Yesteryear

July 28 1978  The first two Lockheed C-130H Hercules A97-001 and -002 were delivered to No 36 Squadron at Richmond. Ordered at a cost of $64m the new version will replace the C-130As received during 1958/59 which have completed more than 145,000 accident-free hours. Although the decision to acquire the Advanced H Model of the Hercules to re-equip No 36 Squadron was announced on July 1 1976 the contract was only placed by the USAF recently with work starting in 1977 against earlier long lead contracts. 

November 28 1979  Tragedy struck with the loss of all 257 on board Air New Zealand McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 ZK-NZP operating Flight TE-901 on a scenic journey to Antarctica from Auckland. The aircraft had struck 12,448ft high Mount Erebus at an altitude of 1467ft. A series of legal proceedings took place, notably the Royal Commission conducted by Justice Peter Mahon which handed its report down on April 27 1981 exonerating the crew from blame.

April 3 1980  The impact of the revised Air Navigation Regulation 108a relating to the operation of historic or former military was highlighted by the addition of North American AT-6D Harvard VH-SNJ to the Australian Civil Aircraft Register. Numerous aircraft will be able to be admitted to the Register such as Australian-built Mustangs, Wirraways and Winjeels and a wide variety of overseas-built aircraft, as long as they comply with the criteria set out in the Regulation. This legislation was the catalyst for the huge expansion in the Australian warbird/vintage aircraft community.

October 20 1981  The selection of the McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet as the RAAF’s New Tactical Fighter to replace the Mirage was announced by Defence Minister, James Killen. The cost of the 75 Hornets including some configurational changes, test and training equipment and spares support will be $2.43 billion expressed in August 1981 dollars. First delivery is expected before the end of 1984. The first two Hornets will be built in the US with the remainder assembled at GAF Avalon with a delivery rate of 1.5 aircraft per month. 

June 30 1982  The RAAF retired its Canberra bombers when four aircraft from No 2 Squadron conducted a farewell flypast over Brisbane and surrounding regions. Initially introduced into RAAF use in 1953, Canberras flew operational missions in Malaya against guerillas and later in the Vietnam War. Production of 48 Mk 20 versions was undertaken by the Government Aircraft Factory in Melbourne joined by a variety of British-built examples in RAAF service. Former Canberra units No 1 and 6 Squadrons transitioned temporarily to leased USAF F-4E Phantom IIs pending F-111 deliveries. 

June 10 1983  The Boeing 767 entered Australian service following the arrival of Ansett Airlines 767-277 VH-RMD in Sydney concluding a delivery flight from Seattle via Honolulu and Port Moresby. Ansett is the only carrier to receive a 767 with a three-crew configured flight deck. A media flight was arranged on the previous day on Ansett 727-277 VH-RMO to Port Moresby to meet the 767. The journey to Sydney was commanded by Ansett’s Flight Development Manager Captain Mal Wheaton with two other pilots and three flight engineers. 

October 9 1984  Minister for Defence, Gordon Scholes and Minister for Defence Support, Brian Howe, jointly announced Cabinet’s decision in principle selecting the Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk to fill the RAN’s Role Adaptable Weapon System serving on the Navy’s FFG Class frigates. The estimated cost of eight helicopters with sensors and weapons systems is $317m at April 1984 prices. The original RAN request for 18 helicopters has been progressively reduced to the present number. The first Seahawk will be delivered in flyaway form with the remainder assembled by Hawker de Havilland.

May 1985  In an effort to sell 22 “white tail” Nomads (14 N22s and eight N24s) which remain unsold and in storage, GAF has announced the latest and final version to entice buyers. The Nomad N22 was recertificated as the Nomad N22C offering an increased payload with a new 4070kg MTOW, a strengthened undercarriage together with other improvements. If sales don’t eventuate it’s possible the aircraft could provide a further batch to the Army or through 1986 be gifted to Pacific and Asian neighbours. 

