Yesteryear

Airbus has announced that production of the A300 and A310 will conclude in July 2007. Recent orders have been confined to freighter examples. Of 821 A300/A310 aircraft ordered, delivery of 802 had been achieved by the end of January with 650 remaining in service.

Following the seizure of the North Korean 3000 tonne freighter *Pong Su** in Australian waters in 2003 caught carrying 200kg of heroin, RAAF F-111s from RAAF Amberley employed two GBU-10 1000 laser-guided bombs to sink the vessel off the NSW south coast in a naval exercise area about 140km from Jervis Bay on March 23.

The USAF has celebrated 50 years of B-52 service. The first flight of the 744 B-52s built was made by YB-52, 49-231, on April 15 1952 from Renton, Washington with the type achieving operational status with B-52Bs of the 93rd Bombardment Wing at Castle AFB, California on March 12 1956.

Qantas and Boeing signed the contract on March 31 for 45 firm orders and 20 options for 787-8 and 787-9 airliners. The total could increase to 115 aircraft to operate with Qantas and Jetstar. Boeing Australia’s president Andrew Peacock said the 787 program is expected to create a minimum of $4 billion in exports and support in excess of 250 jobs when full rate production is achieved at the Hawker de Havilland facility in Melbourne.

An assembly line for Cirrus Aircraft is to be established at Archerfield Airport in Brisbane. The final re-assembly of aircraft will be undertaken to supply markets within Australia, the Pacific, New Zealand and south-east Asia. For the past four years the Cirrus SR22 has been the world’s best selling light aircraft. The first flight of an Australian re-assembled subsequently took place on May 13 from Archerfield.

Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon announced on March 27 that the airline will convert four Boeing 737-300 passenger aircraft into freighters and will wet-lease the aircraft to domestic freight operator Australian air Express (AaE). The modification will be performed in a new operation to be established at the airline’s engineering facility at Avalon using conversion kits developed by the Bedek Aviation division of Israel Aircraft Industries.

25 Years Ago

A follow-up order valued at US$76.6 million for a second batch of five C-27A versions of the Aeritalia G.222 twin-engined turboprop STOL tactical transport has been received by Chrysler Technologies, as the US prime contractor, from the USAF’s Aeronautical Systems Division. This will take total of C-27s ordered to ten, to be used for transport duties by the US Southern Command mainly in the Panama Canal Zone. Options are held for a further ten aircraft.

The RAAF’s fleet of Macchi MB.326H jet trainers are to undergo a thorough structural inspection following the recovery of wreckage from Macchi A7-076 lost in a fatal accident off the NSW coast north of Williamtown on November 19 1990 flown by Flt Lt R Page. An inspection of components from that accident had indications of an in-flight wing separation.

During 1990 Airbus Industrie received 404 orders of the more than 1150 announced by the main jet airliner manufacturers of 100 seat and above aircraft. By the end of 1990 it had received orders for 668 A300/310s of which 520 had been delivered. Production of the A320 is settling at 10 per month and deliveries of the new A340 will begin at the end of 1992 and the A330 in 1993. Orders for the A330 have reached 138 with 89 for the A340.

The UK Defence Secretary Tom King has reported details to the Commons Defence Committee of the RAF’s involvement in the Gulf War. Between January 17 and February 28 the RAF flew 4000 combat and 2500 supply sorties, and delivered 3000 tons of weapons, including 6000 bombs of which 1000 were laser controlled.

Martin Baker has announced that a USN pilot has reached a milestone in one of their ejection seats. During a landing on the USS *Theodore Roosevelt** on December 31 the arrestor wire broke after their Grumman EA-6B Prowler had decelerated to about 30kt. The four man crew ejected from the aircraft in 1.2 seconds and were picked up by a SH-3H Sea King from the ship. The pilot Lt John Meir was the last man out and the 6000th aircrew saved by a Martin Baker ejection seat. Since the first live test in July 1946 the company has delivered 65,000 seats to 85 air forces.

The RNZAF received the first three of 18 Aermacchi MB.339Cs on order on March 13. The government has imposed financial constraints on the RNZAF but will proceed with the MB.339C deliveries because their cancellation would involve significant financial penalties. Budgetary constraints may lead to the disposal of the 21 RNZAF A-4K/TA-4K Skyhawks even though they have been substantially upgraded under the Project Kahu program.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh attended a ceremony for the formal roll-out of the prototype British Aerospace Jetstream 41 regional airliner at the Prestwick factory on March 27. The 29-seat airliner is registered G-GCJL in honour of Mr G C John Larroucau, MBE, BAe’s Senior Vice President Engineering, considered a pivotal force behind the Jetstream 41’s development.

50 Years Ago

Orders for 13 aircraft have now been received by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd for their new DHC-6 Twin Otter turbine-powered STOL utility aircraft which can carry a two ton payload or up to 14 passengers in a utility role or 19 in a high-density airliner configuration. The first delivery will be to DHC’s oldest customer, the Department of Lands and Forests in Toronto. Another early customer is Trans-Australia Airlines who will operate two Twin Otters in New Guinea.

Cessna is advertising three six-passenger types as double-duty models suitable as either an air taxi or for cargo use. It has quoted prices for the Cessna 180 as $16,250, 185 Skywagon $19,795 and Super Skywagon $22,950, all prices in US dollars for fly away field Wichita, Kansas.

Four ex-USAF Martin B-57 Canberra bombers are to be delivered to the Vietnamese Air Force to become the service’s first jet aircraft.

On March 10, in an audacious mission, a Douglas A-1E Skyraider flown by Major Bernard F Fisher of the 1st Air Commando Squadron landed on the A Shau airstrip in Vietnam after it had been overrun by North Vietnamese regulars to rescue downed A-1E pilot Major Dafford W Myers. In recognition of his heroic act he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.

The maiden flight of the Douglas DC-8 Super 61 stretched version of the DC-8 capable of seating 251 passengers, the largest airliner to have flown, N8070U, took place from Long Beach, California on March 14.

The NASA Gemini 8 spacecraft was launched into orbit on a Titan II on March 16 carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott to perform docking manoeuvres with an Agena docking target, launched by an Atlas booster. After achieving the first docking, uncontrollable spinning led to aborting the link-up. The men later made a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean 500 miles (805km) east of Okinawa.

The last of the Strategic Air Command’s Boeing B-47 Stratojets in service was withdrawn on March 31. The first all-jet strategic bomber entered service in 1951.

Ansett Mandated Airlines has placed an order with Short Brothers & Harland Ltd for three Skyvans with an option on two more for scheduled services in New Guinea. Another option was signed for by Ansett-MAL on behalf of the parent organisation. It is the second order for Skyvans in the Territory following the order for two placed by Papuan Airlines Pty Ltd in September 1965.

On March 9 the Prime Minister Mr Holt announced that a squadron of Bell Iroquois helicopters would be drawn from No 9 Squadron based at Canberra and sent as increased aid to South Vietnam. On the following day, the Minister for the Army, Mr Fraser, announced the contribution of additional Bell Sioux helicopters to serve in South Vietnam.

A Danish carpet manufacturer which owns a Beechcraft twin has covered the runway adjacent to the factory with a 390ft (119m) length of red wool carpet to impress important customers with the durability of their product. The company’s pilot says it also softens the landing.