu ture, but there is surely some useful
potential in relatively low-powered lasers. To win the
traditional combat between single-sea t fighters , it is not
necessary to stop the enemy's engine or bisect his ai rframe. If
you can blind your enemy temporari ly (and there is a n analogy
here to specia l-purpose hand grenades used by some security
forces), then he doesn't stand a chance. Hardly cricket, but it
beats getting shot in the back! 0
in June 1935, a five-man
delegation from Spain's Direccion General de Aeronautica
arrived at Broo klands a irfield , Surrey. Its purpose was to
watch P W S " George" Bulman, Hawker Aircraft's chief test
pilot, demonstrate the Fury II trials aeroplane and the verve
with which this task was to be carried out was to set in motion
events that were to provide a fascina ting side-light on the air
war tha t was to erupt over the Ibe rian Peninsula barely more
than a year later.
During the previous summer, the Direcciim General had
begun studying the task of re-equipping the two Spanish
mi li tary aviation elements, the A",'acio" Militar and the
Aeronautica Naval, the aircraft inventories of which had fallen
to a lmost tota l obsolescence by international standards. The
situatio n of the fighter arm was particularly pa rlous, this
comprising six escuadrillas of Nieuport-Delage 52 sesquiplanes, the last of which had been completed by the HispanoSuiza fact ory a t Guadalajara in 1931, by which time the
licence-built fighter had been already obsolescent and
o utclassed by the service fighters of virtually every other
European nation. Acquisition of more efficacious fighters was
thus viewed as a mailer of the utmost urgency.
The task of selecting a suitable successor for the NiD 52 was
by no means simple, ho wever, as figh ter design had reached
something of a crossroads. The debut of such commercial
aircraft as the Lockheed Orion and the Boeing 2470, and the
bombers that had fo llowed in their train, capable of outpacing
virtually all service figh ters, had resulted in controversy among
air staffs concerning fu ture fighter requirements. It was a
classic case of traditionalists versus visionaries, and nowhere
more so than within the Direccibn General. The single-seat
canti lever monoplane with enclosed cockpit and ret ractable
undercarriage was not q uite so obvious an a nswer to the
newly-emerging requirements as hindsight might lead to
suppose. It was an innovatory concept a nd consequently
viewed with suspicion, not least by the fighter pi lots
themselves. It was dema ndi ng o n runway lengths; it was the
inferior in manoeuvra bility and handling of fighters of more
traditio nal configuration, and its complexity promised poor
serviceability. The conventionalists were co nvinced that allimportant air superiority over battle areas could be achieved
l::X>RTY-FlVE YEARS AGO TIltS MONTH,
r
I"
PAGE 285
only by means of classic aerial combat which placed emphasis
on powers of manoeuvre and relegated speed to a secondary
consideration.
Considera tio n of permutations o n and compromises
between the va rious dema nds tha t were likely to be made o n
future fighters were assigned high priority in the deliberations
of the Direccion General, but domestic distractions - political
crises, a fi na ncial sca ndal, industrial unrest and armed
uprisings in the provinces - conspired to delay physical
evaluation of fighters o n offer, and it was not until 10 Apri l
1935 that a Boeing Model 28 1, an e)(port version of the
USAAC's P-26A , arrived a t Barajas airfield, Madrid ,
providing Spanish pilots with an oppo rtunity to thoroughly
evaluate a relatively modern machine. Not that the Boeing
fighter was particularly advanced in concept, with its wirebraced win gs, open cockpit and fixed , spatted undercarriage,
but by comparison with the NiD 52 it was advanced. Prio r to
the commencement of evaluation by the Aviaciim M ilitar, the
M odel28 1 was demonst ra ted by Boeing pilots Les Towers and
Eric Nelson. It created an extremely favourable impressio n in
every respect other than price which was considered
inordinately high .
Nevertheless, cost no twithstanding, it was widely believed
that the Model 28 1 would be adopted for the Aviacibn M ilitar
until June and the visit to Hawker Aircraft by the Direccion
General delegation. The Hawker Fury was not a new fighler.
( Head ofpage) The Ihird Spanish Fury photographed prior 10 delil·ery.
and (below) one of Ihe Furies shortly after ils arrjval at Guadalajara.
Note the crudely painted red panels on the rear fuselage.
One of lhe Furies during re-assembly al Guadalajara. This process had
been compleled and lhe briefesl f/igh t testing undertaken when hostilities
erupted.
lb (422 kg) for the Rolls- Royce engine. and a nomi nal ra ting of
612 hp. In September. when negotiations were finalised.
Hawker Aircraft received drawings a nd data for the HS 12Xbr
engine and four draughtsmen immediately began a feas ibi lity
installation design.
It was at this ti me that the Hawker team proposed adopt ion ~
of cantilever undercarriage legs to take advantage of the
newly-developed Dowty internally-sprung wheel , which .
together wi th a low-drag radiator, was to translate what was
now referred to simply as the "Spanish Fury" into one of the
most elegant fighte r bipla nes ever built. It was envisaged that
the Span ish aircraft would event ually moun t a pair of 13,2-mm
Hispa no machine guns, but a fina l decision regarding
armament had still to be taken and therefore Hawker Aircraft
was as ked to allow for a universal mounting capa ble of
accom modating Hispano machine guns of either 7,92-mm or
13,2-mm cali bre, or Vickers Mk 5 guns of the smaller calibre.
On 3 October, the feasibility of the HS 12Xbr engine
installatio n had been confirmed a nd dra ft cont racts a nd draft
licence agreements were drawn up, these being signed, in the
event . towa rds the end of the month.
Works orders coveri ng detail design and ma teria! acquisition were raised on 24 and 28 October respectively, the
primary a nd se(:ondary structures had all bee n assembled by I
December. and on 28 December, the fi rst HS 12Xbr engine.
minus ca rburettors and ma nifolds. was delivered to the
Ca nbu ry Pa rk Road assembly shops, Ki ngsto n-on-Thames.
T he HS 12Xbr engine was supposed to have one HispanoSuiza carburettor for each pair of cylinders. but for some
obscure reason, the Spa nish authorities initiall y rcfused details
of the carburetLors and large-bore Zenith carburettors had to
be temporarily fitted. On 23 Ja nuary 1936. when the two
remaini ng engines reached Hawker Aircraft, they were
accompa nied by 18 wooden carburettor mock-ups. but fi nally,
at the beginn ing of March. worki ng carburettors began
\
')
arrive. and a month later. the fi rst Spanish aircraft was
transported to Brooklands where it flew for the first time on 7
April, the second and third following it into the air on 17 and
23 April respectively.
Two factory flight tests were co nducted with each of the fi rst
and second figh ters and one flight test was made with the third,
one of the "Spanish Furies" being briefty evaluated at
Martlesha m Heath before. early in May, the trio of aircraft,
sporting the red-gold-purple markings of the Second Spa nish
90 Lower wing rear spar
attachmen t
91 Front spar attachment
92 Lower wing labric covering
93 Lower wing rib construction
94 Interplane struts
95 Wooden ribs
96 Plywood-covered leading
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Pon aileron
Aileron crank
Aileron cable
Gravity lueltank
Filler cap
Main lueltank
Tank mountings
Filler cap
Oil tank.
Fuselage tubular framework
Upper longeron
Lower longel on
Riveted Iramework joint
Vickers 0-303-in (7.7·mm)
machine guns
45 Gun muule trough in
luel tank
....
97 Double tubular section spars
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Indeed, its genesis lay in a 1927 specifica tion, but Hawker
Aircraft had refined and honed the basic design in parallel with
development of the Rolls- Royce Kestrel engine and was
engaged in fina lising the production Kestrel VI -powered Fury
II , which, based on the Intermedia te a nd Hi gh-Speed Furies,
and embodying increased fuel tankage, promised a no teworthy improvement in all-round perfo rma nce. The Fury II
trials aeroplane demonstrated to the Spa nish delegation was,
in fact, a Fury I (K 1935) acquired by Hawker Aircraft ofT Air
Ministry Charge, a nd filted with a 640 hp Kestrel VI and wheel
spa ts. This aircraft had clocked speeds of the order of 228 mph
(367 km/h) when evaluated at Ma rtlesham Hea th , these being
only fi ve per cent lower than those of which the Boeing
monoplane was capable, and in almost every other respect climb, manoeuvrability, handli ng, ease of manufacture a nd
maintenance. a nd cost - the Hawker fi ghter presented a much
more a ttractive proposition to the Spaniards.
As a result, negotia tions began for procurement of three
Fury fi ghters as pattern aircraft for a series of 50 tha t it was
proposed to build under licence at the Hispano-Suiza facto ry.
However. Don Miguel Ma teu, the director of La HispanoSuiza, requested that the Kestrel VI engine be supplanted by
the Hispa no-Suiza 12Xbr, which, developed by La Societe
Fra ncaise Hispano-Suiza, it was proposed to manufacture at
the Seccioll de Aviacicm. Whereas the Kest rel VI was a fully
supercha rged engine, the HS l2Xbr was unsuperchar ged but
had a dry weight of only 782 1b (355 kg), as compared with 975
PAGE 286
AI R INTERNATIONA L/ JUNE 1980
Control column
Instrument panel
Tailplane incidence control
handwheel
Sa felY harness
Harness release cable
Pilo(s seat
Seat adjusting level
Priming handpump
Footboards
Rudder pedal bar
Oxygen bollie
Battery accumulator
3
Hawker Spanish Fury Cutaway Drawing Key
1 Staner dog
2 Spinner
3 Watts two -bladed wooden
p'opeller
4 Pr opeller attachment boilS
5 Spinner backplate
6 Propeller reduction gear
7 Blister lairing
8 Engine cowlings
9 Hispano-Suiza 12Xb, 12 ·
cylinder liquid-cooled engine
10 Cowling allachlMnt Sllut
1 I Exhaust stubs
12 Carbureltors
13 Engine mounting beam
14 Engine support framework
15 Carburettor intake duct
16 Water system header tank
17 Filler cap
18 Coolant pipe
19 Air intake
20 Engine companlMnt bulkhead
21 Centre section " N" struts
22 Wing cenlre·section structure
23 Handgrips
24 Qutar wing spar attachmant
25 Plywood· covered leading
edges
26 Pilol/static tubes
27 Tubular Sleellront spar
28 Tubular steel rear spar
29 Spar bracing strut
30 Diagonal bracing wires
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PILOT PRESS
COPYRIGHT
DRAWING
46 Cartridge case and link
ejector Chute
47 Ammunition lank., 600
rounds per gun
48 Gunsight
49 Pilo(s windscreen
50 Padded cockpit coaming
51 Throttle and mixture con trol
levers
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89
Cockpit plywood back
bulkhead
Rear fuselage top decking
Sefety harness attachment
Do/sal lrames
Wooden stringers
Rear fuselege structure
Tailplane control cables
Fin attachment
Fin structure
Fabric covering
Aeria l post
Rudder construction
Slernpost
Rudder hinge
Tailplane bracing wire
Tailplane incidence con trol
jack
Tailplane Iront mounting
Starboard elevator
Elevator operating arm
Fixed bracing stru t
Access panel
Tailskid
Tailskid shock absorber
Aircraft lIestling point
Fuselage bonom longeron
Access to rear fuselage
structure
98
99
100
101
102
Watal system radiator
Oil cooler
Main undercarriage leg
Undercarriage leg lairing
Dowty "sprung -hub"
mainwheel shock absorber
103 Pon mainwheel
104 Starboard mainwheel
105 Wheel disc lairing
PAG E 287
Republic and the respective matriculaciones 4·1 to 4· 3-, were
forma ll y accepted at Brooklands by the Spanish air attache,
Commandante de las Morenas, and Commandame Aleman ,
together with a single two·seat Osprey, former ly Hawker
Aircraft 's demonstrator G·AEBD, which had been re.engined
with an HS 12Xbr and flown on 24 February. Subsequently,
the fo ur aircraft were transported to Spain, arrivin g at
G uadalajara airfield on II July 1936, together with a Hawker
Aircraft team including three test pil ots, "George" Bulman,
Phili p G Lucas and John S Hindmarsh.
Fact and fiction
The day that the Furies reached G uadalajara was to be a
particularly raterul one in the history or Spain, ror on the same
morning, a D.H . 89 Dragon Rapide G·ACYR, chartered from
Olley Air Services to carry four " tourists", took·off rrom
Croydon bound for Gand6. Gran Canaria - the opening
move in a chai n of conspiratorial events that was to lead
exactly one week later, on 18 July, to the outbreak or the
Spanish civil war. Thus, the Hawker Aircraft team barely had
time to assemble and brieHy test its charges before chaos and
violence erupted all around. necessitating the team's
·The matriculacion, or registration, used by the Aviaci6n Militar
comprised a number denoting Ihe aircrafltyre ( which. in the case of the
Fury was "4") followed by an individua airerafl number assigned
sequentially.
evacuation to Madrid and then to the UK. The 13,2·mm
Hispano heavy machine guns had never ma terialised a nd
thererore the Furies mounted no armament when left at
Guadalajara by the Hawker Aircraft personnel who had no
time to give more than the most rudimentary inst ruction to
three Spanish pilots, who, in the last week or July, were to Hy"
the fighters to Getafeairfield, Madrid, where the bulk or the air
rorce remaining loyal to ~he Republic was concentrated.
From this point, the ca reers orthe Furies in Spa in were to be
recorded in a stra nge melange or ract and fiction, much or the
fictitious - such as the claim that one Fury changed sides
several times, resulting in complaints rrom both sides that the
UK was supplying fighte rs to their respective opponents, a nd
that a nother served in the role of dive bomber - persisting to
this day. Regrettably, it is not possible to reconstruct with
chronological exactitude the early opera tional activities of the
fighter trio as such official records as may have been kept
duri ng the early conrused weeks of fighti ng have either been
destroyed or remain inaccessible, but it is known that the
Furies, still without armament, were sent on patrols in order to
raise the morale of the Republican militia gathering in the
Guadarrama mountai ns to block the Nationalist advance on
Madrid from the north.
At this time, the Fury was the fa stest aircraft Hying over the
Iberian peninsula. With a loaded weight of 3,880 Ib (I 760 kg),
includin g 67 Imp gal (3041) of fuel, the Spanish Fury was the
heaviest of any member or the Fury fighter series, but its
brochure performance included a maximum speed of234 mph
(377 kmth) at 13,1 25 ft (4000 m), although Andres Garcia
Lacalle, who was to fl y more sorties with the Fury than any
Spanish pi lot, was later to state that neither he nor any other
pilot ever reached this figure. Lacalle, who was a sergeant pilot
when hostilities began and rose to command a Republican
fighter escuadra berore they ended, commented that the Fury
was a delight to Hy and in a class entirely of its own a mong the ·
fighters in Spain a t the time: it was invariably docile no matter
how roughly it was handled ; it was strong yet superbly
sensitive and its dive recovery characteristics were the sweetest
imaginable.
( Above) One of the Furies at Guadalajara immediately prior to transfer to Getafe, Madrid. and (belo w) the Fury that suffered a heavy landing while
beingftown by Andres Garcia Lacalle photographed affer being rebuilt some considerable time later by the Hispano·Suizafactory.
Early in August, a rter Hying almost continuous "morale·
boostin g" patrol s throughout the day, LacaJle miscalculated
his landing approach as a result of ratigue and landed one of
the Furies heavily - there is no means of confirming which of
the three it was - necessitating its return to Guadalajara ror
repa ir. The Hispano·Suiza facto ry had meanwhile been
ordered to resume production of the antiquated NiD 52 fighter
- this really meant the restoration to airworthy condition of
the least dilapidated examples or the fighter by cannibalising
the most worn - a nd in the foll owing month was to be
transferred lock, stock and barrel fo r sa rety to La Rabasa, near
Alicante, in Murcia . No spares were immediately available ror
the repair or the Fury - in February of the following year,
Hawker Aircraft was to receive a req uest ror a pair of Dowty
internally·sprung wheels which it may be presumed were
needed for the undercarriage damaged by LacaJle - a nd this
aircraft was never again to be seen in the Madrid area.
During the few days following LacaJle's heavy landing, the
two remaining Furies were each armed with a pair or 7,92·mm
Vickers guns procured fro m damaged NiD 52s and flown in
rotation by Lacalle, Felix Urtubi- a nd other experienced
pilots. On 10 August, Capitan Angel Salas Larrazabel, later to
become a Nationalist "ace", encountered one of the Furies
over Buitrago, some 50 miles (80 Ian) north or Madrid, while
Hyinga n "escort" mission ror Bre 19s with a converted D.H .89
Dragon Rapide (ex·G·ADCL). After a " 15·minute duel",
Larrazabel succeeded in escapi ng in to clo ud, but the
indecisiveness of this action would suggest the Fury's hastily·
fitted armament was not runctioning.
