NEWS ANALYSIS

SINGLE PRESSURE POINTS As Canada, Australia and the USA prepare to allow paying passengers to travel on single-turboprop aircraft under instrument-flight rules (IFR), European authorities are heading firmly in the opposite

direction with tighter regulations.

European airworthiness au­thorities are coming under

extreme pressure from manufac­turers and operators of turbo­prop singles to relax rules governing passenger operations with single-engined aircraft.

European turboprop-single manufacturers Aerospatiale and Pilatus are discussing the forma­tion of an industry alliance "...to promote regulatory change" and have invited Cessna to join.

Canada is preparing to permit instrument-flight rules (IFR) op­erations with paying passengers in turboprop singles. Australia is poised to follow suit. Even the USA is reviewing its long­standing prohibition on passen­ger IFR operations with turbo­prop singles. Only Europe wants to tighten the rules governing all single-engine operations.

Pilatus, maker of the PC-6 and new PC-12 turboprop sin­gles, describes the operations specification drafted by the Eu­ropean Joint Airworthiness Au­thorities (JAA) as "a clear step backwards". The proposed "JAR-Ops" does not allow singled-engine aircraft — turboprop- or piston-powered — to operate IFR, the JAA acknowledges.

The draft JAR-Ops, if adopted, would appear to rule out even private, corporate or cargo oper­ations with single-engined air­craft at night or in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). This is tougher than the US stance, which allows unlim­ited cargo operations with turboprop singles, but limits passenger operations largely to visual flight rules (VFR).

The JAA, which normally uses US regulations as its new-rules basis, has decided in the case of the JAR-Ops to follow tougher International Civil Aviation Or­ganisation (ICAO) guidelines. ICAO Annex 6 says that single-engine aircraft can only be oper­

ated in conditions which allow a safe forced landing in the event of engine failure — VFR.

In drafting the JAR-Ops, the JAA is attempting to produce a single standard for all its mem­ber states. Existing regulations vary across Europe. At best, some states allow cargo-only sin­gle-engined IFR operations with larger aircraft. Pilatus' home state, Switzerland, is one of those taking a hard line on

from the US Federal Aviation Administration's "...very strong position that single turboprops are not as reliable as twins", says Cessna, citing the agency's re­sponse to the manufacturer's mid-1980s petition. Since then, the manufacturer has provided only "passive" support to Cara­van I operators petitioning for rule changes, fearing product-liability repercussions.

The FAA now acknowledges

"The significance of allowing turboprop-single passenger IFR operations cannot

be understated." single-engined IFR operations.

The JAA emphasises that the JAR-Ops is a draft text and could change following early-1993 public consultation. The avia­tion authorities of the 20 mem­ber states will be invited to comment, as will industry repre­sentatives in the JAA's Joint Steering Assembly, plus some 200 other aviation authorities, airlines, manufacturers and in­dustry bodies, together with in­terested individuals.

Pressure on the JAA will in­crease if, as seems likely, the USA follows the Canadian lead in allowing passenger IFR opera­tions with turboprop singles.

This is a definite move away

that the modern turbine engine is "more reliable than many other aircraft systems, including the pilot". The US General Avia­tion Manufacturers Association agrees, noting: "Statistics show there is greater concern with single-pilot than single-engine IFR." TBM North America says that the -60-series Pratt & Whit­ney Canada PT6A, which pow­ers both the TBM.700 and the PC-12, has an in-flight shut­down rate of "one in 250,000 to 280,000 hours".

The significance of the use of turboprop singles allowing pas­senger IFR operations cannot be understated. Sales of the TBM. 700, Caravan I, PC-6 and PC-12

have undoubtedly been held back because the aircraft have been limited largely to private, corporate, cargo and VFR pas­senger use.

In the USA, cargo operations are unlimited, but passenger op­erations are allowed only if take­off, landing and descent after engine failure are VFR. In Can­ada, where IMC prevails for half the year, similar restrictions have meant that Caravan Is fly­ing cargo into remote settle­ments have had to return empty, despite there being no shortage of potential passengers for the return. Ageing piston twins con­tinue to be used for passenger operations because twin-turbo-props are too expensive.

Canadian Caravan I operators expect an immediate 30% im­provement in their bottom line once passenger IFR operations are allowed. Cessna anticipates further sales as piston twins are replaced by turboprop singles. There may be only one TBM.700 in Canada, but the long-term effect will be "very positive", even in the owner-flown market served by the turbine single, says TBM North America. Customers who can afford and justify the TBM.700, but plan to fly only 100-150h a year, will be able at last to lease the turbine single to a charter operator to offset costs.

Pilatus sees passenger IFR op­erations as a key to the success of its new PC-12 turboprop sin­gle. The pressurised aircraft is better suited to air-carrier opera­tions than is the unpressurised Caravan I. Although Cessna does not foresee much of a market for turboprop singles among North America's "sophis­ticated" commuter airlines, it acknowledges that there are many places where such an air­craft would be welcome.

BY GRAHAM WARWICK a

24 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 January - 2 February, 1993