Short Brothers faces penalty charges because of continuing delays in delivering the C-23B variant of the Shorts Sherpa to the US Army.
The company is behind schedule in delivering C-23B Plus transport aircraft to the Army, and further delays are expected because of nagging technical problems.
Lt Col Randall Cason, US Army fixed-wing-aircraft product manager, says that the modification work is behind schedule and Shorts has been able to deliver only eight of the 28 aircraft on contract.
"Removing a fuselage section and adding a new tail assembly-is a much more difficult task than anybody anticipated. We are working to Ìx the problem, but it is more than likely that we will now have another schedule slip," says the Army project manager.
Cason says that the contract includes penalties incurred for delayed deliveries. "Short Brothers is compensating the US Army for not meeting the schedule. How much has yet to be determined," he adds. Shorts says that it is "putting together a response" to the US Army claim for compensation.
In 1988, the US Army National Guard (ARNG) bought 16 C-23Bs from the Bombardier unit as part of a Congressional budget add-on.
The ARNG's requirement grew for the out-of-production military turboprop, and a plan was conceived for Shorts to acquire used Shorts 360 regional aircraft and convert them into the C-23B Plus.
This is accomplished by removing a 900mm section of fuselage and adding a cargo door and twin tail. The aircraft refurbishment, at a Shorts site in Clarksburg, West Virginia, also includes rewiring and overhaul of the 28 aircraft.
A contest to replace six Alaska Support Aircraft de Havilland UV-18 Twin Otters was scrapped. when the ARNG was told to buy eight C-23B Plus turboprops.
Source: Flight International