While one or the Furies was retained a t Getafe, the other,
piloted by Urtubi, and supported by two NiD 52s, was sent
south to Don Benito, some 30 miles (50 km)due east or Merida
and directly in the pa th of the main Nationalist drive on
Madrid rrom the south . On 19th August, Urtubi gave chase to
a Nationalist Ju 52t3m, pursuing it as far as the Portuguese
border. According to his own story, he was so intent on
catching his quarry that he fai led to watch his fue l gauge and
suddenly found himself forced to la nd dead stick on the road
between Badajoz and Albuquerque. Some two years later, the
late Charles G Grey, then editor of Th e Aeroplane, was told,
du ring a visit to Nationalist Spain, that Urtubi's Fury had
crash· la nded after shooting off its own propeller as a result or
defective synchronisation gear. Be that as it may, Urtubi's
efforts to burn the Fury proved ineffective, and the fighter.
shorn of its wings, was displayed by the Nationalists in
Badajoz a nd other towns. It was later taken to Tablada,
Sevilla, where it was rebuilt. It again suffered damage when
being tested by a Nationalist pilotf and this necessitated the
Fury being rebuilt fo r a second time, but it was not placed in
operational service as was subsequently to be claimed.
Two down and one to go
By 20 August, the Nationalists had some 10 He Sis a nd eight
CR.32s, besides 14 NiD 52s, opera ting over Extremadura and
La Mancha, the sole surviving Fury being the only Republican
fighte r capable or meeting the Germa n a nd Italian fighters on
anything like equal terms. The arrival a t Getare and Barajas of
14·16 Dewoitine 0 37 1 and 372 parasol monoplanes (of 24
fl own to Ba rcelona from France 4·8 August) initially did
nothing to redress the imbalance as they had been stripped in
France of guns, synchronisation gear and a mmunition boxes.
The remaining Fury thus continued to " hold the rort" until , at
·Urtubi had just defected from the Nationalists at Tetulm in a are 19
after shooting his Falanguist observer.
t It is possible Ihal the loss of the propeller as a result of malfunctioning
ofthe gun synchronisation mechanism was, infact. the cause ofthe crash
at Tablada and Ihat eGG had misunderstood the interpreter. Alleast.
when he saw the Fury in 1938. it had been rebuilt for the second time and
eGG subsequently wrote thai "the Ha wker people would be proud ofit . ..
PAGE 288
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
(Abo~e and below) The Fury in which Felix Urtubi made a dead stick
landing behind the Nationalist lines seen in Nationalist markings after
re·construction. This aircraft wasflown over Madr id on the day that Ihe
Spanish conflicl terminated.
the end or August, the first three Dewoitines had received
a rmament and. Hown by French volunteers. were sent to
Gamonal, Talavera de la Reina (not to be confused with
Gamonal, Burgos) to reinforce the Fury a nd two NiD 52s
commanded by Laca lle. On 31 August, the French fighters
made their combat debut, when, in concert with the Fury.
three 0 372s engaged rour C. R.32s in a dogfight, destroying
two without loss.
.
Ea rly in September, rurther reinrorcement arrived in the
form of five Loire 46s, together with a host of fo reign
volunteers, rew with military experience and none speaking
Spanish, whose first contribution to the war effort was to
wreck hair the remaining Ni D 52s during probation Hights. At
this time, Getafe. as Lacalle was to recall , was like a "boiling
pot", with airmen and would·be airmen arguing in a dozen
languages, with endless visiti ng deputa tions of roreign
politicians (who gave stirring orations through interpreters),
journalists and privileged sightseers, some accompanied by
wives or other ladies whose precise runctions were never
questioned too closely, being given conducted tours on a daily
basis. In the midst orthis, the Fury wasjealously guarded from
roreign pilots, but was unrailingly and proudly pointed oUI to
visito rs. It thus became the object of some peculiar legends.
For example, the British ambassador in Bucharest was
surprised to be told by the Rumanian Air Minister, Irimescu,
during a diplomatic banquet, that "the British have sent one of
their newest Hawker Furies to Spain, together with one of
their best pilots to test it thoroughly. It has given a great deal of
trouble but the Italians have now brought it down! " In his
subsequent report, the ambassador said: " I asked lrimescu
whether they [the Italians] had shown him the pilot's obituary
notice in The Times. He replied in the negative, but I see no
reason to believe that lrimescu invented the story a nd I assume
that the Italian Air Force believes it to be true." In fact, the
Fury was never fl own by a ny or the six or seven British
volunteers selected to Hy fighters, nor tested by the advance
party of Russians that arrived at Getafe at this time.
The claim or one or the leading NationaJist "aces", Joaquim
Garcia Morato, to have shot down a Fury over Olalla, near
continued on page 305
PAGE 289
with a turboprop engine and tandem sea ting, named the
Caraja, gained no official backing, but a less radical
development emerged in 1978 as the Universal 11 , with piston
engine a nd side-by-side scating, making its first ftight on 15
October.
Meanwhile, J oseph Kovacs, designer of the original "
U ni versal, had joined EMBRAE R and the Air Ministry
decided that further development ofa new basic trainer shou ld
be ent rusted to the latter company, the design department of
which was short of work follow ing the cancellatio n of the AX
light attack a nd CX tactical transport projccts. Under the
directio n of Kovacs, EM BRAER first studied the U ni versal II
design under the designat io n EMB-301, and a turboprop
va riant (resembling the Caraja) as the EMB-3 1!' Out of these
EMBRAER'S
NEW TRAINER
T ATEST details of the EM BRAER EMB-312 basic trainer to
L emerge from Brazil show that the aircraft has undergqne
a major redesign since the first illustrations were released a
year ago. The illustrations accompanying this short account
show the aircraft, designated T-27 by the Forra Aerea
Brasileira. in its definitive (onn, as soon to enter flight lest.
Taking a leaf from the US aircraft industry book, EMBRA ER
has anno unced that first flight will be made on 19 August ncxt
- just over 20 months from the date (6 December 1978) on
which the Brazilian Ministerio do Aeronaulica placed a
cam raCl with EMBRAER for four prototypes of the new
tra iner, incl uding Sia lic and fatigue test speci mens.
A comparison o f the drawings publi shed here with those
included in ··A IR INTERNATIONAL'·/August 1979 (AirData
File) shows that the c hanges include a sho rte r fuselage with
upright rather than swept-back fin a nd rudder a nd a slightly
more humped cockpit to improve the instructor's view from
the rear cockpit; increased wheelbase, with the nosewheel
farther forward ; small increases in the span of the wing and
ta ilplane and in the undercarriage track; increased elevato r
area and elimination of the wing root forward extensions. A
mock-up o f the forward fuselage, including the cockpit, was
completed at Sao Paulo towa rds the e nd of 1979 and has been
used to establish the layout of the inst rument panels. A radiocontrolled scale model is being used for free-ftight tests,
particula rly in respect of spinning qualities.
In the first instance, the T-27 is required by the FA B to
replace the Cessna T-37s currently in service at the Academia
da Forc:a Aerea (Air Force Academy), at Pirassununga, where
it is expected to ente r service in 1982/ 83. S ubsequently, it may
also be adopted more wide ly to replace the Neiva T-25
U niversa l in the training c urriculum, between the T-23
Uirapuru II ab inilio trainer a nd the AT-26 Xavante that
provides the fin al stage ofjet conversion and weapons tra ining.
The FAB has some T-37Cs in service and has purc hased a total
of 140 T-25 U niversals, so the ultimate requirement fo r T-27s
runs into three figures, no t incl uding prospective exports.
Although the T-27 is now an almost who lly new design, its
origins in fac t lie in vario us proposals made by Neiva duri ng
the last decade as part of its efforts to find a production
programme to follow-on the T-25 Universal. O ne of the ea rlier
proposals, for a light a tlack a ircraft based on the U ni versal
PAG E 290
AlA INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
EMBRAER T -27 Specification
Po",·er Plant : One Pratt & Whitney PT6A-25C turboprop rated
at 750shp for take-offand max continuous operation at 30·5 deg
C. at 700 shp for max cruise at 19·5 deg C a nd a t 580 shp for
inverted flight (35-sec limit). Hartzell three-bladed constant
speed propeller. Fuel capaci ty, 180 US gal (6801).
Performance: Max speed, 247 kt (457 kmJh) at 13,100 ft (3993
m); max cruising speed. 236 kt (438 km/h): stalling speed. sea
level, max weight, 67 kt (124 km /h) flaps down. 73 kt (135 km/h)
flaps up: initial rate of climb, 2, 130 ft Jmin (10.8 m/sec); service
ceiling, 32.600 ft (9936 m): Lake-off run, max weight. sea levcl.
951 ft (290 m); take-off distance to 50 ft (15.2 m). 1.673 ft (5 10 m):
landing distance from 50 ft (I5.2 m), 1.657 ft (505 m); landing
run. 787 ft (240 m); range. long-range cruise at 15,000 ft (4 575 m)
with 30-min reserve. 1. 140 naut mls (2 112 km).
Weights: Max take-off and landing weight. 5.180 lb (2 350 kg).
Dimensions: Span, 36 ft 6t in ( 11 ,14 m): overall length. 32 ft 71 in
(9,94 m); overall height, 11 ft 6 in (3,40 m): undercarriage track.
12 ft 4 in (3,76m); wheelbase, 10ft 41 in (3, 16 m): gross wi ng area,
208·9 sq ft (19,41 m~).
Accommodation: Two pilots in tandem with full dual controls.
under one-piece sideways-hinged canopy: Martin Baker Mk 8L
ejection seats.
Armament: Four wing pylons to carry bombs (up to four 250-lbl
I 13-kg), rocket pods (four) or machine gun pods (two); max
external load. 1.235 Ib (560 kg).
studies, the EM B-312 emerged during 1977, the principa l new
feature then being the raised rear cockpit and the introduction
of ejection seats. As already indicated, EM BRAER planned a
completely new tail unit with a swept-back fin and rudder, but
a design closer to that o f t he original Universa l has now bcen
adopted.
The provision o f fo ur wing hardpoints allows the T-2 7 to be
used fo r weapons tra in ing and lig ht attack duties, a lthough the
primary requirement of the F AB is purely for a fl ying trainer.
With a total capacity of I ,2351b (560 kg), the pylons can carry
four 25-lb ( II -kg) Mk 76 practice bom bs, four 250-lb (113,5kg) Mk 8 1 bombs, four LM-37/ 7A o r LM-70/7 rocket pods
com a ining Avibras SBAT-37 o r S BAT-70 fo lding fin rockets
respectively, or two g un pods each containi ng a 7,62-mm
machine gun and 350 rounds. A OF Vasconcelos RFR-OI
fixed re fl ex-type gunsig ht is fitted for the a rmament-training
rolc. With the smaller load s (machine gun pods, 25-lb/l l-kg
bombs o r LM-37/ 7A pods) the T-27 can still carry full internal
fuel a nd remain within the max weight; the heavie r loads call
for some reductio n in fuel.
Alt ho ug h the latest wing redesign has reduced the interna l
fuel capacity a little, the T-27 has an e ndurance of up to four
hours. likely to be more tha n adequate for the tra ining role,
and t here is no requirement for cx te rna l fuel tank s to be
ca rried. T he a ircraft is stressed fo r aerobat ic manoeuvres
( +.6g , - 3g) and the PT6A-25C engi ne is specially adapted to
permit up to 31 sccond s of inverted flight. Advanced
construction methods a re being adopted. in keeping with
EM BRA E R's general philosophy, including the use of
integral machining by numerical cont ro l machinery, chemical
milling and meta l-to-metal bonding. 0
48
49
50
51
52
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
Mainwheel well
Main spar
Rib cut-outs (Iuel tank)
Mainwheelleg retraction Strut
Mainwheelleg pivot
(inwards)
Port mainwheelleg
Axle strut
Hub
Port mainwheel
Landing/taxying light station
Spar transition
Port end rib
Port aileron
Wing structure
Aileron hinge
Port flap section
Wing ribs
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
Wingroot fillet
Access hatch
Fuselage angled frame
Aft ejection seat
Control column grip
Instrument console
Canopy hinge point
Headrest
Seat mechanism
Oxygen cylinder stowage
53
54
a
0
EMBRAER T-27 Cutaway Drawing Key
1 Spinner
2 Three-blade Hart:tell HC B3TN constant-speed
propeller
3 Propeller hub
"
27 Hinged (starboard) one-piece
canopy
28 Fuellitler access
29 Starboard wing
30 Landing/ taxying light
31 Access plates
32 Starboard wingtip
33 Starboard aileron
34 Starboard flap section
35 Canopy hinge point
36 Forward cockpit
4 Reduction gear casing
5 Pratt & Whitney PT6A-25C
engine
6 Exhaust
7 Nose frame
8 Bifurcated intake trunk
9 Nosewheel pivot
10 Intake
11 Nosewheelleg
12 Torque link
13 Retractable nose wheel
14 Axle fork
15 Shimmy damper
16 Retraction strut
17 Intake trunk support frames
18 AUMiliary side intake scoop
19 Ducting
20 Nosewheel well
21
22
23
24
Rudder pedal surround
Engine bearer suppons
Engine aft section
Engine bearer support
aUachments
25 Bulkhead/ instrument panel
26 Cockpit forward sill
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
Control column grip
Cockpit coaming
Forward ejection seat
Headrest
Seat mechanism
Seat suppon
Seat pan frame
Spar centre-section carry·
through
45 Fuselage structure
46 Wingroot
47 Wing spar/ fuselage
attachment
81
82
83
84
85
"'V
Radio equipment bay
Main access hatch
Fuselage frame
Stringers
Fuselage structure
Fuselage/tailfin root support
struCture
Strengthaning plate
Lower longeron
End post
Tailplane structure
Tailplane spar
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
Elevator balance
Port elevator
Elevator trim tab
Taillin spars
Starboard tailplane skinning
Starboard elevator
Elevator balance
Tailfin leading-edge
Taillin structure
Rudder balance
Rudder post
Rudder frame
75
76
77
78
79
80
PAG E 291
DC-9
from page 272
(2352 km) out of 4,000-ft (I 200-m) runways. This project has
replaced the earlier DC-9-QSF a nd, as before, the Japa nese
market is the prima ry ta rget.
Taking the place of the DC-9 Srs 60 project is a version of
the Super 80 referred to as the Super 80S o r Super 80LR. This
would make use of one of the new genera tion of engines such as the C FM -56 o r RJ -500 (the Anglo-J apanese deri va ti ve
of the RB.432) - or the Pratt & Whitney STF-5 17, a projected
24,500 Ib 5t (11 11 3 kgp) unit retaining some JT8D features.
With a gross weight going up to 165,000 lb (74 844 kg), the
Super 80S could again be stretched. by as much as 9 n 6 in (2,89
m) ahead of and behind the wing, to increase the accommodation by three seat rows ( 15 seats). As the wing would require
no further development, the Super 80S would be cheaper to
develop than was the Super 80 itself, but its future is obviously
related to any decisio n McDonnell Douglas may make in
respect of the ATM R·2, an a ll-new twin-jet tra nsport of about
the same size and payload/ra nge performance.
The first DC-9
A news release dated 29 June 1959, from the Douglas general
offices then located at Santa Monica, revealed the "advanced
performance and operating versatility of the DC-9 jet
transport" fo r the first time - but it was not the DC-9 as now
known. The designatio n had already been in use for several
years, in fact, to indicate the company's plans to develop,
sooner o r la ter, a short/medium range jet transport as a " Iittle
brother" for the DC8, which had been la unched in 1955 and
first fl ew in May 1958. The DC-9 of 1959 was of simila r over,a ll
configuration to the DC·8 but of much smaller size, having a
Firs/to bear the DC-9 designation was this 1959 project for a baby DCB, as described in the accompanying /ext.
..
--~~
,," "'.~--
~
~
..
~.
. D ••••• j! . !!j . •••
o
PAGE 292
'T
• ••
o
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
An artist's impression of the DC-9 Super 80SF prOject. which has the
same wing and powerplam as the Super BO but a shorter fuselage.
Bearing a Douglas company paint scheme. thefirst DC-9 is shown on an
early test flight. It is now in service with Texas International.
span of94 ft (28,65 m), length of 103 ft (3 1,39 m), gross weight
of 120,000 Ib (54 432 kg) and the a bilit y to Hy 68-92 passengers
over ranges of up to 2,590 mls (4 168 km). The engines were to
be 8,250 Ib st (3742 kgp) JTFIOA-I IUrbofans. Neither the
engine nor the DC-9 in this fo rm was built .
In the course of 1960/ 1961 , a re-appraisal of airline needs led
the compa ny to conclude tha t a smaller aeroplane was likely to
achieve better sales a nd by the beginning of 1962 the Model
2086 project had emerged as a rear-engined twin-jet, with 5677 sea ts and a range of just over 1,000 mls (16 10 km). The
JTFIOA-2 engine, ra ted at 10,000 Ib st (4 540 kgp), was
favoured and gross weight was expected to be 69,000 Ib (3 1 300
kg). It was o bvious, when details of the Model 2086 proposal
were first made public, that Douglas had reached similar
conclusio ns to the British Aircraft Corporation in respect of
both the potentia l market a nd the way in which the market
might be sa tisfied ; the Do uglas design closely resembled that of
the BACOne-Eleven, which had been launched in April 196 1.
