IAI Westwind#IAI

{{Infobox aircraft

|name = Jet Commander/Westwind

|image = File:IAI Westwind (2323424886).jpg

|caption = The Westwind is a business aircraft with a mid-wing and two aft-mounted engines

|manufacturer = Aero Commander
Israel Aircraft Industries

|designer =

|first_flight = 27 January 1963{{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%200252.html |title= Sport and business |magazine= Flight International |date= 14 February 1963}}

|introduction = 1965

|retired =

|status = Limited service

|primary_user = Pel-Air

|more_users =

|produced = 1965–1987

|number_built = 442

|unit cost = $475,000 (1121, 1963)
$1.155 million (1123, 1974){{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%200582.html |title= IAI continues Westwind|magazine= Flight International |date= 11 April 1974}}
$1.6 million (1124, 1975){{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200636.html |title= Israel Aircraft Industries |magazine= Flight International |date= 3 April 1975}}
$3 million (1124N, 1976){{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%200552.html |title= Nautical Westwind |date= 3 April 1976 |magazine= Flight International }}
$3 million (1124A, 1979){{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1979/1979%20-%203636.html |date= 6 October 1979 |title= Winglets for Westwind and Commanders |magazine= Flight International }}

|developed_from = Aero Commander 500

|developed_into = IAI Astra
Gulfstream G100

}}

The IAI Westwind is a business jet initially produced by Aero Commander as the 1121 Jet Commander.

Powered by twin GE CJ610 turbojets, it first flew on January 27, 1963, and received its type certification on November 4, 1964, before the first delivery.

The program was bought by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) in 1968, which stretched it slightly into the 1123 Westwind, and then re-engined it with Garrett TFE731 turbofans into the 1124 Westwind.

The {{cvt|16,800-23,500|lb|t}} MTOW aircraft can carry up to 8 or 10 passengers, and 442 were produced until 1987.

Development

{{external media

| image1 = [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFGngRiYQS0 Business Machine of the Air] – promotional film covering the early history of the aircraft

}}

File:Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander, Private JP5962515.jpg turbojets, and they have five starboard and three or four port windows.]]

File:4X-CJK, at Paris Le Bourget Airport,, Marvin G Goldman collection.jpg; Ex John Wegg coll'n.jpg

File:4X-JYO Shimon-Kahlon a.jpg turbofans, the Sea Scan maritime patrol aircraft of the Israeli Air Force has a nose radome and additional aerials.]]

File:N993DS Israel IAI-1124 Westwind 2 (cn 356) (6837117598).jpg on the tip tanks]]

= Aero Commander =

The Westwind was originally designed in the United States by Aero Commander as a development of its twin-propeller namesake aircraft, first flying on January 27, 1963, as the Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander.Scott A. Thompson, Flight Check!: The Story Of Faa Flight Inspection (Government Printing Office, 1990) p108; "Jet Commander Flies", by Gerald J. Schlaeger, Flying magazine (April 1963)p30

After successful testing, the aircraft was put into series production with deliveries to customers beginning in early 1965.

After initial testing of the prototype, it was modified to production standard with an addition of 2.5 ft to the fuselage length and increased payload and maximum weights. The second prototype first flew on April 14, 1964, which was followed by the first production aircraft in November 1964. Type approval was awarded by the FAA in November, enabling the first customer delivery on January 11, 1965.

Shortly thereafter, Aero Commander was acquired by North American Rockwell. The Jet Commander created a problem, since Rockwell already had an executive jet of its own design, the Sabreliner, and could not keep both in production because of antitrust laws. Therefore, the company decided to sell off the rights to the Jet Commander, which were purchased by IAI in 1968.

= Israel Aircraft Industries =

Jet Commander production amounted to 150 aircraft in the United States and Israel before IAI undertook a series of modifications to create the 1123 Westwind. These included stretching the fuselage and increasing maximum takeoff, maximum landing, and maximum zero-fuel weights, with the wing modified to incorporate double-slotted flaps and drooped leading edges and tip tanks. The trimmable horizontal stabiliser was also modified to have increased span and more travel. Not long after the aircraft went into production, the original General Electric CJ610 turbojet engines were replaced by more fuel-efficient Garrett TFE731 turbofans Numerous airframe modifications also were made, such as drooped leading edges on the wings, a dorsal fin, revised engine pylons and nacelles, and further increases in maximum takeoff, maximum landing, and maximum zero-fuel weights. With improvements to a number of onboard systems incorporated, as well, these changes resulted in the 1124 Westwind delivered from 1976.

In 1976, in the wake of the terrorist takeover of the Savoy hotel in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Air Force decided to use the Westwind as the basis for a maritime patrol aircraft, which became known as the IAI Sea Scan. It had originally been developed to meet a requirement for the United States Coast Guard to replace the Grumman HU-16 Albatross, but they selected the Dassault Falcon instead.

