Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2014 20:35:14 GMT 1
On the ICAO thread I touched on a company called Air Pac. They had come up with the idea of transporting people and freight up and down the Aleutian Island chain in Alaska. This was already in operation, but with propeller aircraft, and because of the sector lengths and the need for frequent stops, it was taking too long. The fishermen of Dutch Harbor (the harbour featured in 'Deadliest Catch' if anyone's ever seen it), wanted their catch to be moved to Anchorage for onward sale as quickly as possible and there was a big demand for it. The idea of a 727 in a part cargo config (or PCF [passengers-cum-freight] as we used to call it), had been discussed and rejected by Air Pac because it was too big. The 737 had been rejected for the same reason. Several of the strips they were operating out of were no more than that – just graded out from flat land, with a layer of gravel laid and rolled on top. It was clear that any aircraft would have to have special equipment to deter damage to the undercarriage and underside of the aircraft. At that time, they were operating an FH-227 and a Metro II on some of the shorter routes for this reason. The 146 with its high wing and engines and its short-field capability was well-suited for the job and after an initial demo with a spare US-based aircraft, they went ahead and ordered a 146-100 series. The aircraft allocated was c/n 1013*.
Air Pac wanted a large freight door (LFD) on the aircraft so that they could carry palletised freight. The Aleutians are very remote and while there are plenty of harbours to move goods, often items for the islands were required urgently and had to be sent by air. A very similar situation to the towns serviced in Canada by Buffalo Airways, except with rather newer aircraft! Now, we had never put an LFD on a 146 before, and there was much head-scratching in the design department as to what to do. In the end it was decided that upon completion it would be flown 'green**' to a facility in the US who had experience with this type of work. However, that was just the beginning. There was no Joint Airworthiness Requirement (JAR) system in those days, where all aircraft were built to the same standard throughout the world, as they are today, so we had to approach the FAA to see what mods they would require in order to obtain certification. The list was rather long because Air Pac were planning to put passengers and freight on the same aircraft, and a number of what the FAA called 'specialty requirements' had to be incorporated into the final specification. Eventually, all this was done and it was time for certification. At this point, we were called into the FAA's head office in Washington to discuss how this would take place. It quickly became apparent that apart from a standard test flight, they wanted to make a separate flight to test the smoke alarm system in the cargo section. This involved lighting some smoke-emitting substances in a steel barrel and people standing by with extinguishers during the flight! We were all quite shocked by this and protested, but to no avail. In typical US style, it was a case of 'our way or no way'.
When we returned to the UK, muggins was given the job of telling the Chief Test Pilot what we had to do. Seldom have I seen anyone go pale so quickly. “You mean they want to deliberately have a fire on board while we're airborne? I've spent 25 years trying to avoid having a fire on my aircraft – b******s! OK, I'll call them and see if we can do something else.” His call was futile and a date was set for the event. Fortunately, yours truly was elsewhere at the time, but apparently all went well and certification was achieved. The aircraft was delivered as N146AP, designated as a BAe 146-100A - A for America - on the KISS principle of course
The route survived for about three years, but they didn't get the passenger revenues they expected and despite receiving regional development grants from the State of Alaska they could not make the routes pay and eventually had to close down. Unfortunately, they saw the 146 as part of the problem and tried unsuccessfully to sue BAe and Avco-Lycoming, the engine-maker. I believe the aircraft is still flying with Cobham in Australia. I wonder if they ever use the LFD?
Unfortunately I don't have any photos to accompany this blog. I didn't take the camera the first time, which was just as well, because several of the airfields we visited were military bases and given that this was in the days of the Cold War and we were much closer to the Soviet Union than to most of the USA, tensions were rather high. I recall seeing a very useful-looking squadron of fully tooled-up F-16s at one base!
I hope at least a few of you find this an interesting insight into the background of airliner sales and if you've enjoyed it, I am planning to write another one about the prospect of a big sale of the 146 to Varig for the Rio-Sao Paulo air bridge. I've got a few photos to go with that one, too!
*In the course of doing the research for this article, I noticed that some sites show the c/n as 1015. However, I am as sure as I can be that it was 1013, but I'm prepared to be persuaded!
** For those not familiar with this expression or what it really means, it refers to the protective green anti-corrosive (usually zinc chromate) covering on the aircraft skin which is only removed before painting, but can be peeled off with your fingers if you really want to annoy the guys on the production line!
Air Pac wanted a large freight door (LFD) on the aircraft so that they could carry palletised freight. The Aleutians are very remote and while there are plenty of harbours to move goods, often items for the islands were required urgently and had to be sent by air. A very similar situation to the towns serviced in Canada by Buffalo Airways, except with rather newer aircraft! Now, we had never put an LFD on a 146 before, and there was much head-scratching in the design department as to what to do. In the end it was decided that upon completion it would be flown 'green**' to a facility in the US who had experience with this type of work. However, that was just the beginning. There was no Joint Airworthiness Requirement (JAR) system in those days, where all aircraft were built to the same standard throughout the world, as they are today, so we had to approach the FAA to see what mods they would require in order to obtain certification. The list was rather long because Air Pac were planning to put passengers and freight on the same aircraft, and a number of what the FAA called 'specialty requirements' had to be incorporated into the final specification. Eventually, all this was done and it was time for certification. At this point, we were called into the FAA's head office in Washington to discuss how this would take place. It quickly became apparent that apart from a standard test flight, they wanted to make a separate flight to test the smoke alarm system in the cargo section. This involved lighting some smoke-emitting substances in a steel barrel and people standing by with extinguishers during the flight! We were all quite shocked by this and protested, but to no avail. In typical US style, it was a case of 'our way or no way'.
When we returned to the UK, muggins was given the job of telling the Chief Test Pilot what we had to do. Seldom have I seen anyone go pale so quickly. “You mean they want to deliberately have a fire on board while we're airborne? I've spent 25 years trying to avoid having a fire on my aircraft – b******s! OK, I'll call them and see if we can do something else.” His call was futile and a date was set for the event. Fortunately, yours truly was elsewhere at the time, but apparently all went well and certification was achieved. The aircraft was delivered as N146AP, designated as a BAe 146-100A - A for America - on the KISS principle of course
The route survived for about three years, but they didn't get the passenger revenues they expected and despite receiving regional development grants from the State of Alaska they could not make the routes pay and eventually had to close down. Unfortunately, they saw the 146 as part of the problem and tried unsuccessfully to sue BAe and Avco-Lycoming, the engine-maker. I believe the aircraft is still flying with Cobham in Australia. I wonder if they ever use the LFD?
Unfortunately I don't have any photos to accompany this blog. I didn't take the camera the first time, which was just as well, because several of the airfields we visited were military bases and given that this was in the days of the Cold War and we were much closer to the Soviet Union than to most of the USA, tensions were rather high. I recall seeing a very useful-looking squadron of fully tooled-up F-16s at one base!
I hope at least a few of you find this an interesting insight into the background of airliner sales and if you've enjoyed it, I am planning to write another one about the prospect of a big sale of the 146 to Varig for the Rio-Sao Paulo air bridge. I've got a few photos to go with that one, too!
*In the course of doing the research for this article, I noticed that some sites show the c/n as 1015. However, I am as sure as I can be that it was 1013, but I'm prepared to be persuaded!
** For those not familiar with this expression or what it really means, it refers to the protective green anti-corrosive (usually zinc chromate) covering on the aircraft skin which is only removed before painting, but can be peeled off with your fingers if you really want to annoy the guys on the production line!