Just two years later, on 8 April 1963, Douglas announced that
it would proceed with full development of the Model 2086,
which had become known as the Compact Jet and was now
designated DC-9 . Like BA C, Douglas took the launch
decision ahead of a ny airline o rders being placed, but o nly
three weeks elapsed before Delta Airlines became the firs t DC9 custo mer, with an order fo r 15 and another 15 on o ption. The
fina l choice of engine for the DC-9 was the JT8D-5, a version
of the power plant already then being used in the Boeing 727,
derated for the Douglas transport to 12,000 Ib st (5 443 kgp).
Since first being revealed, the DC·9 had also grown, to have a
gross weight of 77,000 Ib (34 927 kg), span and length of87 ft 4
in (26,62 m) and 103 ft (3 1,39 m) respectively and ra nge with
65-83 passengers of up to 1, 100 mls ( I 770 km). The company
a lso indicated tha t it would offer a range of variants with
differing passenger ca pacities a nd ranges. In this respect, the
policy differed fro m that which a t first prevailed in the case of
the DC-8, and which resulted in that a ircraft losing many sales
battles to its competitor from Seattle. The " fl exible response"
to airline requirements that Douglas was able to offer with a
range of DC-9 varia nts proved similarly adva ntageous \liNlvis the One-Eleven and helped Douglas overcome the latter's
initia l two-year head-start.
Once committed to DC-9 development, Douglas pulled out
aU the stops to catch up, setting itself a tough first fl ight target
da te and even tougher cert ification target. In the event, FAA
type approval was achieved nine months after first flight, a
record still unmatched by an y a ircraft of comparable size.
Before the first fli ght, extensive wind-t unnel testing was
undertaken, using five major models to investigate, in
pa rticular , nacelle, pylon and rear fuselage drag, and sta lling
characteristics. The potential problems of a T-tailed layout
were already known but were brought sharply into focu s in
October 1963 by the tragic accident suffered by the first BAC
One-Eleven, which entered a locked-in deep-sta ll duri ng
in vesti ga tio n a t high angles of attack. Before the DC-9 was
built, and as a result oflh e wind tunnel testin g, the design was
modified in certain respects, including a 20 per cent increase in
span of the tail plane; vortilons (vortex-generating pylons)
were added under the wings and a power-augmentation system
was introduced in the elevator controls.
The first DC·9 flew at Lon g Beach on 25 February 1965, two
more foll owing in May, one in June and one in July to
complete the lest Heet. As for the DC-8, the DC-9 variants
were d istinguished by Srs numbers, all these early examples
being Series 10 with the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-5 engines ra ted
at 12,000 Ib st (5 443 kgp) and having a gross weight of 77,000
Ib (34 930 kg), or 83,000 Ib (37650 kg) when extra centre
section fue l was carried . FAA Type Approval was obtained on
23 November 1965 a nd Delta put the DC·9 into service on 8
December. Subsequently, some Series lOs were delivered with
14,000 Ib SI (6350 kgp) JT8D-I or -7 engines and a gross
weight of 90,700 Ib (41140 kg) was approved.
The first order for a " stretched " DC·9 was placed by
Eastern Air Lines on 25 February 1965, at which time it was
referred to as the DC-9B or DC-9 Srs 20, the fuselage being
lengthened by 9 ft 6 in (2,9 m). However, the stretch was later
increased to 14 ft II in (4,6 m) and the designation cha nged to
Srs 30; the Srs 20 designation was re-used subsequently fo r
another versio n. To preserve performance a t higher weights,
the DC-9 Srs 30 was given extended wing tips - adding 4 ft
(1 ,21 m) to the span - full-span leading edge slats and uprated
engines. The first flight was made on I August 1966, a nd after
certification on 19 December, this variant entered service with
Eastern early in 1967. Initially. with 14,500 Ib st (6580 kgp)
JT8D-gengines, the gross weight was 98,000 Ib (44 444 kg), but
upra ted JT8D-II or -15 engines could also be used and the
max permitted weight increased to 108,000 lb (49000 kg).
Accommodation varied from a typica l mixed-class layout for
97 up to a maximum of 11 5.
Sales of the DC-9 proceeded vigo rously during the 'sixties,
helped by the company's willingness to respond to specific
a irline needs by developing specia l versions. For SAS, the Srs
40 was develo ped as a further stretch of the Srs 30, having 6 ft
4in ( 1,87 m) mo re fu selage length to seat 107-125 passengers
with improved payload/range performance. Using 15,500 Ib s1
(7030 kgp) JT8D- 15 engines, the Srs 40 had a gross weight of
114,000 Ib (5 1 800 kg) and was flown on 28 Novem ber 1967; it
entered service with SAS in 1968 a nd has also been used by
Swissa ir a nd Thai International (leased from SAS) and
purchased by TDA of Japan .
Another SAS requirement resulted in the re·introduction of
the Srs 20 designatio n at the end of 1966 fo r a "hot a nd high"
versio n of the Srs 10. This had the Srs 30 wings and JT8D-9 or
-II engines, but the original fuse lage length a nd capacity and
a max weight of 100,000 Ib (45360 kg). The first Srs 20 Hew on
18 September 1968 and was o rdered o nly by SAS, which
boijght 10.
The fifth major variant of the DC-9 was anno unced in July
1973, when Swissair placed an o rder fo r 10 Srs 50s, several
other airlines ordering this type subseq uently. The major
difference, once again, was in fu selage length, which grew by
( Abm'e) The first. and to date only. British operator of the DC-9 is
British Midland. whose original Srs 10 is shown here. ( Below) A Srs 10
in service with Ozark in the USA.
( Above right ) One of the DC-9 Srs lOs in service with SAS, the only operator of this "hot rod " version. ( Below) Thefirst Srs 30, in Eastern colours.
taking-ojJ on its maiden flight on 1 August 1966.
PAGE 293
( Above) A DC-9 S's 30 in Ihe smarl new c% ur scheme of us Air (formerly Allegheny) , one oflhe many US regional oper(lfors 10 lise the DOllg/as twin-
jet,
( Abo~'e) A windowless DC-9F Srs 30 operate,1 by Alita/ia and ( be/ow) a
similar aircraflllsed by Swjssair, showil/g the cargo-loading door open.
( Below) ComparOli~'e sifJe views depicting (lop to bOllom ) Ihe DC-9 Srs
10120: S's 30: Srs 30FIC-9A Nightil/gale: Srs40: Srs 50alld SuperBO.
~~
.................@~.g..i;":::: ..
iii.
;~ D ..
i?
~~ . . . . . . . .·:;;. .~5
~ ----:i? ~
%
?. . . . . . . . . . . . . C§5i§ G .~~
PAG E 294
AIR INTERNATIONA L/ J UNE 1980
I
another 6 rt 4 in (1,87 m) over the Srs 40, representing a total
increase of 27 rt 7 in (8,41 m) on the origina l length of the Srs
10. Offering a passenger capacity of 122-139, the Srs 50 was
made possible by the availa bility of additional thrust from the
JT8D engi ne, being based on the use of either the 15,500 Ib st
(7030 kgp) -15 0' the 16,000 Ib st (7257 kgp) - 17. O thec
cha nges included the introduct ion of Hytrol Mk lil A skid
con trol and ca nting the engine thrust reversers 17 deg fro m the
vertica l to reduce the risk of exhaust gas ingestion. With a n
initial gross weight of 120,000 Ib (54 400 kg), the Srs 50 made
its first fl ight on 17 December 1974 at Long Beach and entered
service with Swissair on 24 August 1975.
Versions of the DC-9 were offered wit h a forward, sideloadi ng freight door, for usc in convertible or all-freight
confi gurations. For cert ification purposes, these were identified by an F suffix to the series number. but the ma nufac tu rer
used a C or RC (for ra pid cha nge) suffix in re ference to these
versions also. The firs t order for a co nverti ble DC-9C, with
freight door, was placed by Co ntinental Airl ines. in March
1965, and the firs t delivery was made on 7 Ma rch 1966, this
being a Srs IOa ircraft; the fi rst Srs 30convert ible was deli vered
in October 1967 to Overseas National. A few all-freight DC9Fs have also been deli vered. the first , a Srs 30F, going to
Ali talia in May 1968.
M ilitary models
Included in the overall total of DC-9 sales are 40 aircra ft
supplied to the USAF and USN, all being special-duty
va riants of the commercia l Srs 30. The USAF began
procurement of a special aeromedica l transport version, the
C-9A Nigh tin gale. in August 1967, after a competition to
select a suit able jet transport "ofT-the-shelf '. Identifi ed by
Douglas as the DC-9-32, the first C-9A flew a t Long Beach in
May 1968 and deliveries bega n in August, initially to the 375th
Aeromedical Wing of MAC at Scott AFB, Illinois. The fi rst
cont ract was for eight aircraft but successive buys have
brought the total to 21 to allow the USA F to mai ntain its
extensive US domestic aeromedica l system, which embraces
six major feede r a reas, 10 main interconnecting lrun k rou tes
a nd over 500 airfields to serve 600 medical faci lities.
Wi th JT8D-9 engines. the C-9A has a gross weight of
108,000 Ib (48 990 kg) and incorpo ra tes the side-loadi ng cargo
doo r of the DC-9F to facilitate handling of st retchers or la rge
items of equipment. Va rious in ternal a rra ngements a re
possible, to accommoda te more than 40 ambulato ry patients,
or 30 or 40 stretchers (in three or four tiers respectively), or
combinations of bo th . Ma ny special feat ures a re incorpora led ,
including provision for therapeutic oxygen supply, a medical
air suction system, an isolated special care sect ion, and a
special II O-volt, 6O-cycleelectrica l system - in addit ion to the
aircra ft's own system - for on-board use of standard hospital
equipment.
One oj thefirst DC-9 S's 40s in sell'ice with SAS.jor whose requirements Ihe Iype was primarily de ~e1opeJ. II has a/so been purchased by TDA in Japan .
( Above) Thefirst oj 21 DC-9 Srs 30s supplied to the USAF as C-9A
NightingalesJor mede vac duty with special purpose units oj the Military
Airlift Command.
II
.
....
__
.::.
/
~
-
-
.
---'
( Above) One oj the US Navy's C-9B Sky train Us as operated by the
VR- J and VR-30 transport squadrons and (below) a C-9B serving with
the US Marine Corps.
r
-
In addition to its fl eet or C-9As, the USAF acquired in 1975
three VC-9Cs, these being commercial Srs 30s with special VIP
interiors ror use by the Special Air Missions Wing based at
Andrews AFB, Ma ryla nd .
The US Navy selected the DC-9 in 1912 to meet its
requirement ro r a fleet logistics support transport, and 15 have
been delivered as C-9 B Skytrain li s, the name commemorating
the o riginal Do uglas C-47/ R4D Skytrain tra nspo rts o r World
Wa r II. Deliveries or the C-9 B began o n 8 May 1973, when
transport squadrons VR-I and VR-30 received one each;
subsequently, the US Marine Corps has also received
exam ples o r the C-9 B. Like the C-9A, the Navy versio n has a
cargo door a nd JT8D-9 engines; it operates a t weights o rup to
110,()(X) Ib (49 896 kg) a nd has long-range ruel ta nks in both
rorward and art underfloor baggage com pa rtments, providing
an extra 2,250 US gal (8517 I) or ruel to achieve a range or
2,250 naut mls (4 168 km) with a IO,OOO-ib (4 540-kg) payload
against a 65-knot (J 20 km/h) headwind . The maximum cargo '
load or 32,300 Ib (14651 kg) o r rull passenger load o r 107
passengers ca n be carried 1, 150 mls ( I 850 km). The rerry range
;, 3,400 ml, (5 472 km),
Do uglas sold two DC-9s to the Kuwa it Air Force in
basica lly the same configura tion as the C-9 B. A rew other DC9s sold as commercial aircraft have entered service as VIP and
presidential transports, such as two Srs 30s (with a third on
order) opera ted by the Ae,onaulica Milirare in Ita ly.
Well over ha ir or the 1,048 DC-9 sales achieved to date (with
28 more conditional sales and optio ns) have been in the Srs 30
version. Production o rthe Srs 10, or which 137 were built, has
ended, a nd it seems impro bable that mo re Srs 20 " hot-rods"
wi ll be b uilt tha n the 10 supplied to SAS; altho ugh there was
some more recent interest in the Srs 22 as a short-field version
or the Srs 20, even this has now been effectively superseded by .
the larger-capacity Super 80SF. The Srs 40 (41 built) remains
available but has round o nl y limited appeal, so it is upon the
Srs 30, Srs 50 and the Super 80 that Do uglas depends ror the
continued success or the DC-9 ramily. 0
( Below) Ghana Airways is one of the several airlines to have ordered the DC-9 Srs 50. Well shown in this view are the underwing vortilans as well as the
trailing edge flap guides.
PAG E 296
AIR INTERN ATI ONAL/ JUNE 1980
Among the older aircraft types ineluded in the inl'enrory of lhe CGEA is Ihe CASA 207 A:or (above), se ~en of which sti/l serve with &cuad,6n 405
which fulfils short- /0 medium-range gOl"ernmenlaltransporlation tasks and targel-Iowing missions. ( Photo 'Knario ' Azao/a)
IBERIAN AIR CO VER - - continuedfrom page 277
conceptua lly at least - the o ldest primary servin g a ny major
a ir arm! Forty o r the Jungmanns (with more in storage) are
currently operated by the Seltx:tion Centre's ESClIodr(m 78 1.
Arter completing the course at Granada , pupils progress to
the Air Academy (Academia General del A ire) at San Javier,
where, duri ng a rour-yea r course, they receive basic fl ying
tra inin g with the Elementary School's Escuadrim 79 1, which
o perates a fl eet or24 Betx:h T-34A Mentors a nd 29 Beech F3 3
Bona nzas, this being ro llowed by crew conversion with the
Application School's ESCll(ulr(m 792 o n the C-2 12EI Aviocar
- o r the five Aviocars o n the squadron's strength, one is, in
ract , a ph otographic C-2 12BI modified to EI tra iner
sta ndards. Finally, advanced fl ying is undertaken with the
Basic School's Esculldrlm 793 with a mixed fl eet orT-6D and
-6G Texans and HA-200A and D Saetas, altho ugh these
ageing aircraft have now begun to give place to the CASA C10 1 Aviojet, the first ro ur or which rrom the product io n line
were officially accepted by the EdA ro r Escuadr(m 793 o n
17 March . Wi th the completion or this final stage a t the Air
Academy, pilots graduate a nd are commissioned.
While replacement o r the Texan a nd Saeta tra iners is now
gathering momentum, a successor ror the Jungmann in the
grading and primary ro les, and ror the elderl y T-34A Mentors,
is somewhat rurther off, although the definitive launching o r
the replacement programme is expected around mid -year.
Bo th AI SA and CASA produced competiti ve design studies to
meet an EdA specification under the so-called pilot selection
a ircraft programme, this calling ro r a side-by-side two-seater
with good aerobatic capability and powered by a 200 hp
engine. CASA's candidate, the Col 02ES, wo uld seem 10 have
been the winner, but deliveries are scarcely likely berore the
mid-'eighties.
From the Academy at San Ja vier, the pilots, newly
commissioned as Lieutena nts, are assigned to specia lised
schools according to their aptitudes. Fut ure combat pilots
proceed to the EsclIela de Reaclores at Talavera la Real. where
PAGE 297
MATA C's Escuadr/m 214, one a/th e campanelli sqlladrons o/ Ala 21 at Morlm , is primarily equipped with the IfA-220 Super Saeta, 1K'0 a/which are
seell abol'e, bllt it is alllicipated that this type will gil'e place 10 all armed l'ersiOIl 0/ the CASA C- /01 A I'ioje t in the mid- 'eighties, ( Photo 'Knario' Azaola)
some 23 F-SBs provide the equipment of EscuadrOlles 73 1 and
732, This school, which, it is a nticipated, will event ually be redesignated Escuela de Combate Aereo (Air Combat SchooJ),
a n appellation more descriptive of its function, is expected to
re-equip during the ea rly-to-mid-'eighties, but a successor to
the current F-SB is as yet undecided, The two-sea t version of
FACA is certainly under consideration, but the production
timescale would mean that re-equipment of the school could
not begin until well into the second hal f of the decade and
A single Do 28A-l (below) serves for liaison and Olher tasks with
Escuadrim 406 which is responsible/or the certification of new military
aircraft at l NTA, the lIational aerospace research establishment, ( Photo
'Kllario' Azaola )
The two most important transport aircraft t)'pes in the im'entory a/the Eji!rcito del A ire, the CASA C-2 J2A A ~iocar, seen abol'e ill ser~ice with Es('uadrl)1l
351 of Ala de Transporte 35, alld the C- 130H Hercules (below) which serves with Ala de Trallsporte 31, ( Photos 'Kllario' Azaola)
therefore substitution of the F-SF for the ageing F-SB would
appea r to be a more practical solution, with service entry of
this more efficacious version of the Northrop two-seater
possibly 1983-84.
