Thai order sought now for N.Z. aircraft

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32977, 25 July 1972, Page 2

Thai order sought now for N.Z. aircraft

IFrom Out Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, July 24. The $3.2m purchase by the Australian Government of 37 of the Hamilton-built CT4 Airtrainer aircraft as a basic training plane for the Royal Australian Air Force was announced today by the Australian Minister of Defence (Mr David Fairbairn) —and on Friday, Mr A. M. Coleman, the managing director of Aero Engine Services, Ltd, which makes the aircraft, will fly to Thailand to try and secure a Royal Thai Air Force sale for another 20 aircraft.

Mr Coleman said today that Thailand had agreed in principle to the sale, but no agreement had been signed.

"We are waiting for confirmation day by day,” he said. “We are sure we will get it.”

Four Royal Thai Air Force officers inspected the Airtrainer in May. Mr Coleman said he was “pretty thrilled” when he heard of the Australia purchase.

It was just 12 months since the company had received the Australian specifications for a new basic training air-

craft. “We thought we could build a plane that would pass the specifications. We did,” Mr Coleman said. “It’s exciting that we’ve got the order. It’s the beginning of an aircraftmanufacturing export business,’’ he said.

Mr Coleman had not had time to think what the order would mean to the company. He could not say what changes it would bring to Aero Engine Services lid, a small company based at Rukuhuia, on the edge of Hamilton Airport. When he made his announcement today, Mr Fairbairn said that the New Zealand plane proved better for the job and also slightly cheaper than its closest competitor, the British-built Bulldog. The British plane, he said, would have cost about $150,000 more over the whole contract—but there were also other factors in favour of the New Zealand entry.

As a former pilot (he won the Distinguished Flying Cross in World War H), Mr Fairbairn said he was looking forward to flying the aircraft when he visited Hamilton. Stability in flight The only point that told against the New Zealand machine during tests was its extreme stability. “It is so docile it is difficult to spin,” he said. “As pilots in basic training have to be taught how to get out of a spin, this will require some attention.”

The Airtrainer, which he regarded as being virtually tailored to meet R.A.A.F. requirements, will be delivered to Australia in mid-1974. Some work will be subcontracted to Australia, including airframe parts, and possibly engine components.

Before a contract can be signed with the New Zealand company the final details of a definitive specification for the aircraft have to be settled, and a fatigue-testing programme will be carried out by the aeronautical research laboratories of the Australian Department of Supply, in conjunction with the R.A.A.F. This is standard practice and is included in the project estimate.