The observer's book of aircraft [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION TO THE 1975 EDITION As this, the 24th annual edition, was passed for press, serious economic problems were bedevilling aircraft manufacturer and operator alike, and portents for this year appeared anything but favourable from the aviation viewpoint. Worldwide inflation in labour and raw materials costs, compounded by ever-escalating fuel prices, were seriously affecting the buoyancy of the market for new commercial aircraft and most major western airliners were posed serious financial problems, which, in some cases, were threatening survival. Indeed, such was the climate that no new large western airliner was in prospect and highly promising projects were being shelved or abandoned, one such casualty being the Hawker Siddeley HS.146 short-haul airliner which it had been anticipated would fly towards the end of this year. Thus, in so far as commercial aircraft are concerned, 1975 holds little promise of vintage class if not completely devoid of civil debutantes. One newcomer, of which much is expected, is de Havilland Canada's Dash-7 STOL transport (page 68), which should have flown by the time these words are read, and another, from the Soviet Union, is the Yak-42, which, designed for operation from restricted airfields, should have flown before the year's end. The Boeing 747SP (page 36), a lower-weight longer-range derivative of the basic Model 747, is expected to appear shortly after mid-year, and at least two interesting light STOL utility transports, the AM-C 1 11 (page 14) and the Master Porter (page 160), may be expected to appear in Europe during the course of the year. While the tempo of commercial aircraft development is undeniably slowing, that of military aircraft is continuing apace, and at the time of closing for press, two decisions that could have far-reaching effects on the fighter scene during the closing years of this decade were imminent: the selection of a new fighter by four NATO countries— the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Norway—and the choice by the USAF between the YF-16 (page 86) and YF-17 (page 1 50) as the basis for its new Air Combat Fighter (ACF). Variable-geometry combat aircraft are beginning to proliferate. In the west both the Panavia MRCA and the Rockwell International B-1 are now flying, while several types are now in service in the east, one of which, the Su-20 (page 198) appears in this edition for the first time. For those readers unfamiliar with The Observer's Book of Aircraft, the raison d'etre of this annual should perhaps be restated. It is intended to present in compact form each year the new aircraft types and variants of existing types that have appeared during the preceding twelve months or may be expected to appear during the year of currency of the volume. For those aircraft that the reader is most likely to see, the companion Observer's Basic Aircraft Directories are recommended. WILLIAM GREEN