Yesteryear

The first Lockheed C-5B Galaxy was rolled out at Marietta on July 12. Subject to the confirmation of options, it will be followed by 49 more over a 3-year period to early 1989.

The first flight of the Airbus A310-300 took place on July 8 lasting 5 hours. It is the first commercial airliner to have a fuel tank in the tailplane with a fuel transfer system. The extra 5000kg of fuel will be used for aircraft trimming which will benefit cruising drag and fuel consumption. Carrying a mixed class load of 218 passengers, the A310-300 will have a 4600nm (8500km) range.

NASA’s specially equipped Galileo-2, one of the few remaining Convair 990s, was destroyed by fire on July 17 when a tyre blew after aborting takeoff. The crew of four and 15 scientists on board escaped injury. The original NASA Galileo-1 was lost in a midair collision in 1973. A third NASA Convair 990 may be restored to flying condition.

On July 4, the USAF 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron was formed at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan, equipped with 11 General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons. The squadron, which will receive a further 15 F-16s by September, is the first US Air Force combat squadron to be based in the Japanese home islands for 14 years.

The name Goshawk has been given by the USN to its McDonnell Douglas/British Aerospace T-45A trainer. The USN previously gave the name Goshawk to the 1933 Curtiss F11C-1 fighter, which was also known as the Hawk II.

20 Years Ago

The discovery of crack propagation on the lower wing surfaces of a Sud Aviation Caravelle fatigue test specimen, disclosed in routine testing, led to the grounding of all Caravelle 12s on June 6. It has now been decided that all Caravelle 12s with over 5000 hours will be modified to overcome the problem. Pending modification, strict operational restrictions will apply with aircraft limited to a 250kt (463kmh) cruise and 117 passenger load.

The last operational Meteor in Australia was flown from Woomera to Archerfield on July 15 after serving 24 years with the RAF. The British Ministry of Defence donated the Meteor TT.20, WD647, to the Queensland Air Museum. Earlier on July 10, another Meteor TT.20, WD767 had been flown to Mildura where it was received by its new owners the Warbirds Aviation Museum after being similarly donated.

A seventh McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 has been ordered by Air New Zealand for delivery in the middle of next year at a cost of $34m. The 200th DC-10 was handed over to National Airlines at Yuma, Arizona on June 20.

Eleven New Zealand Aerospace Industries FU-24s are being delivered to the Iraq Department of Agriculture and an order for a further 20 is expected to be announced shortly.

Cessna delivered the 250th Citation on July 9 to the Fred Mart Corporation of San Diego.

Peru has ordered three additional BAC Canberra B(I).8s. After refurbishment by Marshalls of Cambridge they will be redesignated B(I).68s. Peru first bought nine new B(I).8 Canberras in the early 1950s and subsequent purchases of other marks took its total to 29.

CFM International has announced that since the first engine run in June 1974, the first two CFM56 high bypass turbofan engines had accumulated more than 210 hours of development testing. One engine is being tested at Snecma’s Villaroche facility and the other by General Electric at Peebles, Ohio.

The last USAF Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was retired on July 31. The aircraft had been in service with the 198th TFS, an Air National Guard Unit at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

30 Years Ago

The North American OV-10A counterinsurgency aircraft, which won the USN’s COIN competition, had its first flight on July 16 at Columbus, Ohio.

The first American Airlines BAC 400 Series One-Eleven development aircraft had its maiden flight at Hurn on July 13.

A new fighter bomber with the preliminary designation “FX”, is required by the USAF to bridge the gap between the Skyraider which is still in use in Vietnam, and the F-4 Phantom and F-111A.

The Cessna commercial aircraft division with a range of models from the 150 to the 210 Centurion and the new twin Super Skymaster, is now producing 20 aircraft per day.

The USAF is to retire 50 of 61 remaining Douglas C-118 Liftmasters in MATS service and some may go to the USN.

The Cessna distributor for Australia, Rex Aviation has reported that June was a record month with 23 new Cessna aircraft delivered in Australia through the Rex/Cessna dealer organisation. In addition a record 115 new aircraft were sold during the financial year.

Defence authorities in Canberra announced on July 19 that preparations had been made to allow RAF Handley Page Victors to operate from Darwin if an emergency arose. The RAF has established special service and maintenance facilities while the RAAF has provided fuel armament and other stores near the airfield. The Victors are currently based at Aden and Singapore.

The chairman of BOAC, Sir Giles Guthrie, said the airline is “right behind” the proposed Super VC10 development and would like five or six of the 256 passenger airliners to enter service in 1969.

TAA and Ansett-ANA announced on July 19 that Lockheed Electras will replace Douglas DC-6Bs on services to New Guinea, a move that will reduce the flying time between Sydney and Lae by 2 hours.

Air New Zealand’s first Douglas DC-8-50 arrived at Auckland on July 20. The aircraft made the inaugural jet flight into the new airport at Mangere after a record 5650nm (10,460km) nonstop flight from Long Beach to Auckland in 13hr 40min. Commercial operations from Mangere will start later in the year when Air New Zealand will commence services from Auckland to Los Angeles.