Cobham Aviation Services has launched Australia's first commercial passenger jet services to gravel air strips after fitting modifications to protect the fuselage, nosewheel and undercarriage from damage.
The gravel kit, developed by BAE Systems, has been installed on two of Cobham's jet fleet that operates fly-in fly-out (FIFO) operations for mining and energy companies. Cobham says it is the only Australian FIFO operator that can offer jet services to unsealed airstrips.
Cobham has modified two 71-seat BAe 146s with the gravel kit following 18 months of trial flights and approval by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority. The modification, undertaken at Cobham's Adelaide and Perth facilities, involves use of specialised rubber paint to protect the underside of the fuselage, a nose-wheel stone deflector and Kevlar undercarriage shields around the main landing gear that protects it from dislodged gravel and debris during take-off and landing.
Cobham, which operates a fleet of 20 BAe 146s, Avro RJ100s and de Havilland Dash 8 turboprops on FIFO services, has launched jet FIFO services to unsealed airstrips for a mining consortium in Kambalda, 500km (270nm) east of Perth in Western Australia.
The company says it is also in talks with other mining companies to expand the services and modifications on additional aircraft are under way.
The modification opens up hundreds of gravel air strips around the country to jet aircraft for the first time, says Cobham. "Until now, companies operating out of gravel airstrips were forced to use turboprop aircraft with a limit of 50 passengers," says Peter Nottage, vice-president of Cobham Aviation Services.
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Source: Flight International
