In Australian Service – Boeing 767

Unique amongst other Boeing airliners in Australian service, the 767 is widely used on both domestic and international routes. While other Australian members of the Boeing family have served in both areas, it has been on a much more limited basis than the Boeing 767. From the outset, both Ansett and Qantas purchased their aircraft tailor made for their respective domestic and international services. The last aircraft purchased by the Australian airlines which exhibited the same flexibility of operation was the Lockheed Electra. The Boeing 767 has excelled in both areas and has been partially responsible for the lift in both operational efficiency and profits experienced by both airlines.

The Boeing Model 767 started life as the 7X7, one of two design projects which although developed separately, were later to share a significant number of components. The other aircraft of this duo was originally identified as the 7N7 and became the Boeing 757. During 1978 the 7X7 was redesignated the 767 and on 14 July 1978 production was launched when the first order was received from United for 30 767-200s which was later increased to 39. Other early significant orders were from American Airlines for 30 and from Delta for 20. The prototype, N767BA, a 767-200, was rolled out on 4 August 1981 and had its maiden flight on 26 September 1981.

During a period involving 1,600 hours of developmental flight testing and FAA trials, the 767 made a 29,000 mile demonstration tour from the USA to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At the conclusion of the tour, the 767 set a distance record for a commercial twin engined jet aircraft flying the 4,330nm from Oslo to Seattle in 9 hours 50 minutes on 21 July 1982. Though this is modest by today’s standards as evidenced by the recent non stop delivery flight of a Royal Brunei 767-200ER which flew from Seattle to Nairobi, a distance of 8,031nm. The FAA Certificate of Airworthiness was received on 30 July.

Deliveries of the 767 began in 1982, a year which saw 20 aircraft handed over to United, Delta, American, TWA, Air Canada and China Airlines. The first Boeing 767 service was operated by United on 8 Sept 1982 followed by American on 21 November.

The 767’s roomy twin aisle fuselage is blended with a large 156ft 1in (47. 6m) span wing of 31. 5 degree sweepback and 3,050sq ft (283. 7m2) area which draws heavily from research into supercritical aerofoils. All fuel is carried in the wing, the fuel capacity of which ranges from 16,700 USgal (63,210 I) to 24,140 USgal (91,370 !)depending on the 767 version. Extensive use is made of advanced materials in the structure such as a hybrid composite (Kevlar/Graphite) in cowl components, main landing gear doors, body fairings, parts of the wing and tail assembly. Graphite composites feature prominently in the control surfaces and a fibreglass/graphite composite is used in the nose landing gear door. Improved aluminium alloys are used in the wing structure. The use of these new composite materials and new aluminium alloys results in a weight saving of just over 2,000Ib.

The first Boeing 767 model to be offered was the 767-200 with a 159ft 2in (48. 5m) long fuselage, a 300,000lb (136,200kg) gross weight and maximum passenger accommodation of either 18 first class and 198 economy class ranging up to 290 in all economy layout. The powerplant is either the Pratt & Whitney JT9DR4D of 48,000lb thrust or the General Electric CF6-80A2 of 57,900Ib thrust. The fuel capacity of 16,700 USgal (63,210 I) gives a range of 3,280nm (6,080km). The 767-200 is also currently available at a 315,000lb (143,010kg) MTOW.

The next version available was the Boeing 767-200ER which has the same dimensions and accommodation as the 767-200 but an increased fuel capacity of 20,450 USgal (77,400 I), giving a 5,038nm (9,335km) range at a 345,000lb (156,630kg) gross weight. The first 767-200ER order was received from Ethiopian Airlines and the type was introduced into service by EIAI on 27 March 1984. Since then, fuel capacity has been further increased to 24,140 USgal (91,340 I), gross weight to 387,000lb (175,700kg) and the range of powerplants from General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce up to 58,000lb thrust permits a range up to 6,675nm (12,370km). Passenger accommodation varies from 181 in a three class arrangement (15 FC, 40 BC and 126 EC) to 285 in an all economy configuration.