August 4 1986  Trans-Australia Airlines announced it will change its name to Australian Airlines and the completely new livery for the renamed airline will be introduced when the first of 12 Boeing 737-300 on order is delivered in July, the name change effective in August. The new aircraft will be operated in a 112 seat three class configuration and is being obtained primarily as a replacement for its DC-9-30s.

July 10 1987  In a major change of engine provider, Qantas announced in July that it would select General Electric engines for its forthcoming Boeing 767-300s, ending an association extending beyond 40 years with Pratt & Whitney. Qantas has one 767-300ER on order with options on a further six. Although Roll-Royce engines have been chosen for the four Boeing 747-400s on firm order General Electric could win selection for the 15 on option. GE had been actively seeking selection by Qantas since their CF6-80C2 gained certification in 1985.

October 12-16 1988  The Australian Bicentennial Air Show was held in perfect weather conditions at RAAF Richmond attended by an estimated 250,000 people, arranged as part of Australia’s Bicentennial celebrations. Civil and military aircraft attended from several overseas countries in addition to major Australian contributions. Spirited displays by a wide variety of aircraft against a clear blue sky delighted the crowd. It was a major world-class, well-organised aviation event of a size not previously held in Australia.

August 16-17 1989  A world civil aircraft record was established by Qantas Boeing 747-438 VH-OJA *City of Canberra** Flight QF741 from London on a non-stop flight to Sydney. The 17,953km (11,156 miles) distance was covered in 20 hours 9 minutes 5 seconds. To conserve fuel, the 747 was towed to the end of the runway before takeoff. The aircraft was commanded by Captain David Massey-Green, Qantas 747-400 Project pilot with Qantas Captains Ray Heiniger, Rob Greenop and George Lindeman and Boeing Captain Chet Chester plus two cabin crew with 16 passengers. 

October 31 1990   Australia’s restrictive Two Airline Policy ended at midnight October 30, the vastly improved new era of deregulation with all its benefits commenced on October 31 offering carriers the ability to establish their fleet needs, fares, routes and frequencies. New carriers emerged, some failed, others amalgamated. The number of passengers carried has increased dramatically as has the number of operators and airliners in service.

December 20 1991  Compass Airlines set up in 1990 as the third major domestic operator collapsed when talks with possible investors failed, leading to leasing companies seizing its five Airbus A300B4-605R aircraft over the weekend of December 21/22. Speaking at a business lunch in Adelaide, earlier in the year, Compass Airlines CEO Bryan Grey said deregulation is, “a bit of a myth; it was never meant to work”. He said that although deregulation enabled Compass to compete with Ansett and Australian, terminal access was a continuing problem.

September 14 1992  Settlement of the merger of Qantas and Australian Airlines took place when Qantas paid $400 million for the entire Australian Airlines group. A trade sale of 49 per cent of the merged airline is offered to major institutional investors with a foreign ownership limit set at 35 per cent. The remaining 51 per cent of the shares and any unsold trade portion will be later offered in a public share offer expected around April 1993. The new combined airline with a fleet of over 120 aircraft will operate under the Qantas name. 

May 22 1993  An auction was held at Bankstown of 36 of 37 CT-4A Airtrainers which had served with the disbanded RAAF No 1 FTS, based at Point Cook. The aircraft have flown from 1320 to 5882 hours. The absent aircraft from the sale was the initial example A19-027 which entered RAAF service, now repainted in its original colours and presented to the RAAF Museum. All aircraft sold in brisk bidding achieving prices from $42,000 to $69,500.

May 3 1994  Ansett Australia revealed details of its international aspirations. Services will be conducted with a five year dry lease of two Boeing 747-312s with a third on option with heavy maintenance performed in Singapore. Deliveries of the two aircraft from Singapore saw VH-INJ initially arrive in Sydney and then to Melbourne on August 29 followed by VH-INH directly to Melbourne on September 3. International services launched on September 4 with VH-INJ operating flight AN881 carrying 160 passengers from Sydney to Osaka.

