The Also-Rans

The Hawker Siddeley Trident was a classic example of how one particular airline can alter the basic concept of an otherwise successful design to the point where it is not saleable to rival carriers. While British European Airways and Hawker Siddeley played football with the Trident, Boeing went out and wrote orders on a thousand 727-100s! Finally the Short Belfast and Hawker Siddeley Argosy, both exceptionally promising freighters were butchered at the hands of the British governments of the day.

Hawker Siddeley Aw-850 Argosy

The last product of the Armstrong Whitworth subsidiary of Hawker Siddeley, the Argosy began as a private venture design aimed at the cargo market, with the first aircraft GAOZZ taking to the air on January 8, 1959. Riddle Airlines in the US ordered seven, BEA ordered three and deliveries were complete by November 6, 1961.

An improvement on these early models designated Series 100, was the Series 200 which featured a strengthened fail-safe wing (the 100 series used the identical wing as the Shackleton maritime reconnaissance aircraft) and higher weights and other refinements.

The first series 200 was G:0ASKZ which flew on March 11, 1964. BEA ordered five, and their original 100s went to Capitol Airways and Zantop Air Transport. Zantop subsequently bought the Capitol aircraft and two of the exBEA Series 100s.

The four remaining 200s were sold to Midwest in Canada in 1970 and this left one series 100 in the UK.

The four series 200s remained in Canada for some years, then were sold, the first two to Safeair in New Zealand ZKSAE and ZK-SAF in 1973 and 1974 and which are in use today as mainline freighters between the capital cities.

SAF is named Merchant Pioneer and SAE is Merchant Enterprise. These two aircraft are ideally suited to the 500 to 600 miles between the cities and are backed up by the 11 Bristol 170 freighters that operate across Cook Strait. The other two Argosy 200s were sold to SOACO as TR-LWQ and LWR in Gabon. By 1977 they were both in fairly poor condition but were prepared for a ferry flight from Luxembourg to Australia for their new owners, who are now IPEC. They made it here, with many systems inoperative, underwent major overhauls, and are now seen occasionally in Sydney but daily in Melbourne as VH-IPB and VH-IPC.

Their older brother VH-IPA ex-Bain & Brown a series 100 was seen in Sydney on the odd occasion when a charter necessitated a trip north, as VH-BBA, but when B&B folded, IPEC bought the aircraft and having used it for some four years have now offered it for sale.

Philippine Airlines operates one series 200 RC-C1192.

This is an ex-RAF model of which 56 were built. However after a short life from 1961 till 1975/77 most of these were broken up as they were not saleable. The main reason is their relatively short range with maximum payload. In spite of their nose and rear loading provisions, they were not economical to operate, and it is only by stint of the geographic operations in NZ and Australia that they are still in use today. Once competitive operating licences could be granted by DoT, or deregulation takes place, then the end of the Argosies would be nigh. But until that day Australia will continue to have the world’s only all-747 airline and one of the largest Argosy fleets to boot.

Built in the UK the Argosy was designed as a commercial freight transport. However, only 17 were built, with 56 for the RAF.

Series 200

Power plants are four Rolls-Royce Dart 532/1 turboprops of 2230 shaft horsepower. Maximum cruising speed: 288mph. The economical cruising speed 272mph at 10,000ft. Range with maximum fuel of 1760 miles and with a maximum payload 485 miles. Weights: Basic operational 48,800Ib, maximum loaded 93,000lb. Dimensions: Span 115ft, length 86ft 9in, height 29ft 3in, wing area 1458sq. ft. The front office is a very spacious area with excellent visibility and is perched high above the general cargo area, a la Boeing 747 and Carvair. It is reached by a ladder from the inside via a hatchway.

De Havilland Trident

Like the tortoise and the hare, the race isn’t always to the swift. The Trident made its first flight a full year before the highly successful Boeing 727, yet sales of the Trident series have so far amounted to just 11 7.

What went wrong?

One of the principal villains in the saga was British European Airways, who took a perfectly good aircraft and reduced it to one that suited them and them alone, so that it had a range of some 1000 miles, which was well below that of most US and other continental airlines, and accommodation for just 96 passengers. What had also started out as a jet airliner suitable for BOAC and BEA then became one for BEA known as the DH 121 and BOAC chose the VC10.

