Yesteryear

Boeing launched the new 747-8 family on November 14 comprising the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger version and the 747-8 Freighter, following purchases of up to 34 aircraft.

Orders for the 747-8 Freighter have been placed by Cargolux for 10 aircraft plus 10 purchase rights, while another eight have been ordered by Nippon Cargo Airlines plus six options.

Compared to the 747‑400 versions, the 747-8 Intercontinental will be stretched by 3.

6m and the 747-8 Freighter by 5.

6m.

Two South Australian regional airlines, Airlines of South Australia and Emu Airways ceased operations on November 9, a decision influenced by significant losses sustained by both operators.

QantasLink announced on the same day the expansion of services into South Australia with 58 new flights per week on various routes commencing on December 18.

The first prototype Airbus A380-841 F-WWOW visited Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne between November 12 and 16.

The Australian visit coincided with Qantas’s 85th Birthday marked by a celebration in Brisbane on November 15 in the company’s new maintenance hangar.

Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill announced on November 18 that the USAF will use the Delamere Air Weapons Range, located about 120km south of Katherine, and RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory for training purposes with the dropping of live ordnance.

Aircraft involved will be B-1B, B-52H and B-2A bombers from bases in the USA and Guam.

25 years ago

On November 29 Finnair became the first airline to take delivery of the McDonnell Douglas MD‑11.

The airline, which has four MD-11s on order plus a further two options, will initially put the aircraft into service between Helsinki and Tenerife, Canary Islands before the new type serves more distant locations such as Bangkok, Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles.

The latest fighter to join the USN, the Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat, was formally accepted for fleet service in a ceremony held at NAS Miramar, San Diego, California on November 16.

President Bush announced on November 8 a doubling of the number of carrier battle groups deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield.

This saw USS America, Ranger and Theodore Roosevelt scheduled to be on station by January 15 1991 to join Saratoga, John F Kennedy and Midway.

In addition, the last two active US battleships, USS Missouri and Wisconsin, were already in the Persian Gulf.

US and Saudi forces commenced Operation Imminent Thunder on November 15, an eight-day combined amphibious exercise in northeastern Saudi Arabia involving more than 1,100 aircraft, 16 warships and about 1,000 US Marines with close air support provided by USMC aircraft and USN aircraft from USS Midway.

Lockheed is marketing the L-100F, a new commercial Hercules with the addition of a forward 3.

5m by 2.

74m freight door enabling three M1 pallets to be loaded ahead of the wing spar/landing gear structure.

Other possible developments could be a 3.

05m fuselage stretch, uprated Allison T56 Series IV engines and a two-crew cockpit with EFIS.

France will return the first of its 17 F-8E(FN) Crusader shipboard fighters to Navy service between June 1992 and December 1994 after they have undergone limited life extension.

50 years ago

The last scheduled BOAC De Havilland Comet service on any route departed from Sydney on November 23 with the Comet 4 G-APDM operating the Auckland-London service.

Following the opening of the new international airport at Mangere on 24 November for operations, the route will be flown by BOAC’s Boeing 707s.

A new flying school was recently established at Hoxton Park which is a satellite aerodrome to Bankstown.

The Hoxton Park Flying School Pty Ltd is a joint venture between Hawker de Havilland and the Illawarra Flying School.

The board of directors consists of L R Jones, a Hawker de Havilland director, as chairman, well known general aviation identity Keith Robey occupying the role of managing director, R R Green HdH, chief test pilot, and D R Fawcett, managing director of the Illawarra Flying School.

A group from Qantas led by Bill Grove is working on the restoration of an Avro 504K to replicate the airline’s first aircraft.

The airframe, originally given by the Air Board to the Australian War Memorial in 1929, has been given to Qantas by the Memorial trustees on a permanent loan.

The aircraft will be fitted with the correct Sunbeam Dyak engine located by the restoration team in a blacksmith’s shop at Mullumbimby in northern NSW.

The finished aircraft will enter display at the new Qantas Aviation Museum at Sydney Airport.

A Boeing 707-320C of the Flying Tiger Line carried out the first circumnavigation of the world overflying both the South and North Poles with a landing at Los Angeles, California on November 15.

The flight was made to celebrate a US Civil Aeronautics Board decision to reduce the amount of charter cargo which may be carried by scheduled airlines, a move seen to give cargo airlines a significant increase in business.