aviation - the past, present and future of flight

which was  tted with a freight door as part

of the company’s fruitless efforts to sell as

the sideloading tactical airlifter for military

purposes. Originally G-SSHH, the second

146 built, the aircraft still  ies in Australia

as a freighter with Australian Air Express

as VH-NJV.

There were two later QT conversions

sponsored by BAE Systems (formerly British

Aerospace) with the work carried out by

Aerostar in Romania in 2008-2009. Owing

to production problems during adaptation,

the  rst (a -200QT) was eventually

scrapped. The second was a 146-300QT

which now  ies with National Jet Express in

Australia as VH-NJZ.

Many of the QTs are now in store or have

been used for spares. But Southend-based

airline Jota bought four 146-300QTs and

another was delivered to Cobham in Australia.

Also in Australia, Pionair has two of the QCs

and three 146-200QTs. Two other QCs that

formerly  ew with TNT were converted into

C3 transports for the RAF as ZE707 and

ZE708, while one other QC was scrapped.

FROM 146 TO AVRO RJ

A second 146 production line was opened

at Woodford in 1988 and in a move to

cut costs, all  nal assembly was centred

there from 1992, with the famous Hat eld

site  nally closing in April 1994. By 1990,

with more than 200 aircraft built, British

Aerospace recognised there was a need

to revamp the 146. That same year a new

version of the 146 was announced to be

marketed under a new name: the 146-100,

146-200 and 146-300 became the RJ70,

RJ85 and RJ100 respectively. The RJs had

the latest version of the Textron Lycoming

engine, the LF507 with full authority digital

engine control (FADEC), fresh avionics,

increased payload and range, along with a

remodelled interior.

It was this engine that was the major

improvement in the aircraft’s marketability.

As four powerplants were naturally costlier

to maintain than two, BAe offered support

packages that guaranteed reliability and

maintenance costs equivalent to those

of a twin-engined airliner. Three RJ

development aircraft  ew: G-ISEE, an RJ85,

 ew on March 23, 1992 followed by the

RJ100 (G-OIII) and RJ70 (G-BUFI) on May

13 and July 23.

The RJ was a success, with orders from

carriers such as Crossair/Swiss, Lufthansa,

Sabena and British Airways. During the

2000s the Lufthansa group had the largest

146/RJ  eet, totalling 37 aircraft, but by 2012

all had been replaced.

In 1995 Sabena’s order for 23 RJ85s

(nine later exchanged for RJ100s) was

the largest sale up to that date for the

type. These were operated by its regional

subsidiary DAT. Sabena was half-owned by

Swissair and when that collapsed Sabena

also went into liquidation. Swiss was

established and a new Belgian carrier was

formed when company SN Airholding was

created by a group of about 40 investors.

The new airline was called SN Brussels

Airlines and later merged with Virgin

Express to form Brussels Airlines. Swiss

ceased RJ operations in August 2017 after

27 years and Brussels Airlines followed suit

two months later.

Though the Sabena order had been very

large, it was trumped by Northwest Airlines

order in October 1996 when 12 RJ85s were

bought along with 24 options, which were

soon taken up. This was for a new operation

called Northwest Jet Airlink with the aircraft

operated by Mesaba Airlines.

However, just as the 146 suffered from

changes at US airlines, so too did the RJ and

in 2006 Northwest Masaba stopped trading.

CityJet took 27 of its RJ85s as replacements

for its collection of 146s.

Current large operators of the type are SA

Airlink and Braathens which both have 12

RJs. The 146/RJ has always had a strong

representation in Australia and continues

to do so with Cobham/National Jet Express

that has 16 146/RJs used on scheduled

 ights and mining support operations.

THE END OF BRITISH AIRLINER

PRODUCTION

In the late 1990s BAE Systems investigated

ways of maintaining sales of the RJ,

especially as new competitors from

Bombardier and Embraer had entered the

market. BAE Systems revisited plans for

a twin-engined version but soon decided

that the level of investment required for this

option was too great.

So, in March 2000, the Avro RJX was

launched with Honeywell AS977 engines

which were quieter and would provide 15%

lower fuel burn than the Textron Lycomings

52 Aviation News incorporating Jets September 2018

LONDON CITY AIRPORT

At one time the 146/RJ was the predominant type

at London City Airport and the facility would not

have gained its current status without it. Until

1988 only propeller aircraft could  y in to the

airport, but the quiet British jet proved acceptable

to the local populace and well able to  y the steep

approach required. Notable users of the 146/

RJ into London City were Lufthansa, Sabena,

Malmo Aviation, Azzurra Air, BA and Swiss,

which ceased operating the RJ into London City

with the type in 2017. CityJet continues to  y its

RJ85s into London City, though its  eet has been

gradually reduced to 12. It is intending to replace

its RJ85s with Sukhoi SuperJet 100s.

Former 146-100 prototype and later 146-300 development aircraft G-LUXE, had the distinction

of being the last delivery of a 146/RJ from Woodford. The  ight took place on May 10, 2004.

BAE Systems

In 1995 Sabena ordered 23 RJ85s including OO-DJL.

Nine were exchanged for RJ100s before delivery.