De Havilland, Fairey and Hunting were part of the Airco consortium to produce the DH121 for which BEA placed a preliminary order for 24 in February 1958. At this stage, the Trident could have carried more than 111 souls and was powered by three tail-mounted RB 141/3 Medway engines of 13,700Ib thrust. But BEA scaling down left the original design in tatters powered by engines of a mere 9850Ib thrust – Rolls-Royce RB 163 Spey 505s.

When de Havilland joined the Hawker Siddeley Group, the Airco Consortium was dissolved and the DH121 became the Trident 1.

No prototypes were built and the first Trident flew on January 9, 1962, entering revenue service with BEA on March 11, 1964.

The Tridents were designed for all-weather operations, with particular emphasis on “blind landings” using the Smiths Autoland system which permitted landings in minima that would preclude normal operations. By September 1968, Tridents were making Autolands in Cat 2 weather conditions.

By December 1971 Trident Threes were making Cat 3 landings with a decision height down to 12 feet.

Tabulating the principal Trident variants is a simple procedure – there are four in fact, but the nomenclature with secondary alphabetical designations would make it appear that there were over a dozen different models. Customers can almost be counted on one hand.

The initial variant was known as the 1 C of which 24 were built for BEA, entering service in March 1964.

Following the 1 C came the 1 E of which 15 were built for other operators principally Kuwait, Iraqi, Pakistan, Air Ceylon, Channel and Northeast. The 1E has improved power in the form of three 11,400Ib st thrusts Spey 511s, gross weight increased from 115,000lb to 128,000lb, span increased from 89ft 10 into 95ft and accommodation to a six abreast configuration of 140. Leading edge slats were also fitted for better take-off and landing performance.

In 1965 BEA ordered 15 Trident 2Es. These had the same size fuselage as the 1 but the wingspan was increased to 98ft and fuel capacity was increased. Spey 512-5W engines of 11,960Ib st were fitted and with internal re-arrangements, 149 passengers could be carried. First flight was on July 26, 1967 and BEA operated the first commercial service on April. 18, 1968. Two Trident 2Es were sold to Cyprus Airways and in 1971 the Chinese Peoples Republic purchased the first of 33 aircraft delivered by the end of 1974.

Third and final variant of the Trident is the Trident 38 (actually the ·fourth variant). The fuselage was extended to 131ft 2in to accommodate up to 180 passengers on BEA’s high-density short-haul routes. The wingspan remained the same as the 2E but changes were made to the control surfaces; to improve take-off performance at these higher weights a fourth “booster” engine has been installed in the tail above the No 2 engine, this being a Rolls-Royce RB 162-86 engine of 5250Ib st.

First flight of the Trident 38 was on December 11, 1969 and first flight with the boost engine operational was made three months later. The first of 26 3Bs entered service on April 1, 1971. CAAC ordered two 3Bs known as Super Trident 3Bs or 3B-104s with higher fuel capacity and operating weights.

It can be clearly seen that although the Trident was at one stage a year ahead of any competition, any advantage it had was cut to ribbons by a mixture of political and parochial blunders. The competition on the other side of the Atlantic simply won by default.

The Tridents were underpowered and lacked the range required by other operators. British Airways replacement for the 707s of British Airtours will be the Boeing 737 as well as earlier series Tridents which are now being withdrawn.

With the Britannia’s they were too late, with the Tridents they were too early. There is no way that an also-ran can win. Wing cracks grounded a large portion of the fleet In 1978 and modifications have only recently been completed. Dimensions: Trident 38 Span 98ft Qin, length 131ft 2in, gross weight 150,000lb, max payload 32,396Ib, max cruising speed 601mph at 28,300ft. Range: 1094 miles with max payload at 533mph. Trident 2E

Span 98ft 0ln, length 114ft 9in, height 27ft Qin, wing area 1461sq ft, max take-off weight 143,500Ib, max payload 29,600Ib, max cruising speed 596mph. Range with maximum payload of 3155 miles with no reserves. With maximum fuel range is 3558 miles.

If one compares the Trident 38 with the advanced 727- 200 then it can be seen that the maximum payload range of the 727 of over 2800 miles and the maximum payload of over 10,000lb is no comparison. Even with the 727-100 series there is still no comparison with payload, or range which are both greater than the Trident 3B’s. To be even fairer, comparing the Trident 38 with the Boeing 737 a twin-engined aircraft, the maximum payload is still over 3000Ib more whilst the range is 2370 miles. A fairer comparison can only be made with the DC-9 Series 30 which has a similar payload and range but carries less passengers, with only two engines.

