Yesteryear

Prior to delivery it established a record for the type on December 24 when it flew nonstop from Toulouse to Melbourne covering the 16,910km (8,963nm) distance in approximately 20hr 4min.

The aircraft had standard fuel and carried four crew and 12 passengers.

The Space Shuttle Columbia was lost on February 1 with the tragic loss of seven astronauts while returning from mission STS-107.

All radio and data contact was lost at 0900hrs when the Shuttle was at an altitude of 207,135ft at a speed of Mach 18.

3.

Residents in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana had reported hearing a loud bang and reported the craft had broken up.

Initial indications were received at 0852hrs of unusual rises of temperature in three left brake line sensors which increased over the next five minutes before data transmission from the left wing temperature sensors ceased at 0857hrs as the Shuttle passed over Arizona and New Mexico.

At 0858hrs increased drag on the left side became apparent and one minute later two jets were fired for 1.

5 seconds in an endeavour to counteract the increasing drag.

Preliminary indications are that superheated air entered the left wing leading to the disaster.

One cause being investigated is that a piece of insulating foam which broke away from the external fuel tank during launch may have damaged the wing tiles.

After nearly 40 years of service the Westland Wessex has been withdrawn from RAF service with a final flight performed by Wessex HC.

2 XS675 at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus on January 31.

Boeing has given the designation 7E7 to its new mid-sized super efficient airliner and on January 29 released computer-generated images of the new aircraft.

The twin-engined widebody, which will replace the Sonic Cruiser, will seat 200-250 passengers and offer a 17-20% reduction in fuel consumption compared to the 767-300.

25 years ago

The Airbus A320-100 obtained its certification on February 26.

The first A320 is due for delivery to Air France on March 25 and a second aircraft will be delivered prior to the type’s introduction into service on April 18 when it will be initially used on routes from Paris to Dusseldorf, Berlin, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

On February 8 the US FAA retired an aircraft registration for the first time, a decision relating to Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, NR16020, which disappeared in the Central Pacific on July 2 1937.

The 100th and final B-1B Lancer bomber rolled off the production line at the Rockwell plant at Palmdale, California on January 20.

De Havilland Canada is planning to cease production of the Dash 7 mid-year after completion of the 114th aircraft.

It will also end the production of Twin Otters at about the 840th aircraft.

The USN has selected General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas as a joint team to develop and test its new Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA) to replace its existing Grumman A-6E Intruders.

The requirement is for a minimum of 450 of the carrier-based all-weather attack aircraft which has the potential to also replace the USAF’s General Dynamics F-111/FB-111s.

In the second largest order received by Boeing, Air France has ordered 16 Boeing 747-400s plus another 12 options in a deal valued at US$3.

5bn.

Boeing rolled out two new airliner versions on January 26, with the 737-400 in the morning at Renton followed by the unveiling of the 747-400 in the afternoon at Everett.

The 737-400, the largest member of the 737 family, has now received orders from nine customers for 88 aircraft plus 35 options.

The 747-400, which is the largest and longest-range jet airliner in the world, has 118 orders and 66 options from 18 customers.

50 years ago

Cessna delivered its 50,000th aircraft, a Model 172 Skyhawk, N50000, to Edenwood Developers of Columbia, South Carolina on February 25.

Cessna is currently producing more than 3,000 aircraft per year.

The first Boeing 727, N7001U, a Model 727-22 which will be delivered to United Airlines, had its maiden flight from Renton on February 9 and continued to Paine Field where it will be based for further testing.

Orders have been received for 131 727s.

A USN Lockheed LC-130F Hercules conducted the longest flight in Antarctic history on February 22 when it flew 3,470 miles from McMurdo Station, south beyond the South Pole to the Shackleton Mountain Range and then southeastward to the pole of inaccessibility with a return to McMurdo in 10hr 40min.

The flight which covered territory never before seen by man was piloted by Commander William H Everett.

In a speech in Paris on January 13, President de Gaulle used the word Concorde in the context of the Anglo- French supersonic transport aircraft project for the first time.

The first flight by a VTOL aircraft from a ship at sea was made by the first prototype Hawker P.

1127, XP831, flown by chief test pilot Bill Bedford from HMS Ark Royal off Portland, Dorset on February 11.

A statement in January from the Minister for Air, Mr Fairbairn, said the Mirage III fighters to be delivered either late this year or early in 1964 will equip No 75 Squadron to replace its Avon-Sabres.

The 60 Mirages ordered are anticipated to be delivered by the end of 1966 and will be allocated the identification prefix marking ‘A3’.

A later statement on February 20 by Mr Fairbairn said the government had negotiated an option with Generale Aeronautique Marcel Dassault for an additional 40 Mirage IIIs, taking the total to be acquired to 100.