Yesteryear

The McDonnell Douglas MD-87 was rolled out at Long Beach on October 23 and flight testing is due to commence in December. It is the fourth member of the MD-80 family and features a fuselage reduced by 5.5m (17ft 5in) and a passenger capacity up to 139.

Pan American launched a shuttle operation on October 1 on the heavily used Northeast Corridor which covers Washington/New York/Boston using A300s.

McDonnell Douglas received a $55 million contract from the USAF on October 2 to begin production of an updated detection and homing system for the F-4G Wild Weasel.

All remaining F-86F Sabres in the Fuerza Aerea Argentina inventory have been grounded and subsequently withdrawn from service following an accident in which a Sabre shed a wing in flight. The Sabres had previously been in storage and were reintroduced by the FAA into use during the Falklands conflict. It had been intended to continue using them until the middle of 1987 prior to the recent accident.

On October 3, the 7000th aircraft to be produced by de Havilland Canada was handed over when a Dash 8 was delivered to Horizon Air.

In early October, the first of 10 British Aerospace 146-100s for the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was placed into service from Lanzhou.

20 Years Ago

According to a report from South Africa, Russia is building a naval facility and air base on Bazaruto Island off the Mozambique coast.

The NATO code name ‘Forger’ has been allocated to the new Russian Navy Yakovlev VTOL strike/fighter first noted on board the carrier Kiev.

Four Canadian Armed Forces CF-5s flew across the Atlantic at the commencement of an air-to-air refuelling and training exercise with NATO in Europe. They flew from Goose Bay, Labrador to Nancy Ochey in France and were refuelled during the flight by a Boeing CC-137 tanker.

The Defence Minister Mr Jim Killen has said that a new jet trainer aircraft would be required by the RAAF and RAN to replace the Macchi MB-326Hs in the early 1980s. The aircraft in consideration are the Macchi MB-339, the Hawk, the Alpha Jet and the CASA C-101.

The USAF is seeking a replacement for the Convair F-106 Delta Dart in service with 12 Aerospace Defense Command squadrons. In contention are the F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle. The USAF was looking at a F-106 replacement in 1976.

Construction is now underway at Kingston of the first Hawker Siddeley Sea Harrier FRS.1 for the Royal Navy, XZ438. This is the first of 24 Sea Harrier FRS.1s ordered for use on Invincible class anti-submarine cruisers. The normal complement of each vessel will be five Harriers and 12 Sea Kings.

In the year to the end of September, Sydney confirmed its position as the busiest airport in Australia. Figures for domestic traffic were 4.7 million passengers with 82,066 aircraft movements, compared with 4,082,000 passengers and 68,172 movements for Melbourne.

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle has been selected by the Japanese ASDF to replace the Lockheed F-104J Starfighter in six interceptor squadrons. The Japanese Government has been requested to authorise the purchase of 120-175 F-15s.

NSW Premier Mr Wran has announced that a committee of senior Commonwealth and State officials will be convened in November to investigate the future airport needs for Sydney. They will report within 18 months and will examine both the possibility of a major airport at a new site and also upgrading existing airports.

30 Years Ago

The first Dassault Mirage IIID two seat trainer version for the RAAF, A3-101, had its first flight on October 12 at Avalon.

The largest number of passengers ever to arrive in one aircraft at Sydney, 152 plus nine crew, were on board a Lufthansa 707 which landed on October 20.

Mr Carl Kotchian, a vice president of Lockheed, said in a sales tour in London that the world’s airlines would need 900 supersonic transports by 1985. He said that Concorde sales would reach 316, with the remaining supersonic transports coming from US manufacturers.

When the Annual Report and Financial Accounts for Qantas Empire Airways were presented in the House of Representatives by the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Swartz, on October 27, they revealed that total revenue for the year ending March 31 1966, was $127,267,089, an operating profit of $7,341,221 and net profit of $4,030,183. A total of 401,468 passengers were carried and the revenue load factor averaged 51.6%. The TAA report tabled a few days earlier on October 18 indicated that total revenue was $56,817,754, operating profit $2,677,216 and net profit $1,202,357. Total passengers carried were 1,841,270.

The first of 66 Lockheed C-130K Hercules on order to the RAF, XV176, had its maiden flight on October 19.

A new version of the McDonnell Phantom, the F-4E, with built-in armament of a 20mm Vulcan cannon mounted in the nose, has been ordered by the USAF. The order for 99 aircraft will see deliveries commence in late 1967. Experience obtained in Vietnam has demonstrated the need for this type of armament.

An American Airlines order for 10 Boeing 747s, plus four options, has seen total orders reach 66.

The US Army Aviation Materiel Command has placed an order for 255 Cessna T-41s. Based on the Cessna 172, the T-41 is yet to be given an Army designation. The acquisition of the T-41s will enable the release of more Cessna O-1 Bird Dog observation aircraft for support missions. The USAF adopted the T-41 as its official primary trainer in 1964 with an initial order for 170.