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The Handley Page HP.137 Jetstream is a small twin-
turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
airliner An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
, with a pressurised
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
. The aircraft was designed to meet the requirements of the United States commuter and
regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...
market. The design was later improved and built by
British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...
as the BAe Jetstream 31 and BAe Jetstream 32, featuring different turboprop engines.


Development

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...
was in an awkward position in the 1960s, wishing to remain independent of the "big two" British companies (
Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in list of aircraft manufacturers, aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers ...
and the
British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric, English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane ...
), but without the money needed to develop a large new airliner that would keep it in the market. After studying the market it decided that its next product would be a highly competitive small airliner instead, filling a niche it identified for a 12–18 seat high-speed design. Compared to its three closest rivals, the
Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...
, Aero Commander Turbo Commander and Swearingen Merlin it offered "more capacity, better range-payload, higher speed and greater comfort". American salesman and modification engineer Jack Riley claimed to have written the design specifications. The design garnered intense interest in the US when it was first introduced, and an order for 20 had been placed even before the drawings were complete. Charles Joy was responsible for the design. The original design dates from 1965 as a 12-seat (six rows with a centre aisle) aircraft. The aircraft was a low-wing, high-tail
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
of conventional layout. Considerable attention was paid to streamlining in order to improve performance, which led to one of the design's more distinctive features, a long nose profile. The fuselage had a circular cross-section to minimize the structural weight required for the pressurisation which enabled much higher altitude and consequent higher speed and comfort than competing unpressurised designs. The aisle between the seats had a 5 ft 11in headroom but the main spar formed a step in the aisle, which was a tripping hazard. Final assembly took place in a new factory at the
Radlett Radlett is a large village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 10,060. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and forms part of the civil parish of A ...
aerodrome, but large portions of the structure were subcontracted, including complete wings being built by
Scottish Aviation Scottish Aviation Limited was an aircraft manufacturer based in Prestwick, Scotland. History The company was founded in 1935. Originally a flying school operator, the company took on maintenance work in 1938. During the Second World War, Scott ...
at
Prestwick Prestwick () is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, and the small vi ...
, Scotland and the tail section by Northwest Industries of
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, Canada. The original design used Turbomeca Astazou XVI engines of approximately 840 hp (626 kW), and flew on 18 August 1967 as the Jetstream 1.Jackson 1973, p. 263. Throughout the test program the engines proved to be a weak point, being generally underpowered for the design, and surprisingly temperamental for what was then a mature and widely used turboshaft design. Testing was eventually moved to the Turboméca factory airfield in the south of France, both to allow faster turnaround with engine work, and in order to improve the schedule by taking advantage of the better weather. In order to improve sales prospects in the US, the fifth prototype was fitted with the US-built Garrett TPE-331 in place of the French Astazou. Changing to the US-built engine was enough to allow the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
to consider it for cargo use. It eventually placed an order for 11, fitted with a cargo door and accommodation for 12 passengers or six stretcher cases, to be known as the C-10A, or Jetstream 3M. The US Air Force cancelled its order in October 1969 citing late delivery.Jackson 1973, p. 264. The first production model Jetstream 1 flew on 6 December 1968,Barnes 1976, p. 591. and over the next year 36 would be delivered. However, by this point Handley Page had given up on the original engine, and the Jetstream 2 was launched with the larger 965 hp (720 kW) Astazou XVI, starting deliveries in late 1969. The late delivery and engine problems had driven development costs to over £13 million, far more than the original £3 million projections. Only three Jetstream 2s would be completed before Handley Page went bankrupt, and the production line was eventually shut down in 1970. There was enough interest in the design that it was first picked up by a collaboration of investors and Scottish Aviation which formed a company called "Jetstream Aircraft" to produce the aircraft. Initially production moved to Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire, the CEO being Bill Bright. A further ten Jetstream 1s were produced by this team. Scottish Aviation continued production of the Jetstream 2 as well, although referring to it as the Jetstream 200. In February 1972, 26 Jetstream 201s were ordered by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
, which used them as multi-engine
trainers Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...
as the Jetstream T.1. Fourteen of these were modified as observer trainers for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, receiving the designation Jetstream T2.


