BAe 146
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The BAe 146 (also known as the Avro RJ) is a medium-sized commercial aircraft which was manufactured by British Aerospace (later became part of BAE Systems) until 2002. It is often also called Avro 146 even though this term is not official.
It carries its four jet engines on a high wing which is above the fuselage (not below, or at mid-fuselage, as on most conventional civilian aircraft). The aircraft has STOL capabilities and very quiet operation; it has been marketed under the name Whisperjet., It sees wide usage at small city-based airports. In its primary role it serves as a regional jet, short-haul airliner or feederliner. The freight-carrying version has the designation 'QT' ("quiet trader").
The BAe 146 comes in -100, -200 and -300 models. The -300 model includes a glass cockpit and sees wide use among European airlines, such as Lufthansa and Aegean Airlines.
The only commercial jet with 4 turbofan jet engines on a wing that is mounted on top of the fuselage, the BAe 146 also has a T-tail. Having extremely large flaps and spoilers, and a large split air brake mounted in the tail, the plane does not need reverse thrust at landing. Consequently, the four engines (supplied by the U.S. manufacturer Lycoming) do not have this facility. The plane can take off and land on extremely short runways, such as those at Mönchengladbach Airport, at Vágar Airport and at London City Airport, a converted dock.
History
Hawker Siddeley Aviation carried out the original design in 1973 using the designation HS146, but soon abandoned the project as a result of the world economic downturn resulting from the oil crisis. Low-key development proceeded, however, and in 1978 British Aerospace, Hawker Siddeley's corporate successor, re-launched the project.
Production began in 1983 with the series 100, carrying 70 - 84 passengers, and ended during the 2001 world slump in the aviation market.
The early aircraft were built at what was the original De Havilland factory at Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
The type name "Avro RJ" superseded "BAe 146" in 1993 in a new joint venture. The Avro RJ comes in three sizes: for 70, 85 and 100 passengers. All three sizes have the same cockpit, engines and operations. Turbofan engines from Honeywell Inc., housed in newly designed nacelles, replaced the original Lycoming engines. Production of this aircraft has ended with the final four aircraft being delivered in October/November 2003. Many airlines will replace the Avro/BAe with the Boeing 717, Airbus A318, Bombardier CRJ 700, or Embraer models such as the Embraer 170 and Embraer 190.
The Avro RJ family of aircraft was built at the BAE Systems Regional Aircraft Centre at the historic Avro Airfield at Woodford in England. 166 Avro RJ aircraft were delivered between 1993 and 2002.
The aircraft have proven to be very useful on "high" density regional and short-haul routes. One of the main features of the BAe 146 that made it different from other regional aeroplanes is the fact that it features a 6 abreast seating which proves to be more comfortable than the more traditional four abreast or five abreast seating of planes in its class. The plane is also renowned for its relatively low noise generation, a positive feature which won the hearts of many operators who wanted to fly in and out of noise stringent airports within cities.
Problems
The ALF 502 turbofans were derived from Lycoming's helicopter turboshaft designs and suffered from significant reliability problems. The internal electronics were prone to overheating which could trigger an automatic shutdown of an engine with no option of in-flight restarting, and certain atmospheric conditions caused engine failure due to internal icing.. As the result, BAe 146 mechanics quipped that "BAe" stood for "Bring Another Engine." In recent years, there have been cases where toxic fumes from engine oil have entered the air-conditioning system and entered the cockpit, adversely affecting the pilots. .Models
- BAe 146-100 and Avro RJ70
First flight of the -100 occurred in September 1981, with deliveries commencing in 1983. The launch customer in March 1983 was Dan-Air soon followed by the RAF's Royal Flight. The -100 migrated last to the Avro RJ standard development,with first deliveries of the RJ70 beginning in late 1993. The RJ70 differed from the 146-100 in having FADEC LF 507 engines and digital avionics. The RJ70 seats 70 passengers, 82 six abreast or 94 in high-density configuration.
BAe 146 of The Royal Squadron
- BAe 146-200 and Avro RJ85
The 146-200 features a 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in) fuselage extension and reduced seat-distance costs. The -200 first flew in August 1982 and entered service six months later. The RJ85, the first RJ development of the BAe 146 family, features an improved cabin and the more efficient LF 507 s. Deliveries of the RJ85 began in April 1993. The RJ85 seats up to 112 passengers. - BAe 146-300 and Avro RJ100
Designers' initial proposals for the -300, the final development of the 146 product line, included a 3.2 m extension to the fuselage of the -200, more powerful engines and winglets. However due to the requirements of airlines for higher efficiency rather than capacity the production 146-300 emerged as a 2.44 m stretch of the -200, without winglets or the proposed ALF 502R-7. Deliveries began in December 1988. The Avro version of the 146-300, the second such development of the 146 product line, became the RJ100. It shared the fuselage of the 146 version, but with interior, engine and avionics improvements. The most common configuration in the RJ100 seats 100 passengers. The RJ115 seats 116 as standard or up to a maximum of 128 in a high-density layout. - Specific variants
- *Statesman
VIP or corporate transport version. - *146-QT (Quiet Trader)
Freighter version. - *146-QC
Convertible passenger/freight version. - *146-STA
Military transport version. - Avro RJX Series
The RJX-70, RJX-85 and RJX-100 aircraft represented advanced variants of the Avro RJ Series. The RJX used Honeywell AS977 turbofans for greater efficiency (15% less fuel-burn, 17% increased range), quieter performance and 20% less maintenance costs. Druk Air of Bhutan placed orders for two RJX-85s, while British European placed orders for 12 RJX-100s. However, BAE Systems terminated the project in December 2001, having completed and flown only three aircraft - a prototype each of the RJX-85 and RJX-100, and a production RJX-100 for British European. The termination of the RJX project marked the end of commercial airliner-production in the United Kingdom.
Specifications (BAe 146-200)
Military Operators
- Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom.
References
External links
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- BAe 146-200 and Avro RJ85
