R
Aircraft Intla%trie% Ltd. Gros.%
From 70 to 11.000 Worker%
By AMOS BEN-VERED
spreial to thr Jewish News
When the president
of Uganda passed through this air-
port on his Nay from Africa to
France (prior to the Uganda-Israel
with
cool-off), he was greeted
special by his Israeli hosts. For
the twin-engined jet he was fly-
ing, named "Air Force One," was
an Israeli product, a Commodore
Jet 11-23
"We do not assemble aircraft.
we manufacture them." I was told
by a company official on a recent
tour through the halls and hangars
of the Israel Aircraft Industries,
Ltd "We do exactly what manu-
facturers in other countries do.
"Not all of them manufacture en-
gines_ Boeing. just to give an obvi-
ous example, uses Rolls Royce or
Pratt and Whitney engines on its
planes, and many other items of
equipment bought elsewhere."
The Commodore jet, one of the
two planes now on the assembly
line, is an Israeli adaptation of the
Jet Commander, an American
plane The twin-engined, propeller-
driven Arava, on the other hand.
has been developed by Israeli en-
gineers and technicians, at a cost
of slightly more than $10.000,000.
For an aircraft, the sum may not
seem large_ But the Arava is itself
inexpensive, designed for easy
takeoff and landing, for runways
that are not always in top condi-
tion. It should have a good chance
of competing for customers in de-
veloping countries.
The Aircraft Industries started
off 20 yea r s ago as Bedek,
which is Hebrew for overhaul.
This was its only purpose at the
time, and the 70 workers em-
ployed by it did the periodic
checking and reshaping of air-
craft and their parts that is re-
quired to keep them airworthy.
The overhaul division still is the
most profitable operation of the
company. It now regularly in-
spects, maintains and services
aircraft from 16 countries in
Africa, Asia, America and Eur-
ope, from Pipers and Beech-
crafts up to and including Boeing
711 jumbo-jets. Exchanging a jet
engine on such a plane has, for
the employes there, become a
routine operation.
However, the close to 14,000 per-
sons employed today at the Israel
Aircraft Industries, do more than
just service the planes of others.
In 1958. they began manufactur-
ing the twin-seated subsonic Fouga-
Magister jet trainer, modeled on
a French prototype In the Six-Day
LYDDA
•
s-
—
War many of these were used as
combat planes. Later came other
orders for the Israel Air Force.
and the manufacture of gauges.
pipes and other parts and accesso-
ries used in planes. The overhaul
division diversified. and today It
accepts some 20 types of planes.
an additional 20 types of engines
and slime 3.000 items of acces-
sories.
Aircraft Industries strives to he
always up to date: while total in-
come in the past fiscal year was
about II. 600,000,000 (8140,000,0001.
II, 150.000,0(X) was invested in prop-
erty and equipment. Few manu-
factured goods in the world be-
come obsolete faster than aircraft
and the electronic parts connected
with them
The two planes now assembled
were developed both for civilian
and for military use. The Arava
has a military counterpart, which
will be given to the Israeli Air
Force. Production is behind
schedule, though, because of the
crash a year ago of a test model
in which a lest pilot -and two
engineers were killed.
The Arava 1s designed to carry
20 passengers or two tons of freight
over a range of 804) miles. There
are options on hand for 36 such
planes. But it has yet to receive its
international license, which should
have been granted last year but
for the crash.
The Commodore jet, with a range
of 2,000 miles, carries 8-10 passen-
gers and is already operational.
Orders for 12 of them are on
hand, and this is what can be pro-
duced in the current year. If expec-
tations of orders for another 18
planes materialize, the pace will be
quickened to produce two instead
of one each month.
Another export item is, strangely
enough, a missile. The Gabriel
has been released for export and
consequently somewhat declassi-
fied. It is a sea-to-sea missile
3'1 yards long and weighing 900
pounds. Orders amount to $130,000,-
000. It has an extremely sophisti-
cated mechanism and, of course.
a homing device.
Aircraft Industries, Ltd., also
does other work, especially in the
defense sector, which cannot he
mentioned now but will probably
become common knowledge when
the time comes.
The company is wholly owned
by the government, and its board
of directors consists of representa-
tives of the ministries of defense.
finance, transport and commerce
and industry.
70,000 new irnrsnigrantS
are expected "to ak- t- Ive
∎ 1,-) Israel 'in t972.
•
Jewisk A9ency education
higher leornin9 costs
have increased -crorr,
1 1 --- i0,8 70 000
to ILr 5,829 761 .
48–Friday, July 13. 1972
and
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Speak Along
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■ 4)11 N ill hine in tin
CHANNEL 56
Tuesday. 6:30 P.11.
for the Television Course in Functional ilebrev*
"TO ISRAEL WITH HEBREW"
Presented as a Public' Serriee by
Zionist Organization of Detroit
(1)etropit 1),triet.
ion
Organitatimi of %rn•rtyl:
and The Detroit Jewish News
I neabulary for Lesson 9. Tuesday, July 1
LESSON 9
v , pn -1137,7
(KAN)
HERE
WHAT
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ELSE
(MAR OD)
ANT IOUIT IES
(ATIKOT)
NEAR
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MONEY
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GIVES, GAVE
(NOTEIN, ;=AN)
CHARITY
(TZDAKAH)
PHILANTHROPIST
(iTAD IV)
LUNCH
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TO EAT
( RA EV )
(IiaECHOL)
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(2\ alICHAT TZOI102AI:.1)
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MALARIA
(KADACHAT)
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COLONY
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LOVES, LOVED
(OHEV, AHAV)
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