Israel Aircraft Industries Arava

The first major aircraft designed and built in Israel, the Arava was designed between 1964 and 1967 and first flown on November 27th, 1969. On November 11th 1970 the first prototype, 4X-IAI, crashed, killing three of the four IAI personnel on board. 4X-IAA, the second Arava prototype, was first flown on May 8th 1971 but crash landed on the same month at Lod airport.
A short range transport with short take off and landing (STOL) capabilites, the Arava is capable of operating off temporary and unpaved runways. It has a circular fuselage, 2.5 meters in diameter, and is unpressurized with a swinging tail end, although paratroops and supplies can be dropped off in flight through the rear left-side door. Aravas can take off runways less than 300 meters long and have provisions to carry up to 24 troops or 17 paratroops. All Arava variants fall into two categories: the civilian '100' series and the military '200' series. The type has sold all around the world to both civilan and military customers, playing such varying roles as maritime surveillance, fire-fighting, intelligence gathering and counter isurgency. Another Arava crash took place during a demonstration flight for a foreign customer on January 15th 1980, killing both pilots.

The Israeli Air Force had been aware of the Arava for a long time before the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Taking a rare and odd stance, the IAF claimed that fostering the local aircraft industry was not one of its missions and was distinctly cool about the type. However, when war broke out on October 6th, 1973, the IAF commandeered from IAI the Arava 102 prototype and two 201 military examples built for a foreign customer. Serving mainly in the Sinai, The three aircraft proved to be of tremendous value. They carried out any mission assigned to them, landing wherever required while remaining servicable at all times. In their two weeks of service during the war, the three Aravas flew 69 sorties and carried over 70 tons of cargo. After the war, More than 10 Arava 201 exampled were purchased, serving mainly as troop transports and instruction aircraft. More examaples have since entered service, most of the stronger engined 202 variant, playing more varied roles such as intelligence gathering. The type continues to serve with the IAF today.

Specification: Israel Aircraft Industries Arava
Type: light STOL commercial and military transport.
Powerplant: two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34 turboprops.
Performance: range with max payload- 280km, with max fuel - 1,306km, service ceiling - 25,000ft.
Weights: empty - 4,000kg, max take off - 6,804m.
Dimensions: length - 13.03m, span - 20.96m, height - 5.21m.
Armament: provision for two machine guns in fuselage side packs, usually 0.5" Browning, plus a third gun on the rear fuselage. two pods containig 6 * 82mm rocket pods on fuselage sides.

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