In 1980, deliveries of the Model 1124A commenced; modifications included a new wing centre-section and the addition of winglets to the tips. The revamped aircraft was called the Westwind II, replacing the original design in production. IAI built its last Westwind in 1987, after a total of 442 Jet Commanders and Westwinds had been built, switching production to the Astra.

By 2018, 1980s Westwind 1124s were priced from $300,000 to $700,000.{{cite magazine |url= https://www.ainonline.com/sites/default/files/full-issues/ain_1218.pdf |title= For many models, market hitting the apex |magazine= Aviation International News |author= Mark Huber |date= December 2018 |pages= 20–21, 24 |access-date= 2018-12-27 |archive-date= 2018-12-27 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181227181555/https://www.ainonline.com/sites/default/files/full-issues/ain_1218.pdf |url-status= dead }}

Design

The Jet Commander/Westwind was of broadly conventional business jet arrangement, with two engines mounted in nacelles carried on the rear fuselage, but the wings were mounted halfway up the fuselage instead of the typical low-wing arrangement of aircraft in this class.

At FL310 and {{cvt|0.74|Mach|altitude_ft=31000|kn km/h|0}}, the 1124 burns {{cvt|1600|lb}} per hour, and {{cvt|{{#expr:1600-400}}|lb}} at {{cvt|0.7|Mach|altitude_ft=31000|kn km/h|0}}.{{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1978/1978%20-%203014.html |title= Westwind 1124 in the air |author= Hugh Field |magazine= Flight International |date= 25 November 1978 }}

Variants

class="wikitable" \|+ Type certificate data sheet{{cite web \|url= http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/ad46abf7e926a72f8525672700701087/$FILE/A2SW.pdf \|title= FAA Type Certificate Number A2SW \|publisher= FAA \|date= April 17, 1980}} ! ! Model !! Approved !! Engines !! Thrust !! Mmo !! Ceiling !! MTOW !! pax !! fuel !! Serials
rowspan=3 \| {{Rotate text
90\|Aero Commander}} ! 1121 \| Nov 4, 1964 \| CJ610-1/-5 \| {{cvt\|2,850-2,950\|lbf\|kN\|2\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=5 \| 0.765 \| {{cvt\|40,000\|ft\|0\|disp=br}} \| {{cvt\|16,800-17,500\|lb\|0\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=3 \| 8 \| {{cvt\|926\|USgal\|L\|0\|disp=br}} \| 3-120
1121A{{efn\|overwing refuelling points with integral fuel tanks, new wheels, tires and brakes, improved cockpit lighting{{cn\|date=October 2019}}}} \| Sep 19, 1967 \| CJ610-1 \| {{cvt\|2,850\|lbf\|kN\|2\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=3 \| {{cvt\|41,000\|ft\|0\|disp=br}}{{efn\|with passengers, {{cvt\|45,000\|ft\|0}} with crew only}} \| rowspan=2 \| {{cvt\|17,500\|lb\|0\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=2 \| {{cvt\|1,090\|USgal\|L\|0\|disp=br}} \| 121-131
1121B \| Apr 23, 1968 \| CJ610-5 \| {{cvt\|2,950\|lbf\|kN\|2\|disp=br}} \| 132-150
rowspan=3 \| {{Rotate text
90\|IAI}} ! 1123{{efn\|Increased fuselage length, tip tanks, double-slotted flaps and drooped leading edge, Increased horizontal tail span...}} \| 8 Dec 1971 \| CJ610-9{{efn\|plus Microturbo SAPHIR III APU}} \| {{cvt\|3,100\|lbf\|kN\|2\|disp=br}} \| {{cvt\|20,700\|lb\|0\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=3 \| 10 \| {{cvt\|{{#expr:2(537+113)}}\|USgal\|l\|0\|disp=br}} \|  36 builtFrawley, Gerald. "IAI Westwind". The International Directory of Civil Aircraft 1997/98.* Fyshwick ACT: Aerospace Publications, 1997. {{ISBN\|1-875671-26-9}}. p. 123.
1124{{efn\|Improved drooped leading edge, added dorsal fin, new pod and pylon shapes, new wheel well fairing... }} \| 17 Mar 1976 \| rowspan=2 \| TFE-731-3-1G \| rowspan=2 \| {{cvt\|3,700\|lbf\|kN\|2\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=2 \| {{cvt\|45,000\|ft\|0\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=2 \| {{cvt\|23,500\|lb\|0\|disp=br}} \| rowspan=2 \| {{cvt\|{{#expr:2*(537+113)+100}}\|USgal\|l\|0\|disp=br}} \|
1124A{{efn\|winglets on the wing tip tanks, New leading edge profile}} \| Apr 17, 1980 \| 0.785 \|

class="wikitable"

|+ Type certificate data sheet{{cite web |url= http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgMakeModel.nsf/0/ad46abf7e926a72f8525672700701087/$FILE/A2SW.pdf |title= FAA Type Certificate Number A2SW |publisher= FAA |date= April 17, 1980}}

