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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1291.PDF
fLIGHT International, 25 July 1963 117 first of a long line of BAC One-Elevens for United States operators taking shape at Hum. The photograph shows the fuselage of Braniff International Airways' first One-Eleven as it entered the joining-up jig on July 4. The wing for this aircraft is now out of the jig at Luton AMERICAN ORDERS ONE-ELEVENS THOSE overworked words "sales break-through" can perhaps justifiably be applied to the American Airlines order, announced on July 17, fcr 15 British Aircraft Corporation One-Elevens with an option on 15 more. It is the sort of order that will add more than 15 aeroplanes to the BAC order book. Obviously, the order is la tremendous blow to Douglas, whose decision last March to build the DC-9 was a deliberate gamble on an order from American Airlines, who at that time were close to ordering the One-Eleven. (Mr C. R. Smith of AA did not, as somebody remarked, visit England twice just to see the Changing of the Guard.) Douglas are committed to DC-9 production. Both Delta and Bonanza have ordered DC-9s, respectively 15 and three, though it is believed that the Delta order, at its letter of intent stage anyway, was conditional on a DC-9 order from American. There has been speculation that Douglas may now halt the DC-9 programme, but this is almost certainly not possible now. American will receive their first One-Eleven in July 1965, and the order for 15 will be completed in that year. Delivery of the DC-9 could have been possible approximately one year later (although BAC had a two-year lead on Douglas, the One-Eleven order book at the present production rate is such that delivery dates of the two aircraft are much closer). Delivery date was important to American, though more as a matter of organization than of competition. Since 1958 AA's re-equipment organization has been handling one new type after another—Electra, 707-120, Convair 990, 720 and, shortly, the '27. The last-named type will have been absorbed by mid- "65 in time for the prompt and smooth absorption of a short-range jet. American's One-Elevens will take over about half the work at Present done by the airline's 24 Electras, the other half of the Elec-tf as' job being handled by 727s. Most if not all of the airline's 40- odd DC-6s and DC-6Bs will eventually give way to the One-Eleven. American is a big airline, and the figure of 40 as the probable eveatual requirement for One-Elevens could well be conservative. In making the technical choice between the One-Eleven and the D C-9, American carried out what must have been one of the most exhaustive technical analyses in the history of this innovating Airline. Having had some bitter experience with the Electra and e[Convair 990, American were obviously in no mood to take a echmcal chance on what is, after all, an imported foreign product. hey have now not only decided on this foreign product, but ave d°ne so when the alternative was a US product from the |enowned and respected transport builder Douglas, whose associa tions with American Airlines go back to the DC-3. This is the first time that American, or indeed any of the big four US operators, have ordered a British aircraft; and it is the first time that a British airliner has been sold in America when an alternative American product was available. The order amounts to a tremen dously important expression of confidence in BAC, and it is this as much as AA's approval of the technical merit of the aeroplane which is so important to BAC, whose biggest problem may now be to handle all the customers. Of special significance is American's decision to buy the air craft with Rolls-Royce Spey engines rather than the JT8D-5s, the alternative Pratt & Whitney powerplant. Bearing in mind that American have already a large commitment to the JT8D engine, powerplant of the 25 Boeing 727s they have on order, it says much for the Spey that it has been chosen. Obviously it must be sub stantially more economic than the heavier (derated 727 engine) JT8D-5. More important to American than delivery date will have been the fact that, by the time they receive first One-Eleven deliveries, about 40 aircraft will already have been in service with seven operators. The version of the One-Eleven selected by AA is the Series 401, the less-than-80,0001b (two-pilot) version which was recently an nounced by BAC, being intended primarily to meet North American requirements. It is probable that this version's lift dumpers and high-capacity brakes were incorporated in the first instance to meet American's requirements for good airport performance, New York La Guardia being a particularly difficult limiting requirement. In general it has been airport rather than sector limitations which have been the more closely scrutinized by American in choosing a short-range jet. The order, excluding spares, is said to be worth about £14m to BAC. To this American will have to add US duty, though even with this included the total cost is unlikely to be more than, and would probably be less than, the £16Jm cost of 15 DC-9s. Interest now centres on the choice of TCA, an airline which has been almost as strongly courted as American by the rival manufac turers. As is well known, Douglas have completed production and financing arrangements with de Havilland Canada for production of DC-9 components, a move obviously intended, among other things, to better the prospects of a TCA order for the DC-9. Mr Gordon McGregor, TCA's president, said about a month ago that TCA's initial order for either the DC-9 or BAC One-Eleven will not be as much as had been rumoured and will probably not exceed six or seven aeroplanes.
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