| Aerostar | |
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HW100 - 45000
UAW55 - 105000 RRW100 - 175000 PKRR - 7500 |
Aerostar (Redirected from Aerostar SA) Aerostar S.A. Type - Public Traded as - BVB: ARS Industry - Aerospace, defence Founded - 1953 Headquarters - Bacău, Romania Number of locations - 2 Area served - Worldwide Website - www.aerostar.ro Aerostar S.A. is an aeronautical manufacturing company based in Bacău, Romania. History Since its establishment in 1953, the company's name has changed numerous times in turn from U.R.A. to I.R.Av, I.Av. and finally Aerostar. It has been subordinated to the Ministry of Armed Forces and is currently a subsidiary of IAROM, former National Centre of the Romanian Aeronautical industry (CNIAR). Aerostar has been a major provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for all aircraft types used by the Romanian military. The company also developed the IAR-93 twin-engine, tactical ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft, which was the first fighter aircraft produced in Romania following the end of the Second World War. Furthermore, the company has also produced more than 1,800 Yak-52 trainer aircraft; it was manufactured in Romania in three versions: the Iak-52, Iak-52W, and Iak-52TW. Aerostar developed its own range of light civil aircraft for aerobatics and sport aviation, such as the Festival light-sport aircraft. During the 1990s and 2000s, upgrade programs for both the MiG-21 (MiG-21 LanceR) and MiG-29 were developed by Aerostar in cooperation with the Israeli defense electronics specialist Elbit Systems. Aerostar has implemented these upgrades to produce the Romanian Air Force's MiG-21 LanceR fleet from its existing inventory of MiG-21 and MiG-21 bis fighters. The firm has also supplied similarly-upgraded MiG-21s to international operators, such as the Mozambique Air Force. However, the MiG-29 SNIPER upgrade never progressed being a technological demonstrator as the service opted to concentrate its limited resources upon the MiG-21 instead. Around the same time, a modernisation program was also carried out on the Iak-52W and Iak-52TW trainers. The firm was also involved in the LAROM modernization program, which upgraded the 40 APRA 122 FMC multiple rocket launchers belonging to the Romanian Army. During the 1990s and 2000s, the company became engaged in numerous international projects, regularly in partnership with various other aerospace companies, including Elbit Systems, Thales Group (Thomson-CSF), EADS (DaimlerChrysler Aerospace) and Textron Marine & Land Systems. On separate occasions, Aerostar's management has stated that such partnerships are a deliberate element of the company's long term strategy. One major sector of work for the firm has been the aerostructures sector. Throughout the 2010s, Aerostar has continued to restructure its operations in pursuit of international customers, intending to achieve a decreased level of reliance upon domestic consumers such as the Romanian military. Starting in the 1990s, the Romanian government launched efforts to privatise many of its state-owned assets, including Aerostar. According to aerospace periodical Flight International, various international companies, including the German aerospace conglomerate DASA, reportedly took an interest in acquiring the company. In February 2000, it was announced that the Romanian government's 69.99 percent stake in the firm would be acquired by a private consortium of Aerostar management and employees (PAS) and IAROM; the nation maintained a golden share to potentially veto decisions that would seriously impact the firm's defense capabilities. That same year, Aerostar was restructured as a limited liability company, reportedly for tax purposes as well as to increase its appeal to potential investors, which were actively sought to fund the firm's expansion plans. In the mid-2000s, Aerostar was contracted to produce Southern Condor powered parachute airframes for the American company Southern Powered Parachutes, which were sold to consumers in the North American market. During the late 2000s, the company started manufacturing a new line of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with Israeli assistance; multiple deals were arranged with foreign militaries for Aerostar-built UAVs. In 2011, the firm received work from an agreement between Elbit and the Romanian Air Force to upgrade the latter's fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft. In recent decades, Aerostar has sought to provide its MRO services to various commercial and international operators; since 2003, the servicing and heavy maintenance of civilian Boeing 737s has been one such undertaking. In 2012, to provide increased capacity for this work, a new hangar was completed at the company's Bacau facility. During May 2015, Russian low-cost airline Utair arranged for its 737 fleet to be serviced by the firm; by this point, upwards of 50 737s per year were receiving C-checks alone at Aerostar's facilities. Similarly, the company has also provided MRO services for operators of the Airbus A320 family. In September 2020, Aerostar opened a new aircraft maintenance center at the Iași Airport. Starting in 2021, Aerostar will perform the maintenance service of the Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft. The "Phase inspection" contract on F-16 number 1603 was awarded to the company on 17 September 2021. Warbird projects Starting in 1996 the German company Flug Werk GmbH in cooperation with Aerostar Bacău SA