Yesteryear

• The two Saab-Fairchild 340s involved in the flight development trials had completed about 359 hours by the middle of August and two more aircraft will be flying by the end of November.

• The two prototype Piper PA-48 Enforcers had completed 71 hours in 67 flights by the middle of August. When Phase One of the tests is completed, both aircraft will go to Eglin AFB by the end of the year for weapon delivery trials with inert weapons. Live weapon trials will take place next year at Edwards AFB. (Although the next available PA number which could have been allocated by Piper to the Enforcer was PA-47, this was not used to avoid confusion with the P-47 Thunderbolt).

• The UK Ministry of Defence has placed orders for three Westland Lynx HAS Mk 3 helicopters (as Falklands replacements) for the Royal Navy and nine LynxAH Mk5 for the Army Air Corps.

• Dick Smith landed at the Bell plant at Fort Worth on July 22 after completing the first solo circumnavigation of the world by in the Bell 206B JetRanger III VH-DIK The journey began on August 5 1982 and was completed in three legs totalling 56,805km at an average speed of 177kmh.

20 Years Ago

• TAA has reported that a record 3,613,002 passengers (up 13. 7%) were carried in the 1972/73 financial year. The total uplift of cargo was 50,711 short tons.

• Boeing has announced they are proceeding with the development of a new Special Performance version of the 747 which is designated the 747SP. The 747SP will have a fuselage reduction of 14m (47ft), will carry 100 less passengers and will have a range of nearly 6000nm with a full payload. To compensate for the reduced moment arm from the shorter fuselage, the height of the 747SP’s fin and rudder will be taller than the existing 747. Commonality between the standard 747 and 747SP will be 90%

The Defence Minister Mr Barnard announced various defence cuts in the Budget handed down this month. One Mirage squad- ron, No 76 will be disbanded and its 12 aircraft will be distributed amongst the other three squadrons, No 3, 75 and 77. This will leave two Mirage squadrons in Malaysia and one for training at Williamtown. Some of the other measures are the investigation of a reduction in the number of CT-4 Airtrainers to be purchased from the current 37, deferment in decisions for replacements for the Mirages and Neptunes and a reduction in RAAF and RAN Fleet Air Arm flying hours. Service manpower will be cut by 3. 2%.

• The British Government announced on August 29 that it will contribute 50% of the estimated $92 million development costs of the Hawker Siddeley HS 146 quiet turbofan feederliner. The government investment will be recovered through a levy on sales. Apart from contributing the other $46m, Hawker Siddeley will bear any cost overruns. Hawker Siddeley forecast a world market for 1500 aircraft of this type and estimate that the HS 146 will obtain about 30% of the sales. The first flight has been planned for January 1976 with an expected entry into service in 1977. • Qantas took delivery of their sixth Boeing 747-238B VH-EBF at Seattle on August 1 and it arrived at Sydney on August 3 at the end of its first commercial flight from San Francisco. Amongst improvements are uprated Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7engines of 46,150lb st and additional soundproofing to the upper “Captain Cook” lounge area.

30 Years Ago

• The Beech Aircraft Corporation is building the prototype of a 6/8 seat, fast, pressurised turboprop business aircraft named the King Air, powered by two Pratt and Whitney PT-6A-6 engines. The first deliveries will be made in the autumn of 1964.

• An order has been placed by the US Air Force for 44 U-10s from the Hello Aircraft Corporation. The Army will receive 20 aircraft while 24 will go to Air National Guard units. The U-10 is a military version of the Courier. Some U-10s are presently operating In Vietnam.

The deputy chairman of Vieta Ltd, Mr GB Richardson, announced on August 29 that his company would build the Aircruiser, a four seat version of the Airtourer. Powered by a 180hp Lycoming 0-360, the Aircruiser will have a gross weight of 2300lb and a range of 720 miles at a maximum cruising speed of 162mph.

• The first Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was rolled out at the Lockheed Marietta plant on August 22. The maiden flight is scheduled to take place in December and it is expected to be operational with the US Military Air Trans- port Service by June 1965.

• An official contract has been received by Ling-Temco-Vought for a batch of F-8E (FN) Crusaders for the French Navy (Aeronavale) worth over $26. 5m. The order represents 44-46 aircraft which will operate from the carriers Clemenceau and Foch. Because of the shorter decks and catapults than on US Navy carriers, the French Crusaders will have boundary layer control on their ailerons and flaps, and droop-snoot leading edges to reduce the landing speed by 15 knots (28kmh).

• Several changes have been made to the design of the Fokker F28 twinjet short haul airliner. The original virtually unswept wing will have a 22 degree sweep in the centre section, a 16 degree sweep on the outer leading edges and the trailing edge will also be swept. The length will be increased from 87ft 7in (26. 6m) to 90ft (27. 5m) to increase accommodation from 60 to 65 passengers, the fin will be increased in area and the engines will be mounted lower.