People & Bottom Line

British Airways have announced interim pre-tax profits of £320m ($800m) for the half year to September 30, up almost a quarter on the same period last year. Operating costs increased 11. 4% to £2. 4bn ($6bn) but a more dramatic increase is expected in the second half because of Gulf crisis fuel cost rises. Pax carried on scheduled services increased 10% while RPKs increased 12%.

Cathay Pacific have recorded a $HK1,419m ($A215m) net profit in the first half of 1990, up 4. 1% on the same period last year. Capacity increased 12. 3%, but both pax and load factors were down.

Boeing have reported sales of $US20. 58bn and net earnings of $US1. 067bn for the first nine months of 1990. 295 commercial jets and 18 Dash Bs worth $US27. 8bn were sold during the period; 287 commercial jets plus 4 military derivatives and 39 Dash 8s were delivered. Sales in the third quarter were valued at $US7. 176bn with earnings of $US378m.

Lockheed has reported third quarter 1990 earnings of $US86m on sales of $US2. 3bn, up from the 1989 third quarter loss of $US31m. First nine months sales were $US6. 989bn with earnings of $US236m. 75% of sales were for US defence work, 14% non-defence US govt, 3% foreign governments and 8% commercial. • Northrop has reported a third quarter 1990 net income of $US42. 4m – double that of the same period 1989 – on sales of $US1. 28bn. Sales of $US3. 97bn were recorded in the first nine months of 1990, net income being $US167. 7m. • United Tech• nologies have posted a record third quarter net income of $US239. 8m on revenues of $US5. 3bn. Net income for the first nine months was $US581m, up 12% on the same period 1989.

People

Ms Sue Dart has been appointed marketing manager of Moorabbin-based regional airline Aus-Air. Mr Ian Honnery has retired as Schofields Flying Club president to concentrate on his position as chairman of the Aerospace Foundation of Australia, organiser of the proposed ‘Air Shows Down Under’. He has been succeeded by Mr John Moore, previously club director of sport flying.

Books

Sky Pirates:

Brad Norington

In 1989 Captain Brian McCarthy led the Australian Federation of Air Pilots into a dispute that became the longest, most traumatic and financially damaging in Australia’s recent industrial history. The players, their motives and the extraordinary events surrounding the pilots’ dispute are now the subject of an ABC sponsored book, Sky Pirates.

Written by Brad Norington, industrial editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Sky Pirates is a story about power. As with most power struggles, the moves and intentions of those involved were never simple. McCarthy believed his union could out-muscle the government in order to gain a wage increase outside the Accord. Prime Minister Hawke believed that if the pilots’ demands were met Australia would face a crippling wage explosion. The pilots’ dispute became a perfect example of the modern corporate state in action as government, big business and the unions acted to ensure that the pilots could not win. But the real losers were Australia’s tourist industry and the domestic air travelling public.

Norton monitored the daily developments of the strike and its influence on Australia to the bitter end and in Sky Pirates he unravels the fact from the fiction in an account that makes compelling reading. Could be an excellent Christmas reading for all those AFAP pilots who still don’t know what the dispute was really about or where they went wrong! RRP is $16. 95 and available from most bookshops, published by ABC Books.

Spitfire: A Test Pilot’s Story:

Jeffrey Quill Jeffrey Quill perhaps had more to do with the Spitfire than any other person, certainly any other test pilot. His autobiography, therefore, is essentially also that of the Spitfire.

Quill flew the prototype Spitfire during its test program and was instrumental in turning the initial design into the great fighting aircraft that the Spitfire became. He flight tested many early production aircraft before talking his way into 65 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain to “gain first-hand experience of fighting in a Spitfire”. Then followed involvement in the development of most subsequent Spitfire versions up to the final Mk 24, the “ultimate Spitfire”, as well as float equipped Spitfires and offshoots such as the Seafire, Spiteful and Seafang.

There is no person better able to describe the development of the Spitfire; Quill does so in a very readable and enjoyable manner. It is little wonder that this book is now in its sixth print run since 1983. An excellent paperback is well worth its RRP of $12. 95.

Available from Random Century Australia, 20 Alfred St, Milsons Point 2061.

Battle of Britain:

Alfred Price One of a number of publications released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this book is both a well priced and very interesting basic history of this very important battle.

The book is logically divided into four chronological chapters The Initial Skirmishes (10 July to 12 August), Assault on the Airfields (13 August to 6 September). The Attack on London (7 September to 1 October), and Night Blitz and Tip-and-Run Raids (1 October to 1 November)- and a final brief summary of the battle. The reader thus can follow the course of the battle step by step and understand the more important events and why they were so important.

Battle of Britain is well illustrated with pictures not only of aircraft, but also pilots (both well known such as Bader, Stanford-Tuck and Adolf Galland and the relative ‘unknowns” who made up the majority of both sides), groundcrew and battle damage. Maps, diagrams and cutaways are provided, as are some very fine colour paintings of air combats. The book is not a complete detailed history it lacks, for instance, any mention of the Italian forces which operated from Belgium against southern England – but does still provide ample information about the battle, including listings of all RAF and Luftwaffe units to take part, strength of the forces, the effect of the bombing on civilians and the important role of radar. Perhaps its most interesting feature, however, is the use of pilots’ reports and accounts to illustrate the experience of aircrew from both sides.

At a RRP of $19. 95, this book will certainly suit buyers seeking a basic but interesting book on the Battle of Britain. Available from Capricorn Link, Unit 5C1, Lincoln St, Lane Cove 2066.

 Australian Aviation Museums Guide:

Graham Potts A welcome new publication is the recently released book, a Guide to Aviation Museums in Australia.

A commercially available publication on this subject has been long overdue and author Graham Potts should find a ready market for his efforts. The last decade has seen a big increase in both the number of aero museums and aircraft preserved in Australia, and both have been given coverage in this book. With some 72 pages of text and photos, both colour and black & white, the guide lists the aviation museums by state and gives details of each museum, including opening times and location, before giving data on the aircraft held. This data includes aircraft type, variant, year of manufacture, past and present identities, status and any interesting historical notes.

Graham Potts notes in his introduction that his task has not been an easy one due to the mass of data on museums, aircraft types, models and status that he has had to sift through in order to create the guide. He has however done an acceptable job, and the handy A5 sized book will find a ready place in enthusiasts’ camera bags.

The Guide is available for $14. 95 from Australian Academic Press, 32 Jeays St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006.