began construction of FW 190 replicas. The first airplane flew in 2004, with a total of 21 aircraft being manufactured and sold as kits. The group of designers from Aerostar used about 3.5 tons of parts recovered from various wrecks found and reached a total of 8000 drawings. As no original BMW 801 engines were available, Chinese made Dongan Hs-7, license built copy of the Shvetsov ASh-82FN engines, were used. These engines had about 200 hp more than the original BMW engines. The landing gear, engine frame and exhaust system were redesigned, using modern materials. Three FW 190 Ds with Allison V-12 engines were also manufactured. Products Model name - First flight - Number built - Type Iak-52 - 1977 - 1800+ - Two-seat trainer Aerostar R40S Festival - 2001 - - Two-seat light sport aircraft Focke-Wulf Fw 190 - 2004 - 21 - Replica single engine monoplane fighter Aerostar R40S Festival R40S Festival Role - Ultralight aircraft and Light-sport aircraft National origin - Romania Manufacturer - Aerostar First flight - 3 May 2001 Status - In production The Aerostar R40S Festival is a Romanian made ultralight and light-sport aircraft, designed and produced by Aerostar of Bacău. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft. Design and development The aircraft was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight, and US light-sport aircraft rules. It features a cantilever low-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit, fixed tricycle landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. The aircraft is made from aluminum sheet. Its 9.17 m (30.1 ft) span wing employs manually operated flaps. The standard engine is the 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS four-stroke powerplant, driving a three-bladed Woodcomp propeller. Variants R40F Initial ultralight model R40FS Improved model R40S Base model with dial instruments R40S-GC Version for IFR flight, with a Dynon Skyview glass cockpit Operators 1. Mozambique Mozambique Air Force Specifications (R40F/FS Festival) Data from Aerostar operating manual General characteristics Crew: one Capacity: one passenger Length: 6.74 m (22 ft 1 in) Wingspan: 9.17 m (30 ft 1 in) Height: 2.47 m (8 ft 1 in) Wing area: 13.97 m2 (150.4 sq ft) Empty weight: 354 kg (780 lb) with Rotax ULS912 engine Gross weight: 535 kg (1,179 lb) Fuel capacity: 80 litres (18 imp gal; 21 US gal) Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 912ULS four cylinder, liquid and air-cooled, four stroke, 75 kW (101 hp) Propellers: 3-bladed Klassic 170/3/R, 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) diameter Performance Maximum speed: 175 km/h (109 mph, 95 kn) V(A) Cruise speed: 150 km/h (94 mph, 82 kn) Stall speed: 67 km/h (42 mph, 36 kn) flaps at 30 degrees Never exceed speed: 215 km/h (134 mph, 116 kn) Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi) with no reserves Endurance: 5.8 hours Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,000 ft) g limits: +4/-2 Maximum glide ratio: 12:1 Rate of climb: 4.35 m/s (856 ft/min) Aerostar AG-6 AG-6 Role - Agricultural aircraft National origin - Romania Manufacturer - Aerostar First flight - 12 January 1989 Status - Prototype only Number built - 1 The Aerostar AG-6 (also known as the IAR AG-6) was a prototype Romanian agricultural aircraft of the late 1980s, developed for IAv, of Bacău. The company was later known as Aerostar. The AG-6 was a single-engine biplane, of which a single example was built, with no production following. Design and development In 1986, a team led by the engineer Constantin Rosca began work at the Romanian Aviation Institute on the design of a single-engine agricultural aircraft, the AG-6. The AG-6 was a single-engine tractor biplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and had a similar layout to the American Grumman Ag-Cat. The aircraft's fuselage was of welded steel tube construction, with the forward fuselage and wings covered in duralumin and the rear fuselage fabric covered. The pilot sat in an enclosed cockpit aft of the wings, with a glassfibre hopper for liquid or powered agricultural chemicals fitted forward of the cockpit. The aircraft was powered by a Soviet Vedeneyev M14P radial engine, rated at 190 kilowatts (260 hp) which drove a two-bladed variable-pitch propeller. A prototype was built at the Bacău factory of IAv (Intreprinderea de Avione) (now Aerostar), making its first flight on 12 January 1989. In 1991, the Romanian aircraft industry was privatised, but a shortage of finance resulted in several projects, including the AG-6, being abandoned. Only the single prototype was built. Specifications Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1992-93 General characteristics Crew: 1 Capacity: 1,050 L (280 US gal; 230 imp gal) Length: 6.96 m (22 ft 10 in) Upper wingspan: 10.56 m (34 ft 8 in) Lower wingspan: 10.26 m (33 ft 8 in) Height: 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in) Wing area: 26.00 m2 (279.9 sq ft) Empty weight: 917 kg (2,022 lb) Max takeoff weight: 1,900 kg (4,189 lb) (restricted category) Fuel capacity: 200 L (53 US gal; 44 imp gal) Powerplant: 1 × Vedeneyev M14P nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 270 kW (360 hp) Performance Maximum speed: 190 km/h (120 mph, 100 kn) Cruise speed: 150–175 km/h (93–109 mph, 81–94 kn) (working speed) Stall speed: 110 km/h (68 mph, 59 kn) (power off) Range: 530 km (330 mi, 290 nmi) (30 minute reserves) Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,000 ft) Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min) |