Yesteryear

Tiger Airways based in Changi, Singapore is planning to commence operations in the second half of this year initially using four leased Airbus A320s.

The first aircraft, A320-232 9V-TAA, was handed over at Toulouse last month.

With Singapore seeking a new fighter under its Next Fighter Replacement (NFR) program, two RAF Eurofighter Typhoon T.

1s have arrived in Singapore for demonstrations to the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) in the type’s first deployment outside Europe.

The UK Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, announced a new round of defence cuts on July 21, including retiring the entire RAF Jaguar force of three front-line squadrons and an operational conversion unit two years earlier than previously planned, together with the closure of their base at RAF Coltishall, Norfolk.

Boeing is offering increased range via performance enhancements on the 777-300ER.

Available during the fourth quarter of 2005, the upgrade package offers improved GE90-115B engine efficiency and design changes that offer reduced drag and aircraft weight, and is available on new production aircraft and as a retrofit.

Maximum range will increase by 175nm (324km) to 7,880nm (14,594km) and a rise in centre of gravity limits will enable increased cargo loading at maximum gross weight.

Flight testing has been conducted of the Evergreen Supertanker multi-mission firefighting conversion of a Boeing 747 from the Pinal Air Park, Marana, Arizona.

The prototype is converted Boeing 747‑273C N470EV which has a patented pressurised drop capability enabling dropping of retardant at a safer altitude of 400 to 800ft.

25 years ago

The first flight of the Northrop B-2A took place from Palmdale, California on July 17 with Northrop chief test pilot Bruce Hinds and Colonel Richard Couch, the USAF director of the B-2 combined test force, at the controls.

After completion of a 1hr 52min flight the aircraft landed at Edwards AFB.

A fleet of 132 B-2s has been ordered by the USAF at a unit cost of US$500 million.

The US FAA has made recommendations to ensure the safe extended life of three types of older Boeing jetliners.

The airworthiness directives will see 74 mandatory modifications made to 727s when they approach a threshold of approximately 60,000 flights, 56 to 737s reaching about 75,000 flights, and 31 to 747s approaching 20,000 flights.

At present four 737s, 13 727s and 15 747s have reached the modification thresholds, which by 1994 will see 93, 38 and 84 respectively of these types approach these economic design life goals.

The de Havilland Mosquito maintained by British Aerospace has had a complete renewal of fabric on the wings in addition to a complete overhaul, carried out by the maintenance team at the Chester Aircraft Service Centre.

The lack of availability of the original Mandopolam saw the substitution of Irish linen, treated with dope to stretch the fabric to a taught fit.

The carefully maintained Mosquito, which appears at airshows, was built in 1945 and bought from the RAF for £100 by chief test pilot John Cunningham and has only flown about 1,600 hours.

After the pilot ejected from his Soviet MiG-23M over Poland on July 4 upon experiencing engine problems, the unmanned aircraft eventually ran out of fuel and came down near Kortrijk, Belgium, killing a teenager.

It had taken off from an air base near Kolobrzeg, Poland and was followed by two USAF F-15s which had been instructed to shoot down the aircraft over the North Sea.

50 years ago

Swissair has ordered 10 Douglas DC‑9s for delivery between June 1966 and December 1968 to replace Convair 440 Metropolitans.

Douglas has now received orders for 34 DC-9s.

First flight is scheduled for March 1965.

On July 28 NASA’s unmanned Ranger 7 was launched from Cape Kennedy on a flight to the Moon.

During the final 13 minutes of the flight it took 4,316 high-quality close-up TV pictures of the lunar surface prior to impacting on the Moon in an area northwest of the Sea of Clouds.

Operation Sea Orbit involving all-nuclear Task Force One comprising aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, guided-missile cruiser Long Beach and guided-missile frigate Bainbridge left Gibraltar on July 31 on a 30,216nm (55,960km) round-the-world cruise lasting 65 days without replenishment.

During late August and early September the ships were in Australian waters with flypasts over Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

This saw Bainbridge visit Fremantle, Long Beach continued to Melbourne while Enterprise arrived in Sydney for a three-day stay on September 4 joined by the other vessels.

Prior to arrival in Sydney, 41 aircraft were launched for a display at sea.

The US is to supply 75 Douglas A-1E/H Skyraiders to the South Vietnamese air force.

They will replace North American T-28s and Douglas B-26s previously supplied by the US.

The USAF has been performing reconnaissance missions in Vietnam with Lockheed U-2s, Martin RB-57s and McDonnell RF-101Voodoos and is also using several Lockheed C-130s for transport tasks.

Lockheed C-130E N1130E, named One World, visited Australia during July 7-14 on a demonstration tour on the last leg of a 50,000 mile goodwill tour.

This latest C-130 version made a notable unrefuelled flight recently which lasted 25hr 1min 8sec with most of the flight conducted on two engines.