Yesteryear

• Domestic airfares were increased on 14 July by an average 6% taking the return Melbourne Sydney economy fare to $112. 20. In other air fare moves, Ansett and TAA have announced that they will introduce new stand-by fares on 1 September at a level 40% below the existing adult economy fare.

• Deliveries will begin during August of the first General Dynamics F-16As for the USAF from the Fort Worth final assembly line.

• The CSIRO has retired its DC-3 VH-RRA which has been used by the Division of Cloud Physics for cloud structure research work. It will be replaced by the ex Department of Trans- port F27 VH-CAT which will be modified by East-West at Tamworth prior to entering service early next year.

• Rolls-Royce has purchased seven of the RAF’s Short Belfasts which have been withdrawn from service. It has acquired them as a source of Tyne engines and spares after which the airframes will be scrapped.

• To commemorate the first jet crossing of the Atlantic by six Vampires of No54 Squadron RAF on 14 July 1948, two Jaguars from the same squadron flew 2,260 miles non-stop from Cohishall, Norfolk to Goose Bay, Newfound- land on 14 July. The Jaguars were refuelled by Victor K Mk2s from No57 Squadron whereas the Vampires made intermediate stops at lceland and Greenland.

• Qantas made a record profit of more than $14m during the 1977/78 financial year and of this, a $6. 4m dividend was paid to the Federal Treasury.

• Airbus Industrie announced on 7 July that it was proceeding with the development and production of the A300-10 shortened version of the basic A300. Capable of carrying 225 passengers, the final size of the A300-10 has not yet been determined but the current plans call for the removal of 12 fuselage frames and a 2,360sq ft wing area.

• The British Government has given British Aerospace approval to proceed with full scale development of the BAe 146 and it is anticipated that initial deliveries of the 70-90 seat feederliner will take place in early 1982.

• United Air Lines placed a launch order for 30 Boeing 767s on 14 July. The 767 is the first completely new airliner project to be launched in the USA for 10 years.

20 Years Ago

• The longest serving aircraft in the RAF’s inventory the Avro Anson, has been retired after a career spanning 32 years. A fight of six Ansons from the Southern Communications Squadron, Bovingdon staged a farewell flight on 29 June. They were amongst the last 18 Ansons in RAF service.

• Lufthansa will carry out wing modifications on Qantas’ 14 Boeing 707-338C aircraft at a total cost of $1. 5m. Boeing has recommended the modifications to prevent wing surface metal fatigue a and has stated the work should be done on aircraft with total hours between 20,000- 35,000 hours. Qantas has elected to have work carried out on aircraft which have not yet reached this figure.

• In the largest ever civil order placed with a British airframe manufacturer, BEA has ordered 26 Trident 38s from Hawker Siddeley plus options for 10 more, for introduction into service in 1971. The 38 version features a 16. 5ft fuselage stretch over the Trident 2 currently in BEA service and a higher density configuration which will seat up to 170.

• The last Douglas DC-68 in Australian operations VH-INS left Essendon on 29 July on delivery to its new owners, Far Eastern Air Transport of Formosa.

• Orders for the McDonnell Douglas DC-8 Series 60 now total 226 of which 90 have been delivered while DC-9 sales have reached 544 with 341 delivered.

• Malaysia-Singapore Airlines commenced services to Sydney on 2 August with Boeing 707-312B 9V-BBA.

• Because of operational commitments in Vietnam and elsewhere, the RAAF Air Force Week air displays around Australia were cancelled during August.

• An application by Pan American to increase the number of its services to Sydney from seven flights a week to twelve has been reduced by DCA to an increase of two services. This would be equal to the existing Qantas level of nine services a week on its South Pacific route. The 12 flights plan would have increased seat availability from 945 to 1,620 weekly in each direction.

The RAAF has completed four years of operations in Vietnam since the initial arrival on 8 August 1964 of a fight of three Caribou transports. During this period, which saw the flight grow to a squadron, 48,000,000lb of freight, 4,000,00016 of mail and 25,000 passengers have been carried by the squadron and two Caribous have been lost in flying accidents.

• Fourteen McDonnell Douglas Skyhawks comprising 10 A-4Ks and four TA-4Ks have been ordered by the New Zealand Government for the RNZAF

 30 Years Ago

• Nol Squadron RAAF equipped with Avro Lincolns and based at Tengah, Singapore will cease operations on 2 July. It will be replaced by No2 Squadron with Canberras based at Butterworth in Malaya. Since arriving in Singapore on 18 July 1950, the squadron’s Lincoln Mk30As have carried 85% of all bombs dropped against the Communist Terrorists. Apart from the 30 million pounds of bombs dropped, they also engaged the CT with machine guns fitted to both the nose and tail turrets. Also being replaced is No14 Squadron RNZAF with Venoms by No75 Squadron RNZAF equipped with Canberra B2s.

• The name Lightning has been officially given to the English Electric P1 interceptor.

• Qantas has stated that the four Lockheed Electras ordered by them will be delivered during November-December 1959 at a cost of £1,065,000 each. With an average seating layout for 80 passengers they will be able to carry a full payload of 20,000lb over a 2,000 mile range. Flight times for some of the South East Asian routes compared with the Super Constellation will be Sydney Hong Kong 17hr 42min (21hr), Sydney/Tokyo 21hr (25hr) and Sydney/Singapore 16hr (18hr 40min).

• The Australian Army is to re-equip its AOP flight with Cessna 180s in lieu of the obsolete Austers presently operated. The RAAF has placed the order on the Army’s behalf and early delivery of the aircraft from the USA is expec ted.

• Cessna is now testing a new single engine high performance aircraft, the Model 210 which should be available for delivery late in 1959. • The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Ceres agricultural aircraft was demonstrated publicly for the first time at Fishermen’s Bend on 1 July. Sir Sydney Rowell, CAC’s chairman said the company planned an initial production of 40 aircraft which would probably be expanded to 80 or 100 in the future. The Ceres is based on the Wirraway and will sell for £14,000. There are enough surplus Wirraways to provide the basis for up to at least 120 Ceres and sufficient spares to provide appropriate support for the project.

• The North American B-70 strategic bomber has been named the Valkyrie.

• A memorial building to house Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s Fokker Southern Cross was opened by the Federal Treasurer Sir Arthur Fadden at Brisbane Airport on 17 August. The aircraft has been restored to a sound static condition by the RAAF’s No3 Aircraft Depot at Amberley.

• The conversion of Douglas DC-7 transports to be re-engined with Napier Eland turboprops is being sponsored by the Aircraft Supply Company of Washington. It is felt that it would extend the life of this aircraft which is appearing in large numbers in the used aircraft market.