Future transport aircraft pilots pass from the Academy to
the Escuela Militor de Transporte y Trimsito Aereo (Milita ry
School of Air Transport and Transit) a t Matacan where they
Hy the C-2l 2AI /AAl s (and one C-2 12E I) of Escuadrlm 74S,
which also operates one or two T-6D Texans for liaison duties.
The other component unit of the school, Escuadrbn 744, is
equipped with C-2 12Als, T-6Ds and a single Piper PA-31
Turbo Navajo which are Hawn primarily on behalf of the air
transit controllers section of the school. Helicopter pilots a re
ta ught at the Cuatro Vientos-based EscueJa de Helicopteros
which has recently received an infusion of 17 Hughes 269A-1
instructio nal two-seaters, and these are currently complementing the Agusta-Bell AB 47G-2s and -3 Bs, and the Bell
OH-13s of Escuadron 7SI , with the older machines being
progressively withdrawn. Three Bell UH-l Hs have been used
for an IFR course for the past six years by the school's second
component unit, Escuadron 7S2, but these are now being
progressively supplemented by a further four UH-IH s a nd
some seven AB 20Ss as these arc relinqui shed by SAR units
receiving their complement of HH-3Fs. Incidentally, in
addition to training EdA pilots, this school also trains
helicopter pilots for both the Army a nd Navy.
One other MAPER-comma nded school is the Escuela
Militar de Paracaidismo Mendez Parada at Alcantarilla,
which, with some 10 C-212A I f AA I Aviocars on the strength
of Escuadron 72 1, trains parachutists fo r all three services,
Finally, MAPER opera tes two refresher training units for
PAG E 298
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
PAGE 299
The Ejhcito del Aire is a major operator of the Canada;r CL-215
amphibian which has a primary role a/fire-fighting and a secondary SA R
, Ole within the CGEA's Escuadron 404, lhe CL-215 IIQ~jng been
procured/rom /97/ on.....ard.
pilots assigned to desk dUlies at a ny of the EdA headquarters.
The fi rst of these, Grupo 41 at Zaragoza, consists of two
squadrons, Escuadrolles 411 and 41 2, which, between them,
operate 50 of the 60 Lockheed T-33As supplied to the EdA
between the mid-'fi fties a nd mid-'sixties. The old T-bird is
extremely popular - desk-bound jet pilots spend one week in
every six on this type, which, over the past quarter-century, has
recorded an impressive safety record in Spanish hands - but
the ageing process is inexorable, a nd the T-33A will soon begin
to give place to the C~10 1 Aviojet. The other refresher unit,
Grupo 42 at Getafe, has three Esclladrofles, 421, 422 a nd 423,
the first of these operating the T-6D, the second having T-6Gs.
a nd the third having Piper PA-23-2S0 Aztecs and Beech 8 5S
Barons.
Completin g the Logislica Aerea are the M alldo de Ma terial
(MAMAT), or Ma terial Command, and the Direccibn pe
Injraeslruclura Aerea (DI N FA), or Air Infrastr ucture
Directora te. MAM AT comprises four branches: Direccibn de
Adquisiciolles (Procurement Directora te), Direccibff de
AbaslecimienlO (Supplies Directorate), Direccibn de M antell;miento (Maintena nce Directorate), and DireccilJII de S erl1icios
de M aterial (Material Services Directorate). In addition, there
are three M aestranzas Aereas. or overhaul and repair centres,
in Madrid, Albacete and Seville, for airfra mes, engines,
electronics, etc. The DI NFA is responsible fo r site acquisition,
construction, maintenance and operation of all EdA airfields,
buildings and other installa tions.
The CuarleJ General de Ejercilo del A ire (CGEA), or Air
Staff, has the prima ry task of assist ing a nd advisin g the Chief
of StafT, a nd controlli ng the acti vities of the subordinate EdA
divisions, and a num ber of ancillary air units come within
direct CG EA command . For checking and calibrating radionavigational aids is Escuadrbn 401 , which also has a longran ge VIP transporta tion task, its flee t, based a t MadridBarajas, comprising two DC-8-S2s (one ex-Iberia and the
other ex-AVIACO), four Mystere 20s and a single Piper PA31P. The Esclladron 402 based a t Cua tro Vientos is the VIP
transportatio n helicopter unit, with five SA 330 Pumas and
deli very of a sixth imminent.
Photographic and cartographic du ties are performed by
Esclladrlm 403, also based at Cuatro Vientos, with fi ve C212BI Aviocars and fi ve CASA Do 27As; with a primary role
of fi re-fi ghting a nd a seco ndary SAR role, Esclladrlm 404 has ,.
seven of the 10 Canadair CL-2l5 amphibia ns procured from
1971 onwa rds a nd is supplementing these with a further seven,
having, in addition, three Do 27As for liaison Hights a nd
deploying detachments during the summer season to Sa ntiago
de Compostela, Reus and elsewhere, and Escuadrbn 405, based
at Getafe, fulfils short- to medium-distance governmental
transportat ion tasks and ta rgeH owing fo r anti-aircra ft
artillery. In addition to fo ur C-2 12AVI Aviocars, this unit
ope ra tes the last seven (two C-207As a nd fi ve C-207Cs) Azor
tra nspo rts, the C207As carrying ventrally-mounted Bendix
pods to accommodate drogue targets. The Azors are rapidly
coming to the end of their useful life and although no
replacement has been a nnounced, there has been some
speculation as to their possible substi tution by ex- Iberia
DC-9s.
The fl ying component of the InSli flllO NaciollaJ de Tecnica
Aeroespacial (I NTA), the national ae rospace resea rch
esta blishment, is EscuadrcJfI 406 which is responsible for the
certifica tion of new military aircraft, and its present inventory
includes the two C-2 12 Aviocar prototypes, two oftb e four C101 Aviojet prototypes, a single Do 28A-I , and several T-6D
Texans a nd HA-200D Saetas. This unit is based a t Torrejon.
At Son San Juan a nd Coa tro Vientos a re respectively based
Escuadrones 801 and 803 for SAR duties, the former having
two AB 20S helicopters a nd an Aviocar on detachment from
Ala 3S, and the la tter having two AD 20Ss, four AD 206As,
three SA 319Bs, three AD 47Js and fou r Do 27As, some of the
helicopters being deployed to La Coruna, Santander and
elsewhere. Doth of these units will eventually re-equip with the
HH -3 F.
The transformation of the EdA into a thoroughly modern,
well-equipped and potent air a rm after the ma ny years of
neglect suffered while Spain slowl y recovered from the
economic exhaustion of the civil wa r, and the virtual limbo in
which it, like Spain's other armed forces, existed fo r long after
WW II , is a protracted and expensive process. But major
strides were taken during the 'seventies, and the 'eighties
sho uld witness attainment of the service's goal of becoming
one of the most powerfu l air arms in Western Europe. When
this goal is reached later in the 'eighties, the EdA will possess
12 24-aircraft comba t sq uadrons, two maritime pa trol
squadrons, one air-refuelling squadron, two medium transport squadrons, four light tra nsport squadrons and nine
squadrons for training, SAR, fi re-fighting, etc. Iberian air
cover will by then have indeed been upgraded. 0
;&~cu
:a:d:"~"~4:0~I~O:of~l~h;e;C;G~E;A~:~~;~~S~on~d~r
~~!~'~~~~.~~"~ ~J~~~'f~~~~:~~'l~~~~~~,'::~d!;~ho~~:;'~8o,'f""",,;on tasks. this unit 's in~enlory
PAGE 300
A lA INTER NATI ONA L/ JUNE 1980
DEL ENTHUSIAST
A modicum
of
• •
sp,c,ng
ARIETY, so the old adage assures us, is the
spice of life, but who other than we
V
modellers wo uld believe tnat life can be made
spicier by a widening of the kit subject
availability spectrum? There are, perhaps,
other pastimes that can lace the passing days
with a souP'rOn of piquancy, but insofar as we
are concerned, the promising ones a re illegal,
immoral or fattening. Of course, to those
unfortunates, the uninitiated, modelling as a
relaxation may seem unadventurous; offering
none of the stimulus provided by a n element of
risk, always discounting the chances of
hospitalisation after impaling oneself on a
craft knife or incarceratio n after chasing the
neighbour's wife with a spraygun after inadvertent sniffin g of paint and adhesive fumes.
But to each his own . Nothingis likely to set thc
adrenalin of the dedicated modeller fl owing
fas ter than news of the debut of kits of aircra ft
subjects previo usly unavailable; like a voyeur
in a strip joint, he will drool and his eyes will
light up like a pinball machine. Fo r him, spice
has been added to life!
The revelations of the trade fairs earlier this
year concerning wnat we may confidently
expect to be buying with our inflationharassed pennies, fra ncs or lire in the coming
months should bring at least something of a
flush of a nticipatio n to the cheek of tne most
sloic modei1er. Financial wo rries notwithstanding, the kit manufacturers are well set to
add a modicum of spicing to our lives by
maintaining the more adventuro us spirit
regarding subject matter fo r their wares that
they began to demonstrate in the closing
'seventies. Inevitably, the new kits, covering
the full gamut from 1/24th down to 1/ I44th,
include their quota of what many modellers
will surely consider pedestrian subjects, yet
there is enough of the exolic and esoteric to
titillate even the most jaded modelling palate.
But eno ugh of the commercial; let's get down
to surveying what is promised for the months
ahead .
Airfix is to make one more release in its
magnifice nt 1/24th scale series, the FockeWulf Fw 190A, which will bring the to tal of
WW II types issued by the company in this
scale to seven. Rather less exciti ng is Airfix's
intention of re-issuing in the same scale its
Wallis WA.1 16 gyroplane which will still be
dressed up in its 007 Bond gimmickry. but
ma kes up into a neat model of a quite
interesting subject fo r all that. Proceeding
down the size scale to J/32nd, we learn that
Lesney is to market a kit of the de Havilland
Venom/Sea Venom in ilS " Matchbox" series,
while Hasegawa is offering the McDonnell
Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk . Revell is issuing the
McDonnell Douglas F-1 8 Hornet and the
Lockheed F-I04G Sta rfighter, supplementing
these with what would seem to be re-issues of
the Curtiss P-40E, the North American P-5l D
Mustang and the McDonnell Douglas F-4J
Phanto m, wh ile Italaerei promises the MBB
BO 105 a nd tne Agusta-Bell Jet Ra nger
nelicopters.
Kit availability range in 1/48th scale will
grow ;Ip;lce as tnc " Matchbox" range proffers
the Douglas AD-5 Skyraider, the North
American FJ-4 Fury and the Kaman SH-2
Seasprite - all firsts in quarter-scale and, in
view of their undiluted North American
subject origins, possibly connected with
Lesney's acquisitio n of the AMT concern and Airfix is adding a de Havilland Mosq uito
B Mk IV and a Hawker Fury biplane.
Monogram has announced a n AH-IH Skyraider as well as a North American F- IOOD
Super Sabre and the almost inevitable F-18A
Ho rnet, the two last becoming direct competitors for the existing Esci kits in this scale.
Heller has only o ne 1/48th scale kit listed fo r
issue this year, and this, the Republic F-84F
Thunderstreak, is a welcome choice, but a
wafer away in scale will be 1/5Oth kits of the
Cessna 150 and the Bell JetRanger. halaerei
nas seen the quarter-scale light a nd joins the
ranks with yet ana/her F- 18A Hornet - the
mind boggles at the lemming·like pro pensities
of some of the kit manufac turers - and an
RF-4 Phantom, while Fujimi is really gelling
with the choppers, offering another Bell
Jet Ranger - what's with this sudden popularity of tne big-selling Bell after 15 years with an MBB BO 105 and an Aerospatiale SA
34 1 Gazelle, each to be available in two
versions differing primarily in the markings
provided. Revell is not being left o ut in the
quarter-scale cold and, with stunning o riginality is marketing ... what do you think ... yes,
you've guessed it, the F-18A Hornet!
It is in 1/72nd scale, as is to be expected, that
we find the real life-spicers, and while too many
kits to this scale are in the offin g to mention
everyone, the highlighls a re wo rth listing. and
Heller pro mises the most interesting contingent. This French company is presenting a
de Havilland Vampire a nd ils Gallic derivative, the SE 535 Mistral, a much-needed
Aerospatiale Alouetle III and an extremely
welcome Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver bipla ne. The
most offbeat of Heller's choices is the Saab 21
twin-boom fighte r and o ne that we fee l sure
will prove popular is the Canadair CL-2 l 5
amphibian. We assume Airfix has more to
come and is keeping them close to its
polystyrene chest at the lime of writing. but the
only really new releases in this scale so far
announced are a McDonnell F2H Banshee
and a Dassault-Breguet/ Dornier Alpha Jet.
Airfix re-issues, mostly with new decals, are to
include a number of thecompany'searlier kits,
such as a very nice Avro 504K and decidedly
elderly Bristol F2B a nd R.E.8, while otner
"only versions" re-releases will be the Boulton
Paul Defianl, the Grumman Widgeon (as a
USCG J4F-2), the Siai-Marchetti SM 79, the
Fiat G 50, the Auster AOP Mk 6, the Aichi
D3AI , the DHC- I Chipmunk, the DHC-2
Beaver and the Beagle Basset.
Mo nogram has announced one kit only in
1/72nd scale, but with a wing span of 38·3
inches (97,40 em), the Convair B-36 must
surely be the most ambitious subject ever
attempted in this scale category. Our accolade
for originality of choice must go to Lesney's
" Ma tchbox" series fo r its Ha ndley Page
Heyford, which will follow the Halifax Mk I
from the same stable, fo r the Consolidated
PB4Y-2 Privateer ma ri time patrol aircraft and
for the Curtiss SBC-3 Helldiver, an earlier
variant tha n that being offered by Heller in the
same scale. These liule beauties will be
accompanied by a Grumman F9F Panther and
a Grumma n EA-6B Prowler, both of which
will sell in direct competition with Minicraft/
Hasegawa, and the McDonnell F-IOlB Voodoo. Rather less o riginality is being displayed
by Hasegawa, with its F-15B Eagle, F-18A
Hornet and 5,OOOth F-4 Pnantom, but this
company's Grumman F6F Hellcat and FII F
Tiger will be apprecia ted.
Fujimi, now recognised as helicopter kit
specialists, are bringing o ut the Bell AH-I S
Cobra and AH- IT Sea Cobra, the Westland
Lynx and the Kaman SH-2 Seasprite, while
Revell is to re-issue its Boeing B-1 7F Fortress
and Consolidated B-24D Liberator, the latter
being the only available kit of an early model
Liberator in this scale. One o ther forthcoming
kit that is deserving of mention is the third in
lne current 1/72nd scale series from VEB
Plasticart which will depict the Junkers F 13
that represents the dawn of air transportation
and will clearly be o ne for tne early airliner
enthusiast. The modern airliner enthusiast, on
the other hand, will have reasonable cause for
complaining that liule spice is being added to
his life, for, apart from a KLM DC-9 in
1/ 125tn scale from Heller, a DC- IO (Brilish
Caledo nian and SAS) in 1/ I44th scale from
Airfix, plus two re-issues in the latter scale
from this company comprising a DC9, no w in
Dan-Air livery, and a Comet 4B, he is being
left somewha t o ut in the modelling cold .
This month's colour subject
Popularly known as the " Peasnooter"
though heaven alo ne knows why - Boeing's
portly little figh ter monopla ne of the mid
'thirties, the Model 266 alias P-26, first
allracted the a ttention of the kit manufacturers at an early da te, when Aurora was
develo ping its 1/48th scale range. The " Peashooter" was by no means Aurora's best
product of the period, but was, for its day,
acceptable eno ugh and reasonably accurate if
suffering heavy surface detailing and rathcr
coarse moulding, the wings being solid.
Extraordinarily, in view of the important role
that the Boeing P-26 played in American
fignter evolution 'tween the wars, Aurora's
offering is s/ill the o nly kit in its scale, and, if it
can be fo und, then, by dint of a 10 / of work, a
very presentable model can be prod uced.
Revell's 1/72nd scale kit of the P-26 has been
around for many years, but il produces a very
neat little model and may be recommended,
although it, too, is rather diffi cult to locate,
and insofar as we a rc aware, the only kit of the
Boeing fi ghter readily available at the present
PAGE 301
(left) P-26A of CO 20th Pursuit
Group, Barksdale, La, 1936.
(Above) Emblem of 20th Pursuit
Group.
\0" ...... ,
~
"II
o.~~le
IJ
(Above) P-26A of HQsection, 17th
Pursuit Group, March Field , Cal ,
1934. Note group colours on cowl .
(Far left) Emblem of 17th Group.
(Left) P-26A of 94th Pursuit Sqdn of
1st Pursuit Grp, Selfridge, Mich .
