Yesteryear

Boeing announced on November 3 that a third version of the 7E7 has been added to the initial 7E7 family plan.

This shorter-range version will be same size as the baseline 7E7, wing span reduced from 58.

8m to 51.

8m, anticipated range of 3,500nm (6,500km) with a single-class 300 passenger capacity.

A firm 7E7 configuration is expected mid-2004, a first flight in late 2007, with certification and an initial delivery in 2008.

On November 12 United Airlines said the new low-fare service to be operated from a hub in Denver, Colorado will be named Ted, using the last three letters of the name United.

The airline will begin operations in February 2004 with four A320s increasing to 45 aircraft.

The A320s will be configured in a single-class 156 passenger arrangement.

The final flight of a Concorde took place on November 26 when the last airworthy example, British Airways’ G-BOAF, departed from Heathrow for a fitting return to its birthplace at Filton where it will be preserved.

The aircraft departed Heathrow at 1130 carrying 100 BA pilots and cabin staff, making a final supersonic flight over the Bay of Biscay before passing over numerous local areas in England and arriving at Bristol-Filton at 1305.

It later was moved into the Brabazon hangar where it was built in 1979.

After being decommissioned and made safe for public display it will be officially handed over to the custody of Airbus.

25 years ago

The USAF confirmed the existence of the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter on November 10, which it says initially flew in 1981 and entered operation in 1983.

The aircraft are constructed with a radar-absorbing material and are powered by two General Electric engines.

They are based at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas, Nevada and in an effort to keep their existence secret, were flown only at night.

Ansett took delivery of the first of eight Airbus A320 Skystars at Toulouse on November 18.

Apart from being the first airline outside Europe to take delivery of the A320, Ansett is the first to receive the A320-200 version, which was certified on November 8.

The prototype Northrop B-2A advanced technology stealth bomber was rolled out at Palmdale, California on November 22.

The production contract awarded in November 1987 for approximately US$60 billion covered the planned acquisition of 132 aircraft at an estimated unit cost of about US$454.

5 million.

The US Navy Department transferred McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II No 157307, to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on its arrival at Dulles International Airport, Virginia on November 29.

The aircraft served in Vietnam and will be placed in a future war exhibit for that conflict.

On June 21 1972 when operating with VF‑31 on USS Saratoga this Phantom, flown by Commander Samuel C Flynn with Lieutenant William H John as radar operator, shot down a MiG-21.

On November 29 the 60th and last McDonnell Douglas KC-10A departed from Long Beach, California.

It was the first KC-10 to be fitted with wing-mounted refuelling pods.

The aircraft will spend three months at the Yuma, Arizona flight development facility testing flight characteristics of aircraft fitted with the pods.

50 years ago

The first flight of an Australian-assembled GAMD Mirage IIIO, A3‑3, took place at Avalon on November 16.

The 52 minute flight reached a speed of Mach 1.

4 and 40,000ft.

On November 27 the first of two French-built Mirages arrived at Avalon in a semi-dismantled state in Hercules A97-206 after a flight from France.

US President Lyndon B Johnson issued an executive order on November 29 renaming Cape Canaveral as Cape Kennedy and its space facilities as the John F Kennedy Space Center.

On November 8, 21 and 22 a Lockheed C-130F made 21 full-stop landings and takeoffs from USS Forrestal.

From these tests the USN concluded a C-130 could carry 25,000lb (11,340kg) of cargo and personnel over a 2,500 mile (4,023km) distance and land on a carrier.

The C-130, however, was considered too risky for routine carrier operations.

The Beech Aircraft Corporation is building the prototype of the King Air, a fast, pressurised twin-engined turboprop six/eight-seat executive aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-6 turbine engines with initial deliveries to be made in the northern autumn of 1964.

The first US Navy squadron to become operational with the Grumman A-6A Intruder is VA-42 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

In other USN news the first US Pacific Fleet squadron to receive the Lockheed P-3A Orion is VP-46 patrol squadron at NAS Moffett Field, California.

A recent announcement from the Minister for Civil Aviation, Senator Paltridge, said the work on the extension of Mascot’s north-south runway will allow for an extra 500ft (150m) to be added, increasing the total operational length to 8,500ft (2,600m).

The cost of the project will now increase by £500,000 to £5,000,000.