Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/661228
A little bit of history – the bAe-146 progrAme And An Attempt of sAles to the Army Although the protagonists of this article are the first fully militarized models of BAe-146 aircraft, this program itself has more than thirty years. The history of the Bae-146 short-haul/regional airliner started in 1973, when the Hawker Siddeley company launched concept works. They were quickly abandoned due to 1973 oil crisis. In 1978, the program was continued by the state-owned British Aerospace (which absorbed the Hawker company) – the project lasted until the beginning of the 1980s, when the test flights (maiden flight on 3 September 1981) and verification process (ended in the first half of 1983) started. The full-scale production of the 146-100 version was launched in 1983. Soon, a longer (by about 2.4 m) 146-200 version appeared, as well as 146-200QT freight-carrying variant and convertible freight/passenger 146-200QC. In the late 1980s, another, larger variant appeared – 146-300, which apart from the passenger version also included a cargo one. In the 1990s, a new generation of the aircraft 146 was developed under Avro RJ70/85/100 name (corresponding to the previous signatures 146-100/-200/-300). The aircraft was fitted FADEC system and upgraded avionics. The serial production was ended in 2001, after manufacturing 387 planes – most of them ended up in airlines from the Western Europe and both Americas. Its characteristic shape (high-wing with four jet engines and T-shaped www.fragoutmag.com