JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
Many aircraft need replacing following trade sanctions and ban on private ownership
Iran's HF Dorna received certification for its Blue Bird two-seat aircraft from the country's civil aviation organisation last month. Certification, to European JAR-21 standards, marks the first time that an Iranian-designed and built civil aircraft has reached production, according to the manufacturer.
Certification of the all-composite piston-powered trainer on 2 December followed changes to Iranian law last year which allow private ownership of aircraft in the country for the first time in years.
HF Dorna managing director Yaghoub Antesary says that, on top of six orders already received for the type, he expects a further 12 orders this year from Iranian customers. The 87 million rials ($108,000) aircraft will also be marketed in neighbouring countries, but Antesary rules out sales to Europe and North America due to export restrictions in force since the Iranian revolution in 1979.
The Blue Bird, which will be given a designation at its official launch later this month, is a conventional low-wing, fixed-gear light aircraft aimed initially at pilot training, aeroclub and police work. Antesary says that the need for this class of aircraft in Iran is huge as 22 years of trade sanctions, combined with the ban on private ownership, means that the country's airfields are full of ageing Beech Bonanza and Cessna 172s in need of replacement. Antesary also suggests that the aircraft, with a range of 1,300km (700nm), could be used by corporate customers for short trips around Tehran's suburbs.
The project, which is funded by Antesary and the company's chief designer Farid Najmabadi, was launched in 1996, when the two founders predicted the aircraft would be airborne by 1997. Antesary says that "financial ups and downs" have delayed the project, but that last year's law change permitting private aircraft ownership added impetus to the aircraft's development.
The aircraft was originally intended to be powered by a 95kW (125hp) Teledyne ContinentalIO-240 engine, but US export restrictions forced the company to look at alternative powerplants. The new aircraft uses a 85kW Rotax 914-F3 with a two- or three-blade MT propeller, with variable pitch.
The aircraft, with a maximum take-off weight of 750kg (1,650lb), has a 9.45m (31ft) wing span and a total length of 6.2m (20ft 3in). Its maximum speed at its 12,000ft (3,600m) cruising altitude is 113kt (160km/h) and it needs only 274m to take off.
Source: Flight International
