of the RJ. Unlike the 146 and the RJ, the
RJX was offered in only two forms: the
RJX85 and the RJX100.
The prototype RJX85, G-ORJX, made
it maiden ight from Woodford on April 28,
2001 and the RJX100 prototype G-IRJX
followed it into the air on September 23,
- The RJX’s rst orders came from
Drukair of Bhutan for two RJX85s, BA
CityFlyer took out options on six RJX100s
and British European ordered a dozen
RJX100s, with options on eight more.
Flight testing continued apace, but
on November 27, 2011 BAE Systems
announced that it did not see the regional
jet programme as viable and closed RJ
production and the RJX project. The RJ/RJX
had become the victim of the collapse in
the airliner market after the terrorist attacks
on 9/11, increased competition and the
challenge to sell aircraft at a pro t. Of the
two RJX prototypes; G-IRJX was donated
to the Runway Visitors Park at Manchester
Airport on March 6, 2003. G-ORJX stayed
at Woodford until 2011 when the fuselage
was transported by road to BAE Regional
Aircraft at Prestwick.
The nal airliner delivery from the
Woodford production line was of RJ85
OH-SAP to Blue1 on November 25, - However, the last delivery of a 146/
RJ from Woodford was not until May 10,
2004 when the former 146-100 prototype
and later 146-300 development aircraft
G-LUXE was delivered to the Facility for
Airborne Atmospheric Measurements
(FAAM) at Cran eld, Bedfordshire. This
aircraft had been transformed into dedicated
meteorological research aircraft tted with
higher-powered LF507s, extra fuel tanks
in the wing roots and the aft freight bay
to extend range. The cabin is full of test
equipment and externally there are four TV
cameras and many sensors.MILITARY 146
Despite extensive efforts by British
Aerospace to sell the 146 as a sideloading
tactical aircraft (STA) from 1988 to 1990,
there had been no sales. However more
than 20 years later in 2011, owing to
an urgent RAF requirement identi ed
during the planning for withdrawal from
Afghanistan, BAE Regional Aircraft
sourced two former TNT 146-200QCs and
managed the conversion of them with the
installation of a defensive aids system.As these 146 C3s are QCs they can be
converted to all-passenger/all-freight
combinations or a mix of these. The two
aircraft; ZE707 and ZE708 y with 32
Sqn, which also operates two 146-100s;
ZE700 and ZE701 originally purchased
for the Queen’s Flight in 1986 and now
incorporated into 32 Sqn. There was
previously a third 146-100, ZE702, which
was received by 32 Sqn in January 1991.
It was sold in July 2003 to an Indonesian
TV magnate but now ies as PK-TNV for
TransNusa Air Services.
Prior to purchasing the 146-100s for the
Queen’s Flight, two early production 146-
100s were trialled for the role as ZD695 and
’696 from August 1983 to March 1985.
Besides these four 146s currently on
the UK military register, there are two RJs
that were purchased for the Empire Test
Pilots’ School at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire,
in 2012. These are Avro RJ100 QQ101
formerly with BA Connect as G-BZAY and
an RJ70, previously SE-DJP with Malmo
Aviation, which has been extensively
modi ed at Cran eld with a ballast transfer
system and ies as QQ102.FIREFIGHTERS
In a new role that the original Hat eld
designers could never have envisaged,
the 146/RJ has proved a great success in
ghting forest res in the USA, Canada,
Australia and Chile.
These 146/RJs, referred to as Aerial
Tankers by the US Forest Service (USFS)
have been converted in two very different
fashions to be suitable for the task of
uploading 3,000 US gals (11,356 lits) of
re retardant and have the facility to evenly
distribute it. Conair of Canada has adapted
eight RJ85s by installing external tanks
enveloping the aircraft’s underbelly.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 53
‘These sales for
the larger aircraft
indicated that it was
a more marketable
machine than the
smaller -100 and
production of the fi rst
-200 was expedited’
The prototype RJX85, G-ORJX, made its maiden ight from Woodford on April 28, 2001.This well-travelled example started off in 1984
as a standard 146-100 and served with Paci c
Southwest Airlines as N582B. After several
other users it returned to British Aerospace
and was converted to 146-100STA (sideloading
tactical airlift) speci cations as G-BSTA in the
late 1980s. It later served with the Austrian Air
Force and was last noted as being in use with
National Jet Express in Australia.