The Italian Aerospace Information Web
by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)
Italian Air Force C-27J Aircraft Tops 1000 Flight Hours
On October 25, 2007, the first three Alenia Aeronautica C-27J transport aircraft in service with the Italian Air Force 46th Air brigade, at Pisa/San Giusto Air Base, totalled 1000 flight hours. Considering that the first C-27J (46-80/MM62215, c/n 114) was delivered in January, the second (46-81/MM62217, c/n 116) in May and the third (46-82/MM62218, c/n 130) in July 2007, their utilization rate is better then the average level of the previous G 222 during their activity with the IAF. This record is more significant if it is considered that the first C-27J was not flying, from September 2007, due to an intensive period of maintenance crew training.
Aircraft coded 46-82 (“Lupo 82”) took part in the LAVEX 2007, Lybian Aviation Exhibition, set up in Tripoli, October 29-31, 2007. During the last 2 months of 2007, three more C-27J’s were delivered to the IAF (46-83/MM62220, NC 131; 46-84/MM62214, NC 113; 46-85/MM62221, NC 132) after the usual company test flights and the successive IAF acceptance process. Six more C-27J’s will be delivered to the IAF, one a month, during the first half of 2008.
The fourth C-27J destined to be delivered to the IAF was c/n 4115, the first series aircraft which had its maiden flight, as I-FBAX, on May 12, 2000. It initially received IAF serial number MM62216, but became the first C-27J for the Lithuanian Air Force (identification code 06), delivered in June 2007.
For unknown reasons, the construction numbers of the IAF’s C-27J’s have three digits only, skipping the initial “4” assigned by the manufacturer. For the C-27J production run, Alenia Aeronautica has continued with the sequence of construction numbers, starting from 4001, used for its elder sister, the G 222.
In the meantime, from November 22 to December 4, 2007, the Alenia Aeronautica C-27J demo aircraft took part in a medical relief mission named “Ridare la Luce 07” (Give Back the Light), organized by AFMAL (Associazione Fatebenefratelli per i Malati Lontani) and by the Italian Air Force, in support of the remote village of Gao, Republic of Mali.
In the picture: The “1000 flight hours” logo on the port-side of the third Italian Air Force’s C-27J aircraft, 46-82/MM62218. Turin/Caselle airport, 2008. (Mauro Cini/Aeromedia)
(Aeromedia, January 2008)