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CC-188 Polaris Strategic Transport Aircraft

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apophenia:
Upheaval at Canadair and the Future of the Military DC-8s

On the factory floor, things were hopping at Canadair in the early 1970s. But 'stagflation' was beginning to bite in the Canadian economy. Gone were the predictable days of production lines. After the '73 Energy Crisis, everything at Cartierville was suddenly mend, make-do, and modify. In the previous 3 years, there had been 4,000 lay-offs at Canadair which threatened the firm's long-standing Productivity Improvement Plan agreements with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (Lodge 712). It was not that strike action was likely but there had been union unrest after Canadair management had fired politically-active workers accused of being disruptive. [1]

A moderating factor was efforts by Canadair to place laid-off former employees at other Canadair facilities. This was all part of President Bill Baker's expansion and diversification programme. Ville de Montréal had being pushing for years to close down Cartierville airport (YCV). Success in this would make Canadair's current facilities untenable. Within Baker's expansion plan, work sites would be determined mainly by airframe size. The Cartierville plant (Canadair CV) was temporarily designated the Large Aircraft Centre (LAC) - which naturally included DC-8 conversion work and 'heavy maintenance'. In the longer term, plans were afoot to relocate the LAC to a suitable facility at Dorval (YUL). [2]

In the short-term, CC-188 and CP-188B conversions were undertaken at Cartierville interspersed with Argus and Yukon 'civilianization'. Added to that mix were later CP-109T Cosmo conversions and refurbishment. Canadair desperately needed to expand and the firm leased facilities in Moncton, NB (Canadair MO). [3] There, Canadair's new Business Jet Group was re-established with a new mission. This was the engineering of an update for early-model Dassault Falcon Jet biz-jets for re-engining with Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 151 turbofan engines - for Canadian Forces CC-117s, this included conversion to CP-117A Dene patrol aircraft standards). Moncton would also play a part in the next phase of the Canadian Forces DC-8 story.

Updates - Re-Engining Candidates for the Conway DC-8s

DND had sought out engine commonality for its DC-8 fleet by purchasing Conway-powered variants for conversion. However, this Rolls-Royce low-bypass turbofan dated back to the 1950s, was a notorious 'fuel hog'. The Conway had become unacceptably noisy. Canadair began studying potential replacement engines as early as 1970. The leading candidate was a member of Rolls-Royce's new Advanced Technology Engine family of large-bypass turbofans - the RB.205. This specific engine type was of interest primarily because its core was based upon that of the RB.168 Spey - the RB.168-25R Mk 201 variant powering Canada's McDonnell-Douglas CF-204 Phantom interceptors. [4] Unfortunately, timing was not on Canada's side. The RB.205 was dropped just before the larger RB.211 dragged Rolls-Royce Limited into bankruptcy.

Cammacorp Comes Calling - The Re-Engined CC-188M and CP-188M

With hopes for the RB.205 dashed, there seemed to be no suitable Conway replacement engine. Almost a decade later, Cammacorp was formed to fit DC-8s with CFMI high-bypass turbofans. Canadair was able to modify the Cammacorp pylon kit for DC-8-71 conversion to suit the DC-8-43 airframe. The result was the Canadair-Cammacorp DC-8-43/70 conversion kit which were assembled at Canadair MO in Moncton. These kits were first applied to the Arcturus fleet, creating the CP-188M (M for 'Modified'). The first CP-188M Arcturus conversion was redelivered to 408 Goose Squadron in late 1980.

The CP-188M Arcturus conversion involved more than just an engine-change. The Arcturus Incremental Modernization Scheme (AIMS) had four phases. AIMS-1 saw the installation of a bulged weapons bay in the former forward cargo hold. AIMS-2 covered general airframe refurbishment and repainting. AIMS-2 went hand-in-hand with AIMS-3 - the replacement of 1950s-vintage avionics and sensors (all based on CP-143 Orion upgrade components). AIMS-4 saw the pylon replacement and installation of CFM56 engines. Each Arcturus was cycled through Canadair MO three times - for AIMS-1, AIMS-2 with AIM-3, and finally AIMS-4.

The CP-188M Arcturus were somewhat overpowered with their four new 22,000 lb CFM56-2C1 engines. As a result, much of pilot conversion training for the 'M' model involved throttle-handling. Lessons were learned and applied to the follow-on Polaris Incremental Modernization Scheme (PIMS). Compared with the AIMS programme, PIMS was rather simpler. PIMS-1 involved a general avionics upgrade. PIMS-2 covered interior refurbishment and improvements. PIMS-3 saw the installation of new engine pylons and CFM56 turbofans.

At a glance, the 'big-fanned' CC-188s looked very much like the CP-188M conversion. However, there was a big difference. The transport conversions involved a slightly more compact CFMI engine - the 18,500 lbf CFM56-3C2. These engines had slightly smaller fans and their cowlings (taken from the Boeing 737-300) had flattened bottom. Both features served to give the CC-188C Polaris II more ground clearance than was available to the CP-188Ms. The first CC-188C [5] was re-delivered to 420 Snowy Owl Squadron in early 1983.

While the CFM56 engines gave the CC-188C/CP-188M fleets a new lease on life, there was no denying the dwindling airframe time of the base DC-8s. As long-range aircraft, both types had low numbers of 'cycles' but airframe fatigue was setting in. Both active squadrons' personnel were becoming very familiar with aluminum skin crack repair and non-destructive testing. Replacements were needed but no obvious candidates presented themselves. In any case, Canada's economy was just emerging from the deep recession of the early '80s and there was little appetite for a major aircraft procurement programme.