1937. Emblem of 94th (above) .
(Above left) P-26A of 34th Pursuit Sqdn, 17th Pursuit Group,
March Field, Cal, 1934. Olive
drab fuselage gave place to blue
during course of year. Known as
" Thunderbirds", the 34th Pur suit was distinguished by blackand-white fuselage blazes, t ai l
scalloping and wheel spats. (Far
left) 34th ' Thunde rbird " e mblem .
(Above) P-26A o f Guatemalan
Cuerpo de Aeronautica Militar at
La Aurora Airport, Guatemala
City, 1942-45. The Cuerpo de
Aeronautica procured a total of
five P-26As from USAAF surplus
and from the Panamanian
government and these remaine d
in first-line service until 1950.
PAGE 302
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
(Above) A P-26A of the 34th Pursuit Sqdn, 17th
Purs uit Group, in experimental dese rt sand, olive
drab and neutral grey scheme, 1936.
JOHN WEAL
time is, in fact , the largest and by far the best of
the P-26A kits. being Hasegawa's 1/32nd scale
production. This is an excellent kit with
immaculate surface detailing and very accurate. lIS Pratt & Whitney R-I340 engine inside
its Townend ring cowling is most realistic.
while Ihe cockpit interior leaves little 10 be
desired. In fact. we would be hard pUlto make
any criticism of this kit that would not border
on the nitpicking.
This relatively large scale obviously offers
major advantages when modelling so small an
ai rcraft as the P-26A, providing plenty of
scope for accurately simulating the externallybraced wings and undercarriage. and greatly
easi ng the application of the relatively complex
colour schemes and markings employed by
most aircraft of the type. Hasegawa's P-26A
can produce a fine model in the hands of any
with average ability. while the expert ca n
create a masterpiece. It is regrettable. however,
that this important fighter type is readily
available o nly in 1/32nd scale, and we feel sure
that one o r a nother company musl have the P26A on its short list as a subject for a future kit
in, say, Ilnnd scale. Let us hope that such is
nOI too lo ng in making its a ppearance, or else
we may find that the price gap between the kit
and the original fighter - which was one
dollar short of $ 10,000 - may have closed
dramatically meanwhile!
A wo rthy Lane
The second time around has proved a
successful maxim for Airlix with several of its
recent releases and none more so than with this
company's completely new I/ nnd Avro
Lancaster 8 Mk 111 - externally virtually
identical to the 8 Mk I and differing essentially
in having Packard- rather than Rolls- Roycebuil t Mertins. The original Airfix Lancasler kil
provided something of a la ndmark at the time
of its release a score or so of years since. and we
would not hazard a guess at the number o f
copies that have poured from Ihose moulds
over Ihe years. It fe ll somewhat short of
perfectio n. however, and, meanwhile, three
other manufacturers. Revell. Frog and Lesney,
all tried their hands at producing a satisfactory
successor. The first two failed as a result of
built-in errors which were virtually incorrectable, and the effort oflhe last-named - a more
recent production - succeeded, but for only a
limited period of time as the new Airlix kit is so
much better than any that has preceded it. For
all practical purposes, it may be viewed as the
definitive version in 1f72 nd scale in much the
same way that Tamiya's kit can be considered
definitive in 1/48th scale.
Airfix has now elevated the Lancaster from
Series 5 to Series 8, the j ustification being
provided. no doubt, by the extra pans that the
new kil embodies. but it does now fall within a
relatively high price group. The kit. which.
apart from the transparencies, is moulded in
black plastic, consists of J 25 parts. nnd the first
fea ture of this product to impress us was the
surface detailing. which includes the finest
simulation of rivets that we can recall in any
I/nnd scale kit. The pancl lines are mllinly
naised but are very fine . The engine nacelle
contours, for long the bile noire of Lancaster
kit mould makers. are captured to perfection.
and what a difference this does make! The
extreme nose and air intake leading edge are
moulded separately from the nacelle halves.
avoiding an unsightly joint in the lower lip and
allowing the propellers, with their separate
spinners. to be assembled as units and affixed
in position after the completion of painting.
The interior of the flight deck is not
particularly well detailed. so additions
may be made with advantage. but thc gun
lurrets have been given effective treatment and
look extremely well. Two pilot figures are
provided with the kit but no o ther crew
members. The weapons bay has been made a
notable feature and has bulged doors which
can be fixed in the open position to reveal si;'l:
500-lb (227-kg) bombs and one 8.000-lb (3 627kg) "blockbuster", all of which are neatly
formed. wil.h the smaller bomlSs each comprising three parts. The weapons b:IY doors are
formed as one part and have to be separ.Hed
along a pre-scored line. the undercarriage
doors being similarly treated. Insofar as the
undercarriage itself is concerned. the components are of true scale. fine ly fomled and
incorporate satisfactory detail. including the
wheel hubs and the frami ng inside the wheel
wells.
There are 16 transparencies in all and these
are very clear. the flight deck canopy featuring
separate side panels in order to facilita te the
forming of the rearview blisters. The H2S
housing is an optional fitment. The slotted
windows along the fuselage sides are not
glazed, being represented as outlines only in
correct fashion, fo r the later Lancasters
omitted them. Both ailerons and elevators are
separate mouldings, but the rudders are
moulded in tegrally with the fins. The dihedral
angle of the outer wing panels is correctly set.
and a neat feature of the wings is the series of
cable cutters along each leading edge. Two
aircraft are covered by the decal sheet, one
operated by No 100 Squadron and named Able
Mabel. and the other from No 103 Squlldron
and named Mike-Squared, the laller with a
record total of 140 missions. The colours of the
decliis arc exactly right, register is good and
there are many smaller markings, such as
walkways. trestle poinls and even stenci lling
for the "blockbuster" bomb. This is assuredly
a praiseworthy kit.
The French connection
Since Humbrol took o\'er the distribution of
Heller kits in the UK. it has steadily expanded
its catalogue o f the French company's products, allhough this still represents only a
portion of the full Heller range. so. from the
viewpoint of the British modeller. Humbrol's
growing practice of releasing on the UK
market some of the earlier French issues in
concert with the newer ones is good news.
A quintet of I/nnd kits. varying in both
vintage and quality. has recently been received
from "Iumbral , the two most recent of which.
the Saab 35 Draken and the P.Z.L. P. ll c.
having been reviewed in this column when first
released by Heller and it sufficing to say that
both - the Draken kit. incidentally. may be
completed as a J 35F, RF 35 o r TF 35 - kits
arc excellent products unlikely to be surpassed
in their scale and now sporting UK retail prices
of £3, 10 and 95p respectively. Two of the trio
remaining are of very much earlier manufaeluring origin. representing the Curtiss Hawk
75A-3 of the mid-'thirties and thc firstgener.Hion MiG-21 of the mid-'fifties. the
quintet being made up by the Morane-Saulnier
M.S.230 two-seat parasol monoplane trainer
of the late ·t .....enties. the Hawk 75A-3 and the
M.S.230 retailing in the UK at 95p and the
MiG-2l at a rather expensive £2'45.
The Hawk 75A-3 was one of the earliest of
Heller's 1/ 72nd scale kits. but it comparesquite
favourably with more modern productions
and. despite its vintage. still has but one direct
competitor (from Monogram). The radialengined Curtiss fighter has received far less
attention, kitwise, than have its liquid-cooledengined descendants. so the re-issue of Heller's
Hawk 75A-3 (alias Mohawk III ) kit is
welcome. The kit consists of 43 component
parts for the Twin-Wasp-engined export
model of the Curtiss fighter as Rown by the
Annie de I'Ai, with rather more elan than
success in the fateful summer of 1940. the
decals applying to an exam ple Rown by GC
1/5.
The MiG-21 kit. which is a pparentl y
intended to represent the early clear·weather
MiG-21F (Fishbed-C), suffers, in common
with all available I/ nnd scale kits of this
important V-VS fighter, from some dimensional and outline errors resulting from the
limitations of information available a decade
o r so ago when this kit first appeared on the
market. but the Heller product is certainly
more representative of the fighter that Anem
Mikoyan designed than most of the competition. A new and accurate kit of the MiG-21
in 1f72nd scale is long o\'erdue, but when it
does materialise. it will assuredly represent a
second- or third-generation aircraft, leaving
existing kits, such as thai from Heller, to cater
for the original production series fighter as best
they may. This kit. the 26 component parts of
which, o ther than the canopy, are moulded in
silver plastic, is quite well detailed and the
surface detailing itself is fine, while component
part fit is good. The centreline fuel tank is of
correct design, but the two nondescript air-toair missiles are best discarded.
The remai ning kit, the M.S.230 parasol,
makes up into a delightful lillie model and is to
be thoroughly reco mmended. It is perhaps
ralher an exotic subjcct for a UK or US
modeller. but it is the only kit of its subject in
any scale. It served the Arnu?e de I'Ai, in
numbers throughout the 'thirties and into the
'forties, seq uestered examples having been
used by the Luftwaffe, and it typified as much
as a ny aeropla ne Gallic single-engined military
aircrafi design ' tween the wars, making an
interes~ing addition to any collection.
A quarlcr-scale Hurricane
Aim;'l: is gradually establishing a basic list of
standard WW II aircraft types in quarter-scale
and has now produced a Hurricane Mk , to
accompany its Spitfire Mk Vb and Messerschmitt Bf I09F. Aparl from a somewhat
spartan approach to the cockpit interior. this
kit is as detailed as most modellers would wish .
and excels with regard to accuracy and in
standard of surface detailing which clearly
differentiates between the metal- and fabricskinned areas of the aircraft without exag·
gera ting eilher.
Alternative de Havi lland-Hamilton and
Roiol propellers are provided. each having
separate blades, spinners and back plates. The
undercarriage is neatly represented. with
correct pattern doors and nicely boxed-in
wheel wells, and alternative parts are provided
for the gear when retracted. Highly commendable are some of the smaller items. such as the
reRector sight. the landing light lenses, the
mounting step and the separate inserts in the
wing leading edges where the gun ports occur.
These ports were nonnally covered with fabric
PAGE 303
and doped wi th red primer after the guns had
been reloaded. a nd this can be competently
represented wi th fine tissue which will present
the impression of the holes most realistically.
We found , during assembly, that there was
an insufficiency of dihedral on the outer wing
panels, but easily corrected this by carefully
bending the upper and lower wing panels at the
junction with the centre section - white stress
marks appear in the plastic d uring this process
but are, of course, covered during painting and we consider this to be better than cutting
and refixing as thereisa neatly embossed cover
plate at the joint that will be ruined by surgery.
With 51 parts in medium grey and four in clear
plastic, this kit is in Series 4 and completes a
fi ne trio of Airfix Hurricanes - the o thers
bei ng to 1/24th and 1/72nd scales - each
representing the best available in its scale. The
decal sheet is to Airfix's current high standard
and covers an early Mk I of No 85 Squadron
wit.h the RAPs Advanced Air Stri king Force
in France in the spring of 1940. and a later Mk
I of No 50 I (County of Gloucester) Squadron.
Royal Auxiliary Air Force, based at RAF
Kenle y during the " Battle of Britain" period.
There has been. for many yea rs. a 1/48th scale
Hurricane kit by Monogram. but Airfix's new
issue effectively supersedes it.
An alternative .logger
It would seem that selectively a nd in modem
military categories. the products o f the Soviet
aircrafi industry are at last getting some
attention fro m the western kit manufaeturi ng
indust.ry. and followi ng Hasegawa's lead,
Airfix has now issued in its Series 3 a 1/12nd
scale kit of the MiG-23MF (Flogger. B)
consisting of67 parts, all but the canopy being
in medium grey plastic. Alternative parts are
provided so tha t the kit may also becom pleted
in the figh ter's export form , known under the
ASCC system as Flogger·E. this differing from
the V·VS·s MiG·23MF primarily in having the
less efficacious Jay Bird radar in place of High
Lark, and lacking laser rangefinder a nd
Doppler. The external nose conto urs of the
two varia nts are similar. but owing to the
smaller scanner of its radar. the Flogger·£ has
a shorter radome.
The fit of all components is commendably
good. and .....e like the method of assembly of
the main fuselage and centre section. split
horizontally but with the upper rear section,
with the vertical tail surfaces, again separated
vertically. The cockpit interior has a floor,
instrument panel. cOnlrol column. ejection
seat and pilot figure. which. together. 3re
adequa te for the somewhat confined view
through the clear canopy. Operation of the
swing wings is efTective. with a mechanical
linkage. The slub tail plane is also adjustable.
Other noteworthy features are the nea t
rep resen tation of the rela tively complex
undercarri:lge nnd the ai r intakes for the
Tumansky R-29 B turbofan. Regrettably. the
well for the nosewheel gear is too shallow and
cannot be deepened owing to insufficient space
beneath the cockpit fl oor.
The ca nnon (twin·barrel GSh-23L) housing
under the fuselage is inlegrally moulded, and
there are five pylons under the fuselage and
wi ng glove. o ne for a fuel tank and the o thers
for AAMs. the rather odd mix of two AA-7
A/W.T and two AA-2 Atoll missilcs - the latter
should undoubtedly have been AA-8 Aphidsbeing provided for Flogger·B. while the
Flogger·E is intended to tote four AA-2s. A
PAGE 304
small but nicely printed decal shcct offers
markings for a V·VS Flogger·B and for a
Libyan Arab Air Force Flogger·£.
A direct comparison of the Airfix and
Hasegawa kits reveals some differences.
particularly in the respective approaches to the
construction of the model. but. considering the
problems involved in obtaining adequate
information even today, the similarities be·
tween the finished models produced from these
competitive kits a re more notable than their
differences and both may be recommended.
Incidentally. the MiG-23 will shortly provide
the subject matter for our colour pages.
S ha des of grey, etc
The tinlets of Authentic colours produced by
Humbrol have been deservedl y popular for
years; their range is ex tensive and is now
usefull y augmented with six US Navy aircrafi
colours which are also ap plicable to some
USA F machines. All are matched to the colour
chi ps in Federal Standard Colours F.S.595a
and the appropriate rererence numbers are
quoted on the tins. Humbrol's references are
USN 1·6 inclusive and arc. respectively, 361 18
G unship Grey. 36270 Medium Grey. 36375
Light Compass Ghost G rey. 36320 Dark
Compass Ghost Grey. 36440 Light Gull Grey,
and 37875 Undersurface White. These colours
are available separately or as paint Kit No 18.
Federal Standard references prefixed by the
number"3" are mall finishes, but the Humbrol
painls have, for modelling purposes. a semi·
matt (eggshell) fini sh. brush on easily, are thin
but cover well a nd dry rapidly to a dust·
resistant state. The standa rd finish for most US
Navy aircrafi has for long been light gull grey
and white. although the latter is now being
discarded in ravour of a low.visibility overall
grey fi nish. The first four of the previously·
listed shades are a pplied to USAF types. such
as the A· IOThunderbolt ll . the F·15 Eagle and
t.he F·16. In addition. Humbrol hus released
one USMC colour. USM I Field Green (FS
34091) and this has a matt fi nish. All o f these
paints should find ready acceptance among
modellers.
A fo rmida ble S underla nd
With j ust two injection mo ulded ki ts of the
Short Sunderla nd having been produced the long-established a nd still very acceptable
Airfix kit in 1/ 72nd scale and the much rarer
and really quite exquisite 1/ I44th scule kit
from Lincoln - there is certainly scope for a
new production. but it came as quite a surprise
to receive a 1/48th scale vac·form or this
famous boat from Combat Models ( 163]
Marconi Rd. Wall. NJ 07719). This kit makes
up into a model of formidable size. wing span
being 2 ft 4·2 in (71.70 cm). and the size of the
main mou ldings is very impressive. and
particul:l rly the hull half·she lls formed in one
piece rro m nose to tuil. Luge as they are. the
mouldings of the hu ll and the wings have more
thHn udequate thickness and. when the interior
bulkheads. spars and other items arc filted. the
resulting structure is remarkably Strong.
The totHI number of white vucuum·formcd
parts is 42. but nluny more arc to be mude from
the liberal supply of sheet plastic, and there arc
eight transparencies as wrll as a dozen
injection·moulded components. including the
four Pegasus radial engines. the propellers and
the f1:1me·dampingexhaust pipes. A three·view
general arrangement drawmg to I 48th scale is
provided. together with templutes for all spars
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
and bulkheads. Some of the drawings. such as
the perspective view of the intcrior of the flight
deck. are to even larger scales. Thecamouf1age
pattern is marked on the general arrangement
drawing. with colour chips of durk slate grey
and extra dark sea grey. Radar arrays are ~
detailed. as is also the beaching gear for which
all necessary parts are provided. including wire
for the axles. A very good sheet of decals
provides the roundels. fin flashes. serials and
unit codes. and the shades used are correct .
