Yesteryear

• An interesting visitor to Sydney on 8/9 September was the ex-Qantas Electra VH- ECD (formerly Air New Zealand ZK-TED). The aircraft is now operated by the Nomads Travel Club of Michigan U. S. A. as N836E and it visited Sydney as part of a 25 day South Pacific tour.

• Ansett’s Carvair aircraft VH-INK and VH-INM left Tullamarine on 2 July for delivery to Seulawah Air in Djakarta.

• The RNZAF will phase out the last of its Harvards early next year and replace them with 11 CT-4A Airtrainers.

• The US Senate and House of Representatives have approved USAF plans to modify its fleet of 275 Lockheed Starlifters to C-141B standard. A 23 ft fuselage extension will increase cargo capacity by one third. Other changes will include an in-flight refuelling capability.

• The Rockwell B-1A prototype made its 9th flight late in May. The 6 hr. 18 min fight included two in-flight refuellings and speeds ranged from Mach 0. 77 to Mach 0. 95 at altitudes between 3,000 and 20,000 ft. Total flight time is now 37 hr 48 min.

• The first of three Boeing 747SP “Junior Jumbo” aircraft to be involved in certification testing had its maiden flight at Everett on 4 July. The test programme requiring flying 365 hours should be completed by the end of the year.

• Air New Zealand has ordered its 7th McDonnell Douglas DC-10 for delivery during mid-1976.

• The USAF finally retired the Lockheed F-104 after a service career spanning 17 1/2 years. The remaining aircraft were single-seat F-104C and two-seat F104D versions and were flown to the Davis-Monthan AFB, the Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center.

• Cessna announced in July that its Pawnee Division at Wichita had produced it’s 100,000th single-engined aircraft. The first aircraft was produced by the Division in 1929 and in addition to the single-engined aircraft has also built 10,143 multi-engined aircraft and gliders.

•Antilles Air Boats is now operating the two ex-Ansett Sandringhams on cruises in the Caribbean. The cost of an eight-day cruise is $535 or $754 including the airline connection between New York and St. Croix.

• Recent orders for Lockheed Hercules from various air forces have taken total orders to 1,449 of which about 1,350 have been delivered.

20 Years Ago

•Mr G. W. Taylor, the Pacific Sales Manager for the Boeing Airplane Company had discussions in Melbourne on 25 July with representatives of both Ansett-ANA and TAA regarding the stretched Boeing 727-200 version of the Model 727.

•The first flight of the North American OV-10A counter-insurgency aircraft which was the winner of the USN’s “COIN” competition, took place at Columbus on 16 July.

•TAA and Ansett-ANA are to introduce Lockheed Electras onto services to New Guinea to replace the Douglas DC-68s. Services will commence on 26 August and the flying time between Sydney and Lae will be reduced by 2 hours.

• The General Manager of East West Airlines Mr J. G. Riley said on 2 July that Fokker Friendships would replace the airline’s four DC-3s within two years. He said that jet services were expected by 1970 and that the Tamworth runways would need to be lengthened and strengthened by then.

• The RAAF has selected the Macchi MB. 326H as its all through jet trainer. Details were released by the Minister for Defence, Senator Paltridge on 26 August. A total of 108 will be ordered consisting of an initial contract for 75 aircraft to be followed by 33 later. The Australian Built aircraft will enter production during 1967 and the initial batch will be delivered by December 1969.

• Recent Friendship orders by the Ansett Group for three aircraft have taken their total orders to 19 aircraft. Total Friendship sales amount to 340 aircraft including those ordered from Fairchild.

• The second prototype North American XB- 70A Valkyrie Mach 3 research aircraft made its first flight on 19 July.

•BOAC’S VC10s can now carry a spare engine in an underwing light alloy pod. The installation or removal of the spare engine and its fairing can be accomplished in 35 minutes.

• Orders and leases for the Douglas DC-9 now total 210 with another 123 on option. DC- 8 orders total 297 of which 231 have been delivered.

• Japan Air Lines has ordered BAC/Sud Concordes for delivery in the early 1970s. Ten airlines have now ordered 48 Concordes.

• The Royal Navy is investigating the possibility of acquiring one or possibly two aircraft carriers from the USA. This is part of a study to determine if it would be more economical to buy US carriers that could operate the Phantom, than the present intended programme to re-engine the Phantoms with Speys and build a new British 50,000-ton carrier.

•TAA has ordered two DHC-5 Twin Otters for use on it’s new Papua New Guinea routes at a cost of 260,000 pounds each.

HMAS Sydney left Garden Island, Sydney on 12 September and during a stop in Bris looked on board Bell Sioux helicopters and Cessna 180s together with pilots from No 16 Army Light Aircraft Squadron at Amberley.

30 Years Ago

• An RAAF Canberra bomber from No 82 Wing Amberley almost circled Australia on 14 July. It flew 6,500 miles in an elapsed time of 16 hr 43 min- time in the air was 14 hr 7 min.

• Butler Air Transport is understood to be negotiating in England to purchase another four Viscounts to add to the two already on order. Strong competition is coming from Ansett Convair 340s on intrastate routes.

•Amongst the latest military aircraft to appear at Farnborough are the Fairey Delta 2, English Electric Pl, Hawker Hunter F6, Vickers Supermarine N113, Folland Gnat and the V- Bombers Victor, Vulcan and Valiant. Commercial types will include the new Handley Page Herald and Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer as well as the Britannia 100, Comet 3 and Viscount.

• Flight trials of the Martin XP6M-1 Seamaster are underway. Martin has a civil transport version of the type in the design study stage.

• Three Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers and one Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar of the 5th Air Force based in Okinawa landed at RAAF Darwin on 2 July on a training flight.

• An order has been placed by the USAF for 26 Republic F-105 supersonic aircraft. The J71-powered F-105 has a 40 ft span wing and a 25,000 lb gross weight.

• Several design studies have been submitted to meet BEA specifications for a DC-3/Rapide replacement. Some of the twins have Darts while some of the four-engined layouts utilise Blackburn Turbomeca engines.

• Convair have produced projects for a J-57-powered airliner similar in outline and performance to the Douglas DC-8.

• The RAAF’s most famous Wirraway, A20- 103, the aircraft in which P/O John S. Archer shot down a Zero near Buna, is still in service as a trainer at the RAAF College, Point Cook. This Wirraway is the only RAAF aircraft used operationally in World War II which is still in use.

• ANA and TAA have both introduced three services a week at tourist rates on the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane route. Using 60-passenger (ANA) and 66-passenger (TAA) DC-4s, the fares will be Melbourne-Sydney eight pounds, Sydney-Brisbane eight pounds ten shillings.

• RAF Transport Command will take delivery of the Comet 2 next year and several aircraft are under construction.

• The Convair XB-58 Hustler supersonic delta bomber with underslung weapons pod and podded engines is not now due to fly until the autumn of 1956.

• The new Convair 440 on order by several airlines may be eventually offered with wingtip mounted 1,000 lb thrust auxiliary turbojets.

•The USAF are planning to order an enlarged version of the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo with improved performance.