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130     HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM

operational environment of the military, we will then launch into a production program which would require a more complete production engineering job. It will require additional tooling, and some additional flight testing. However, as you can see and fully appreciate, most of the job has been accomplished to date in these five airplanes. that should make it a realistic program in the future.

Senator MONRONEY. This represents a considerable investment up to this point, does it not, Mr. Thayer?

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir, it does. The investment up to this point is over $90 million, and we expect it to run over a hundred million dollars.

Senator MONRONEY. That is with the five production models?

Mr. THAYER. That is just our cost and does not include the engines.

Senator MONRONEY. That is airframe costs, but includes the five airframes as well?

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir.

Senator MONRONEY. The subsequent follow-on, when you get the production models, of course, would be much cheaper than the original five, of course.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir, they would.

Senator MONRONEY. Do you have any idea in full production what that price would stand the Air Force, without the engines? Or with the engines, if you can price it that way.

Mr. THAYER. I can give you some rough budgetary flyaway costs. 

If we talk in terms of nine additional aircraft to complete the flight test and evaluation program, which we think to be a realistic number, the unit cost of those would be something between $11 million and $12 million apiece.

However, in production, when we get it down to, say, 200 aircraft, the flyaway cost is about $2.5 million; at 300 aircraft-

Senator MONRONEY. That is with the engines?

Mr. THAYER. That is with the T-64 engines.

Senator Monroney. In other words, that would be related to- roughly 2.5 million, roughly the cost of an Electra, the last Electra model sold.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir, I believe that is in the ballpark.

Senator MONRONEY. And it would be equivalent to what a DC-9 would be costing, a little less than a DC-9?

Mr. THAYER. I think the DC-9-

Senator MONRONEY. It was about $2,800,000.

Mr. THAYER. I believe the DC-9 is in excess of that.

Senator MONRONEY. It is about $2.9 or $3 million. It is close to the $3 million mark.

The performance of this plane would be a 300-mile-an-hour plane even if you didn't use it as VTOL or STOL.

Mr. THAYER. Yes, sir. Three-hundred-mile cruise and over 400-mile maximum speed.

Senator MONRONEY. What would be your range, not using it VTOL but STOL?

Mr. THAYER. I can recall a number for you. At 41,000 pounds gross load, gross takeoff weight-

Senator MONRONEY. I didn't understand.

Mr. THAYER. At 41,000 pounds gross takeoff weight, with 4 tons of payload included in the 41,000 pounds, the airplane will fly almost a