http://www.dsti.net/Information/News/62808
未來戰略加油機(FSTA)準備工作進行中
2010-10-22
[據英國《飛行國際》2010年10月15日報導]英國訂購的未來戰略加油機(FSTA)的各項準備工作正在進行中,並且已經挑選2名預備役飛行員和11名軍事工程師,用於支持英國皇家空軍的空客未來戰略加油機機隊。
明年年底開始將有14架飛機交付英國皇家空軍位於牛津郡的牛虻•諾頓基地,這些飛機的訂購已經被包括在價值168億美元的交易中,這項交易的時間可能到2035年。
歐洲航宇防務集團(EADS)公司的英國空中加油機服務公司已經開始管理牛虻•諾頓基地兩艙飛機修理庫的建設工作,聯合辦公室和訓練學校等設施也即將就緒。該公司有45名雇員,明年5月將進駐基地,但是未來戰略加油機的服務工作將擁有500名職員,包括300名軍職人員和175名工程師。
空中加油機服務公司飛行任務主管詹姆斯•斯考特稱:“公司正在尋找具有專業技能的人才,我們的目標是聯合軍用和民用的最好資源。”根據現有計劃,將有9架未來戰略加油機將交付英國皇家空軍使用,其餘可能將交第三方使用。“根據我們的想法,我們希望全部14架飛機都將交付,針對未來戰略加油機機隊我們還有很多事情要做。”
第一架加油機將於2011年10月交付,該架飛機採用兩點加油方式,安裝科巴姆公司的905E翼下軟管錐套加油系統,這架的交付將標誌著未來戰略加油機正式投入使用。2013年初將在5架飛機投入使用,2014年末將有9架投入使用,14架全部投入使用的時間將是2016年中期。英國訂購的第二架加油機於10月8日在歐洲空客軍機公司的西班牙赫塔菲工廠總裝下線,不久後將進行首飛。(中國航空工業發展研究中心 李淼)
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/10/15/348481/airtanker-fsta-preparations-on-track.html
DATE:15/10/10
SOURCE:Flight International
AirTanker: FSTA preparations on track
By Craig Hoyle
Preparations to field the UK’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) are on track, with the first two sponsored reservist pilots recruited and 11 military engineers having recently been selected to support the Royal Air Force’s fleet of modified Airbus A330-200s.
An eventual 14 of the aircraft will be based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire starting from late next year, having been ordered via a roughly £10.5 billion ($16.8 billion) private finance initiative deal to run until at least 2035.
The EADS UK-led AirTanker Services consortium has already managed the construction of a new two-bay hangar at Brize Norton, and associated office and training school facilities are also nearing readiness. The company, which has 45 employees, will move on to the base next May, but the FSTA service will eventually have 500 staff, including 300 military personnel and 175 engineers.
“We’ve got a significant amount of recruiting to carry out – civilians with the appropriate engineering qualifications who are willing and able to become sponsored reservists,” says fleet engineering director Paul Kimberley. AirTanker has also recently signed up its first sponsored reservist engineer.
An initial intake of military engineering personnel has recently been selected to support the A330. “We had a lot of interest,” he says, with nearly 800 applicants having contacted the company about the first 11 available posts. The selected candidates will start a two-year training programme in January, and then serve a tour of at least three years on the FSTA programme.
The first two of a planned 14 sponsored reservist pilots have also been recruited, with AirTanker seeking experienced A330 training captains and ex-military pilots to take on instructional roles and also support AirTanker's civilian operations.
“We are looking for people with a very specialised set of skills,” says James Scott, AirTanker’s director of flight operations. “We aim to combine civil best practice with a military ethos.”
Under current plans nine of the FSTA fleet will be dedicated for RAF operations, with the rest to be made available for third-party use. “From our perspective, we would like to see all 14 aircraft flying,” Scott says. “There’s a lot more that we could do with the fleet.”
First to arrive in October 2011 will be a two-point tanker with Cobham 905E underwing hose and drogue refuelling pods, with the delivery to mark the type’s introduction to service. Five aircraft will be in use by early 2013, nine by late 2014 and all 14 delivered by mid-2016, when full service delivery will start.
The UK’s second modified A330 was rolled out at Airbus Military’s Getafe site near Madrid on 8 October, and is expected to be flown soon. Cobham will prepare the remaining 12 at its Bournemouth airport site in Dorset, starting from next year.