! Model !! Approved !! Engines !! Thrust !! Mmo !! Ceiling !! MTOW !! pax !! fuel !! Serials

rowspan=3 | {{Rotate text

90|Aero
Commander}}

! 1121

| Nov 4, 1964

| CJ610-1/-5

| {{cvt|2,850-2,950|lbf|kN|2|disp=br}}

| rowspan=5 | 0.765

| {{cvt|40,000|ft|0|disp=br}}

| {{cvt|16,800-17,500|lb|0|disp=br}}

| rowspan=3 | 8

| {{cvt|926|USgal|L|0|disp=br}}

| 3-120

1121A{{efn|overwing refuelling points with integral fuel tanks, new wheels, tires and brakes, improved cockpit lighting{{cn|date=October 2019}}}}

| Sep 19, 1967

| CJ610-1

| {{cvt|2,850|lbf|kN|2|disp=br}}

| rowspan=3 | {{cvt|41,000|ft|0|disp=br}}{{efn|with passengers, {{cvt|45,000|ft|0}} with crew only}}

| rowspan=2 | {{cvt|17,500|lb|0|disp=br}}

| rowspan=2 | {{cvt|1,090|USgal|L|0|disp=br}}

| 121-131

1121B

| Apr 23, 1968

| CJ610-5

| {{cvt|2,950|lbf|kN|2|disp=br}}

| 132-150

rowspan=3 | {{Rotate text

90|IAI}}

! 1123{{efn|Increased fuselage length, tip tanks, double-slotted flaps and drooped leading edge, Increased horizontal tail span...}}

| 8 Dec 1971

| CJ610-9{{efn|plus Microturbo SAPHIR III APU}}

| {{cvt|3,100|lbf|kN|2|disp=br}}

| {{cvt|20,700|lb|0|disp=br}}

| rowspan=3 | 10

| {{cvt|{{#expr:2*(537+113)}}|USgal|l|0|disp=br}}

|  36 builtFrawley, Gerald. "IAI Westwind". The International Directory of Civil Aircraft 1997/98. Fyshwick ACT: Aerospace Publications, 1997. {{ISBN|1-875671-26-9}}. p. 123.

1124{{efn|Improved drooped leading edge, added dorsal fin, new pod and pylon shapes, new wheel well fairing... }}

| 17 Mar 1976

| rowspan=2 | TFE-731-3-1G

| rowspan=2 | {{cvt|3,700|lbf|kN|2|disp=br}}

| rowspan=2 | {{cvt|45,000|ft|0|disp=br}}

| rowspan=2 | {{cvt|23,500|lb|0|disp=br}}

| rowspan=2 | {{cvt|{{#expr:2*(537+113)+100}}|USgal|l|0|disp=br}}

1124A{{efn|winglets on the wing tip tanks, New leading edge profile}}

| Apr 17, 1980

| 0.785

The 1122 Type Certificate was cancelled, the two airplanes manufactured have been converted to model 1123.

The 1124N Sea Scan is a maritime surveillance aircraft, and the 1124 was renamed Westwind I after the introduction of the 1124A Westwind II.

The 1121C is an unofficial designation for 1121 aircraft modified under a Supplemental Type Certificate with an increased all-up weight available from 1971.{{cn|date=October 2019}}

The 1123 Westwind was stretched by {{cvt|22|in|cm}}.{{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%202951.html |title= At the NBAA convention |magazine= Flight International |date= 9 October 1969}}

Operators

=Civil operators=

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|

;{{AUS}}

Pel-Air: six, of which four are in aero medical configuration.
Medex Aero: three, two of which are in aero medical configuration and one in corporate configuration

;{{CAN}}

Discovery Air Defence
SkyCare Air Ambulance

;{{BRA}}

Brasil Vida Táxi Aéreo: four aircraft, two in aero medical configuration

;{{FIJ}}

Helipro Fiji: one aircraft is in aero medical configuration.

;{{PHL}}

Lionair

;{{USA}}

}}

=Military operators=

{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|

;{{CHL}}

Chilean Navy

;{{ECU}}

Ecuadorian Air Force

;{{HON}}

Honduran Air Force - one 1123 operated during 1976.Hartoch, Noam. Jet Commander - Westwind Tonbridge, Kent, England:Air-Britain (Historians), 1979. {{ISBN|0 85130 075 8}}, p. 42-44

;{{ISR}}

Israeli Air Force (inactive as of 2017)

;{{MEX}}

Mexican Air Force: Inactive

;{{PAN}}

Panamanian Air Force - one 1123 delivered in 1975

;{{UGA}}

Ugandan Air Force - one 1121N operated from 1971 to 1976 as a presidential aircraft.

;{{USA}}

United States Coast Guard - one 1123 leased in 1973 for evaluation

}}

Accidents and incidents

The Rockwell 1121 had 21 hull-loss accidents causing 45 fatalities,{{cite web |url= https://aviation-safety.net/database/types/Rockwell-1121-Jet-Commander/statistics |title= Rockwell 1121 Statistics |date= 30 March 2020 |work= Aviation Safety Network }} and the IAI 1124 had 25 hull-loss accidents causing 47 fatalities.{{cite web |url= https://aviation-safety.net/database/types/IAI-1124-Westwind/statistics |title= IAI 1124 Statistics |date= 30 March 2020 |work= Aviation Safety Network }}
The latest, on March 29, 2020, an air ambulance operated by Lionair, caught fire and exploded during take off at Manila Airport, killing all five passengers and three crew.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/world/asia/lion-air-crash-philippines-coronavirus.html |title=8 Killed After Philippine Plane Bursts Into Flames |author= Jason Gutierrez |date=2020-03-29 |website=The New York Times |url-access= subscription}}{{cite web |url= https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/plane-crash-philippines-manila-airport-naia-lionair-12587828 |title= Eight killed after medical evacuation plane crashes in Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport |date= 2020-03-29 |website= Channel News Asia |access-date= 2020-03-30 |archive-date= 2020-03-30 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200330081806/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/plane-crash-philippines-manila-airport-naia-lionair-12587828 |url-status= dead }}

Specifications (1124A Westwind II)

File:IAI 1124 Westwind II 3-view line drawing.jpg

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83 Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982-83. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. {{ISBN|0-7106-0748-2}}, pp. 124–126.

|prime units?=met

|crew=2

|capacity=7 pax normal (maximum 10) / {{cvt|1474|kg|0}} maximum payload

|length m=15.93

|length note=

|span m=13.65

|span note=, {{cvt|13.16|m|0}} excluding tip tanks

|height m=4.81

|height note=

|wing area sqm=28.64

|wing area note=

|aspect ratio={{#expr:13.65/(28.64/13.65)round2}}

|airfoil=IAI 54-12 (Sigma 1 modified){{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}

|empty weight kg={{#expr:6010-1474}}

|empty weight note=

|gross weight kg=

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight kg=10660

|max takeoff weight note=

|fuel capacity={{cvt|4345|kg|0}}

|more general=

|eng1 number=2

|eng1 name=Honeywell TFE731-3-1G

|eng1 type=turbofan engines

|eng1 kn=16.46

|eng1 note=

|max speed kmh=

|max speed note=

|cruise speed kmh=723

|cruise speed note=economical at {{cvt|11890|-|12500|m|-2}}

|stall speed kmh=184

|stall speed note=at maximum landing weight, flaps down, engines idling

|never exceed speed kmh=868

|never exceed speed note=at {{cvt|8840|m}}

|minimum control speed kmh=

|minimum control speed note=

|range km=4430

|range note=10 pax, {{cvt|5385|km|mi nmi}} with maximum fuel and four passengers

|combat range km=

|combat range note=

|ferry range km=

|ferry range note=

|endurance=

|ceiling m=13725

|ceiling sigfig=2

|g limits=

|roll rate=

|climb rate ms=25.4

|climb rate note=at sea level

|time to altitude=

|wing loading kg/m2=372

|wing loading note=

|fuel consumption kg/km=

|thrust/weight= 0.31

|more performance=

Take-off balanced field length: {{cvt|1600|m}}
Landing run from {{cvt|15|m|0}}: {{cvt|747|m|-1}} at maximum landing weight

|avionics=

}}

References

External links

{{cite web |url= http://www.worthingtonav.com/corporate.php |title= Worthington Aviation LLC |quote= the Westwind Global Support provider |access-date= 2019-10-08 |archive-date= 2019-10-08 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191008082351/http://www.worthingtonav.com/corporate.php |url-status= dead }}
{{cite news |url= https://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/westwind-ii |title= Westwind II |author= Mark Huber |date= June 2010 |work= Business Jet Traveler}}

Category:Aero Commander aircraft

Category:Israel Aerospace Industries aircraft

Category:1960s Israeli business aircraft

Category:1960s United States business aircraft

Category:Twinjets

Category:Mid-wing aircraft

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1963

Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear