The Israeli Aircraft Industries Arava (Hebrew: עֲרָבָה, "Willow" or "Steppe" of "Desert", named after the Aravah of the Jordan Rift Valley) is a light STOL utility transport aircraft developed and produced by Israeli aerospace company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is IAI's first indigenously-developed aircraft design to enter production. The Arava had been developed during the 1960s, during which time it was intended to be adopted in large numbers by international customers in both the military and civil markets. Its design draws some influence from the French Nord Noratlas transport plane. Both the Israeli government and IAI's management were enthusiastic to develop the Arava, seeing it as a means of advancing the country's industrial capabilities as well as a source of revenue. On 27 November 1969, the first prototype performed its maiden flight; it would be destroyed on 19 November 1970 after a wing strut failed mid-flight due to excessive flutter. This accident has been attributed as being a major setback to both the Arava's development and its sales opportunities. According to aviation journalist and ex-IAI engineer Danny Shalom, substantial work on the development of what would become the Arava commenced right after the Six-Day War between Israel and several neighbouring nations. Prior to this point, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) had largely confined its aircraft manufacturing efforts to producing copies of existing French and American designs, such as the IAI Nesher. However, many of the company's engineers were keen to develop beyond imitation and reverse engineering effort, for IAI and Israel to produce its own unique and indigenously-produced aircraft. Around this time, the company had foresaw a requirement for a new generation of transport aircraft that would suit operations from runways only 400 meters in length. IAI had forecasted the international market demand for such an aircraft to be massive and that, by obtaining only a 20% market share, the company would sell between 400 and 600 aircraft throughout the life of the programme. As the design took shape, key performance objectives included Short-Takeoff and Landing (STOL) capability, the ability to operate the type from unprepared/rough airstrips, as well as the carriage of up to 20 passengers or bulky payloads. The Arava featured a barrel-like fuselage, being relatively short but wide, while the rear of the fuselage was hinged and could swing open for easy and rapid loading and unloading. Its wingspan was long and the twin tails were mounted on booms that ran from the engine nacelles. It was fitted with a fixed nosewheel undercarriage to save weight, while the chosen powerplant was a pair of 715 eshp (533 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 turboprop engines. The design configuration bore considerable similarity to the French Nord Noratlas transport plane, which was already being used at that time by the Israeli Air Force (IAF). Total number built: 103. For further information, click here.