Short Belfast

Not strictly a civil airliner in the real sense, the Short Belfast is now firmly established as British Cargo Airline’s ideal high-volume cargo transport. The remaining three airworthy examples have been refurbished by Transmerldian Air Cargo (TAC), and the merger between TAC and IAS (International Aviation Services Cargo Airlines) now means that these three aircraft are part of the British Cargo Airlines fleet of DC-8s and CL44s.

Now that the Belfasts are in service, the single Guppy Skymonster CL44 is up for sale. The sad commentary is, of course, that today’s ideal freighter aircraft which can handle loads no other freighter in the Western World can, is one of a lonely and childless trio.

The Belfast was designed and built for the RAF between 1962 and late 1966 when, after the 10th example, production was stopped, once again through political and economic interference; with the rationalisation of the RAF Transport Command in the 70s, the fleet of 10 was sold off as a job lot.

Rolls-Royce bought six, and of these TAC purchased two as spare airframes without engines. They are so unique that, with a proper economic base and sales team, they could have been sold outside Britain and stretched variants could be used to fly even bulkier loads such as A300 wings and fuselages, which the present Belfast is unable to do.

In order to be certified on the British civil register nearly £1,000,000 equivalent will have to be spent on each aircraft to install a stick pusher. A compromise has temporarily been worked out whereby a navigator will be carried in the first year of operation to monitor speeds, and, the aircraft will operate in a strict regime of flying procedures.

The Belfast has a hold 13½ feet high, 16ft wide and 84ft long, and a volume of 11,000cu ft. It has a continuous crcYsssection of 12 sq ft and is 80ft long, able to carry earthmoving equipment, helicopters, and airframe sub-assemblies. As RAF transports they could carry three armoured cars, two Polaris missiles, three Wessex or four Whirlwind helicopters. ‘

Capable of carrying 150 troops, with the upper deck in use this could be extended to 250. In 1972 when the Concorde prototype visited Sydney, a Short Belfast was used as the engineering backup aircraft.

When Shorts designed and built the Belfasts the original order was for 30 aircraft, but this was cut back to 10. However Short Bros and Harland had their eyes on a civil airworthiness certificate and to this end got as far as applying for a C of A in 1965, but abandoned the idea once the numbers were cut back.

The principal hurdle with the Belfast has been the necessity for a stick-pusher, as required by the CAA, but as they have amassed some 82,000 hours, already have stick-shakers and stick-knockers, and when they stall, develop a gentle sink rate, it appears the stick pusher is more for regulatory than operational needs.

Another major advantage is that the Belfast is loaded via a rec\r-lowered ramp; cranes or lifts are not required. For unloading, wheel-mounted cargo can be simply driven off. Payload and range compare well with Hercules versions and even on to the L-100-50 a projected 50ft stretch. Inside there is a removable gallery deck that can accommodate 19 passengers. The maximum payload is 74,000lb, whereas for the L-100-50 max payload is 58,000lb. Whilst the maximum range for the Belfast empty is nearly 4000 miles the L-100-S0s is 3500 miles.

The cockpit is a spacious affair, and the central pedestal between the two pilots is a wide platform with duplicate levers and radio consoles, spread out almost the complete width of the panel.

Behind, there is space for a navigator and flight engineer, in an area almost the full width of the fuselage, reminiscent of the bygone flying boat era.

When first built the Belfast encountered major drag problems which prevented the first five aircraft from attaining designed performance figures, but a drag reduction modification enabled the figures to be met. It was also intended that the power plants would be Rolls-Royce Tynes of 6000 ehp however, Mark 101 turboprops of 5730 ehp became the definitive engines. The extra- power would have given better performance in hot and high situations.

Max cruise at 200,000lb is 352mph at 28,000ft, economical cruise 336mph at 24,000ft in cl 1060ft/min. Weights: Empty equipped 125,000lb; max loaded 225,000lb, max payload is 74,000lb which is approximately that of a 707/DC-8-54. Dimensions: Span 158ft 9in, length 136ft Sin, height 47ft 0in, wing area 2466 sq ft.

Dassault-Breguet Mercure

French engineering has always been a little unorthodox.

