Internationale Luftfahrt-Ausstellung (International Aviation Exhibition) (ILA) 2002, Berlin-Schönefeld, 6-12 May.
Gary Parsons reports from the first European trade show of the year.
It
was the cancellation of Mildenhall's Air Fete that led me to Berlin -
a need to infuse some airshow action between Duxford and the impending
summer. Previous Berlin reports had suggested a worthwhile event, so a
cheap return flight was found and the day booked. Logistics dictated Friday
10 May, the first public day of the seven-day trade and industry event.
The beauty
of ILA, based at Berlin's Schönefeld Airport to the south of the
city, is that it can be reached directly from a number of European airports
- in my case 
London
Stansted. Arriving at 10:00 allowed a full day at the show before returning
later the same evening, the only problem being the limited Air-Scene UK
funds only allowing just the one day, not enough to take in the vast array
of aircraft and trade stands.
|
Red
Bull gives you wings
|
 |
|
Maybe the biggest operator of aircraft at the show was "The Flying Bulls GmbH" sponsored by the Red Bull drink company - it had a staggering number of aircraft adorned with its logo, each representing a different sphere of the aviation world. Maybe the most impressive was B-25 N6123C in an all-aluminium finish, the 'Red Bull' logo almost appearing to be a wartime marking, if only we didn't know differently! The most recent aeroplanes to get the 'Bull' treatment are two ex-Luftwaffe Alpha Jets, now operated on the civilian register and a tentative attempt to start a new formation display team. They didn't display on the Friday, but had apparently performed a routine the day before, the first time in public. |
ILA is Germany's
answer to Farnborough and Paris; a biennial event that coincides with
the SBAC event but hasn't yet quite matched the latter's status in the
aircraft industry. It is still growing though, the first event in recent
times being as late as 1992, the trade fair having moved from Hanover
after unification. Held on the south side of Schönefeld's two east-west
runways, it occupies an area normally used for the maintenance of Lufthansa
aircraft that is chaotic in layout and not immediately ideal for such
a purpose, taking a good amount of time to find one's way around! There
has been much talk lately of increased security measures for this July's
Farnborough International, but ILA proved that it can be done and prevent
massive logjams - car parking was all off-base, with many bus shuttles
running from many parts of the locality. Large entrance marquees with
security scanners 
enabled
swift progress once tickets had been purchased, so security wasn't intrusive.
Take note SBAC; you'll be measured in July! It was anticipated that 230,000
visitors would attend over the week, the majority over the three public
days - estimates that proved quite accurate.
With contracts
and co-operation agreements running into billions of Euros, 1,067 exhibitors
from 40 countries, 90,000 trade visitors from Germany and abroad, and
215,150 visitors in total, the International Aerospace Exhibition ILA2002
reconfirmed its status as a major European marketplace for the aerospace
industry. A record 340 registered aircraft attended, and around 60 conferences
were 
held,
including key political meetings such as the XIX International Workshop
on Global Security and the War on Terrorism, the Airbus Ministers' Conference
and the first International Meeting of Parliamentarians, underlining the
increased importance now attributed to the ILA. Moreover, the trade show
highlighted its importance as a platform for the aviation industry by
attracting top politicians, headed by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
who opened ILA2002.
Only
having a short time at the event meant a choice - flying display or trade
stands. Not a difficult choice, so there won't be any details of what
was to be found in the many exhibition halls - but you'll probably see
the same at Farnborough anyway. A beautiful spring day with temperatures
in the low twenties meant good conditions for the flying display that
kicked off at about 10:30 with general aviation
aircraft, the more interesting items reserved for later in the schedule.
The programme was a varied mix from gliders through military hardware
to even a Zeppelin - the first time one had appeared in public over Berlin
since the war (at least that's what I could make out).
|
At
your convenience
|
| Among the most notable differences to British airshows was the high standard of toilets and also the excellent choice of cuisine on offer. Many caterers had attempted to instil a sidewalk café ambience to their pitches and the quality of food was vastly superior to the dogburgers normally on offer in England. As tempted as I was to indulge, a lack of Euros kept me focussed on the important action of the day, something I usually have no trouble in doing at RIAT or anywhere else in the UK - but boy, were the aromas inviting! Shirtsleeve weather also didn't help in the distraction stakes… |
 |
ILA was typical
of many foreign shows - the runway was some distance away with a static
line and taxiway between it and the crowd. As the runways are aligned
25 - 07 they were perfectly positioned for the sun to be behind throughout
the day, so at least what shots could be got were well lit, even though
the aircraft were a long way off. One interesting aspect was the shuffling
of the flyers out of the static park during the day - constant barrier
movements among the crowd proved to be a logistical feat. At the end of
the day it was hard to believe that some items, now buried deep in the
static park, had flown earlier. Space was at a premium and is another
reason that ILA is outgrowing Schönefeld.
|
History
over Berlin
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
As might be expected, the German Armed Forces were a major contributor to the flying programme with Tornados, MiG-29, CH-53Gs, UH-1s and the lovely F-4F to entertain the crowds. German audiences don't get to see many flying demonstrations post-Ramstein '88 and those that are sanctioned are tame by comparison with even the CAA's strict standards, but they were good to see, especially the HEER CH-53G role demonstration and the four-ship of Luftwaffe Tornados. Even better was Bf109G D-FMBB that performed a 'battle' scenario with two P-51 Mustangs from the UK - one could almost hear Basil Fawlty whispering 'Don't mention the war'! Maybe a small sign that Germany has indeed come to terms with its past.
