Update – Boeing 767

The Ansell aircraft will be configured for only 201 passengers which is extremely generous when it’s considered that the aircraft can carry up to 290 passengers in the high-density charter configuration. Ansett 767s will typically cruise at Mach 0. 80 at between 35,000 ft and 39,000 ft, require 5900 ft field length on a standard day and of course can take 201 passengers out to a maximum range with reserves of 2900 nautical miles.

The lower deck volume available for cargo and baggage totals 3070 cubic feet (87 m3) or more than 45% greater than the lower deck capacity of the 707. A total of 22 LD2 containers can be stowed in the spacious underfloor holds.

Fuel burned per seat mile is at least 35% less than that of the Boeing 727-200 which could save a carrier such as Ansett up to thirteen million dollars annually in fuel bills alone. There are savings in other areas, of course. Maintenance should be greatly reduced through better initial system design application, and widespread use of electronics and composite materials in the aircraft structure.

It is ironic that the five 767s are, and probably will ever be the only aircraft equipped with three-man cockpits. In Australia, for the time being, at least, the FE reigns supreme, though for how long remains to be seen. Just as wireless operators disappeared from the big pre-war flying boats and navigators became an oddity with the advent of jets, the days of the flight engineer must be surely numbered. In the event that this should occur locally, or Ansett backtraces its 767s in the future, Boeing can convert the three-man cockpit to a two-man unit at minimal expense.

The heart of the two-man flight deck of course is the advent of electronic flight instrument systems and a myriad of Computers designed to monitor, report and where necessary respond to a wide variety of standard and non-standard situations. Both Airbus and Boeing are dedicated to what is loosely termed the two-man Forward Facing Crew Compartment (FFCC) which will introduce direct flight deck commonality into airline fleets. For instance, the 757 and 767 flight decks are virtually identical, as will be the Airbus A310, A300-600 and the future A320. Such commonality will greatly reduce crew training costs, reduce maintenance overheads and reduce the spare inventory held by airlines.

At time of writing some 183 767s had been ordered (with a further 138 on option) though moves were coming thick and fast through late 1982 to reschedule and even cancel some aircraft as the world economy bottoms. Indeed, 767 orders have hit the proverbial ‘brick wall’ over the past year and a half despite the fact that 27 aircraft had been delivered by Christmas 1982, a further 80 will wear airline livery during 1983 and by 1984 production will reach a target of eight units a month. For Boeing, the production slowdown will come around 1985/86 unless further, and substantial, orders are received through the remainder of 1983.