STEWART PENNEY / VENEGONO
Aermacchi's hopes of a launch order for its latest product - the M346 advanced trainer - were dashed last month when the UK decided to stay with the BAE Systems Hawk. While the M346 will not fly until late this year, the company, best known as a trainer house, has other capabilities that will mean that new owner Finmeccanica is unlikely to be disappointed with its investment.
Finmeccanica's determination to acquire the Foresio family's 66.6% of Aermacchi paid off in July when it paid €160 million ($181 million) for the stake. The holding company has acquired a business that in 2001 recorded a turnover of €247 million, more than double that achieved in 1996 when sales hit €122 million.
Based in Venegono, near Milan, 52%of Aermacchi's 2001 sales were military and 48% civil. Trainers provided 37%. Other core activities comprise "civil collaboration", ground support equipment, "military collaboration", and research and engineering.
Aermacchi's latter area sees it providing engineers and facilities to other aerospace companies. It runs structural tests for a range of companies including AgustaWestland, while it also has a low-speed windtunnel, water tunnel and research flight simulator used by other manufacturers.
Military collaboration includes Aermacchi's work on the Alenia/Aermacchi/Embraer AMX light attack aircraft, in which it had a 24% stake, as well as subcontract work on the Panavia Tornado, Eurofighter Typhoon and Alenia/Lockheed Martin C-27J Spartan.
Civil collaboration includes aerostructures work and engine nacelle production. The former included the Fairchild Dornier 328 fuselage, until the German-US manufacturer's demise. As a nacelle manufacturer, Aermacchi risk-shares with Pratt & Whitney on the Airbus A330 cowlings and is a subcontractor to Alenia and Goodrich on several other programmes. With Hurel-Hispano, Aermacchi has a joint venture supplying nacelles for regional jets including the Embraer 170.
Trainers, however, remain Aermacchi's best-known activity. It has sold around 2,000 since starting with the MB326 in 1960. Today's line-up includes the piston- or turboprop-powered SF260, the S211 jet basic trainer, advanced jet MB339 and the M346. In 1996, the company acquired the Redigo four-seat trainer and liaison aircraft from Finland's Patria Finaviatec, which Aermacchi now marketsas a light utility aircraft.
Aermacchi is the lead contractor in the G5 group studying aircraft for the multinational Eurotraining programme.
While developing the M346, Aermacchi's factory at Venegono has been kept busy upgrading Italian air force MB339s with glass cockpits and an embedded in-flight simulation system. The work also includes a structural life extension and refinements for improved maintainability.
Aermacchi has also developed proposals for upgrading the S211 with a glass cockpit and a more powerful engine, arguing that the aircraft, which has secured few customers, would be a strong competitor against the new generation of high-performance turboprop trainers.
Source: Flight International