August 1 1995  Defence Minister, Robert Ray announced it was highly likely that GAF Nomads will be retired from ADF service as they are unable to perform their operational tasks, concurring with an Army and RAAF report which outlined concerns regarding the safety and economy of the aircraft coupled with a lack of confidence expressed by pilots. For the present the aircraft will remain grounded. The Army Nomads have not flown since November 1994 after pilot refusal to fly them following accidents. Dry leased Bandeirantes and Twin Otters are in ADF use as short-term replacements.

November 11 1996  Minister for Defence Ian McLachlan announced the selection of the British Aerospace Hawk 100 as the next Lead-In Fighter trainer for the RAAF with a order of up to 40 aircraft. Chosen under the Project AIR 5367 requirement the aircraft will provide introductory fighter pilot training leading to the F/A-18 and F-111 fast combat jets. The Hawks will replace the Macchi MB-326Hs. An initial purchase of 12 UK-built Hawks will see the remainder assembled at Newcastle Airport by BAE partner Hunter Aerospace.

January 17 1997  Kaman Seasprites have been ordered by Australia and by New Zealand. The RAN and Department of Defence announced the selection of 11 Kaman SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite to equip eight new ANZAC frigates.  The RAN Seasprites will  be upgraded from surplus USN SH-2Fs with new engines and electronics and will be equipped for the maritime role with the Kongsberg AGM-119B Penguin Mk 2 Mod 7 medium-range, IR guided air-to-surface missiles. On March 11 New Zealand Defence Minister Paul East said that four refurbished SH-2G will be purchased plus two options.

March 29 1998  Sydney Airport implemented a slot management scheme on March 29 to comply with the Federal Government’s Sydney Airport Demand Management Act 1997, capping runway movements at no more than 80 per hour, administrated by Airport Coordination Australia. Airlines are required to submit their schedules five months in advance. An enticement to adhere to allocated slot times is a “use it or loose it” provision which could see airlines and other operators who fail to use their allocated slot at least 80% of the time face fines or loss of slots. 

July 21 1999  The Minister for Defence, John Moore, announced Boeing is the preferred tenderer to supply seven aircraft for the RAAF’s Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft (AEW&C) for Project Wedgetail (AIR 5077). The deal expected to exceed $2bn will use of the Boeing 737-700IGW (increased Gross Weight) commercial airliner with a Northrop Grumman Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar installation mounted above the rear fuselage forward of the fin. Delivery of the first two aircraft assembled in the USA is scheduled during 2004/5 with the other five “green” airframes modified in a special facility at RAAF Amberley. 

November 29 2000  Qantas announced the largest fleet decision in its history with an $8.5bn order for 31 aircraft in the first stage of its long term fleet plan. Airbus received an order for 12 A3XXs and 13 A330s comprising a mix of -200 and -300 versions while Boeing received an order for six Longer-Range 747-400s. Qantas became one of the joint launch customers for the A3XX and the launch customer for the Longer- Range 747-400. Options have placed for an undisclosed number of the three types. 

September 14 2001  Ansett Australia and its subsidiaries were grounded following an announcement at 0200 hours local time from the administrator, Peter Hedge, of PricewaterhouseCoopers to suspend immediately all flight operations. Included in the decision were Ansett Australia, Ansett International, Aeropelican Air Services, Hazelton Airlines, Kendall Airlines and Skywest Airlines. This news came at the end of that terrible week when on September 11 four airliners were hijacked during flights in the United States and used as weapons of destruction. Thousands of lives were lost, on the ground and on board the aircraft following these tragic events which were to have a lasting major impact on civil aviation around the world.

