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UPDATE
Week ending December 1, 1996

Fokker/Samsung deal is off +++ Luftwaffe withdraws Tornado ECRs from Piacenza +++ Next Ariane 5 set for launch in April +++ AEA chiefs appeal to European regulators +++ Austrians complete Hornet evaluation +++ Luftwaffe checks Beech Pilatus PC-9 Mk.II +++ New NASDA President: Japan speeds up its way into space +++ Pilot to blame for Luftwaffe UH-1D crash in June +++ News in Brief +++

Fokker/Samsung deal is off
Chancen für Fokker schwinden

Chances for a revival of Fokker as an aircraft manufacturer have been dealt a massive blow by the continuing delays of Samsung to come to a final decison on buying the company. Therefore, on November 28 the bankruptcy trustees and the tanagemt team have concluded that it is no longer feasible to continue Fokker after the present production of some aircraft under "Window III".
    According to a statement by the trustees, the present view is that negotiations with prospective candidates, including Samsung, for the takeover of Fokker or parts of Fokker connected with aircraft production will only be possible on the basis of a new business plan assuming that the wings for the jets will have to be built elsewhere, after Shorts was no longer prepared to supply more parts. Such a transfer of production will entail considerable dely and price increases, not only at Fokker but also for other suppliers. the chances that the Fokker programmes could survive on base of such a plan must be regarded as extremely small, the trustees concluded.
   As the situation is now, some aircraft for KLM Cityhopper, Vietnam Airlines and Ethiopian Arilines will be completed. As planned, employees will gradually be leaving Fokker during the course of the following months.
    The problems with the Samsung rescue proposals apparently arose at a late stage, after considerable progress was made in October. This was due to the fact that the South-Korean Government announced that the transaction would require its consent and that other Korean Industries would be required to participate in the new company. In addition, the takeover would have to further the South Korean Governments aim of developing a new 100-seat aircraft. While these difficult issues were adressed, arrangements with major suppliers ran out on October 31.

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Luftwaffe withdraws Tornado ECRs from Piacenza
ECR-Tornados beenden Bosnien-Einsatz

On November 22, the Luftwaffe brought back its six Tornado ECR from Piacenza in northern Italy. The aircraft are no longer necessary to support the IFOR operations in Bosnia, as the threat levels have eased considerably. Nonetheless, two ECRs will be available on 48 hour notice and six more at 96 hour notice if requested by the NATO commander in charge of air assets.
    Following the withdrawal of the Tornado ECRs, Einsatzgeschwader 1 at Piacenza will be reduzed by 70 to around 360 personnel, which will continue to operate six recce Tornados drawn from AG 51 "Immelmann".
Since the allocation of the Luftwaffe aircraft to the NATO Bosnian operations
  • 922 operational flights were made in support of the fast reaction force until December 19, 1995
  • 2042 operations flights were conducted since December 20, 1995 in support of the IFOR peace-keeping force.
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Next Ariane 5 set for launch in April
Ariane soll im April 1997 wieder starten

The European Space Agency plans to launch the second Ariane 5 in April 1997. The projected payload will consist of two dummy satellites and one 1100 lbs AMSAT satellite for the geostationary orbit in order to reduce cost in case of another failure. After a successful second and third test launch Ariane 5 is scheduled to begin commercial operations early 1998.
    ESA Director General Jean-Marie Luton told journalists in Paris the cost for of the explosion was around 2 billion Francs ($400 million). ESA countries, Arianespace and other companies will share this amount.

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AEA chiefs appeal to European regulators
Airline-Chefs fordern bessere Regelungen in Europa

Airline presidents representing the 26-strong Association of European Airlines held their Autumn 1996 assembly in Dublin recently. High on the list or problems discussed was air traffic management, airport congestion and slots, competition policy and harmonisation of flight duty and rest time rules. The main points made were as follows:
  • Air traffic management: Sovereignty over national airspace should be exercised in the most supportive way to meet the need of the users for a single entity. The structuring of the common airspace should be the core task of a revamped Eurocontrol agency. Also, it is essential that air traffic control services are clearly separated from legislative and regulatory tasks.
  • Airport congestion and slot allocation: The European authorities should be looking at ways and means to help local authorities speed up the growth in capacity at hub ariports. A code of conduct for slot allocation by definition does not increase resources and is therefore not enough to cope with the problems of a growing market.
  • Competition policy: The key to a market driven economy is free access, which also guarantees teh competitive process in the aviation market. Aviation regulators should not try to replace commercial by regulatory judgements.
  • Flight duty and rest-time limitations: There is no evidence at all that existing national rules in Europe for flight crews duty and rest-time periods ae unsafe, or that the health of flight crew has been put at risk. Any attempts to harmonise the different natiional rules must be strictly based on safety considerations, and not distort competition. Harmonisation can not be a platform where working conditions of a special and well-treated group of airline staff are negotiated under the guise of safety requirements.
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Austrians complete Hornet evaluation
Österreich untersucht F-18 als Draken-Nachfolger

Representatives of the Austrian air force recently concluded a two-week, 10-flight evaluation of the F/A-18 Hornet at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort (South Carolina). The two familiarization and eight evaluation flights at Beaufort covered the full spectrum of F/A-18 air-to-air and air-to-ground maneuvers, including air-to-air intercepts against multiple targets. Even air-to-ground ordnance was released.
    Austria plans a second flight evaluation of the F/A-18 between May and October 1997 in Austria. That evaluation will be based on criteria developed by the Austrian Air Staff. The country is looking for a Draken replacement. 30 aircraft for air defence are sought in fiscal years 1998 and 1999.

