Iszada IA-101

Iszada IA-101
Role	Narrow-body jet airliner
National origin	Kathia
Manufacturer	Iszada Aircraft Corporation
First flight	December 20, 1956
Introduction	October 31, 1958, with Air Kathia
Retired	2004 (commercially)
Status	In limited military service
Primary users	Air Kathia (historical) Kathic Allonian Airlines (historical)
Produced	1957–1979
Number built	610
Unit cost	US$4.7M (1959)

The Iszada IA-101 is a Kathic narrowbody, mid to long-range jet, four engined jet airliner built by the Iszada Aircraft Corporation and produced from 1958 to 1977 when it was superseded by new generation wide body airliners. The IA-101 carried between 152 179 passengers (-10/-20) and 194 and 220 passengers (-30). The IA-101 firmly cemented Kathia as a leader in aviation following the success of the IA-4300 and IA-4600.

A total of 632 IA-101s were built and delivered to a number of customers, with many being the passenger versions. However several were built for to carry freight, and many passenger versions were converted to freight in the 1980s and 1990s. The IA-101 also saw success as a military aircraft, with an aerial refueling variant developed in 1961 which is still in use by many Air Forces worldwide. The IA-101 also served as the primary transport aircraft for the Kathic Government from 1960 to 1991 as well as many other nations during that time.

Development

Background

The Kathic aviation industry was hit hard by World War Two, but had bounced back by 1951 and was going strong with the IA-4300 having entered services several years beforehand along with various military aircraft that had been developed. In 1952 Iszada began looking into developing a jet-powered airliner as opposed to going forward with further development on a turboprop version of the IA-4300, which had received lukewarm response from airlines.

In the end, Iszada would develop a turboprop, the IA-4600, but to serve as a domestic short range aircraft rather than international flights, and pushed forth with development of a long range jet airliner in 1952. In 1955, Air Kathia ordered 25 with options of 10 more, and became the launch customer of the IA-101. Several airlines subsequently placed orders for the aircraft.

Design Phase

Development on the IA-101 began in 1952, with several designs. The original design consisted of a straight wing design with the engines embedded in the wing near the fuselage, and it would have carried between 96-110 passengers in a 3-2 configuration. This design was later rejected by Air Kathia who wanted a larger and faster passenger jet. In 1954, work on the final design was complete, and in May 1954 a mock-up was revealed.

The prototype aircraft was constructed by hand, as the tools and skills necessary to mass-produce civilian jet liners was not available. However, the first prototype was revealed in 1956, and flew shortly thereafter. Impressed, and under government contract to buy the aircraft, Air Kathia committed to buying 15 IA-101s. Several airlines soon ordered the type, and by 1958 there were over 90 aircraft on order.

Entry Into Service

The IA-101 entered service with Air Kathia on 31 October, 1958 and flew from Corava to Monitava, setting the speed record for the route. By 1960, the Iszada had produced nearly 63 IA-101s.

Operational History

The IA-101 was put into service with Air Kathia on 31 October, 1958. Its first flight was for VIPs, including King Roune IV, Prime Minister Acathe ce Vera, and Yare Aourdal, the CEO of Air Kathia. Its first commercial flight was from Corava to Veranium. The IA-101-10 production ended quickly in 1960 with the introduction of the IA-101-20 which featured newer engines and increased range. In 1960, the IA-101-20 became the main air transport aircraft for the Kathic Government, which initially operated 3 IA-101-20s. The aircraft would later be replaced in 1979 by the new rengined -50 and remained in service until 1991 when the A310-300 replaced them.

The IA-101 became a favorite of many Auroran airlines as well as nations outside Aurora. The -20 became the main production model, and remained the flagship aircraft of many carriers during the 1960s. But, the IA-101, like all other first generation jet airliners, became a victim of its own success. The quick advent jet travel allowed more people to fly, and soon higher capacity airliners were needed. The IA-101-30 was a quick remedy, but its release was soon eclipsed by the announced widebody aircraft such as Iszada's own IA-131 and the Airbus A300. By the mid-1970s, the long range variants of the IA-101 had been relegated to flying to second tier airlines and flag carriers of second and third world nations, and in some cases was used for far shorter routes compared to the market it was originally developed for.

The stretched IA-101-30 was released in 1965, and the first aircraft was put into service in March 1966. It initially did not attract as many orders as hoped, but when it was re-engined into the IA-101-60, it quickly found more orders. The IA-101-60 was positioned between smaller aircraft like the 727-200 and the larger widebodies, which made it suitable for high capacity routes where it could garner high load factors compared to wide bodies flying the same route which would have to fly less times to get the same load factor.

By the 1980s, most of the original versions (excluding the -50/-60) had been retired, and the ones remaining in service were threatened with noise regulations as the original models had old, loud engines. Air Kathia had long since retired its -20s and -30s, which were either upgraded, sold, or scrapped between 1975-1980. Air Kathia's last scheduled original IA-101 flight occurred in 1979, and many major airlines that had yet to retire them quickly followed suit.

As of 2019, a majority of IA-101s in service operate as aerial refuelers or other military roles. Due to its durability and upgrades, 27 IA-101s remain in commercial operation, however all are expected to be retired in the 2020s. All current commercial operations are cargo, with the last passenger flight having occurred in 2009.

Variants

-10

The IA-101-10 was the first variant of the IA-101, and entered service with Air Kathia in 1958. It was powered by four Vourdiszal VZ140s. The -10 was only produced from 1958-1963 when the -20 entered service with newer engines. Only 63 were produced.

-20

The -20 was the main production model from 1963-1977. It was mainly used on long range flights as well as medium distance flights. It could carry a maximum of 179 passengers in all-economy configuration across 9,100 km.

-30

The -30 was a stretched variant that was developed for high-density, short- to medium- range flights such as those in Aurora or Taizi. It had the same wing as as the -10 and -20, but had a stretched fuselage which allowed it to carry up to 220 passengers. As a result it had a range of just 5,900 km, but was very popular with Inter-Kathic and several airlines in Taizi.

-40/-50

In 1972, the -40 and -50 were announced as a re-engined variant of the original models. Equipmed with more fuel-efficient CFM56 engines, it was hoped that the life of the IA-101 would be extended by some years. But by the 1970s, a new generation of widebody airliners had entered service and only the stretched -50 found relative success in its original short- to medium-range high density routes until they were retired in the early 1990s. The re-engined variants found success with military variants, however, and many are still in service. While production of new models was slated to end in 1973, several airlines requested it stay open as new airframes, all of which being the stretched -50, could be produced. The last IA-101 was produced in 1976 and production ceased, however conversions of older models to the -40/-50 specifications continued for another 10 years. The IA-101-30/60 was largly replaced by the Iszada IA-131, which entered service in 1984.

Undeveloped Variants

IA-101-35

The IA-101-35 was a proposed variant that had the same fuselage length as the -30, but with an increased wingspan. It was first proposed in 1965, however it garnered little interest with the announced widebody airliners under development. Only a mock-up was produced in late 1965, and the project was shelved in 1967.

Deliveries

1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	Total
23	82	49	42	17	20	33	19	36	100	87	38	14	22	12	9	4	3	610

Aircraft on Display

K1400- the first IA-101 operated as the main VIP transport for Kathia is on display the the Royal Air Force Museum in Corava
K1500- Sister aircraft to K1400, on display at the Vydau Museum of Aviation, located at Vydau-Lourval Airport
K1010IZ- Prototype, displayed at the Lavala Museum of Flight
K1874KA- IA-101-20 on display outside of Vorhafven Airport