Mark Hannant
With the 1999 deadline for Stage 3 noise level reductions bearing down on the industry, it is no surprise to see hush kits on prominent display at the show.
In the case of both Boeing 707s and BAe 1-11s, the statutory requirements will put out of commission aircraft which would otherwise still have a useful operating life. Two different hush-kitted aircraft appear on the static display and will no doubt be of interest to those where aircraft are not yet compliant.
Parked beside the L-1011 Flying Hospital is a BAe 1-11 built in 1968. Following its last commercial flight in 1992, it was taken to Hurn for storage purposes. It was then bought by European Aviation which is working in partnership with acoustic specialist Quiet Technology Ventures which has also undertaken noise reduction work on the Gulfstream and Boeing 707.
Down at the other end of the static display is a hush-kitted 707, this one modified by show exhibitor Burbank Aeronautical Group (Hall 4/B14) under licence from Quiet Skies which holds the required STC (Supplemental Type Certificate). The difference in styles is interesting. European Aviation seems reticent to talk about the technology involved in its bolt-on system that quietens the Rolls-Royce Spey engines sufficiently to achieve Stage 3 limits.
They even have the interior of the add-on covered to hide the technology.
Thomas McGuire, vice-president, marketing with Burbank, on the other hand will give visitors to the 707 chapter and verse and an information pack that not only includes test pilot reports, it also contains a copy of a contract should you wish to order a hush kit shipset today.
Technology
A sign of the important part this remedial technology is playing in the plans of owners is the growth that Burbank has experienced over the past couple of years. A staff of 160 has grown to more than 400 and McGuire claims it will be nearer 600 by the end of this year.
From January 1999 the company intends to produce three complete kits per month and five per month from the middle of next year. All this year's units have been sold.
Source: Flight Daily News
