Yesteryear

After 22 years in service with BOAC/British airways, the last British Airways Boeing 707 service was flown from Cairo to London on May 24.

• An RAF Vulcan B2 operating from Ascension Island made the first British air attack with 1,000lb bombs on Argentine positions on the Falkland Islands on May 1. It was flight refuelled on both the outward and return flights. After the attack on Port Stanley Air field, further attacks were made by nine Sea Harrier FRS Mk Is from HMS Hermes. On the same day, a Sea Harrier claimed its first combat victory with a Sidewinder missile destroying an Argentine Mirage IIIEA.

• The worldwide F27 Friendship feet has nowpassed 13 million flights including 10 million by Fokker built aircraft. The fleet includes 535 sold by Fokker and 205 built by Fairchild and production is continuing at a rate of two aircraft a month. The highest time aircraft is Ansett’s VH-MMS with almost 59,000 hours.

With the disbanding of the RAF’s last dedicated photographic reconnaissance squadron late this month, the PR Canberra will cease to operate at squadron level. Number 39 Squadron was the last of II squadrons which operated PR Canberras which entered service in 1952 with 34 Squadron replacing de Havil land Mosquitos. Some PR Canberras will con. tinue to serve at RAF Wyton performing high altitude reconnaissance and survey duties, but their operational tactical role will be taken over initially by Jaguars and later by the Tornado.

• A ceremony was held on March 25 by Beech to mark 35 years of Bonanza production. The original V tail Bonanza was certified on March 25 1947 and since then nearly 15,000 Bonanzas have been built including almost 1,400 V-tailed Model 35s. Beech is offering a special Thirty Fifth Anniversary Bonanza model which includes an anniversary inscription in its colour scheme.

20 Years Ago

General Dynamic’s Convair Aerospace Division has been awarded a $38m contract to build and fly two General Dynamics Model 401 low cost air to air combat fighter prototypes. They have been selected by the USAF as one of the contractors in its lightweight fighter programme (Northrop is another with its P-600). The Model 401 will be a single seat fighter with a maximum weight of about 17,500lb powered by a Pratt and Whitney F100 of approx 25,000lbst with afterburning. It is planned to deliver the two prototypes to Edwards AFB in 1974 for testing.

• Aircraft which participated in Exercise Top Limit at Darwin included eight F-4E Phantoms, eight Mirages, one Neptune and four RAF Avro Vulcans. Two of the No 6 Squadron F-4Es established a speed record between Darwin and Amberley when they covered the 1,530nm at an average speed of 583kts (1,080kmh).

The Prime Minister has announced that $13m will be allocated for the building of 20 GAF Project N aircraft which now has been given the name Nomad. Eleven will be delivered to the Army while the remaining nine will be sold on the open market to either civil or military customers. The Nomads delivered to the Army will replace their Cessna 180s.

• A USAF Lockheed C-5A Galaxy has flown non stop (without air refuelling) from Kadena AFB, Okinawa to Charleston AFB North Carolina. The 6,960nm were covered in a flying time of 16 hours 5 minutes.

Cessna has become the first manufacturer to produce 100,000 aircraft. This achievement was accomplished over a 61 year period. The 100,000th aircraft was a 1972 Skylane registered N1CM.

• The first of ten BAC 167 Strikemasters for the RNZAF, NZ6361 had its first flight at Warton on May 15 and was officially handed over on the 26th. Strikemaster orders now total 106.

• The 171 Air Cavalry Flight at Holsworthy NSW has become the first Army Aviation unit to have an all turbine fleet. On May 5, five Bell 206B Kiowas arrived from Amberley to replace their five Bell 47Gs.

30 Years Ago

• Air India introduced Boeing 707 Intercontinentals onto its Sydney/Bombay route on May 9, replacing the Lockheed Super Con- stellations which had operated the service for the past five years. The Air India 707 Intercontinentals accommodate 126 passengers and are powered by Rolls-Royce Conways.

The Northrop N-156 Freedom Fighter has been selected by the US Department of Defense as a replacement for the Republic F-84 and North American F-86 variants supplied under the Military Assistance Programme to allied nations. It has been reported that the Defense Department is planning on a price basis of no more than $600,000 an aircraft.

Flight testing has begun of the Pratt and Whitney JTF10-A front fan engine, mounted in a nacelle under the fuselage of a North American B-45. The engine has been selected to power the USA joint service fighter, the TFX, which has the USAF designation of F-111A.

The Caravelle “Santa Maria” carried out demonstration flights at Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra during the month in an attempt to interest the Australian airlines in this aircraft.

Testing is underway of the Bristol 188 the world’s first stainless steel supersonic aircraft, which initially flew on April 14. The aircraft, which has the potential to be the fastest aircraft in the world, is powered by two 14,000lb st de Havilland Gyron Junior DGJ. 10 reheated turbojets.

• During a heavy rainstorm on May 13 at Mascot, the Ansett-ANA Viscount VH-RMH overshot the runway and came to rest in sand. The starboard undercarriage sank into the sand and a propeller was damaged. The aircraft subsequently had a major overhaul at Essendon.

A world distance record for commercial transports has been claimed by Douglas following the 7,556nm flight of a DC-8 from Tokyo to Miami.

• Sikorsky has produced 3,657 helicopters in nearly 20 years to the end of last year. Of these, 1,281 were S-55s while another 1,427 were S-588, which are still in production.

British United Airways has ordered a further two Britannias, taking their fleet total of the type to six.