A significant change was the stretch of the 767-200 to the 767-300 which features a 21ft 1in (6. 43m) fuselage stretch to 176ft 1in (53. 7m), accomplished by a increase of 10ft 1in (3. 1m) forward and 11ft (3. 36m) aft of the wing. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D, the 767-300 prototype N767S, first flew on 30 January 1986 and a second test 767-300 was powered by General Electric CF6-80A-2 engines. Initial orders were for 10 aircraft from Japan Air Lines which received its first 767-300 on 25 September 1986. Fuel capacity remains the same as the 767-200 at 16,700 USgal (13,911 I), range is 3,833nm (7,100km) and gross weight is 351,000lb (159,354kg).

The newest version of the 767 is the 767-300ER, based on the 767-300. The gross weight varies according to fuel capacity, which is either 16,700 USgal (63,210 I) or 24,140 USgal (91,670 I). With the latter fuel capacity, the current gross takeoff weight is 407,000lb (184,778kg). Advanced powerplants are available from the GE CF6-80C2, P&W 4000 and Rolls-Royce RB211-524G/ H families with thrust varying from 50,200Ib (22,790kg) to 61,500Ib (27,920kg) depending on the fuel capacity/engine selection made by individual airlines. The passenger capacity ranges from 218 in a three class arrangement (18 FC, 46 BC and 154 EC) to 325 in an all economy layout. The 767 family continues to sell in healthy numbers for Boeing. As at the end of March 1990, a total of 483 for 43 customers had been ordered of which 293 had been delivered, made up as follows.

As at 31 December 1989, the highest time 767 had accumulated 26,700 hours. By May this year, the total fleet time was 3,377,000 hours, average utilisation was 9. 1 hours/day with an average flight length of 2. 4 hours. Deliveries of 37 767s were made during 1989 and Boeing delivered a further 10 in the first quarter of this year with a backlog of 190 remaining.

During April, the US Federal Aviation Administration gave additional ETOPS approval for 767 operations which saw the P&W JT9D-7R4DE receive 180 minute certification on the 767-200 and 767-300. Both aircraft also received approval for 120 minute operations with P&W PW4000 engines. The 767 models with General Electric engines have had 180 minute certification since April 1989. These are important milestones for operators such as Qantas with long over water routes.

After the initial flurry of orders during 1978/79, the 767 was a rather slow seller in the early 1980s when both the airlines and aircraft manufacturers experienced a severe downturn. The worst year was 1982 when against very difficult conditions, only two 767 orders were received. However that should be viewed in the context of total Boeing orders received in that year of 106 aircraft, compared with 193 sales in 1981 and 316 in 1980. Since then, matters have improved significantly and by 1985, 767 orders totalled 188 and have since risen to nearly 500. However the events of the past decade do illustrate that even an extremely fine aircraft as the Boeing 767 is not immune to severe market reversals. The scenario for the 1990s does look healthier despite the economic clouds on the horizon. The environmental pressures to replace older, noisier aircraft may force the airlines to continue to withdraw older equipment which ordinarily would be retained for longer periods. The 767 is sure to receive its share of these replacement orders in the years ahead.

Further ahead is the 767-X, a new design with a new fuselage cross-section, new wing design and high efficiency turbofan engines due for a 1994 rollout. This aircraft, which will become the 777, is significantly larger than the 767-300ER and will be able to seat 350-375 passengers in a two class arrangement as against 269 (24 FC and 245 EC) in the 767-300ER. Although it is intended to complement the 767 line, the availability of the 777 may signal the end of the higher capacity versions of the 767 family as operators are attracted by the improvements incorporated in the 777. Should that occur, Boeing may rationalise the 767 line in the same manner it recently has with the 747.

Ansett Airlines ordered the Boeing 767 in March 1980 as part of a huge $600m purchase of 21 Boeing airliners including five 767-200s, 12 737-200s and four 727-200LRs. It was at that time the fifth largest order placed with Boeing. It also made Ansett, together with Qantas, the only major airlines at the time to have an all Boeing fleet. Apart from the $42m cost of each of the 767s, a further $30m was spent on spares and $30m on a new engineering complex. A further $14M was spent on a new hangar 115m (377ft 3in) wide, 65m (213ft 3in) deep and with an internal height of 21. 5m (70ft 6in) capable of accommodating two 767s and a 727 or five other aircraft made up of 727s, 737s and an F27.

The Ansett 767-200s were equipped with special equipment tailored to their requirements. They are the only 767s set up for three crew operations. They can easily be converted to a two crew configuration should they be sold in the future to another operator. Ansett was also the first airline in the Asia-Pacific region to have the Aircom VHF digital data system. The compact 17kg onboard unit automatically monitors such information as flight plan, weight and balance, fuel status and engine thrust levels etc.

