Launch Customer For Casa´s New Airlifter : Nine Casa C-295s For The Spanish Air Force
;The Spanish Secretary of State for Defence, Mr. Pedro Morenés, and the Secretary of State for Industry and Energy, Mr. José Manuel Serra, along with Mr. Jordi Dagá, Assistant Director General to the President's Office of the SEPI (Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales), Lieutenant General José Antonio Mingot, the Chief of the Erreur! Signet non défini.Spanish Air Force Logistic Support Command, and the Chairman of CASA, Mr. Alberto Fernández, announced on the afternoon of Friday, April 30th that the Ministry of Defence, and more concretely, the country's Air Force, will be the launching customer for the new aircraft C-295 after nine of these aircraft were ordered as part of the MINDEF general purchase plan. ;The C-295 reveals the exemplary cooperation between Spain's ministries of Defence and Industry. The Ministry of Defence, together with CASA technicians, contributed to the technical definition of the aircraft and it will become the first customer to launch the aircraft's series production. The Ministry of Industry, on the other hand, financed its development with 14,000 million pesetas, and is studying with the Ministry of Defence the best way to finance these nine series standard aircraft for Spain's Air Force. These operations confirm the Spanish Air Force's longstanding tradition as the first and foremost user of CASA products. ;Following the evaluation process in which such operational and technical criteria as costs and efficiency were evaluated, the Spanish Air Force selected the CASA C-295 as the aircraft that would most efficiently complete the activities of its transport fleet. The Air Force already operates twenty CASA CN-235s with satisfactory results. Initial deliveries are scheduled for the end of the year 2000. ;The C-295 shares the same key characteristics as the CN-235: sturdiness, versatility, operational simplicity and adequacy in terms of the demands and varied requisites of military operations. However, the C-295 offers 50% more cargo space and a range that is three times greater than its predecessor (in both cases when the payload is 6 tons). These factors have made this aircraft the adequate mid-size support unit for operators such as the Spanish Air Force which employ C-130s, yet seldom fill them to their total capacity. ;Due to its size and operational features, the C-295 not only meets current transport capacity demands, but it is also the ideal complement for the future European heavy transport aircraft A-400M (FLA), just as it currently is with the C-130. ;The same design and certification criteria have been applied in the development of the C-295 as in the new CN-235-300 (FAR-25 civil and MIL 7700-C military certification), in the maximum use of structural components and in the optimisation of the CN-235's systems, together with employment of existing assembly tooling. ;In 1997, it was decided to produce the first prototype, which made its maiden flight on November 28th of that same year. The results of the first prototype and the ensuing market analyses guaranteed the project's feasibility. Construction of the first series standard aircraft then began on the same assembly line as the CN-235. ;The first flight of the S-1 "City of Seville" was made on December 22nd, 1998 at the San Pablo Airport in Seville at 12:35. During this flight, the first series standard aircraft confirmed the excellent results obtained when the prototype was tested. ;Test and certification flights have been made with this aircraft since that time. It will be certified in November, 1999. The development of military applications will be completed in July, 2000. Currently, the prototype and the S-1 have accumulated a total of 594 flight hours. ;We should feature among the main characteristics of the C-295: the 5.5 psi pressurisation for improved operation at 25,000 ft.; maximum take-off weight of 23,200 kg.; payload of 9.7 tons; a speed of 260 ktas; a cargo volume of 57m_; a cabin 12.7 metres long, etc. The aircraft is equipped with Pratt & Whitney 127G engines with Hamilton Standard HS-568F-5 six-blade propellers. ;The C-295 complements the CN-235-300 and the C-212-400, basing its future market success on the undeniable attainments of the two previous aircraft which have shown their reliability and sturdiness in operations all over the world. 460 C-212 aircraft are used by 86 operators in 37 countries, while 229 CN-235s are in service with 31 operators in 23 countries. Air Forces such as those of France and Turkey acknowledge that no aircraft operated by them have come close to the availability of the CASA CN-235 fleet (average operational availability of the fleet is 95%). ;Among the main requirements of the Spanish Ministry of Defence is the incorporation of new digital avionics in our transport aircraft family. Sextant Avionique will supply the Topdeck avionics systems for the C-295 and the CN-235-300. Another important requirement is the new in-flight refuelling system. ;Regarding its main competitor, the C-27J from LMATTS, the C-295 offers a clear advantage in terms of cargo capacity, while in the same conditions it can transport 50% more soldiers (69 as opposed to 46), or 33% more 108"x 88" standard platforms (4 as opposed to 3) or one more Eurofighter engine (3 as opposed to 2). And all this at far lower purchase and operational costs. ;CASA has been actively commercialising this aircraft for more than a year with excellent sales prospects among such important countries as Australia and Greece. ;CASA is the world leader in the light and medium military transport segment and is the only manufacturer covering the 3-to-9 ton segment (3 tn C-212/400, 6 tn CN-235/300 and 9 tn C-295). CASA also participates in the future heavy military transport aircraft, the A400M. It holds responsibility for the final assembly line, the development and integration of the power plants (engines) and the design and manufacture of the carbon fibre horizontal stabiliser. ;With the new C-212-400 and CN-235-300, and now with the C-295, CASA has renewed its Transport Systems market scope, showing that it clearly supports the future of this market segment and that it is in an unbeatable position to provide answers to the requirements of any air force. The three aircraft will be presented in public, both in static exhibition and in flight, at the '99 Le Bourget Air Show in June.
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Launch Customer For Casa´s New Airlifter : Nine Casa C-295s For The Spanish Air Force
