People & Bottom Line

$US6. 435bn in the same period 1990. Net earnings were $US309m, up from $US302m, and 29 (down from 91) jet orders and 13 (up from 3) Dash 8 orders valued at $US3. 3bn were announced. One E-3, 91 commercial jets and 22 Dash 8s were delivered. • Bombardier (Canada) announced consolidated net sales of $C2. 8bn ($A3. 25bn) for the year ended 31/1/91, up from $C2. 1bn ($A2. 4bn). Net income reached $C100. 1m ($A116m), up from $C91. 5m. • Fokker made a net profit of NLG83. 4m ($A57. 5m) in 1990, up from NLG42. 4m. Operating profit was NLG3,873m ($A2,670m), up from NLG3,240m. Turnover was up 14% as a result of increased sales, and 37 F50s and 31 F100s were delivered. • British Airways achieved a net profit of £95m ($A209m) for the year ended 31/3/91; pre-tax profit was £130m ($A286m). Profit in the first half year was up 24% with pax traffic up 11%, however the second half suffered from the Gulf War and recession with traffic in the fourth quarter falling 17% over 1989. • Lufthansa has announced a 1990 net operating result of DM306m ($A239m), down from DM314 in 1989. After tax profit was just DM9m ($A7m), down from DM184, this drop being blamed on “adverse currency movements, excessive increase in charges, soaring fuel prices, congestion in Europe and revenue losses prompted by the Gulf conflict. ” • Singapore Airlines recorded a 1990/91 financial year pre-tax profit of $S1. 16bn ($A846m), 19. 2% down on 1989/90. Capacity rose 5% to 6. 64bn tonne km, however load factors dipped 2. 9% to 71% and freight 2. 1% to 68. 4%.

Books

Especially in this book where fact sure beats fiction. Available for $19. 95 plus $3. 95p&p from Pagemasters Books, PO Box 12485, Melbourne 3000, or refer to coupon elsewhere this issue.

 DC-3 Down Under:

Stewart Wilson Australia’s post-war DC-3s and military C-478 are superbly presented in full colour in this quality 128 page, soft cover book.

This is not so much a history of the DC-3 in Australia, but rather a collection of fine colour shots which well document the type’s post-war career. Some wonderfully evocative shots of Australia’s DC-3s and C-478 from the 1960s on are presented, including (besides the now familiar ANA VH-ABR and TAA VH-AES and RAAF machines of airshow fame) such names synonymous with Australian aviation and DC-3s as Bush Pilots Airways, Butler and the then Airlines of NSW, Papuan Airlines, Jetair, Air North, Airlines of South Australia, Adastra Aerial Surveys, and of course various shades of TAA, Ansett- ANA, East-West and Qantas. . . and of course the infamous Norman Gunston Dak And as a bonus to the superb colour in the book, the captions often provide information such as a brief history of the aircraft and also its subsequent fate after it left Australian service. With the fine colour and informative captions, this is a book to be valued.

DC-3 Down Under is now available for only $15 (post free) from Aerospace Publications, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 or Ph (06) 288 1677.

 Raaf No 2 Otu Mildura:

JA Lever This 120 page, soft cover book attracts interest because it deals with a RAAF training establishment which contributed so much to the 1939-45 war effort.

No 2 Operational Training Unit was formed in April 1942, and operated at Mildura, Vic until late 1945 as the RAAF’s main Fighter OTU (it was reformed in 1952 and today fulfills a similar role at Williamtown as 20CU). Operating a variety of aircraft (Wirraway. Kittyhawk, Boomerang, Spitfire, Mustang, etc). 2 OTU trained some 1,247 fighter pilots; another 48 were killed whilst with the unit.

This book is a reasonably well produced history of No 2 OTU. Written by a local historian and aviation buff, it includes much historical detail of the unit. There are also interesting reproduced documents on Spitfire Vc and Mustang cockpit drill, how to fly against Japanese fighters and how to attack bombers. It is quite well illustrated, with shots of personnel, aircraft and training aids -ie a simulated battleship made of 44 gallon drums! Photo reproduction is not of a particularly high quality, however the shots are more than adequate for interest value, most having not been published previously.

The book is recommended to readers lacking information on this somewhat unique RAAF unit, and is available for $14. 95 plus $2. 50p&p from Sunraysia Daily, 22 Deakin Ave, Mildura, Vic 3500.

The Light Aircraft Guide:

Stewart Wilson This ever useful guide to post-war light civil aircraft is a source of much information which answers those questions that so often arise with light aircraft, but are often difficult to answer.

