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Russian VIP MD-87 first with Chapter 4 hushkit
By Graham Warwick
A VIP McDonnell Douglas MD-87 has been hushkitted by Aviation Fleet Solutions (AFS) to comply with Chapter 4 noise limits, and has entered service with Russian telecommunications giant Sistema.
The 19-passenger converted airliner is the first MD-80 to be fitted with the QuietEagle noise reduction kit developed by AFS using technology licensed from Pratt & Whitney, which will provide in-service support as the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Seattle-based AFS says it installed the hushkit on the P&W JT8D-200-powered MD-87, owned by Sistema subsidiary Siviera Invest, “in about two days”.
The kit, which provides a cumulative noise reduction of up to 6dB, includes an improved front fan case, 16-lobe internal exhaust mixer, acoustic muffler and distinctive “tabbed” nozzle.
AFS and P&W are now “negotiating a couple of different packages with large fleet operators of the MD-80”, says company president Kevin Bartleson, adding the kit is available directly from AFS or from P&W as part of a bundled package including maintenance services.
“OEM support to an aftermarket product like this is absolutely critical,” says Irina Andriasova of Irval Technology, which managed the MD-87’s conversion on behalf of Virgin Islands-based Siviera and consulted with Boeing before deciding.
Bartelson says New York-based Irval placed the order to hushkit the MD-87 at short notice after taking over management of the VIP conversion and following the resolution of a contractual dispute between Sistema and the aircraft’s seller.
The MD-87 hit the headlines in March when Silviera was prevented from flying the disputed aircraft out of the country. The aircraft was ordered grounded by the FAA in Milwaukee, Wisconsin while on route from Fort Worth to Moscow via Canada.
According to newspaper reports, the dispute was resolved when Silviera agreed to pay $2.2 million to complete the purchase of the aircraft and its seller, N871DP LLC, agreed to complete the installation of long-range fuel tanks and other equipment.
Andriasova says the aircraft is now in service in Moscow with the hushkits, but without the extra tanks, which she says will be fitted at a later date. Bartelson says the MD-87 will be flown and maintained by US crews for the first 12-18 months.
