IAI Astra

The IAI 1125 Astra is an Israel Aircraft Industries-manufactured twin-engine business jet. The Astra evolved from the IAI Westwind. The Astra wing design was modified with a completely new fuselage, creating the Galaxy (later the Gulfstream G200) business jet during the 1990s.

Design and development

Work on an improved Westwind began in the late 1970s, with the first prototype flight on March 19, 1984. The first production Astra flew on March 20, 1985, with FAA certification granted on August 29, 1985 and customer deliveries starting in 1986.

The original 1125 Astra was replaced by the Astra SP, announced in 1989, of which 37 were built. The third variant, Astra SPX, flew in August 1994. This variant was renamed G100 from September 2002 following Gulfstream's acquisition of Galaxy Aerospace, which held the Astra certifications, in May 2001. IAI built G100s in Israel and then flew the completed airframes to the United States for interior outfitting. Production of the G100 was discontinued in 2005 with the introduction of the G150.

Astra (1954 automobile)

The Astra, Little Horse, was an English car built by a subsidiary of British Anzani of Hampton Hill, Middlesex from 1954 to 1959. At GBP348 it claimed to be the smallest and cheapest four-wheeler on the British market. The car had originally been built by JARC motors and sold as the Little Horse.

Car

It featured a rear-mounted 322 cc air-cooled, twin-cylinder engine mounted under the floor driving the rear wheels through a three-speed motorcycle-type gearbox. The steel channel section chassis had all-round independent suspension with swing axles at the rear. Most cars had two seater estate car bodies, but some four-seat saloons were also made. The bodies were made of aluminium. The car could also be bought in kit form. It was claimed to be able to reach 55 mph (89 km/h) and return 60 mpg_-imp (4.7 L/100 km; 50 mpg_-US).

After production ceased, some coupés were made by Gill cars and sold as the Getabout. The rights were also bought by Harold Lightburn of Camden, Adelaide, Australia who fitted a new glass-fibre estate body and sold the car as the Zeta between 1963 and 1966.

Astra (1930 automobile)

The Astra was made by Automobiles Astra, Liege, Belgium in 1930. It is considered a textbook example of car design piracy, as the 1,100cc S.C.A.P.-engined car that made its debut at the 1930 Brussels Motor Show was an almost exact copy of the Tracta. It never went into production, and the projected 6- and 8- cylinder versions were, most likely, never built.

Astra (1920 automobile)

The Astra was an American automobile manufactured in 1920. The car was built by a subsidiary concern of Dorris Motors Corporation, and was shown that year in its native St. Louis, Missouri. It featured a 108-inch (2,700 mm) wheelbase, a Le Roi four-cylinder engine, and a slightly pointed radiator. Some five or ten units were built before the company failed in June 1920.

See also

References