End of the Line for the Polaris and Arcturus

For the CC-188C Polaris II, replacement came from an unexpected source. The successor to CP Air - Canadian Airlines - had inherited Airbus A310-300 airliners from its merger partner, Wardair. When Canadian Airlines found itself a victim of the 1991 airline industry slump, a cash injection was needed. Rather than a simple bail-out, the Government of Canada bought the airline's five Airbus A310s. All five were given cargo doors and 'combi' floors before entering Canadian military service in 1992-93 as the Airbus CC-231 Algonquin. The CP-188M Arcturus fleet soldiered on until 1995 when their role was largely taken over by CP-143M Orion II maritime patrol aircraft.

(Fin)

___________________________________________

[1] Outside the firm, this largely went unnoticed until Canadair's actions were lumped in with a contentious lock-out at La Presse. Even the formerly-moderate President of the Quebec Federation of Labour - former Canadair machinist, Louis Laberge - was now radicalized by events.

[2] Already established was the Flying Boat Centre (FBC) at North Bay, ON (Canadair NB) and the Military Aircraft Centre (MAC) at Moose Jaw, SK (Canadair MJ). Other expansion plan schemes included the establishment of regional maintenance and modification centres - Eastern (EMM) at Truro, NS (Canadair TR) and Western (WMM) at Gimli, MB (Canadair GL). Negotiations towards acquiring Fleet Aircraft of St. Catherine's -  Bill Baker's first CEO position - were initially unsuccessful.

[3] Moncton was intended to provide a temporary bridge between Cartierville and new Canadair main facility at Dorval. The outcome of Référendum '79 and the establishment of the independent République du Québec put paid to that plan.

[4] The Government of Canada saw the RB.205 as having a much wider application re-engining early jetliners - DC-8s and Boeing 707s as well as Douglas DC-9s and Boeing 737s.

[5] The 'C' in CC-188C apparently stood for 'CFM'. Understandably, Polaris IIs were often mis-labelled as 'CC-188M's

GTX_Admin:
 :smiley:

Any chance of an AWACS variant?

apophenia:

--- Quote from: GTX_Admin on November 24, 2021, 01:13:21 AM ---Any chance of an AWACS variant?

--- End quote ---

Bien sûr!

For those less familiar with that period, it is good to remember that the DC-8 AWACS wasn't strictly-speaking a Government of Canada project. It originated with a Canadair proposal to the British government. [1]

Partnered with Short Brothers, Canadair's pitch followed the RAF's preferred Fore & Aft Scanner System (FASS) with GEC Marconi MSA and Thorn EMI Skymaster antennae in bulbous fairings. It was proposed that an ex-KLM DC-8-53 owned by Canadair would be converted to prove the radome installations. That aircraft - the DC-8M-AEW - would then be transferred to Shorts in Belfast for full missions systems installation. This joint Shorts-Canadair proposal was rejected in favour of the smaller BAE Nimrod AEW.3. [2]

Canadair second foray into early warning was rather more successful. This answered a NATO call for aircraft equivalent to the USAF's AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System). Most pundits assumed that Boeing - with an export version of the E-3 Sentry - was the assured winner of this NATO contest. First draughts at Canadair were based upon the Douglas D-990 submission for AWACS (including its multi-leg rotodome supports). [3] At NATO's insistence, the E-3's twin-legged supports for the Westinghouse radar were substituted.

In the NATO AWACS contest, overconfidence may have been Boeing's undoing. The Shorts-Canadair NATO AWACS submission proved the lower-cost of the compliant bids. It also involved more NATO members. The radar and many other onboard systems originated in the US (as did the original aircraft); airframe modifications were performed in Canada; the DC-8 AWACS was then flown to France for conversion to CFM56 turbofans; and then to the UK for final fit-out by Shorts.

______________________________________

[1] Although a Crown Corporation, it was part of the mandate of Canadair Ltd. to seek out export potential. The DC-8M-AEW project was an abject failure from a sales point of view but it did establish the relationship between Canadair and Short Brothers. That would later pay dividends with the latter's incorporation into the Canadair organization as the Shorts Aircraft plc subsidiary.

[2] Part of the Shorts-Canadair submission was statistical analysis by Canadair engineer Jim McManus demonstrating that the smaller Nimrod airframe would be inadequate for cooling onboard AEW systems. (By contrast, the entire forward cargo bay of the DC-8M-AEW could be dedicated to cooling and cabin conditioning.) That statistical analysis would prove prophetic but, at the time of submission, had no impact on Ministry or RAF thinking.

[3] The D-990 was the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft submission for AWACS under 1973's TAC/ADC SOR 206.

robunos:
Just caught up with this one, XLNT as usual . . .
Just one *tiny* nit-pick; Tesside Airport is in County Durham, not North Yorkshire . . .   ;)


cheers,
Robin.

apophenia:

--- Quote from: robunos on November 25, 2021, 07:11:27 AM ---... Tesside Airport is in County Durham, not North Yorkshire ...

--- End quote ---

Thanks Robin.

So, no wonder there are no more CC-188s around! These aircraft had very long ranges. However, with their endless circling over the moors whilest the Nav scouring and re-scouring his map of North Yorkshire, there was only ever going to be one outcome  :o

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