Variants


Jetstream Mk 1


Jetstream 200


Jetstream 3M

:Improved variant with TPE331 engines for the United States Air Force.


C-10A

:United States Air Force military designation for the Jetstream 3M. Production started but the order was cancelled and none was delivered.


Riley Jetstream

: A few early Jetstream 1 aircraft were converted by Riley Aircraft of Carlsbad, California, to this version. The aircraft were fitted with two PT6A turboprop engines.


Jetstream T.1

:United Kingdom military designation of Mk 1s for the Royal Air Force as multi-engine trainers.


Jetstream T.2

:Conversion of T1s for the Royal Navy as rear-crew trainers.


Century III

:Conversions with TPE331 engines.


Operators

The aircraft was used mainly by corporate operators and scheduled passenger commuter/regional airlines.


Civil operators

; * Aero VIP ; * Buraq Air ; * ADA * SARPA * Vertical de Aviación ; * Newair ; * Bavaria Fluggesellschaft ; * Air Illinois * Air US * Apollo Airways (''subsequent name change to'' Pacific Coast Airlines) * Big Sky Airlines *
Dorado Wings Dorado Wings was a small commuter airline that operated from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Dorado Airport in the tourist center of Dorado, Puerto Rico. Dorado Wings was the only commercial operator at Do ...
(''operated in the Caribbean from Puerto Rico'') * Cal-State Air Lines * JetAire Airlines * Interstate Airlines * Sierra Pacific Airlines * South Central Air Transport (SCAT) (''aircraft subsequently acquired by'' Air Illinois) * Sun Airlines (''announced by the airline but may have not been actually delivered or operated'') * Texas Star Airways * Western Air Stages * Zia Airlines


Military operators

; *
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
retired 2003. *
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
retired 2011. ; * Uruguayan Navy former Royal Navy T2s. Retired 2010.


Jetstream in the film "Moonraker"

A Jetstream operated by Apollo Airways, a commuter airline based at the Santa Barbara Airport in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, appeared in the 1979 film " Moonraker" starring
Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...
where British secret agent
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
(
007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
) is thrown out of the aircraft while it is in flight.


Accidents and incidents

* 17 April 1981, Century III conversion ''N11360'' operating Air US Flight 716 collided with a private Cessna 206 carrying skydivers after taking off from Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport, killing all 13 passengers and crew on board the Century III and the two people in the Cessna 206.


Aircraft on display

;Germany * Jetsteam T.2 ''XX476''/''CU-561'' at Flugausstellung Hermeskeil ;Netherlands * Jetstream T.2 ''XX481''/''CU-560'' at Speelpark & Maisdoolhof
Voorthuizen Voorthuizen ( Dutch Low Saxon: ''Voorthuzen'') is a village in the municipality of Barneveld, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. Tourism Voorthuizen is a tourist village, located on the edge of the Veluwe. East of the village is a high ...
;United Kingdom * Jetstream T.1 ''XX492'' at Newark Air Museum, Nottinghamshire.Ellis 2016, p. 186 * Jetstream T.1 ''XX494'' at East Midlands Aeropark, Leicestershire.Ellis 2016, p. 132 * Jetstream T.1 ''XX495'' at
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum (SYAM) is a volunteer-led museum located at Lakeside in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It occupies the former site of the Royal Air Force Station, RAF Doncaster. The museum occupies the last remaining o ...
, Doncaster, South Yorks. * Jetstream T.1 ''XX496'' at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Shropshire.Ellis 2016, p. 193 * Jetstream T.1 ''XX499'' at
Brooklands Museum Brooklands Museum is a motoring and aviation museum occupying part of the former Brooklands Motor Course in Weybridge, Surrey, England. Formally opened in 1991, the museum is operated by the independent Brooklands Museum Trust Ltd, a private l ...
, Surrey.Ellis 2016, p. 262 * Jetstream 200 G-RAVL (G-AWVK, N1035S) at Sywell Aviation Museum, Northamptonshire


Specifications (Series 200)


See also


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * {{British military aircraft since World War II 1960s British airliners Handley Page Jetstream Low-wing aircraft Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft
Jetstream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents in the Earth's atmosphere. The main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds, flowing west to east around the globe. The northern hemisphere and th ...
Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear