Yesteryear

• Production of the C anadair C L-215 multi purpose amphibian has resumed in a new 300,000sq ft building at Dorval International Airport.

Deliveries will begin late next year with four aircraft to be delivered to Yugoslavia.

C anadair built 65 C L-2158 in two previous production runs and these aircraft went to provincial fire fighting authorities in Manitoba and Quebec, with other aircraft in service in France, Greece, Spain, Thailand and Venezuela.

The first two examples of a new version of the Westland Sea King, the HAS MK5, were received by the Royal Navy on 2 October.

Seventeen of the four crew HAS MK5 featuring an enhanced submarine search capability have been ordered by the Royal Navy and the existing HAS Mk2 fleet will eventually be brought up to the new standard.

The first McDonnell Douglas DC -8 Series 61 has arrived at Tulsa for conversion to Series 71 fitted with C FM56 turbofans.

The aircraft will be converted by McDonnell Douglas under contract to C ammacorp and is the first of 29 United Airlines DC -88 which will be converted to Super 70 Series configuration.

C ammacorp holds contracts for 70 conversions from United, Flying Tiger, Span-tax, C apitol, Delta, Transamerica and Jet Aviation (Switzerland).

On 3 October flight testing began of the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D turbofan for the Boeing 767.

The test engine was installed in the inner port position of Boeing’s 747 prototype.

• An ex FAA C onvair 880 has been acquired by the US Navy and will be used as a flight refuelling tanker for the F-18 Hornet flight development program.

A probe and drogue unit from a Douglas KA-3D tanker will be fitted by Flight Systems Inc in the C onvair 880.

A Boeing 747F powered by 53,000lb thrust rated Pratt & Whitney JT9D-70 engines was delivered to C argolux on 2 October at a new gross weight of 833,000b.

This is the highest certificated gross weight of any civil aircraft, eclipsing the previous 820,000ĺb top certificated weight.

20 Years Ago

Boeing 747 services to Australia were inaugurated on 4 October when Pan American’s N734PA arrived at Sydney Airport.

A 4,000ft airstrip is to be built at Lord Howe Island and is due for completion late next year.

The Ansett Flying Boat Services Short Sandringham VH-BRC and VH-BRF will then cease operations on the Sydney/ Lord Howe service.

Four RAAF and five Army personnel escaped injury when their RAAF Bell Iroquois force landed in a swamp on 7 October near Nui Dat, South Vietnam.

Lufthansa has ordered four long-range 255 passenger versions of the McDonnell Douglas DC -10 for 1974 delivery and they will be used initially on routes to Australia and the Far East, in addition to Europe/South America services.

• Champion Aircraft has been taken over by Bellanca Aircraft C orporation of Minnesota.

C hampion’s manufacturing facilities will be relocated to Minnesota and their C itabria will be marketed in the future as the Bellanca C itabria.

• The Minister for Air, Senator Drake-Brock- man, told the Senate that the RAAF was considering the purchase of a Boeing 707-320 converted for use as a tanker.

• The Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk attack helicopter which first flew on 20 August.

Has reached a speed of 168kt by 1 October.

The Blackhawk is a contender with the Lockheed C-130 for the US Army’s Advanced Aerial Fire Support program.

The West German Goverment will ask the United Kingdom Government to rejoin the A3008 Airbus program on yet to be stated terms.

The present situation is that both France and Germany each meet 43% of the development costs with the Netherlands responsible for the remaining 14%.

30 Years Ago

The last flight in the research program of the North American X-15 was made on 24 October by NASA pilot William H Dana.

• Japan Air Lines has commenced a two times a week freight service on the Tokyo/ Honolulu/San Francisco route using two converted Douglas DC -6As as freighters with a 15,000lb capacity.

JAL’s two DC -7Fs will enter service next February.

• A contract has been placed by the British Ministry of Aviation with the British Aircraft C orporation for a development contract for the TSR-2 supersonic tactical bomber.

Qantas announced on 10 October the award of a contract worth about £178,570 to American Airlines to convert 29 Pratt & Whitney JT-3C engines to turbofans.

After modification, Boeing will install the modified engines in Qantas’ seven 707s at a cost of about £650,000 per aircraft.

• Qantas will apply an anniversary symbol consisting of a laurel wreath with the words “Qantas 40 years of service” in red on their aircraft to celebrate 40 years of service.

• BOAC operated its last scheduled de Havilland C omet 4 service on the New York/ London route on 16 October.

And in another closed chapter, the last scheduled service operated by a piston engined aircraft from London (Heathrow) occurred on 31 October when BEA flew its last scheduled DC -3 service to Birmingham.

TAA had a record £352,938 profit from revenue of £14,622,213 during 1959/60.

Their Viscounts carried 56. 6% of the total passenger uplift while the Electras carried 26. 9%. The overall passenger load factor declined from 69. 7% to 65%. The Hawker Siddeley P.

1127 Kestrel experimental V/STOL tactical fighter made its first tethered flight on 21 October.

• Mr R M Ansett announced on 19 October that Ansett Transport Industries had acquired a minority shareholding in South Pacific Airlines (NZ) Ltd.

The airline’s name will be changed to Airlines of New Zealand and services will commence in December with two Douglas DC -3s converted to “View- master configuration.

The DC -3s to be modified by Ansett at Melbourne are VH-AVL and VH-IND.