Yesteryear

• No 617 Squadron flew the Vulcan for last time on 11 December. The particular aircraft (XL318) has now been dismantled and will be eventually reassembled in the forthcoming Bomber Command exhibit at Hendon. The Squadron was disbanded on 22 December and will be reformed late in 1982 as the RAF’s second Tornado GR MK 1 squadron.

• Lockheed announced on 7 December that it would phase out production of the L-1011 TriStar when existing orders had been completed together with any additional orders which may be placed by existing customers who may wish to complete their fleets. Orders for five TriStar were received during this year while three others were cancelled. Deliveries of TriStars amount to 220, with 24 on firm order and about 40 on option, which will see production for current firm commitments continue until 1984.

• The Turkish Air Force has received at least 200 F-100 Super Sabres, F-4 Phantoms and F-104 Starfighters over the past 18 months or are in the process of negotiations. These aircraft consist of 23 F-100s from Denmark, 15 ex USAF F-4Es while the F-104s are ex Belgian, Netherlands and Norway with the largest batch being 100-120 from Germany.

20 Years Ago

• Boeing deliveries in the nine months to 30 September included nine 707s, 31 7278, 22 7378 and 54 747s, with one 707, two 7278, seven 737s and 16 747s due in the final quarter.

Cessna has made the first production delivery (the third production aircraft) of its new Citation business jet to American Airlines. American will use it for the initial crew training of Citation customers under an agreement between themselves and Cessna. Cessna is using the first two production aircraft as demonstrators.

The French Air Force accepted its final (the 200th) SEPECAT Jaguar in a ceremony at Toulouse on 14 December.

• British European Airways is studying a Hawker Siddeley project for a 200 seat development of the Trident powered by two Rolls-Royce RB211-22 engines designed for RTOL (reduced takeoff and landing) from a 3,000ft strip. In addition to the RB211s being quieter than the Speys, the aircraft would climb steeply with nearly double the thrust available and the area affected by noise at airports would be reduced by up to 20 times. • Beech have claimed a lead in the manufacture of turboprop aircraft with 773 built so far. They are followed by Fokker with 561 Friend- ship’s completed and Ilyushin with 541 II-188.

The first order for the A300B European Airbus was placed by Air France on 3 November for six A300B2s. This version can accommodate three more rows of passengers than the B1. The first three aircraft will be delivered in 1974 followed by the remaining three in 1975. The initial pressure tests on the fuselage of the prototype A300B have been carried out with a first flight scheduled for the autumn of 1972 followed by certification in 1973. Airbus Industrie have purchased an Aerospacelines Super Guppy to help speed the transport of large airbus sections between factories and the trans- portation of Hawker built wings at Chester to Toulouse will be one of its first jobs.

In a Federal Cabinet decision on 16 December, the Government announced that it will accept the 24 General Dynamics F-1118 on order for the RAAF at a current overall cost of $310m.

30 Years Ago

Braniff International Airways has selected the BAC One-Eleven for its intermediate city service with the placement of an order for six aircraft plus six options, the first time a foreign aircraft has been ordered off the drawing board by a major US airline. First flight of the One-Eleven will be in early 1963 with deliveries due to commence in the latter half of 1964.

• Ansett-ANA commenced services on 17 December between Melbourne and Victorian and New South Wales country centres with three 36 seat DC-3s, to be joined by a fourth, under the name Victorian Air Coach Services.

• BOAC will sell 22 surplus propeller driven airliners which have been in service less than 5 years. Included in the sale are eight Doug- las DC-7Cs and 14 Bristol Britannias.

The first production Victa Air Tourer VH-MVA had its first flight at Bankstown on 12 December flown by Flt Lt R Green.

The Rolls-Royce Spey bypass jet which will power the BAC One-Eleven and DH Trident is being tested in an RAF Vulcan. The Speys are installed in the inboard nacelles and the Vulcan is flying from the Rolls-Royce Test Establishment at Hucknall.

• The third Convair B-58 Hustler which first flew in May 1957 has been retired to Chanute AFB where it will be used for maintenance training. A total of 14 B-58s are now in service with the 305th Bomb Wing at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana.

• Two major independent French airlines, TAI and UTA have agreed in principle to merge. The combined fleet would have 40 aircraft including five DC-88, two DC-7Cs, 15 DC-6s, six DC-4s, six DC-3s and six DH Herons.

A Lockheed Vega built 32 years ago. is being used in tests with new US ground radar equipment. Built almost entirely of wood, the Vega has low radar refectivity can still reach 180mph and climb to 20,000ft. This aircraft, known as “Old 72” (her serial number), and three other Vegas, are the only remaining examples of the 130 Vegas built.