Yester Year

• Eight nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Brussels on December 18 to purchase 196 Airbus Military A400M transports, comprising Belgium 7, France 50, Germany 73, Luxembourg 1, Portugal 3, Spain 27, Turkey 10 and the UK 25. The first flight is scheduled in 2006 with the first delivery to France in 2008.

• Australian Airlines was formally launched on December 11. The Qantas subsidiary, a full service leisure carrier, will start with four Boeing 767‑300s in a single class operating services from Cairns to Singapore, Hong Kong, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka and Taipei.

• A $1. 3 billion contract with Eurocopter International Pacific for 22 Eurocopter Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) for the Australian Army was signed in Canberra on December 21 under Project Air 87 to replace Bell 206B-1 Kiowa and UH-1H gunship helicopters.

The helicopters will be delivered by Eurocopter Pacific from December 2004 and will be assembled in Brisbane by the EADS subsidiary Australian Aerospace.

25 Years Ago

• Dick Rutan and Jeana Jeager completed a non-stop unrefuelled flight around the world in the Voyager between December 14-23, establishing a world absolute distance record of 40,212km (24,987 miles). The flight, which started and concluded at Edwards AFB, took 9 days 3 min 44 sec.

• Lockheed delivered its 1800th Hercules transport on December 2, a KC-130T tanker/transport, 86-3311, for VMGR-234 of the USMC Reserve at Glenview, Illinois. The C-130 is in production at Marietta at a rate of three per month.

• UK Secretary of State for Defence George Younger announced on December 18 the cancellation of the British Aerospace/ GEC Avionics Nimrod AEW Mk 3 version of the Nimrod.

Instead, Britain will order six Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft. It is now expected that No 8 Squadron’s eight remaining Shackleton AEW. 2s will remain in service until 1991.

• The McDonnell Douglas MD‑87, a shortened version of the MD-80, made its first flight on December 4 when N87MD took off from Long Beach, California, before landing at the company’s flight development centre at Yuma, Arizona.

• The first prototype Israel Aircraft Industries Lavi (Young Lion) combat aircraft made its first flight on December 31, taking off from Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv. The Israeli Air Force has a requirement for 300 to replace Kfirs and Skyhawks.

• The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 three engined long range trijet was officially launched on December 30. A first flight is set for March 1989 with deliveries commencing in April 1990.

50 Years Ago

• Three new world speed records were claimed by a USN Sikorsky HSS-2 helicopter flown by Captain Bruce K Lloyd and Commander Don J Roulstone on December 1. Over a course along Long Island Sound between Milford and Westbrook, Connecticut, speeds of 294. 2km/h (182. 8mph), 288. 9km/h (179. 5mph) and 282. 1km/h (175. 3mph) were achieved for 100, 500 and 1000km respectively.

• Installation of the Pilot Landing Aid Television (PLAT) system on the USS Coral Sea was completed on December 14, becoming the first carrier to have the aid which provides a video tape of every landing. The device will be useful for instructional purposes and the analysis of landing accidents.

• The maiden flight of the first production Victa Air Tourer, VH-MVA, flown by Flt Lt R Green, took place from Bankstown on December 12. The aircraft will undertake a demonstration tour next month.

• Ansett-ANA began services on December 17 from Melbourne to country destinations in Victoria and New South Wales with DC-3s carrying the name Victorian Air Coach Services. Initial operations will be performed by VH-ANJ, VH-ANP, VH-ANQ in a 36-seat layout of nine rows of four seats.

• The US Secretary for Defense, Robert McNamara, has said the military aviation strength of the US includes 630 Boeing B-52s, 1000 Boeing B-47s, 55 Convair B-58s and in excess of 2000 land based combat aircraft of which are 1000 supersonic jets, with most of the latter armed with nuclear weapons. The USN has six Forrestal class aircraft carriers, each with 50 attack aircraft and nine smaller carriers. n