The aircraft covered range from the smaller, older Auster and Chipmunk, through to the full range of Beech, Piper and Cessna singles, Robins, Grummans, Mooneys and Trinidads and Tobagos. Also included are some of the less numerous machines such as the Lake Buccaneer, Fuji and the Helio Courier. There are the light twins such as the Beech 60 Duke and Cessna 402, and others such as the ever pleasing De Havilland Dove which is illustrated by an interesting example on floats.

The Light Aircraft Guide will answer many questions as it presents a short history of the type and describes differences between various models produced. The text is supported by specification tables and pictures of each type as well as a colour section showing 23 of the aircraft in question.

Available at the special price of $15 soft cover or $22 hard cover (post free) from Aerospace Publications, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 or Ph (06) 288 1677.

Videos

Air War Vietnam:

AVV Command Vision This one hour tape has a considerable amount of interesting footage of what was, until the Gulf War, the greatest of all air battles since WW2.

Though some of it seems a little dated now it is perhaps a timely reminder to our readers under thirty that no, the world didn’t always take out bridges and other high value targets with stand off laser guided bombs. Indeed the number of aircrew lost through having to directly overfly highly defended targets over North Vietnam is nothing less than an historical tragedy.

A very interesting aspect of this tape is the amount of rare “early days’ Vietnam footage depicting the first detachments of B-26 Invaders, Skyraiders, T-28 Trojans and some rather vintage helos plying their trade in support of the South Vietnamese forces. This reviewer has seen dozens of tapes on the although never seen these segments before, a refreshing change indeed.

Available in VHS only direct from Australian Aviation, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 for $39. 95 $5. 00 p&p. Credit card orders taken on (06) 288 1677 or fax (06) 28R 2021 Suhatantial discounts exist when ordering several tapes in the Command Vision series, refer full advert elsewhere this issue.

Phantom II:

AVV/Command Vision Probably one of the most remarkable combat aircraft ever built, the MDC F-4 Phantom II is certainly a worthy subject for a video profile. This particular video concentrates on the design and engineering aspects of the aircraft but also has a considerable

amount of air to air footage. Covered in great detail are the early days of the F-4 entering USN service, the different versions and its eventual acquisition by the USAF Also illustrated are the various weapons carried by the aircraft plus its use by a number of dis- play teams and overseas air arms.

Available in VHS only direct from Australian Aviation, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 for $39. 95 $5. 00 p&p. Credit card orders taken on (06) 288 1677 or fax (06) 288 2021.

Flightime Video Series:

Hawker Pacific Skyshops are currently marketing the acclaimed Jeppesen Sander- son FlighTime series of training videos, produced for the US AOPA Air Safety Foundation.

Five new video titles are currently in stock to suit the various interests and needs of mainly GA pilots: Weather, Flight Planning & the Pilot; Go/No-Go Weather Decisions; Evaluating In-Flight Weather; Final Approach Fix Inbound, and IFR Emergencies. Other previous titles still available include: Weather Hazards; Flight in High Density Traffic Areas; and Aircraft Icing.

These videos have been acclaimed as potentially life saving aids, and indeed they do provide much vital, informative and well presented information for the pilot, videos being an excellent way for pilots to touch up on areas of concern. As Australian Aviation’s Air Safety series well shows, life threatening situations do regularly occur in just the conditions that these videos cover. Any additional aid in tackling an in-flight emergency is to be recommended. The videos are reasonably well priced, well packaged and provide information which could very well save lives. Prices start at $42. 50, with all titles available from Skyshop. For further inquiries call (02) 780 2052, or to order call toll free on (008) 023 446.

Air Combat Today:

AVU/Command Vision. A part of the Modern Combat Aircraft series from Command Vision, this one hour tape reviews major air combat aircraft ranging from the Harrier through to the F-15 Eagle. Primary features are plenty of air to air footage and type by type profiles of each of the West’s major combat aircraft. The final quarter of this tape also reviews the activities of Red Flag and explains the operation of this very sophisticated air combat training school that was recently cited as being a major reason why US pilots performed so well as an integrated team over fraq and Kuwait.

Available in VHS only direct from Australian Aviation, PO Box 3105, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 for $39. 95 $5. 00 p&p. Credit card orders taken on (06) 288 1677 or fax (06) 288 2021. Substantial discounts exist when ordering several tapes in the Command Vision series, refer full advert elsewhere this issue.