Yesteryear

On April 2, nine ADF personnel were lost when Sea King N16-100, callsign ‘Shark 02’, from 817 Squadron, HMAS Albatross, Nowra, NSW crashed prior to landing on the island of Nias, Indonesia. The helicopter had been operating from HMAS Kanimbla on relief flights to western Sumatra following the Boxing Day tsunami. Two survivors of the tragedy were rescued by local residents and airlifted by another Sea King to Kanimbla.

Boeing is working on the development of the 747 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) to ferry 787 Dreamliner components. Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation in Taiwan will carry out the modifications to the three aircraft which will have a double bubble fuselage and swing rear tail.

A team comprising Northrop Grumman, L-3 Communications, Saab Systems and Tenix Australia will develop a ground system integrated with the Global Hawk high altitude, long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of a bid for the AIR 7000 program, to replace the RAAF’s AP-3C Orions.

25 years ago

The final Lockheed P-3 Orion to be delivered to the USN, BuNo 163925, was handed over in a ceremony at Palmdale, California on April 17. It was the 548th P-3 accepted by the USN since deliveries commenced in August 1962.

The Civil Aviation Division of the New Zealand Ministry of Transport Approval has granted Air New Zealand approval to operate a twice-weekly service between Honolulu and Los Angeles with Boeing 767 twin-engined aircraft powered by General Electric CF6-80A engines. ETOPS approval of 180 minutes was recently given to both the GE CF 6-80A and CF6-80C2 engines on the 767.

A British Aerospace 146 has operated the first commercial jetliner flight to Antarctica with a LAN-Chile aircraft operating a route proving flight from Punte Arenas to the Teniente Marsh Chilean AFB located in Chilean Antarctic Territory on King George Island. LAN-Chile has fitted gravel runway protection kits to both its 146 aircraft.

Among the cuts for the USAF announced by US Secretary for Defense Dick Cheney during this month are a reduction in the B-2 program from 132 to 75 with deferment of another five aircraft, while C-17 orders are to be reduced from 210 to 120.

Vickers Viscount V. 806 G-APIM Viscount Stephen Piercey has returned to its Brooklands birthplace to be placed on display at the museum, Brooklands, Surrey. The Viscount has been donated by British Air Ferries and named in memory of renowned aviation photographer and journalist Stephen Piercey who lived near Brooklands and was lost in a flying accident in 1984.

The aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea was decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia on April 30. During her 42 years of service she has logged more steaming time and aircraft launches than any other carrier.

50 years ago

Avro Lancaster B. 7 G-ASXX Spirit of Surfers Paradise left Sydney Airport on Anzac Day on its journey to the International Air Travel Fair at Biggin Hill, with an arrival due on May13. Wing Commander J Hampshire led the the four-man crew with the first leg to Coolangatta to enable local residents to view the aircraft in recognition of their donations of about £5,000, approximately half of the cost of the flight to the UK.

The prototype Transavia PL12 Airtruk VH-TRN was flown by Neil Johnston on its maiden flight from Bankstown on April 15. This aircraft was the second Airtruk built at the Seven Hills factory, with the first example, used as a test airframe, destroyed in static tests. Airtruk flight testing is hoped to be completed by the middle of this year. An airstrip being built by Transavia adjacent to the factory will enable production aircraft to be flown from the Seven Hills plant.

Information from future proposed US Defense budgets indicates the USAF is likely to get 65 General Dynamics F-111A and the USN four F-111Bs during fiscal 1966-67, and the total requirement is said to be for 1,350 F-111As and 350 F-111Bs. Some of the other provisions included in fiscal 1966 are strengthening of B-52s for low-level tasks, 140 Ling-Temco-Vought A-7As and 45 Lockheed P-3A Orions for the USN, while the US Army will get about 900 helicopters. It’s estimated that by June 30 1966 the USAF will have an active strength of 13,706 aircraft, the USN 8,241, and US Army 7,624.

Lufthansa commenced its weekly service to Australia on April 5 with a non-revenue flight of a Boeing 720B to Sydney from Frankfurt.

Qantas will commence Boeing 707-138B trans-Tasman services from Sydney to Christchurch on April 10, initially with two flights per week on Mondays and Saturdays, reducing flight time to 2hr 35min eastbound and 3hr 5min westbound.