Airbus was high-profile with Beluga, A340 and the new baby 100-seat A318 on show, the latter two giving brief demonstrations in the morning. Airbus has high hopes for the '318, it being a shortened version of the A319 by about 2.4 metres and an enlarged fin tip. Originally destined for a brand new Pratt & Whitney PW6000 powerplant, delays to the engines has necessitated the fitment of CFM56 on early orders. The PW6000 engine would have provided a substantial weight benefit, and P&W has consequently suffered a major setback in its standing as a major engine supplier, but it is desperately trying to rescue the situation in time to provide at least half the existing A318 orders. The only other large civilian aircraft was Beriev's Be-200 Mermaid, which unfortunately remained resolutely static-bound on the Friday, although it had flown earlier in the week.
|
Also
on show
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
As for fighters,
only Eurofighter represented the new breed
of fifth generation 
fighters.
No Gripen, Rafale, or JSF (but you never really expected the latter, did
you?) or Russian participation at all. In shady goings-on reminiscent
of Paris last year, Mikoyan was forced to pull out over threats of aircraft
being impounded (see footnote). EADS was well represented with
its new C-295 (CN235 derivative) (absolutely un-photographable where it
was positioned), pair of CASA 101s and EF-18As.
One Hornet was put through its paces early in the
flying display and sported a 'Genie' motif from Disney's Aladdin - unusual
but colourful! Lakenheath provided a brace of Eagles, one being a new
delivery 98-0133 and not an armed guard in sight, despite rumours of paranoia
in the US military. Display teams were scarce, only the Patrouille
Swiss being in evidence - their French cousins were billed, but certainly
were absent on the Friday. Closing the show was a C-17
from the 437 AW, representing modern-day airlift capability - how the
west could have used some back in 1947! But, no doubt the star of the
show was, of course, this!
ILA
2004 is scheduled for 17 - 23 May in two years time, and this could well
be the last to be held at Schönefeld as it is the site of Berlin's proposed
BBI (Berlin-Brandenburg International) airport that will effectively replace
the three current ones of Schönefeld, Tegel and Templehof. All major construction
work will be on the south side of the airport on the existing Lufthansa
Technical area, where ILA is currently held (allowing the northern side
to operate its normal civilian activities). It may be that beyond this
ILA will have outgrown Schönefeld anyway - 
whatever,
it seems to have a bright future in an ever-shrinking global aviation
marketplace.
One must,
however, question the industry's need for three major European trade shows
every two years - there just aren't enough orders to go around these days.
Surely it would be better for the three shows (Paris, Farnborough and
Berlin) to rotate on a three-yearly basis - it would provide each with
a major focus for its particular year and a regular date of mid-May would
set the aviation world up for a consistent twelve-month gap. But, it's
difficult to see the powers-that-be letting go of their biennial merry-go-round,
more's the pity.
|
"Swiss
Company's Activities Amount to Legal Terrorism" - MiG Corporation
|
|
"Swiss company Noga's attempts to have Russian defence hardware arrested abroad amount to legal terrorism", Vyacheslav Meleshko, deputy director general of the Russian aircraft building corporation MiG, told the press in Berlin on Monday. Noga tried to have the MiG-AT arrested in Paris last year (see here), which is why MiG feared a repeat of the situation in Berlin, this time involving the multi-role fighter MiG-29MRCA, he said. "Before the opening of the Berlin show, the MiG company asked the court to guarantee that MiG-29MRCA and Il-103 planes would not be seized", Gennady Arkhipov, MiG deputy director, said. "Because no such guarantees have been forthcoming, we had to put off the flight of the planes to Berlin at the last minute. This is no advertising stunt, as some want to describe this" he said. MiG sought assurances from German authorities, but failed to receive any promise of protection, prompting the decision not to exhibit the MiG-29 two-seat fighter jet or the multi-role Il-103 plane at the show. "In view of the sad experience of the past aerospace exhibition, the corporation decided not to risk the unique MiG-29 and promising multi-role Il-103", the company said. "Especially considering the fact that Noga representatives do not hide their intentions to continue to resort to legal terrorism". Noga says Russia owes it $62 million from oil-for-food deals signed in 1991, the year the Soviet Union dissolved, and 1992. In May 2001, a court froze the accounts of the Russian Embassy in Paris, its trade representation and its delegation to UNESCO at Noga's request. The move left the embassy struggling to pay its bills for three months. Russia successfully appealed, arguing that the freeze violated treaties on diplomatic rights and immunity. Then Noga went after the planes at the Paris air show, but Russia was given permission to fly them out before the impounding process was complete. MiG warned in its statement that the risk of seizure might prompt it to drop out of other air exhibitions, including Farnborough International 2002.
|