Yesteryear

Although the USN funded the project it will be taken over as a program by the US Army with a view of increasing the speed and range of the UH-60 Black Hawk.

Lockheed Martin received two contracts from the US Department of Defense on September 2 to acquire and refurbish six ex RAAF C-130Es for the Pakistan Air Force, for US$8.

4 million and US$55.

6 million respectively.

The aircraft to receive maintenance, modification and upgrade are A97-159, -171, -177, 178, 180 and -189, while -181 has been obtained as a spares source.

After having been traded in for C-130Js for the RAAF, the C-130Es had been stored awaiting resale for the last three years at Georgetown/Sussex County Airport, Delaware.

Airbus CEO Noel Forgeard has spoken about possible future projects, saying a new Airbus aircraft will be launched by early 2006 at the latest.

No details were given of size and range but mention was made of the US$8 billion cost to develop a new, or a less expensive version of an existing aircraft.

There has been previous media speculation Airbus would spend US$2 billion to develop a longer range A330-200, with a modified wing and new engines, known internally as the A30X or the A350.

The US Navy retired the Grumman F-14A Tomcat on September 15 when the last five aircraft in use, operated by VF-211 ‘Fighting Checkmates’ at NAS Oceana, Virginia were flown to AMARC Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona for storage.

About 80 F-14B/D Tomcats remain in service and will be withdrawn from use next year to be replaced by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

25 years ago

The first Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk of 16 on order was accepted by the RAN at the company’s plant at Stratford, Connecticut on September 12.

They will commence operational service with Squadron HS 816 at NAS Nowra in mid-1991, to be detached to operate from the FFG-7 class frigates.

The first full conversion from helicopter-mode to wing-borne flight was made by the first prototype Bell/Boeing V-22 Osprey on September 14 at Bell Helicopter Textron’s Arlington, Texas facility.

This marked the culmination of the second phase of testing, which on September 4 saw the halfway mark of a 45 degree rotor tilt reached.

The maiden flight of a Lockheed NS‑3A test aircraft (modified from a S-3A prototype) as the aerodynamic prototype of the ES-3A Shadow took place on September 7.

The existing Douglas EA-3B Skywarriors will eventually be replaced by 16 ES-3As.

The last F-21A Kfirs were withdrawn from US Navy use on September 22.

The Kfirs had served as aggressor aircraft with Marine Fighter Training Squadron VMFT-401 based at MCAS Yuma, Arizona.

The the Kfirs were replaced by Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs.

The US Army has awarded a US$64 million contract to the Beech Aircraft Corporation for nine RC-12K military aircraft versions of the Super King Air B200C corporate turboprop, plus options for five additional aircraft expected to be ordered this year.

The RC-12K is modified for electronics special missions and has an oversized landing gear permitting operations from unimproved landing strips.

At the recent Airlift Rodeo 1989 held at Pope AFB, North Carolina a USAF Lockheed C-5B Galaxy dropped a record load of 190,396 pounds (86,364kg) comprising four 42,000lb (19,051kg) Sheridan tanks and 73 troops.

The overall competition winner was the RAAF C-130H A97-001 from 36 Squadron based at Richmond.

50 years ago

The prototype North American XB‑70A Valkyrie conducted its maiden flight from Palmdale, California on September 21 flown by Al White and Joe Cotton followed by a landing at Edwards, AFB.

The aircraft is powered by six 30,000lb General Electric YJ93‑GE-3 turbojet engines and is constructed mainly of stainless steel.

The maiden flight of the prototype BAC TSR.

2, XR219, powered by two 33,000lb Bristol Siddeley Olympus Mk 320R engines, was conducted by deputy chief test pilot Roland ‘Bee’ Beamont with chief test navigator Donald Bowen from the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down on September 27.

Three ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules from USN Squadron VX-3 conducted flights from Melbourne, Christchurch and Punta Arenas to Williams Field, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica on September 30.

The journey from Melbourne, the first from Australia to Antarctica, passed over the South Pole to drop mail followed by a landing at Byrd Station before proceeding to McMurdo Sound.

The Minister for Civil Aviation, Senator Denham Henty, tabled the 1963/64 Civil Aviation Report in Parliament this month highlighting the growth in many areas of general aviation in Australia.

This saw 136 general aviation aircraft added to the Australian Civil Register taking their total to 1,737, with airline aircraft numbering 199, for an overall civil aircraft total of 1,936.

Australia’s general aviation fleet is estimated to have a total value of about £7.

5 million.

Orders for new military aircraft were announced by the Minister for Defence, Senator Shane Paltridge, during the month, with a purchase valued at £2.

9 million for seven de Havilland DHC‑4 Caribou and £1 million for 17 Bell 47G‑3B Sioux.