The 201 seat, two class layout as initially delivered accommodated 48 in first class and 153 in economy. The twin aisle arrangement had a 2-2-2 in first and 2-3-2 in economy. A load factor in excess of 85% would be needed before use of the centre row of seats was required. Different manufacturers were used for the passenger seats, the first class coming from a French supplier, the economy from an English source. The main Atlas standard galley, the same as Ansett’s 727s and 737s, is made by Jamco in Japan.

The powerplant selection for the Boeing 767 saw Ansett opt for the General Electric CF6-80A of 48,000lb thrust instead of the alternative Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7R4D. This was a coup for General Electric as it marked the first sale of one their engines to the Ansett group. Since then, GE has further consolidated their position through subsequent sales of the CFM56 powered Boeing 737-377s and Airbus A320s through their partnership in CFMI. This has marked a major shift away from Ansett’s previous main powerplant supplier, Pratt & Whitney.

The large cargo capacity had major implications to enhance Ansett’s air freight operations. The combined 3,070 cubic feet capacity of the cargo hold handles either LD2F or LD4 containers. The smaller 58 x 44 x 59in (1. 5 x 1. 1 x 1. 5m) LD2P can be carried on a forklift truck while the larger 96in (2. 4m) wide LD4 incorporates rollers. Fourteen LD2F containers or an equivalent number of either type can be carried with a total freight uplift of 15 tonnes.

Ansett’s first Boeing 767-277 VH-RMD, which was number 24 on the production line, was originally scheduled for November 1982 delivery. However, because of the downturn in domestic airline traffic in Australia and delays in the flight deck conversion, both Ansett and Boeing agreed to defer delivery until mid 1983.

The first flight took place on 4 May 1983 and VH-RMD was handed over to Ansett on 6 June, becoming the 51st 767 to be delivered. The delivery flight to Australia was flown Seattle/ Honolulu/Port Moresby/Sydney and when VH-RMD arrived at Port Moresby on the afternoon of 9 June 1983 it had notched up about 30 hours of flight time. Australian Aviation was in Port Moresby that afternoon and was on board for the remainder of the flight to Australia.

At 9. 11am on 10 June VH-RMD departed Port Moresby as flight ANO767 for the final leg to Australia under the command of Captain Mal Wheaton, Ansett’s Flight Development Manager. After a 3hr 11min flight, Sydney was reached at 12. 21pm and soon after the arrival, Sir Peter Abeles hosted a press conference before VH-RMD departed at 2. 45pm on the final leg of the delivery flight to Melbourne. After its Australian arrival, VH-RMD was used for crew training and entered regular airline service on 27 June. Deliveries of Ansett’s 767s numbers two and three followed rapidly after VH-RMD, with VH-RME entering service on 28 June and VH-RMF on 3 July. The following 767s followed later with VH-RMG placed into service on 1 September 1983 and VH-RMH on 28 September 1984.

Apart from domestic services, the Ansett 767s have also at times flown on overseas routeswithVH-RMD, for example, operating a weekly service on behalf of Cook Islands International from Sydney to Rarotongawhich commenced on 17 August 1986 with VH-RME as a back up aircraft. The route flown was Sydney/ Rarotonga/Auckland/Rarotonga/Sydney and VH-RMD continued to operate on the route until May 1987 when it was replaced by Ansett Boeing 727-277 VH-RMN.

The 767 fleet fulfilled Ansett’s intention of having airliners in service with a seating capacity of 100, 150 and 200 seats which could swiftly respond to traffic demands on various routes. This has proven particularly important over the past seven years ·given the wild swings in domestic airline traffic demand. From the difficult times of the early 1980s to the boom period-in 1988 to the rather uncertain period ahead of us now following the disastrous events of 1989, this ability to rapidly place the right aircraft on routes to meet the appropriate traffic level lias never been more important. The efficient, economic and reliable Boeing 767 will be the ideal aircraft to spearhead the Aosett fleet into the 1990s. D

Next issue: We evaluated 767 in Qantas service where the type has pioneered new routes and dramatically raised profitability on sectors uneconomic for the 747. Don’t miss it!