Most of the time this unorthodoxy produces uniquely distinctive products whether it be in the field of food preparation, automobiles, or aviation. The Citroen, and Caravella, are outstanding examples of this Gallic rationale.

The French aircraft industry is well established through Aerospatiale and Dassault and immediately Concorde and the Mirage spring to mind. Dassault having established themselves as manufacturers of the Mystere and Falcon business jets could see the potential market beyond the late 60s.

The vehicle with which Dassault set out to capture this market was not, unfortunately, one that would fulfil their dreams – the Mercure, designed to carry 150 passengers. It missed out, because it had no range (on a full payload it can. fly no further than 466 miles), and consequently no airlines bought it, with the exception of Air Inter, whose purchase was heavily subsidised by the French government, to offset the high unit cost, and the high cost of spares.

It was too late when Dassault offered to stretch the aircraft and give it more range. Other more suitable planes were filling the skies. The Mercure project was privately financed, 56 per cent backed by the French government, and a 30 per cent share financed by risk-sharing partners in Italy ‘Aeritalia’, Spain (CASA), Belgium (Sabca), Switzerland (F&W) and Canada (Canadair). Fourteen per cent was taken up by Dassault.

Mercure was designed as a scaled-up Falcon 20, and Dassault estimated that the market would be wide open for sales of similar aircraft to total 1500 units. Dassault’s crystal ball was slightly fogged – the total units sold was 10.

Two prototypes were built and the first flew on May 28, 1971 at Bordeaux, the second got airborne on September 7, 1972, with new leading-edge slats. The launch order for 10 came from Air Inter, and the first production model flew on July 17, 1973 and first commercial service was June 4, 1974.

Mercure was certificated to fly Cat 3 operations with a runway visual range of 500ft and a decision height of 50ft. Registrations of the 10 aircraft at F-BTTA to TJ.

The Mercure was overshadowed by the 737 and DC-9 and 727, and on its own home ground its namesake the Airbus. The Mercure’s marketing temperature never rose above freezing … Mercure Dimensions: Span 100ft 3in, length 114ft 3½in, height 37ft 3½in, wing area 1249 sq ft. Power plant: Two Pratt & Whitney JT8D15 turbofans of 15,500st. Max cruising speed 579mph, initial rate of climb 3300ft/min, range with max payload 466 miles, range with max fuel 1025 miles.

VFW-614

What started out as the jet replacement for the DC-3, ended up as the Dog of the Decade. The DC-3, so often the yardstick against which many aircraft are designed and measured, has spawned imitators and replacements as diverse as the Fokker F27, HS748, Shorts SD330, de Havilland Caribou and the VFW-614.

Of unconventional design, with fan engines pylon mounted above the wing, the 614 started out with some pretty unconventional features … like a hinged fuselage just behind the cockpit section for straight-in cargo loading, and a blunt-nosed tubular section fuselage, with airstairs located ventrally – and a T-tail.

By the time a regrouping of the original German companies involved in the manufacture had taken place in 1964, the program had firmed into the definitive serial VRW- 614, the German government had agreed to contribute 80 per cent of launching costs, and the aircraft had grown to 44 seats, 38,000lb gross, a lowered empennage and Rolls-Royce/SNECMA M 45 engines. A go-ahead decision was made in June 1970, and risksharing partners became SIAT in Germany, SABCA and Fairey in Belgium and Short Bros in the UK as well as FokkerVFW in Holland; the final assembly took place at VFW in Bremen. Three prototypes as well as two test aircraft were built, but the collapse of Rolls-Royce set back the program from July 1971 (when the first prototype flew) to January 1972, when the second ·prototype took to the air with the M 45 engines.

The first prototype was lost because of an elevator flutter and it was not until December 13, 1972 that a full production the go-ahead was finally given for the 26 options placed by nine customers. First firm order was placed by Cimber Air of Denmark for two aircraft on August 23, 1974, followed by an order from Touraine Air Transport for eight, and Air Alsace for three. By the end of 1977 only a very limited entry into service had been made, and although VFW had received an order for 100 units to be produced in Roumania, it was decided in view of the poor response to sales and future market prospects, it was time to call it a day. Air Alsace’s three and Cimber Air’s two are the only ones currently in service. With 23 aircraft built and the likelihood of there soon being none in service the VFW looks like being the classic Also-Ran of the decade.