Israel Aircraft Industries' Bedek Aviation Group (IAI Bedek) recently completed conversion of a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-200 from passenger to special freighter. This was the 38th Boeing 747-200 aircraft conversion that was completed by Bedek under their Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Supplemental Type Certificate (STC).
The Northwest aircraft completed a two-hour test flight with zero rejects. This is the second Boeing 747-200SF conversion Bedek has completed for Northwest Airlines.
Due to the great demand to convert Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft, Bedek is discontinuing conversions of the Boeing 747-200 series. Conversion slots for the 747-400 in Bedek's facility at Ben Gurion International Airport are fully booked until 2009.
Bedek is developing an STC for converting Boeing 747-400 Combi to Special Freighter and is expected to receive FAA approval in early 2006. Approval for a Boeing 747-400 Passenger to Special Freighter STC is expected in the last quarter of 2006.
Bedek has STCs for cargo conversions of the Boeing 767-200 and Boeing 737-300. To date, Bedek has completed 19 conversions for the 767-200 and 18 conversions for the 737-300. The first conversion of a Boeing 747-200 by Bedek was completed in August 1990 when it redelivered the aircraft to Lufthansa.
As a full service provider, Bedek also performs major maintenance checks on most of the aircraft it converts.
For further information, please contact:
Doron Suslik
Deputy Corporate Vice President for Communications
Tel: 972 (3) 935-8509
Fax: 972 (3) 935-8512
E-mail: hpaz@iai.co.il