October 27 2002  Qantas low cost subsidiary Australian Airlines with an initial fleet of four Boeing 767-300s commenced operations. Its operational base will be Cairns linking services to Osaka, Fukuoka, Taipei, Hong Kong and Osaka. International passengers are offered a daily flight between Cairns and the Gold Coast. It will eventually fly to all mainland capital cities. The two inaugural flights from Cairns were Flight AO7959 to Nagoya operated by Boeing 767-338ER VH-OGJ and AO7913 with 767-338ER VH-OGI to Osaka. 

September 17 2003  Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey announced the launch of its new international division, Pacific Blue Airlines based in Christchurch, New Zealand, highlighted with arrival of a new Boeing 737-800 in the airline’s livery. Operating new Boeing 737-800s the first service is scheduled to commence on February 1 2004 with a daily Christchurch to Brisbane service, followed later by flights from New Zealand to other major Australian destinations and domestic services within New Zealand, subject to gaining government approvals.

May 25 2004  Jetstar launched services with its inaugural flight to Melbourne with Flight JQ371 operated by 717-231 VH-VQI, from its Newcastle maintenance base for its 14 Boeing 717s. From July, Airbus A320s will commence flights and the airline expects to eventually have an all Airbus fleet with 23 A320s within the next 12-18 months. In the interim it’s using 717s previously in QantasLink service. The Jetstar livery was applied to VH-VQI at RAAF Richmond and flown to Newcastle on April 27. Kept under wraps it was flown to Sydney on May 9 for a media unveilling the next day.

April 2 2005  Six RAN and three RAAF personnel were lost in the crash of RAN Sea King N16-100 callsign “Shark 02” from No 817 Squadron based  at Nowra. The helicopter had been operating from HMAS *Kanimbla** and crashed prior to landing on the Indonesian island of Nias in an effort to give aid to the earthquake stricken village of Amandraya.  Australian Defence Force aircraft gave assistance following the devastating tsunami which struck on Boxing Day 2004 with a tragic loss of about 230,000 dead or missing across a wide expanse of countries. Operation Sumatra Assist saw ADF aircraft and leased civil transports aiding devastated areas, augmented by a significant USAF/USN/USMC presence. 

March 3 2006  At RAAF Richmond with USAF C-17 55146 *Spirit of Hawaii – Ke Aloha** flown in for the occasion, Defence Minister, Dr Brendan Nelson announced the selection of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III to satisfy the ADF requirement for a strategic heavylift transport aircraft. A minimum of three aircraft will be sought with a $2bn contract with the USAF through a Foreign Military Sale contract. The Globemaster IIIs will initially equip a flight within No 36 Squadron prior to a relocation to RAAF Amberley in 2008. 

October 25 2007  The Airbus A380 entered worldwide airline service on October 25 with Singapore Airlines inaugural Flight SQ380 operated by A380-841 9V-SKA from Singapore to Sydney with a 5:24pm arrival greeted by a large enthusiastic crowd. Seats on the charity/VIP/media flight were auctioned on eBay raising nearly Sing$2m for charity. After returning on October 26 to Singapore after an overnight stop in Sydney the same aircraft returned to Sydney as SQ221 on October 29 on its first RPT service. 

January 10 2008  The first official flight between Australia and the Antarctic with passengers was carried out on January 10 following a successful landing on December 10 2007 of the Skytraders Airbus A319-115LR VH-VHD on the new 4000m blue ice runway at the Wilkins base followed by regular operations on December 13. Flights are made between Hobart and Wilkins to support the Australian Antarctic Division during the summer months. The Skytraders A319 is the only twin-engined commercial aircraft operating regular services to Antarctica.

July 8 2009  The first RAAF Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet, A44-201 (USN 167957) was revealed in a ceremony at the company’s St Louis, Missouri plant on July 8 with Chief of Air Force AIRMSHL Mark Binskin leading a RAAF attendance together with1500 Boeing personnel headed by Jim Albaugh, president of Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems. The first of 24 F/A-18Fs for the RAAF is the 394th Super Hornet built out of 441 on current order for the USN and RAAF.

