Raisbeck Engineering is requesting customer input to help it develop an aft fuselage baggage locker for Bombardier Challenger 601 and 604 aircraft.

Interested parties can obtain copies of a related questionnaire at the Raisbeck booth (#3716), at the NBAA convention this week. Approximately 400 Challenger operators in the U.S., Canada and Mexico have already received the survey by mail.

"We're not trying to sell it at this point, we're just trying to see if there is a need," says company founder Jim Raisbeck. "We do know that [Challenger] 604s fall a little short in baggage capacity relative to the [Dassault] Falcon 2000. We also have the opportunity to reduce the aircraft's drag."

The Challenger baggage locker project began as a joint venture with Bombardier until overwhelming demand for its limited engineering resources forced the Canadian manufacturer to withdraw. Bombardier will, however, provide technology and a certification base for the program.

The Challenger locker is being designed with CATIA computer software to be compatible with Bombardier's in-house manufacturing specifications.

Five designs were considered before the final selection was made, with Analytical Methods of Bellevue, WA, calculating the trim drag, skin friction and overall aerodynamic performance of each.

Raisbeck says the preferred design will be flight-tested to confirm its flight characteristics, and production will proceed if justified by operator interest and the ability to meet design parameters.

As such, the locker will be offered as a factory completion option on new 604s, and as a retrofit for existing 601s and 604s at Bombardier's Aviation Service Centers. The modification will cost $250,000 and take around a week of down time, depending on the aircraft's paint scheme.

"The problem comes with multiple colors, since you have to wait for each color to set," Raisbeck says.
The Bombardier/Raisbeck collaboration is nothing new; reference the aft fuselage baggage locker for the Learjet 31 and 31A. Nearly all (97%) new-production Lear 31A's are equipped with the Raisbeck baggage locker, including the entire Bombardier Flexjet fractional ownership fleet.

"It's a neat addition to the airplane, so Bombardier made it a factory completion option on all new Lear 31s and 31A's," Raisbeck says. "Our goal is to achieve the same kind of success with the Challenger, and ultimately, with the Gulfstream IV as well."

Toward the latter goal, Raisbeck has provided a $100,000 grant to Purdue University--his alma mater--to study the feasibility of an aft fuselage cargo locker for the Gulfstream IV aircraft.

Privately-held Raisbeck Engineering recorded sales of more than $50 million last year, with much of the total connected to its popular hush-kitting equipment for Boeing 727 aircraft.

Raisbeck says "there is life after Stage III," and is gearing up for the time when the hushkit "gravy train" ends--probably around the end of 2000. At that time, the company will emphasize support of other aging Boeing airliners.

"Boeing has around 9,000 aircraft in the air, and hasn't got time to maintain them, much less come up with new ways to improve these aircraft," Raisbeck says.

"On the 737-300/400, many operators would like to replace the composite engine nacelle with an aluminum nacelle," he says. "This is just an example, but it shows the kind of market that is out there."

By Paul Richfield