Certain aspects of the construction of this
model of the Sunderland call for a reasonable
degree of modelling ski ll. For instance. the
wrap.around method of making the long·
chord engine cowlings. built upon the moulded
Icading-edge exhaust collector rings. demands
a measure of expert ise. as does also the
building up of thl! gun turrets. But these :Ire
interesting challenges and will deter o nl y the
fa inl hearted . For those willing and able to
muke the necessary effort, this Sunderland kit
will assuredly prove most rewa rding. repre·
senting one of the most enterprising vac-forms
yet to come our way. The price. inciden tally. is
S22·95. plu~ postage.
Decal rel'iew
IPMS: From the US branch of the Interna·
tional Plastic Modellers Society we have
rccei"ed a sample of a decal sheet which.
manufactured by Scale·Master, offers mark·
ings for a varied group of aircraft. A well·
produced and nicely printed sheet, this fea tures
in 1/48th scale the marki ngs of a .....ell·known p.
51 Mustang The Hun Hunter·Texasand an F·
15A Eagle based at Warner Robbins AFB.
while the 5,057th and last McDonnell Douglas
Phantom built by the parent comp.·my (an F· •
4E) is offered in both 1/48th and 1/72nd scales.
This sheet may be obtained. together wit h
instructions for decal application. from IPMS/
USA ( 12535 E Brando St. Cerri tos. Ca 9070 1)
fo r 51'50, plus two International Reply
Coupons for overseas delivery.
Microscale: New decal sheet releases reach us
nowadays with the frequency of income tax
demands from Krasel Industries Inc (Santa
Ana. CA 92705) and we have recently received
a dozen. all in 1/ 72nd scale. Two of the sheets
continue the Microscale series of markings for
the Minicraft/Hasegawa kit of the Lockheed
P·3C Orion. Sheet No 72-240 concentrates o n
o ne aircraft o nly. the XP-3A employed by
NASA and bearing the inscription NASA EARTH
SURVEY I and both USAF serial and civil
registration. This is basically an Electra. and
the main featu re of the colour scheme is a
broad dark blue band. edged top and bottom
wit h light blue. extending the full lengt h of the
fuselage - it is in 10 separate sections on the
sheet and all other appropriate markings arc
provided. Sheet No 72-242 also includes a
NASA aircf'dft. this time an Np-3A which is
lIgain. for all practical purposes. an Elc<:trn.
but the main coverage is for two Rp-3As and
a n Rp·3D used for various projects by the US
Naval Oceanographic Office. These Orions
have striking white.and·orange colour
schemes with highly individual nose arl.
depicting. respectively. Arctic FO.T. Roodrullller
and EI Coyote.
Korean War aircrafi are covered by three
sheets. No 72-2]9 being for an F-86F Sabre
(Hasegawa kit). a T-33A (Hasegawa but with
modified wing tips and tanks from the Airfix F·
8OC) and a T·6D (Heller). The distinctive
black·outlined yellow identifica tion ba nds are
all included, as are also the national insignia.
buzz numbers. serials and more individual
markings. Sheel No 72·244 has a p-5 1D
(Hasegawa). an F-8OC (Airfix). an F-86F
(Hasegawa) and a Vought F4U-5N. the last·
named being produced by combining parts
from the "Matchbox" and Fujimi kits, and
thus entailing some conversion work . The
overall fi nish of this airCf'dft is dark blue with
light blue markings. muking an interesting
scheme, and overall this is a well varied sheet.
Shcct 72-245 co,'ers three Sabres (Hasegawa).
an F-86E and two F-86Fs. This ofTers yellow
identity ba nds, buzz num bers. serials. "kill"
markings and individual art. detail extending
to the pilo ts' names on the cockpit canopy
rrames.
Sheet No 72·246 provides colourful mark·
ings for two F·8E Crusaders and o ne F-8J .
These markings a re intended for the Minicraft/
Hasegawa k.it but are also applicable 10 the
Heller kit. We particularly like the F-8E from
VF· 13. but the F-8E from VF-211 Checkmales
and the F-8J from VF· 1944 Red lighlningsare
also allractive, primarily for their fin-and·
rudder markings. Sheet No 72-241 is entirely
occupied with six·poi nted Israeli blue "Star of
S PANIS H FUR Y
David" markings in various si7.es. some with
the white disc fields outlined in blue. while
Shcct No 72-243 provides letters and numerals
in black. with 45 deg white shading cast in
either direction. used mainly on US Navy
aircrafi and aircraft carriers.
Voodoo markings are provided by Sheet No
72-247 which co,'ers two F· IOICs. one rrom
the91st TFS. 8 1st TFW. and the o ther from an
unspecified unit, both sporti ng large areas of
colour and all o f which is provided by this
sheet, together with a mass of small stencillings
but no national insignia. This sheet is intended
for application to the Hasegawa RF· IOIC kit.
so a new nose and four can non blisters. all
injection moulded. are provided to faci litate
the necessary conversion. No specific aircraft
insign ia is provided by Sheet No 72-248. but
this gives just abo ut every conceivable data
murking for ap plication to the F· 14 Tomcat
and is suffi cient for at least two aircrafi of this
type.
Sheet No 72-249 is unusual in that it covers
C-47s from three difTerent air forces. From the
RAF is Dakota KN 628 which was employed
by Field Marshal Montgomery as his perso nal
tra nsport in the early post·WW II period. this
aircraft having natural metal finish a nd
Jrompage289
Talavera, o n 21 September can be discounted . So can another
sto ry that the remaining Fury c rash·la nded between the lines
after shootin g away its own propelle r, was recovered by the
Republicans, repaired and restored to se rvice. Equally
fallacious is the statement ofa pro· Nationalist author that the
Fury made only two o r th ree brief a ppearances over the fro n t,
on each occasion making its escape without fighting a nd was
never seen subsequently. In fact, the lone Fury continuously
flew so rties th roughout September and October. While the
number of a irwort hy Frenc h figh te rs dimin ished rapidly
t h rough losses in comba t - wh ich may be ascribed largely to
the fac t that they we re commined p iecemea l - accidents and,
above all, a lac k o f spa res, thc Fury m irac u lo usly survived.
The Fury became a famili ar sight fl ying escort to patrols of
Bre 19s o r si ngle Potez 54s in thc estilo Laca1le ( Lacalle style),
weaving to and fro no more than 100 metres above its c harges.
The policy of the Je/alllra (opera tio n a l a ir stafl) of sending
figh ters o ut singly o r at most in pairs a ngered Republican
pilots who, o n 27 Septem ber, the day that Toledo fell, staged a
protest by putting every available airworthy fighter into the
sky; an extraordi nary mix consisting of the Fury, the sole
Boeing28 1, two Loire 46s, three D 372sa nd a pairofNiD 52s.
This c urious miscellany encountered a force of ni ne CR.32s
and three He S is which refused combat, b ut in the afternoon,
the Fu ry, the three D 372s and a Loire 46 attacked a Ju 52/ 3m
formatio n, on ly to be, in turn, bounced by nine Italian·flown
Fiats led by Capitlm Vicenzo Dequa l. Oneaccount alleges that
a Ju 52/ 3m was shot down a nd that two of the Dewoitine
pilots, Vincent Doherty and Eric Griffiths, s uffered serious
wounds during the melee, b ut the Fury continued 10 enjoy a
c harmed life.
M eanwhi le, the figh ler dcfence of M ad rid dwindled
virt ually to vanishing point. According to the testimo n y of
Vincent Doherty, by 20 October, at Getafe there were slillthe
Fu ry, the Boeing 281, o ne Loire 46, four D 372s and three N iD
52s. The Loire. the Boeing a nd o nc NiD 52 were lost o n the
following day, and duri ng the night of22-23 October, three of
the Dewoitines and one Nieuport·Delage were destroyed in an
air attack on the field . The next day, the remaining D 372
suffered an irreparable engi ne failure and the last NiD 52
crashed on la nding. Thus arrived the day when. as Gen
Hidalgo de Cisne ros. the Re publican a ir chief. was to record,
displaying the name Windsor Castle. Most
colourful of the trio is Da kota KG 568 of the
RCAF in bare metal apart from white top a nd
vertical tail surfaces, but with a red-and·white
lightning fla sh and cheat line a long the
fuse lage. a broad yellow band encircling the
fuselage. the legend RESCUE in large yellow
letters on eaeh side of the fuselage. and full
RCA F lettering and insignia. A small supple·
mentary decal sheet is included to replace one
of the roundels, and some small badges for the
RAF machine a ppear on this, these having
been blotted o ut on the main sheet. presum·
ably as a result of a misprint. To com plete the
trio, there is a USAA F C-47 named Honeybun
11/ a nd ascribed to the 80th Troop Ca rrier
Sqdn . 436th TCG. in 1945. this huving olive
drab fini sh with nalural metal undersides. A
rampant black lion on a yellow disc is provided
fo r application to each side of the nose. and a
large green panel wraps around · t.he upper
fuselage. this sporting a profusion of symbols
apparently denoting parachute drops and
medical missions. Sheet No 72-250 concen·
trates o n the inscriptions USAF and us AI R
fORCE printed in black in scale si7.es 3. 6, 9. 12,
15, 18,21 and 24 inches high . 0
F J HENDERSON
in response to yet a nothe r a ir raid a larm, ,, ' had to give the
o rder to send o ut the fighter! " The " fighter" was the Fury
flo wn in rotation by Lacallc and Javier J over Rov ira!
Lacalle was later to describe the exhausting tensio n a nd
a n xict y of those few but seemingly interminable da ys, when
each pilot in turn would take-off and circle over the c ity. As it
happened, the Fury's luck held good fo r it was never once
a ttacked during its last solitary vigil s over M a d rid. On 28
October , Lacalle was sent o n a week's leave, with orders to join
o ne o f the Soviet 1- 15 sq uadrons whic h we re by now a lmOSI
read y to be comm itted to actio n. On the sam e day, the F u ry
was transferred to A lcala dc He na res, north of Madrid . A few
days later, t he luc k of the Fury finally ran out , its pilo t, Jover
Rovira. strikin g a n electric cable during take·off, dama gin g
the battle·scarred Hawke r fi g h ter beyond repair.
Between 18 July a nd I November, this one Fury had flown
over 150combat missions a nd had pa rtici pated in more than a
score of a ir combats. There is no record of h ow many "kill s" it
was credited wit h, b ut we do know that, by the time Lacalle
took command of an 1· 15 esclladrilla on 1 M arch 1937, he was
officially credited with II victories, and there ca n be no doubt
that some of these had been gained while flying the Fury. This
takes no account of "ki lls" ach ieved by other p ilots while
flying the Fury, and by this reckoning a lone, this particular
fighte r - a nd il is impossible to positively identify the
individual aircraft e njoyed a remarkable operational
career, particularly when considering the difficulties under
whic h it was forced to operate .
Somewhat s urprisingly. the Hispano·Suiza factory did
eve ntua lly succeed in re pairi n g the F ury that Lacalle had
damaged in a heavy landi n g early in Augus t 1936 - even as
late as August 1938, Hawker Aircraft was receiving requests
from Spain for Fury rigging diagrams. suggesting thaI plans
for producing Ihe Fury, however unrealistic, were sti ll alive alt ho ug h this was never returned to service and was found by
the Nationa lists at Alicante when h ostilities ended. Insofar as
was concerned the F u ry rebuilt by the Na tionalists themselves ,
on the day tha t Madrid surrendered wi th the termination of
the conflict, on 31 Marc h 1939. this a irc raft was flown over the
city by Gen J ose Rodrig uez Diaz y Lecea. Thus two o f the
origin al th ree Span ish Furies survi ved the civil war and were,
in fact. sti ll flying in 1948, a d ozen years after their delivery to
Spain a nd for lo n g th e last of their breed. 0
PAGE 305
FORES GALLERY
15 Sicilian Avenue (by Bloomsbury Square) London WC1
bay biplane powered by a 100 hp Argus As I water-cooled
engine and made its debut in the summer of 1916. While under
test o n 16 August 1916, the JM attai ned altitudes of 3,280 ft
(I 000 m) in 4 min , 6,560 ft (2000 m) in II min , 9,845 ft (3 000
01) in 19 min and 10,825 ft (3 300 m) in 20 min . No further
development was undertaken a nd no data arc a va ilable.
GLOSTER SPARROWHAWK I (MARS II)
I
( Above and be/ow) The F-16 A air combat fighter with secont/ary
fig hter-bomber role. a pre-production example being seen below.
GENERAL DYNAMICS F-I6
GE RMANY
The Germania JM (Jagdmaschine) experimental single-seat
fighter was based on the promising results n( wind' tunnel
PAGE 306
AIR INTERNATI ONA L/ JUNE 1980
UK
When, in 1920, the Nieuport and Genera l Aircraft Co mpa ny
was closed down, the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company,
which had previously manufactured the Nieupo rt Nighthawk
under ministry co ntract, acquired the design ri ghts to this
fi ghter and the services of its designer, H P Folland , for its
fur ther development. In 1921 , G loucestershire Ai rcraft
received a cont ract from the Im peria l Japanese Na vy fo r 50
Nighthawks modified for naval use, plus a further 40 in
componen t form for assembly in Japan by the Yokosuka
Nava l Arsenal. Prod uced fro m Nighthawk component stocks
acq uired as part of the 19 19 settlement of the company's claim
S.E.5As of 56 Squadron shoot down Werner Voss,
23rd September, 1917. Western Front.
FORES AVIATION SERIES Plate 2
( Amwe) The Germania DB two-seal fighler Wilh gunner abOl'e upper
wing and aheat/ of the pilot.
( Above and below) The Germania JM which was el'alualed during the
summer of 1916
,
~.~.p: KJ
GERMANY
Built by the Germania-F1 ugzeugwerke Gmb H of Leipzig, the
DB two-seat fighte r uti lised the efficient Walfisch (Wha le)
fuselage configuration which endowed the gunner, sea ted
a head o f the pilo t. with a broad forward field of fire. A two-bay
biplane, t he DB was powered by a 180 hp Argus As III watercooled engine, carried a single machine gun o n a ring mounting
in the forward cockpit and was undergoing trials in September
1915. No prod uction of the fighter was undertaken a nd no
data relating to this type are available.
GERMANIAJM
FORES AVIATION SERIES Pla,;.:
te;",:I:....-.........
USA
The F -1 6 has its origins in the USAF's lightweight fighter
prototype programme of 1972, the first of two YF-16s flying
o n 20 January 1974, being selected a. year later for ful l-scale
enginecrin gdevelopment with the first of eight pre-production
aircraft (six single-seat F- 16As and two two-seat F- 16Bs)
Hying 8 December 1976. Current planning calls for 1,388 F-16s
(including 204 F-16Bs) fo r the USAF, 116 for Belgium. 58 for
Denmark, 102 fo r the Netherlands, 72 for Norway. 38 fo r
Egypt and 75 for Israel, those for Europea n NATO signatories
being manufactured by a European consortium. The two-seat
F- 168 is a conversio n trainer retaining full opera tional
capability, with same dimen sions, sam e armament a nd
essentially similar performance to the single-seat F- 16A .
Power is provided by a 25,000 Ib (11340 kg) Pra tt & Whitney
F IOO-PW-lOO(3) turbofan and armament comprises one 20mm M6 1A I Vulcan rotary cannon, nine external stations
being available for 15,200 Ib (6894 kg) of ord nance with
reduced internal fuel , or 11 ,000 Ib (4990 kg) with sta ndard
ruel. Max speed, 1,255 mph (2020 kmlh) a t 36,000 Ft (10970
m), 9 15 mph ( 1472 kmfh) at sea level. Initial climb, 62,000
ft/min (3 15m/sec). Combat radi us (hi-Io-hi), 340 mls (550 km).
Empty weight, 14,5671b (6613 kg). Max loaded weight, 33,000
Ib (14969 kg). Span, 31 rt O;n (9,45 m). length, 47 rt 7, ;n
(14,52 m). Height, 16 ft Sf in (5,01 m). Wing area, 300 sq ft
(27,87 m' ).
GERMAN IA DB
01-404-3063
Lt. Cottle of 45 Squadron shoots down Obit. F. linke-Crawford
of Flick 6J, Austrian Front. 31st July, 1918.
I
',11111 ~ Jt-
11I I
II
~~
~
,{j
. Ul \.LllJ
" ---------
HAND COLOURED ENGRAVINGS AF IER
RICHARD CARUANA
Limited edition of 150 signed by the artist- £161·00 the pair (inc, tax)
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PAGE iv
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11
( Above) A JaguQr-engined Mars VI Nigll thawk supplied to the Greek
Army Air Force in 1923 and destined to remain in service untillhe late
·thirties.
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,
( Abo~'e and below) The Sparrowhawk III shipboardfighter - thefirst
example being illustrated below - with IIydrol'aneattacllment injront oj
the undercarriage.
Air Ministry specification 35/22 and fi tted with either the 398
hp Bristo l Jupiter IV nine-cylinder radial o r 325 hp Annstrong
Siddeley Jagua r II 14-cylinder radial. The first Jaguar·
powered Mars VI co nversio n o f a Nie upo rt-bui lt airframe was
delivered to the AEE at Martlesham on 21 May 1921, official
tests with a second Jagua r-engined example being conducted
at the RAE Farnhorough in July 1922, the fi rst Jupiterpowered Mars VI a rrivin g al the RAE in September 1922,
these embodying some metal fuselage compo nems. In so far as
ca n be ascertained, 29 Nighthawk airframes were rebuilt to
Mars VJ standard fo r the RAF, these being anned with two
synchronised O·303-in (7,7-mm) Vickers guns, and a further 25
powered by the Jaguar engine were purchased by the Greek
government. The Greek machines were delivered early in 1923
a nd remained in first-line service umil 1937-38. The following
data relate 10 the Jaguar-engined Mars VI Nighthawk. Max
speed. 150 mph (241 km/h) at sea level, 142 mph (229 kmfh) at
10,000 ft (3 050 m). Time to 20,000 ft (6 095 m), 24 min. Empty
weight, 1,8 161b (824 kg). Loaded weight. 2,2171b ( I 006 kg).
Spa n, 28 ft 0 in (8,53 m). Length , 18 ft 0 in (5,49 m). Height, 9 ft
in (2,74 m). Wing area, 270 sq ft (25,08 m2).
Bring your name to the fore
by sending now for full
L- _
Inform ation to: Andy Hamnett
;:--Symbol Sweaters Ltd. 11~
Burnawn Factory, Galston, AyrSh lre,\l1JlIUIlLU"illIlUII~~ ' ~
KA4 8HF. Telephone 0563 820213'
:iI
against the government 's cancelled cont ract for this type, the
Japanese o rder was fulfilled within six mo nths. Of the 50
complete aircrafl, 30, initially known as Mars lis but
subsequently as Sparrowhawk Is, were supplied as single-sea t
shore-based fighters, 10 as Sparrowha wk II (Mars Ill) two·
seat dual comrol lrainers and lhe remain in g 10 as Sparrow·
hawk III (Mars IV) single·seat shipboard fighters, with
Hotation equipment, undercarriage arreS ler hoo ks a nd
hydrovanes. The Sparrowhawk was powered by a 230 hp
Bentley B.R.2 nine-cylinder rO lary engine a nd the armamem
of the single-seat models com prised two synchronised O· 303·in
(7,7-mm) Vickers guns. The following data relate to the
Sparrowhawk III . Max speed, 125 mph (20 1 km/h)at sea level,
105 mph (169 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4 570 m). Range, 300 mls (483
km). Time to 15,000 ft (4 570 m), 25·5 min. EmplY weight,
1,850 Ib (839 kg). Loaded weight, 2, 1651b (982 kg). Span , 27 ft
II in (8,5 1 m). Length , 19 ft 8 in (5,99 m). Height, 10 ft 6 in
(3, 20 m). Wing area , 270 sq ft (25,08 m 2 ) .
GLOSTER MARS VI NIGHTHAWK
( Abore and below) The Jupiler-engined Mars VI Nighthawk, which,
although extellsh'eiy tested by tire RAF, h"(/.S never adopted/or squadron
service.
UK
The Mars VI Nighthawk was a G loucestershire Aircra ft
modification o f the basic Nieuport Nigh thawk produced to
PAGE 307
TALKBACK _ _ _ _----III
Rose turret
IN illS request for information about the
Lancaster VII (" Plane Facts"fMay 1980 issue),
Mr A Radforth makes passing reference to the
Rose turret. As you rightly state in the repl y,
the Rose turret was nOI used in the Lancaster
VII. but J would like 10 provide some general
information Oil Ihis interesting turret. which
seems to be little-known altho ugh an exam ple
is o n show in the RAF Museum collection at
Hendon.
The company concerned in its development
was known at the time as Rose Brothers
(Gainsborough) Ltd. of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, having been founded by William
Rose. a n enterprisi ng self-taught engineer and
invento r. with his brother Ha rry. By the time
World Waf 11 started the company was under
the management of Ihe founder's son, Alfred·
G Rose, who died in 1957; it is now known as
Rose Forgrove Ltd following a merger with a
o ne-time competitor. Fortunately, some records of the wartime effort remains, a nd I am
grateful to Peter Pumfrey, Alfred Rose's
nephew, for making available the material
from which much of the following is drawn.
Located as it was in the centre of "bomber
count ry", the company seems to have become
involved almost by accident in a number of
projects for the RAF, among whieh was a
revised mounting for the dorsal and ventral
guns in the Hampden and the explosive cable
cutter fitted in the leading edges of the
Hampden and o ther types to sevcr barrage
balloon cables. In his "Bomber Offensive",
(Collins, 1947), Sir Arthur Harris records how
- accompanied by Gp Capt E A B Rice, then
Station Commander at oneofthe Lincolnshire
bomber bases of No I Group - he had
" Foraged forth into the countryside ... where
we discovered a typically English " family"
finn . . . which can do anything without any
fuss a nd wilh a comparatively minute staff in
the design and drawing o ffi ce:' It was this
contact that led to Rose developing the
improved gun mo untings for the Hampden
a nd, indirectl y, the rear turret fo r the Lancaster.
Sir Arthur Harris records that he by-passed
PAGE 308
Rose type R Nol M k I tail turrets were retrofilled to Lancastersat l'Oriousbasesduring 1944/45,an
action that rt'quired minimum modification af the basic airframe. Several Lanccuter squadrons in No
1 Group werejiying modified aircraft by the end of the war but this illustration shows a Lancaster Mk
I ( W4154 ) of No 1661 Heavy Com'ersion Unit .....ith the Rose turret filled,
official chan nels to ask Rose Brothers to
develop a turret mounting a pair of 0-50-in
(l2,7-mm) machine guns, which were urgently
needed to give Bomber Command's aircraft
better protection against heavily-annoured
Luftwaffe night fighters. The approach was
made some time in 1943 th rough Rice, who
was by then an Air Vice Marshal and in
command of No I Group.
The turret had to comply with a very _
exacting specifi cation laid down by Bomber
Command, which not onl y wanted the heavier
armament with a foolproof ammunition feed
system, but also stressed the need for an
adequate range o f vision and the ability of the
gunner to bring sight and guns to bear on the
target instinctively and quickly. Mo reover, lhe
new turret was to be capable of being installed
in the Lancaster without modification o f the
airframe. The company was told that the time
was of the essence: "every turret produced
during 1944 would be worth 10 produced
later".
In spite ofthedilliculties, the Rose type "R"
No 2 Mk I turret was evolved. Equipped with
two 0·5-in (l2,7.mm) Browning guns supplied
with 335 rounds per gun, the turret had 188 deg
of movement in azimuth and the guns 49 deg in
elevation and 59 deg depression. The movement was hydraulically controlled, as was the
cocking mechanism. All flexible hoses were
eliminated from the turret.
The fundamental principle of the Rose
turret was to keep down to a minimum the
length of time between spotting the target and
bringing the guns to bear on it. Instead of a
gunner having to search the sky a nd then swing
his guns onto the target, with the Rose turret
he searched for his target by looking directly
th rough his reflector sight. The reflector sight
was strengthened so that the gunner held the
sight itsel f and used it to control the turret. As
a result, the gunner was able to press the firing
button immediately he spotted the ta rget
through the sight.
The turret cupola was specially designed to
give a clearer view and 8 5 the outward end of
the turret was o pen, a gunner was able to " bale
out" by diving directly between the guns,
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
which were spaced widely apart to allow this.
A great deal of space inside the turret was
included in the design to give the gunner mo re
room. There was, in fa ct, enough room for two
people inside the turret at the same time.
An assembly line system was used for
production, which involved 14 sta ges of
assembly. Time to assemble each turret was
about seven working hours. Just over 200
turrets were deli vered to the RAF before
production ceased at the end of the wa r. A type
"R " turret could be fitted to a Lancaster
without any alteration to the existing mounting within 3i hours.
It seems that trial installation of the turret
was carried o ut at Blyton, followed by
operational trials at Hemswell. which was the
nearest airfi eld to Gainsborough operating
Lancasters. Certainly, some of No 170 Squadron's aircraft based there had Rose turrets
fitted. The photo enclosed shows one of this
Squadron's aircraft and a sequence of fitting a
Rose turret into a Lancaster at Hemswell is
shown in Air Commodore H I Cozen's film
" Prelude to Victory", excerpts of which have
appeared from time to time on TV. This film
was made chiefly at Hemswell, when Air
Commodore Cozens was Station Commander
Pett r H T Green
there.
Irby-on-Humber
Although Marshal of the RA F Sir Arthur Harris
f ull credit to Rose Brothers f or del'elopment of the 0·50-in (l 2,7'mm ) tail turret and
writes disparagingly of "official channels "
'which had failf'd 10 respond to Bomber Command's needs, it is a fa ct that a contract wcu
placed early in 1943 with Fra:er Ncuh Ltdfor
the similarly-armed FN.82 turrf't. Although
there were early problems, the FN.81, which II'CU
designed with a gyro gunsight and radar scanner
allachment, II'CU passedfor ser~ice use in /944.
Ser~ice approval of the Rose turret also came
in 1944 - in Sep tember - ali(I official records
indicate that approximately 125 of the Rose
Type R turrets were delivered up to the end of the
war. S ofar as can be established. service use was
gi~'es
confined to squadrons in No I Grollp, based in
Lincolnshire; the turrets were probably filled by
work ing parties f rom the company, rather than
being introduced on the Lanccuter prOlluction
lines.
It is k nOI\'n that trialsofthe Rose mrret began
as early as March /944, and possibly before the
end of 1943. S el'ere vibration of t/le sight was
experienced, el'entually being cured by ril'elling
a gusset plate to t'ither side of the f uselage to
prel'ent mOI'emf'nt of the turret support structure. In May 1944. two Lanccuters of No 101
Squadron at Ludford Magna 1I'f'r e filled with
Rose turrets fo r operational t;ials, which were
successf ul although gunners complained of the
cold and additional Perspex was added to reduce
the draught through the lII"et bef ore it was
cleared for general use. Other unilS known to
"{I\'e operated Lancasters lI'it/l Rose turrets are
No 83 (a Pathfinder squadron) , No /70
Squadron and No /662 Heal'Y Comoersion Unit .
- Ed .
How many Phantoms?
wi th more than passing interest. your
references to the delivery o f the "5,I77th
Phantom built .. to the ROKAF (Airscene/
October 1979) and to the closing of the
production line "with the delivery of the
5,057th example" (Roy Brayb rook's Personal
View/ December 1979). Neither of these figures
agree with my records, which add up to a to tal
of 5,081 F-4Es from the St Louis assem bly line.
I also note some discrepancies in respect of
the listings published in the November/
December 1978 issues, where the production
total is also given as 5,1 77. On page 248 of the
fo rmer issue, the table of cumulative deliveries
shows a total of 2,640 delivered to the USAF
by 1976; however, this total is correct o nl y if
allowance is made fo r the 72 aircraft transferred by USAF to Spain (36 in 197 1/12) and
South Korea (1 8 in 1969 and 18 in 1975). It
would be more strictly accurate, I think, to
show a total of2.712delivered to USAF and to
adjust the " internatio nal deliveries" totals
accordingly, as these transfers do not seem to
I NOTED,
be in the same category as deliveries direct to
foreign users from the St Louis assembly line.
Regarding foreign sales, my records indicate
a total of240 for Israel, and this would account
for the discrepancy between you r figure of
5. 177 and my total of 5,08 1.
Gerald Harkin
Batley, W Yorks
Production records, fo r aircraft with long
production runs and widespread sales. are
alll'a)'s difficult to record occurately. It seems,
hOll'el·er. that Mr !larkin is only partially
correct, and that the McDonnell Douglas
figures, used in our NOI'ember/December 1978
issues, can be subSlOntiated. At that time,
produt:tion of the Phantom II'CU expected to
terminate at the quoted total of 5. 177; this 10/01
includes the 138 to be built in Japan, of which,
hOll'ever. II airframes are being supplied in kit
f orm and are counted by MDC as St Louis
protluctioll. This produces a figure of 5. 177 117= 5,050. Includedare 116aircraftfor Israel,
as lI'e indicated; a f urther batch of 24 wcu
earma rked f or Israel but lI'as not built.
Dil"ersionsfrom USAF stocks, incidental/y. noll'
include 35 reu ntly supplied to Egypt.
Since these figures "'ere published in 1978,
M cDOllnell Douglas secured contracts f or a
further 18 F-4&for South Korea and 16 RF·
4& for Iran , to bring the totalot St Louis to
5,050+34=5.084. HOlI'el"er, the 16 for Iran
( the last 16 aircroft to go down the McDonnell
Douglos production line) hal'e not been as'
sembled; because of the situation in Iran, they
lI'ere retained as sub-cusemblies and the company is currently all'aiting USA F instructions cu
to their disposal. Also, as noted, II sets ofparts
included in this totaill'ere shipped to Japan to
become part of the 138-aircraft batch cusembled
by Mitsubishi. Therefore (5.084 - 27) , the last
aircraft assembled andjiown at St Louis was the
5,057th, asret:orded by the company at the time.
To Ihistotal must be added in due course the
/38 Japanese aircraft and, cusuming that they
are e l'entually assembled and deli~ered to
another user, the 16 Iranian RF-4Cs, to gil'e a
grand total of 5,211 Phantoms built. - Ed
P8111________1
"An American Saga: Juan Trippe and His Pan
Am Empire "
by Robert Daley
Random House, New York , SI5·95
529 pp, 6 in by 9 in, illustrated
REMARKABLY enough, over the past 37 years
there have been o nl y two other books on this
extraordinarily interesting subject: Matthew
Josephson's da ted but perceptive and still
good Empire of the Air: JUOII Trippe alld the
Struggle f or World Airways ( 1943), a nd PSt
John Turner's excellent Pictorial History (Ian
Allan 1973), which is accompanied by a
telegraphic but accurate text. The povert y of
literature may be attributed to Jua n Tri ppe's
passion for secrecy. an obsession which
inevitably penneated the company. This new
book, however. was written with the coo peration of Trippe and the company and
great things were expected of it : unfortunately,
it has turned out to be a "Story of .. . " piece of
merchandise tailored for a credulous readership.
When PanAm looked to a tra ns-Pacific
route in 1934, the author would have us believe
that Juan Trippe haunted the New York
Public Library, poring through atlases in
search of island stepping stones, The a tlases
failed to reveal the necessary island between
Midway and Guam, but Trippe was certain
that such an island existed. So he ra nsacked the
old repo rts and logbooks of clipper ship
captains o f yo re, a nd in these ancient papers he
"re-discovered" Wake Island for the everlasting benefit o f the Air Age!
The improbability of this excursio n into
cartographic research piqued the interest of
this reviewer who has since detennined that
mo re than a dozen a tlases published in the US
and UK between 1899and 1929all show Wale
Island. This may seem like nitpicking, but it is
not. The author dwells upon it, hoking up
Trippe's "re-discovery" into a pulpy literary
device: the last chapter of the book ends with
Wake Island served up as some half-baked
"symbol" of an air age gone by. The liberties
taken with Wake Island tend to be symptomatic of too much in these pages.
Chronologically, the main text is quite out
of balance. The first half of the book treats
with PanAm's first 12 years; the last half with
the infinitely more complex 38 years between
1939 and 1977, including all o f World War II .
Toomanyofthechaptersendon tangents. The
a uthor seems to fear giving o ffence to the
reader if salient events are identified with an
exact date with the result a reader can onen
wonder what year he is in. Nor is a chronology
included by wayofan appendix to make up for
this shortcoming which flaws the book badly
as a useful reference. There should be a series
o f maps showing PanAm's expanding route
structure over the years. There is one for 1929;
five o thers are interesting but unrelated . The
o ne lonely section of 16 pages with 27 photos is
unbelievably niggardl y with respect to such a
rich subject .
The a uthor faults Josephson's pio neer work
for being "superficial," but his own Saga
serves to confinn what a good job Josephson
did without PanAm's co-operation almost 40
years ago! What is more, in its own way Saga
simply does some necessary back.ing and filling
o n behalf of Josephson and then extends his
work from 1943 to present times. This is a
PAGE 309
useful and overdue service but there is no point
in pretending that it is much more than this.
Those persons interested in Juan Trippe and
his ai rline will find man y new a nd interesting
a necdotes and nuggets orinformation in these
pages, but they do no t add up to a comprehensive biograph y o f the man , much less a
history of the airline. - RKS
"A irfield Planl"
Pllblishe(1 by " After the Battle". London. 90p
each
IN AN interesting venture with the co..opcration
of the RAF Museum. " Aftcr the Battlc"
Magazine has issued a series of reproductions
of official plans of RA F stations as they were
before or during World War II. They arc
certain to have considerable nos talgic interest
fo r ex-servicemen, as well as being useful to the
historian and to latter-da y visitors to those
sites that still exist as airfields or where at least
some of the original buildings remain.