December 3 2010  The F-111 was retired from RAAF service on December 3 when F-111C A8-125 landed at RAAF Amberley ending over 37 years of service. The first delivery took place when Group Captain Jake Newham in A8-125 led a group of six F-111Cs departing from the Sacremento Air Logistics Centre (part of McClellan AFB), on May 26 1973 arriving in Amberley on June 1 via stops at Honolulu and Pago Pago. 

May 4 2011  Virgin Blue was rebranded as Virgin Australia with the first two aircraft repainted in the airline’s new livery, Boeing 737-81D VH-YFC *Bondi Beach** and Airbus A330-243 VH-XFB Cable Beach** arriving from Christchurch and Kuala Lumpur/Subang respectively where the new liveries had been painted. Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and CEO John Borghetti were on hand to participate in the launch of the fresh identity. They confirmed the Virgin Australia name will be applied to both Pacific Blue and V Australia operations by the end of the year.

April 22 2012  Qantas Airbus A380-842, VH-OQA *Nancy-Bird Walton**, returned to Sydney as QF32 after major repairs completed in Singapore. It was a symbolic conclusion, completing the flight which began from Singapore on November 4 2010 suffering an uncontained failure in the number two engine soon after takeoff precipitating a challenging sequence of events. Skillful handling by the experienced Qantas crew led by Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny led to a safe landing despite the significant damage sustained by the aircraft.

March 31 2013  The major alliance between Qantas and Emirates commenced with inaugural flights to London via Dubai, with QF9 from Melbourne operated by A380-842 VH-OQI and QF1 from Sydney with A380-842 VH-OQJ. The hub for Qantas flights to Europe has moved to Dubai from Singapore and saw the severing of the Joint Service Agreement between Qantas and British Airways. Qantas’ codeshare on the wide-ranging Emirates network from Dubai to Europe will end its services to Frankfurt and cease codeshares with Cathay Pacific and Air France. 

April 23 2014  Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced government approval to purchase an additional 58 Lockheed Martin F-35A lightning IIs allowing the replacement of the RAAF’s 71 F/A-18A/B Hornets, adding to the 14 aircraft approved in 2009 by the previous Labor government. The 72 aircraft will equip four squadrons with 15 F-35As each with the remaining 12 proving a maintenance and attrition reserve. Deliveries will see No 3 Squadron the first to convert to the F-35A in 2018 followed by 2OCU in 2020, 77 Squadron in 2022 and 75 Squadron the following year. 

July 29 2015  The first of 12 Boeing EA-18G Growlers for the RAAF, A46-301, was rolled out at the company’s St.Louis, Missouri plant on July 29 with newly retired Chief of the Air Force Geoff Brown representing his successor Air Marshall Leo Davies at the ceremony. Australia is the first country other than the US to take delivery of the Growler. All 12 Growlers ordered are due to fly to Australia during 2017 for operation with No 6 Squadron. 

October 27 2016  The kangaroo returns to its place beneath the cockpit window, reviving a tradition introduced on the first Qantas Consolidated Liberator, G-AGKT, at Archerfield airport in October 1944. This is one of the changes that Qantas revealed in its new livery, intended as a refresh in advance of the arrival of the Boeing 787 in October 2017. The typography for Qantas has changed and the airline’s name will appear prominently underneath the fuselage. The first aircraft in the new format, Airbus A33-303 VH-QPJ was unveiled to assembled quests at the Qantas Jet Base in Sydney.

May 2 2017  Sydney Airport announced it had advised the Commonwealth Government it has not accepted the offer in the Notice of Intention (NOI) to develop and operate the Western Sydney Airport (WSA). This saw the Turnbull government committed to constructing the Badgerys Creek site for the WSA at an estimated cost of over $5bn. The government will build and own the airport on 1700 hectares about 50km from the Sydney CBD. Construction will see a 3700m runway and terminal in use by 2026. These decisions have brought decades of countless discussions about a location for Sydney’s second airport to an end.