THE SOUTH African Government recently commissioned the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to conduct a study aimed at producing a “National Aerospace Development Plan” (NADP). The purpose of the NADP is to serve as a roadmap for the future development of the country’s aerospace sector.
Work on the NADP has already started and the commercial aviation sector has been asked to give input into the process. The formulation of a NADP is probably long overdue and comes at a time when the government is desperately trying to identify a sustainable role for its loss-making parastatal, Denel Aviation.
During the past 15 years, although the government has realised the importance of retaining the aerospace sector as a cornerstone of the nation’s technology base, experience has shown that it is extremely difficult for a developing economy like South Africa’s to compete in the international aerospace sector.
Firstly, competition from large developed economies such as the United States and the European Union is intense. Also, although the values of manufactured components and systems are high, economies of scale are low. Research and development costs are astronomical. But the most difficult challenge of all lies in identifying a military or civil aerospace manufacturing project that will be commercially viable, as well as suiting the production and financial capabilities of a country like South Africa. For the last decade and a half, South Africa’s aerospace manufacturing strategy and activities have been focused entirely on developing military aerospace products. This is a carry-over from the apartheid era and, unfortunately, the strategy has not been successful.
The major project of the 1990s was to produce and market the Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter. Although the Rooivalk is a fine piece of machinery, it has spectacularly failed in securing any foreign purchase orders. The next military aerospace project embarked upon was participation in the production of the Airbus Military A400M transport aircraft. However, concerns over the ultimate cost of project, resulted in the Zuma Government withdrawing from the project in 2009. Subsequent to the A400M cancellation, the country’s private and public aerospace manufacturers have primarily focused on sub-contracted component manufacturing work for foreign manufactured airliners. However, the procurement of this type of work is very price-dependant and can easily be cancelled and relocated by the main contractor when it finds a cheaper production source and the IP always remains the property of the main contractor.
Over the years whenever the civil aviation sector has queried the focus on military manufacturing projects and why no products were being produced for direct use by the South African and/or African general aviation industries, the reply has been that the domestic and African general aviation sectors were too small with too great a variety of aircraft types to make any manufacturing for this market, viable. However, it seems that no in-depth research was done to ascertain whether this was indeed the case and whether any niche markets existed in general aviation that could be exploited.
So after 15 years and the expenditure of billions of Rand of tax payer’s money, some would say very little progress has been achieved in creating a sustainable local aerospace manufacturing sector. This is most disappointing and equates badly with what has transpired in Australia over a similar period of time. In Australia, its progress has been achieved by the private sector, on general aviation projects, with no tax payer funding.
In the state of Victoria, a little known company called Gippsland Aeronautics employing a small number of people has managed to produce a new utility transport aircraft to replace the Cessna Caravan and DHC Beaver. Via careful research and thought, Gippsland recognised that, although the Cessna Caravan is one of the world’s best workhorses, its turbine engine makes it expensive for the smaller operator to purchase. A potential niche market was identified for an aircraft similar to the Caravan, but piston-powered.
Thus the high wing, eight-seat GA8 Airvan was born with final type certification taking place in December 2000. And this was not the first aircraft either that Gippsland had manufactured. In the late 1980s, Gippsland Aeronautics which started out as a maintenance and modification organisation for agricultural aircraft, designed and manufactured its own type of crop sprayer called the GA200C Fatman. Gippsland has also recently added to its product range through buying the type certificate for the old GAF Nomad 17- seat utility aircraft from Boeing. Gippsland intends to modify and upgrade the basic design of the Nomad by fitting a glass cockpit, and new propellers. To date more than 153 Airvans and 45 Fatmen have been delivered. Advanced orders have also been placed for the Nomad.
So after 20 years, an Australian manufacturer of humble origins has established a range of three general aircraft which are selling well in both the Australian and international markets. Although some say hindsight is no sight at all, there are definitely lessons to be learnt from South Africa’s past failures and the Gippsland success. Therefore, in terms of any new NADP, should South Africa not move away from solely military aerospace manufacturing projects? Should it not investigate whether a niche can be identified and exploited in the general aviation market and thereby include a general aviation component within the manufacturing portion of the NADP?
After all, the country has a fairly sizable commercial aviation industry that can serve as a seed market for a locally produced product. If South Africa can replicate in some way the Gippsland experience, then in 20 years time it, too, may be able to boast of a viable aerospace manufacturing industry that contributes towards job creation and technology development, but that does not require large amounts of tax payers’ money in order to survive. This is the type of input that the commercial general aviation sector needs to provide to the CSIR for the development of the NADP.
