IAI Westwind

Israel Aircraft Industries' Westwind business jet may be traced back to the American Aero Commander Model 1121 Jet Commander which was designed by Ted Smith and first flew in January 1963. When Aero Commander merged with North American Rockwell they were obliged to sell off the Jet Commander to avoid conflict with US antitrust laws (the parent company was already marketing the Sabreliner business jet).

Israel Aircraft Industries bought the entire Jet Commander programme and all production tooling and sales rights, and after refining the design returned it to the market as the 1123 Commodore Jet, later renamed the 1123 Westwind. The West-wind had a lengthened fuselage, more powerful engines and tip tanks. The longer fuselage could accommodate up to ten passengers. The first Israel-built Westwind 1123 flew on September 28, 1970 and 36 had been delivered when production ceased in mid 1976 in favour of the Model 1124 which was re-engined with fuel-efficient Garrett-AiResearch TFE731 turbofans in place of the pure turbojets used in all previous models.

The first Model 1124 Westwind flew on July 21, 1975 since when production of the aircraft, known as Westwind I, has been running at three to four per month to meet heavy demand from United States business operators. The pressurized cabin can accommodate up to ten passengers with a flight crew of two. The interior arrangement can be altered to suit customer requirements. The cabin is heated, ventilated and air-conditioned. More than 90 have been delivered.

Three Model 1123 Westwinds were modified for maritime surveillance roles for the Israeli navy in 1977 and a maritime aircraft called the Westwind Sea Scan is today based on the 1124 airframe. It incorporates Litton LASR-2 search radar in a bulbous nose radome, Global Navigation's NS-500A VLF navigation system, forward-looking infrared scanner systems, low-light-level television cameras and monitors, magnetometers and sonobuoys, depth chargers or emergency-rescue equipment.

A further civil version called Westwind II is currently under development in Israel featuring drag-reducing Whitcomb winglets mounted atop the aircraft's tiptanks, which are expected to improve cruise performance by some 70km/h and range by 560km.

3-View

A three-view drawing (1176 x 1824)