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Luftwaffe checks Beech Pilatus PC-9 Mk.II
Luftwaffen-Pilot fliegt PC-9 Mk.II

During the recent sales tour of the Raytheon Beech Pilatus PC-9 Mk.II, the Luftwaffe took the opportunity to fly the new trainer from Nörvenich. Hauptmann Uwe Henseler from JaboG 31 was impressed by the "jet with a prop", which will replace the T-37 in USAF service from 1999.
   Luftwaffe interest for the PC-9 Mk.II stems from the fact that it also uses around 40 T-37s at Sheppard AFB (Texas) for its pilot training. These T-37 are integrated in USAF operations under the ENJJPT programme (Euro NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training), but were bought by Germany in 1965. With the USAF at Sheppard switching over to the PC-9 Mk.II at around 2006/2008, ENJJPT will likely have to follow suite. According to a Lufwaffe spokesman, the decision to continue with pilot training at Sheppard has been taken in principle, but questions regarding USAF wishes to get more influence over the training syllabus have to be resolved.

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New NASDA President: Japan speeds up its way into space
Neuer NASDA-Präsident: Japan in neuer Phase beim Weg ins All

New NASDA (National Space Development Agency of Japan) president Isao Uchida told the public that Japan entered the second phase on its way into space. This phase "will be characterized by development of space technology applications beneficial for all mankind. To achieve this, NASDA will dedicate itself to developing space technologies that can be utilized easily by anyone at anytime.
   The orbital construction of the Space Station is expected to commence in due time, paving the way for its full-scale operation. High expectations are mounting for advancement of space technology as an effective means of resolving the Earth's environmental problems. Certainly, international cooperation will be a prerequisite for solving such problems. NASDA must be prepared to shoulder its share of the burden for space development for the benefit of the world community."

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Pilot to blame for Luftwaffe UH-1D crash in June
Hubschrauberabsturz: Pilot war schuld

According to the accident report, parts of which became known on November 26, the crash of a Bell UH-1D of the Flugbereitschaft (VIP transport unit of the Luftwaffe) in June was due to risky manouvres by the pilot. Twelve people died and one passanger was injured in the worst helicopter accident of the Bundeswehr.
    The UH-1D was used for demo flights at a youth festival in Dortmund, where the Luftwaffe was promoting service career opportunities. Winners of a drawing and some journalists were on board when the helicopter lost height while approaching a rising forest area, hit some treetops and finally crashed 175 metres further on. Onlookers could pull just one passenger from the cabin before the UH-1D burst into flames.
   The investigation could find no technical defects in the helicopter, but computer simulations, the report of the survivor and examination of the tape of one of the reporters led the investigating team to conclude that the 38 year old pilot, without any apparent reason, "brought the helicopter into the corners of its flight envelope".
    As a result of the crash and the ensuing bad publicity, the Luftwaffe has now decided to stop all joyrides in its helicopters. Recruiting efforts will thus loose what one of the officers called "a very strong attraction" which can't be replaced easily.

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NEWS IN BRIEF - KURZMELDUNGEN

In the never-ending saga surrounding Eurofighter production investment, German defence minister Volker Rühe has now promised a decision by next march. In an interview with the Financial Times he claimed that Eurofighter "is far more important for me as defence minister than the satellites. There is no money for that in the budget". Decisions on German-French armaments programmes are expected at the beginning of December, when Chacellor Kohl and President Chirac meet for the next summit.
+++
According to Dasa-boss Manfred Bischoff, the company will reduce the number of job cuts by 2000 personell. This is due to better order intakes for Airbus aircraft, so that the north German plants will profit most from the improved situation.
+++
Tests with a specially modified Mirach 100/4 target drone were successfully completed recently, Dornier has announced. The flight tests, contracted for by the German Navy, were conducted at the Huelva range in Spain. They showed that the Mirach 100/4, built by Alenia/Meteor, can convincingly simulate a low-flying anti-ship missile. This was not possible before, claims Dornier. The German Navy is interested in a new target drone for use with the RAM missiles fitted to frigates and fast patrol boats. According to Dornier, the "RAM-Drohne" can be airlifted to any range and can thus be used in a very flexible way.
+++
On November 25, Elbe Flugzeugwerke at Dresden handed over their first Airbus A310-200 converted to Freighter-standard to Feder Express. Six more aircraft are to follow in 1997. Elbe took over the task from Daimler-Benz Aerospace Airbus at Hamburg, where 27 A310 had been converted since 1994. Transfer of tools was made during the summer. Dasa estimates that there is a market for 170 to 200 freighter conversions from Airbus airliners in the next 15 years.
+++
The Airfare Index of American Express reported that special airline tickets for flights in Germany are 15 per cent cheaper on average than a year ago.
+++
Oberstleutnant Christoph-Benedikt Scheffel form AG 51 "Immelman" is the first German soldier to graduate from the Polish military academy at Warsaw. After two and a half years he finished fith in his group.
+++
Lufthansa has reported a profit before taxes of 315 million DM for the third quarter. This is roughly the same as last year, so that results for the full financial year will be down at least ten per cent against the 1,6 billion DM of 1995. Passenger numbers were still slightly down, resulting in a load factor of 68,7 per cent.
+++
Litef is the only German company selected by Raytheon Aircraft to supply equipment for the Beech Pilatus PC-9 Mk.II trainer. It will deliver the fibre-optic gyros for the aircrafts navigation system. Only one other European company is involved in the Mk.II production: Martin-Baker supplies the lightweight ejections seats.

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LRI Fakten - News from the BDLI

The German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI, Bundesverband der Deutschen Luft- und Raumfahrtindustrie e.V.) is publishing a monthly newsletter, which we are pleased to offer to our international readership online. Just klick here for the September/October issue of LRI Fakten.

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Copyright 1996 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved.
Last updated November 30, 1996