Each plan is reproduced to a common size
( 16t in by 23 in) and is folded into a plastic
wallet punched for fi ling in a loose-leaf ring
binder. The majority o f the plans in the initial
series of 50 now issued da le from the 1944- 1946
period; interesting exceptions are the 1924 plan
of Biggi n Hill and 193 1 plan o f Northolt. In
several cases, there are two plans for one site.
covering both the airfield and its dispersed
sites.
The plans can be ordered direct from the
publisher at 3 New Plaistow Road. London
EI5 3JA, price 90p each including postage and
packing; the binders cost £3.30 each .
Wrecks and Relics
As interest in aviation museums grows, and
effo rts to preserve historic aeroplanes achieve
increasing success. so does the num ber of
books devoted to the subject proliferate.
Volumes that reco rd, in various ways and with
greater or lesser detail. vi ntage aircraft that
s urvive in or outside of museums, are to be
expected, a nd two recen t such offeri ngs are
noted below. More remarkably, the scope o f
publ ished literature has now been expanded to
as
embr:lcc surviving :Iirc raft II'reckl indicated by the ot her two titles reviewed here:
"Pacific Aircraft Wreckl"
by Charlel Darb)1
Kookaburu Technica! PublicatiQrI5.
Melbourne. Alls/ralia
UK distribution by Patrick Stephens Ltd.
Cambridge. [9·95
80 pp. 8* in by IIi- in. illlistrated
ALMOST in the "incredible but tr ue" category.
Charles Darby has personally ins pected nearl y
2,000 ai rcraft wrecks and crash sites in the SW
Pacific, and here summarises his findin gs.
Most of the photographs (ma ny in colour)
were taken in 1974, when 6 1 different types
were identified - 20 of them Japanese. The
contemporary photographs are laced with
sonie taken up to 35 years ago and the text is
unfailingly interesting.
" Air Transpor/ Hulks"
by Nigel Tomkins
Airfitle Publications and Sales. Ltd. HOIlIIs low.
£4·95
/16 pp. 5i in by 8* in. illultrmed
A OOMPRE.tENSIVE survey o f survivi ng, but for
the most part derelict, airliners around the
wo rld. The entries are arranged geographically, ra nging from an RAF Britannia in the
sea at Aden (visible onl y at low tide) to a
Lockheed L·I049G used as a clubhouse at
Salisbury, Zimbabwe.
" Presen'ed Aircraft "
by Peler R March
Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton. Middlesex, [ 5·95
160 pp. 5i in by 8! in, illustrated
PRESENTS, in chronological order, photographs
and de tails of original aircraft (not replicas)
that are preserved in the U K, in museums or
pri vate collections. The ra nge is from the 1909
Bleriot X I in the Shuttleworth Collection to
the Campbell Cougar of 1973, now in the
British Rotorcraft Museum. A single page
briefl y records 12 replicas.
"Aviation /lfusellms"
by Bob Ogden
Airline Publications and Sales, Hounllo ll'.
[4·95
144 pp. 5i in by 81 in , illustrmed
TH E USA is excluded, but this survey is
otherwise worldwide in scope. A useful record
of museum loca tions and contents, but short
on photographs, of which there are onl y 57
grouped o n the final 18 pages.
Series Additions
Monogram Close-Ups:
"No 5: TOIfu,, ". by Thomas H Hitchcock
"No 16: Bf 109K". by Thomas H flitchcock
"No 19: Kikka ". by Robert C M ikesh
Monogram AI'iatioll Publications. Boylston.
Mass. USA. $5·95 each
32 pp each, 8* in by J01 in. illllstrated
THESE three new titles in lhe Monogram CloseUp series include the most complete documentatio n yet published on the Messerschmitt Bf
I09K, the last version of the fighter to achieve
q uan tity production and operational status.
Although more than 750 were built, few
photographs of the Bf I09K have survi ved,
and Thomas Hitchcock has done well to
assemble some two dozen for publication here.
The book also includes a careful analysis of the
K s ub-variants, with colour profi le and line
drawings, and de tails of the operatio nal use of
the Sf I09K-4, which was the principal version
used by the Luftwaffe,
By wa y of contrast, the Tai fun (Messer- •
schmitt Bf 108) is better-known and betterdocumen ted. German and French produclion,
pre-war, wartime and post-war use are all
covered.
The Kikka was the Nakaj ima-built twin-jet
attack aircraft similar in concept to the Me
262. Bob Mikesh tells its story comprehensively in this monograph, and includes an
interesting acco unt of the first flight as related
some 25 years after the event by ils pilot, Lt
Cdr Susumu Takaoka of the Imperial Ja pan·
ese Navy.
"A~iat ion Photo Album 1"
Compiled and edited by AI J F Bowyer
Patrick Stephens Ltd. Cam bridge. £1·95
96 pp. 6! in by 9! in. illustrated
SOME rare and some not-so-rare photographs
in this second volume of "fall..out'- from the
Airfix Magazine Photopage fea tu re conducted
by Mike Bowyer.
( Abol'e) One ofthree Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifuns opermed by the RAF during the war; this is the
Bf 100B-1 Werk Nr 2039, imported in 1939 as a-AFRN. impressed as DKl80 and written-off in a
crash on 17 August 1944. ( Below) The only Taifun to reach the USA after the war was this Bf 108B1 Werk Nr8378. shown at Wright Field in 1946. Noll' owned by Ed Maloney. il is shown by a colour
photograph in the Monogram Close· up. noted here. to ha\'e been painted (presumably after capture)
lalmon pink on the upper surfaces and buff below.
"Fokker C_ X "
by Hugo Hooftman
Cockpit-Uitgel'erij, Bennekom . Holland. Fill
160 pp. 5i in by 8* in. illustrated
LATEST in the Nederlandse Vli ugtuig Encyclopedie series, containing 246 photographs,
some line drawings and detailed captions a nd
text (as usual. in Dutch).
" Ruslische Utch/l'aart limb 1910"
by Thijs Postma and Wlm ScllGel/maker
Ommiboek. Den flaag, Holland. FII4·95
80 pp. 81 in by 6! i". illustrated
NUMBER SIXin the '-Luchtvaart in Bceld" series;
provides a useful asso rtment of photographs
of Soviet aircraft from 19 10 to date, with
captions and short text (in Dutch).
PAGE 310
AIR INTERNATIONAL/ JUNE 1980
BEl l 0326 CLIPPER
SUCCESSRJL flight testing of the XV-15, the
second prototype of which has now made more
than 20 complete transitio ns in some 20 hrs of
free fligh t, has led Bell Helicopter Textron to
project a num ber of tilt-rotor aircraft for
possible future milita ry or civil use. The XV15, which was launched as a jointly-financed
research project by NASA and the US Army
and has subseq uentl y enjoyed an infusion of
fund s by the US Navy, has shown the a bility to
take-off and land vertically, to hover, and to
ac hieve forward speeds of more tha n 200 kt
(370 kmfh) after tilting the wing-tip pods that
contain 1,550 shp Lyco ming LTC IK.-4K
turboprops driving 25-ft (7.62-m) diameter
ro tor-propellers. A maximum speed of more
tha n 330 kt (6 11 kmfh) is expected to be
achieved eventually.
Of similar general configuration to the XV15, the Bell D326 Clipper is one of the tilt-rotor
projects currently under stud y, and is aimed in
particular at the o ff-shore oil support market,
where it is believed that the superior cruising
speed could give it a competitive edge over the
helicopter. It also can cruise economically at
much higher altitudes than a helicopter, which
can be useful in poor weather and helps to
reduce passenger fatigue.
The layout o f the D326 is shown in the
accompan ying three-view drawing. The fu selage would provide airline-type accommodation for 30 passengers at a sea t pitch of31
in (79cm), three abreast, with a 16-in (4 1-mm)
aisle and a carry-on baggage compartment. In
off-shore operations, the Oipper could carry
30 passengers to a rig 300 naut mls (556 km )
from the coast, off-load. take on 30 new
o:;~u~~nl~!,;.!~n:d return to base without refuellir
fuel can be carried for a range of
naut mis, with the payload
The 1980 model Piper PA-31-30 IT Turbo Soratoga, which has replaced the Cherokee Six .
naut mls (556 krn); max range, 16 passengers
and JO.min fuel reserve, 1,330 naul mls (2464
km).
Weights: Operational weight empty, 24,740 Ib
( 11 222 kg); max VTOweight, 37,000Ib(16 783
kg); max STO weight, 42,000 Ib (1 9 050 kg) in
500 n (l52 m) and 50,000 Ib (22680 kg)in 1,200
ft (366 m); max slung load. 8,000 Ib (3 629 kg);
max fuel load, 5,750 Ib (2608 kg).
Dimensions: Overall width (to ro tor ti ps, 87 ft 0
in (26,52 m); overall length, 60 ft 0 in ( 18,29 m);
max ground height, rotors horizontal, 23 ft 8 in
(7,21 m); main rotor diameter, 38 ft 6 in ( 11 ,73
m); undercarriage track, 12 ft 6 in (3,81 m).
Accommodation: Aight crew of two and up to
30 passengers, three abreast (2+ I, with aisle)
at seat pitch of 31 in (79 em).
PIPER PA-32 SARATOGA
TAKING the place of the PA-32 Cherokee Six
and PA-32R Cherokee Lance in the 1980range
of Piper single-engined airc raft are four
variants o f the newly-named Saratoga, sharing
the same ai rframe. The wing is of semi· tapered
planform, unlike the constant-chord wing of
the types that the Saratogas replace, and the
tail plane is low-mounted, whereas the Lance,
in its later variants, had a T-tai!.
The basic Saratoga is the PA-32-30 I,
replacing the PA-32-300 Cherokee and offering improved performance and better handl ing, thanks to the increased aspect ratio of the
A three-view drawing of the Bell D316 Clipper tilt-rotor projecl.
,
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
,,",,
=====::::::::=:::: ~ _ J====== ::'::'''
I
~::::~
,
, ,'=-
•••••
new wing, which is more than 3 n (9 1 cm)
greater in span. For the fi rst time, Piper is also
offering a IUrbosupercharged versio n of this
basic model, as the PA-32-301T.
Like the Lance, the other two Saratogas
feature a ret ractable unde rcarriage, being the
normally-aspirated PA-32 R-301 and the
tu rbosupercharged PA-32 R-301T.
Piper
claims that performance is substantially
improved, compared with the Lance, and that
fue l econom y is improved by as much as 2·2
US gal (8,3 1) per hour. Both turbosupercharged variants have an optional built-in
oxygen system a nd on a.ll four models
customers can specify a three-bladed propeller
and internal wing-mounted weather radar
antenna.
Power Plant: One 300
IG5D
I
increased by 5 fl ( 1,52 m) and sma ll winglets
have been added, serving ( 0 reduce inducep
drag by 17 per cent.
Use ora wet wi ng results in a n increase of 4\
US gal {ISS I) in total usable fuel capacity and
allows the fue l cell 10 be removed from the
baggage compartment. Compared with the
I
~'~I
17:; ; ;: -A;";h~";.,~., n"- O->f-'h-,~p,L'p_"-P-A"'32RC-'3~OJ~T T~
=::1
additional side view of the PA-32-30 1.
holds a few ship-sets for assembly a nd sa le; a nd
the Shrike Commander 500S. the last example
o f whic h was deli ve red recently to Spanair of
Forest Hill, Md .
The Jetpro p Commander 840 a nd 980,
which were certificated on 7 September and I
Nove mber 1979 respectively, d ifTer from the
Turbo Commander in respect o f the e ngines,
extended wing tips wit h winglets. usc of a
"wet"' wi ng, a revised interior layou t with
longer cabin a nd numerous smalle r refinemen ts. The 840 and 980 differ from each o ther
o nl y in the e ngine va riants fitled a nd in the
specification c hanges that this involves.
The designations a re deri ved from the rated
shaft ho rsepo .....e r o f t he e ngines fitted , 840 and
980 respecti vely, alt hough the e ngines are in
fact fiat-rated at lo wer powers. They d rive
Dowty Rotol round-tipped supercritical-type
propellers that help to reduce noise levels in the
cabin; for the same reason, Rockwell has
redesigned the e ngine vibration dampe rs and
has inc reased the amoun t of soundproofing in
the cabin sidewalls. The wing span has been
fm.",~~a l.~ ", "' b"~ wi th
as standard; four reclining
:.;11 p.,~~,g"seats
in cabin with options for club
arrangement (facing scats) and for a
~
scat betwee n centre pair in cabin. T wo
~~;'I ~'!f:;;':~~~:~~[:I;:aheadofcockPitand
with external access doo rs,
capacity 24·3 cu ft (0.69 m l).
we re the single-engined Alpine a nd Gra n
Turismo Commanders, a few of which remain
unsold ofT t he end o f the line; the Commander
700 (Fuji FA-300), for which the company still
Turbo Commander 6908, therefore, the aft
baggage compartment volume is inc reased by
70 Cll ft (1,98 m 3 ) and there are reductio ns in
ai rframe weight a nd refuelli ng time.
The General Aviation Division expects to
build 52 each o f t he two Jetprop Commande r
models during 1980and to increase produc tion
to a n overall to tal of 130 in 198 1. Deliveries
were 10 begin soon after this report appea red in
print.
.
Power
Plant:
Two
Garrett
AiResearch
TPE33 I turboprops driving Do wty Rota]
three-bladed constan t speed fully ·fea therin$
and reversible propellers of 8 ft lO in (2,69 m)
diamete r: Modcl84O, TPE33 1-5-254K engines
flat -rated at 7 17·5 shp a nd M odel 980,
TPE33 1- 10-50IK engines flat-rated at 732·9
shp each. Fuel capacity, 425 US gal (16091) in
wing integral tanks.
PerformaMe (Model 840): Max operating
speed (VMO), 240 kt (444,5 kmfh) lAS; max
c ruising speed, 290 kt (537 kmfh) TAS a t
22,000 ft (6705 m); operational ceiling,
31,000 ft (9450 m); service ceiling, 34,000 ft
(10 363 m): single-engi ned ceiling. 21,000 ft
(6706 m); ta ke-ofT dista nce to 50 ft ( 15,2 m).
1,833 ft (599 m); landing distance fro m 50 n
( 15,2 m), 2, 150 ft (655 m); range, 45-min
reserve. 1,740 naut mls (3223 Ian).
Performance (Model 980): Max opera ting
speed (VMO), 240 kt (444,5 km/h): lAS: max
c ru ising speed, 315 kt (583,5 kmfh) T AS a t
22,000 ft (6705 m); operatio nal ceiling, 3 1,000
ft (9 450 m); service ceiling 39,900 ft (12 162 m);
single-engined cciling, 26,000 ft (7925 m);
take-ofT distance to 50 ft ( 15,2 m), 1,830 ft (558
m); landing dista nce from 50 ft (1 5,2 m), 2, 150
ft (655 m); ra nge, 45-min reserve, 1,800 naut
mls (3 333 km).
Weights; Standard empt y ( Model 840), 6, 120
Ib (2 776 kg), (Model 980), 6,27 1 Ib (2845 kg);
ma x take-off, 10,325 Ib (4683 kg); ma x zero
fuel, 8,463 Ib (3 837 kg).
Dimensions: Span, 52 ft Ii in ( 15,89 m); le ngth,
41ft Il i in(1 3, IOm);height, 14ft I I! in (4,56
m); undercarriage track, 15 ft 5 in (4,70 m);
wheel-base, 17 ft 7i in (5,38 m).
Accommodation: Two pilots a nd five to nine
J?<Isscn~ers in cabin. Cabin len*t h, 14 ft 3 in
(4,34 m), cabin height, 4 ft 5! in (1 ,35 m);cabin
volume, including cockpit, 224 cu ft (6,34 ml ).
Baggage compartment aft of rear pressure
bulkhead, 70 cu ft (2,0 ml).
C"m"wnd",,!40 and (below) Jetprop Commander 980 business
This superbly Illustrated history is the Joint work of John W. JiI. Taylor
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jet-engine , aviation throughout the world. HI$TOJilY OF AVIATION
explores the complete subject in a splendidly detailed text (with
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The only ground support
the DC-9 needs , .
is the ground itself.
With its self-cor:1tained stairway and auxiliary
power unit, the DC-9 serves minimally equipped
airports as easily and efficiently as it does the
world's major air centres. And just as reliably, too.
In fac~ the DC-9 operates so dependably, its
mechanical delay rate is the lowest of any jetliner in the industry -less than 1%. That's a
remarkable record for an airplane that typically
stops at ten cities a day, with trips ranging from
50 to 1,000 miles.
There are nearly 900 DC-9s in service with
more than 50 airlines on six continents.Together,
they've covered five-and-a-half billion miles and
carried over a billion passengers -quickly,
efficiently and comfortably.
Whatever your route structure, you'll find a
DC-9 that's sized to fit your needs, from the
9O-passenger series up to the 172-passenger
Super 80. Each delivers DC-9 dependability
and versatility.
The DC-9
/MCDONNELL
DOUGLAS \..../"'--"
/