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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 2028.PDF
FUGHT International, 9 July 1964 51 Qantas Empire Airways on December 1, 1934. Again, the link-up with Imperial Airways—which owned half the shares in Qantas Empire Airways—was at Darwin. Four-engined DH.86s had been acquired before the link-up with Imperial Airways, though it was not until February 1935—because of an accident to a DH.86 in ANA service over the Tasman sea—that the Qantas share of the Australia - England route was extended with 86s to Singapore. Qantas had six DH.86s, and other de Havilland types operated were DH.90 Dragonflies and DH.84 Dragons (18 of the latter), flying the Brisbane - Darwin route and services in New Guinea. July 1938 saw the introduction of the first flying boats, aircraft which were to lay the foundations of the airline's development as an overseas operator. The first of these were seven 32-passenger Short 'C'-class Empire boats, cruising at 135 m.p.h. These boats at first operated the Sydney - London route as far as Singapore, later extending to Karachi. When the war came they were mobilized, making nearly 800 trips carrying troops to front-line stations and evacuating casualties. Most were shot down. In October 1947, the first of four Lockheed L.749 Constellations took over from Lancastrians and Liberators, and in December of that year Qantas opened the first all-the-way services to London. It is from that time that Qantas, by now Government-owned, developed into the international airline we know today. Qantas were one of the world's first international airlines to operate big jets, introducing Boeing 707-138s in April 1959. These aircraft differed from most other intercontinental jets in having 10ft shorter bodies, a shrewd judgment of unit capacity that has paid off, especially in the doldrums year of 1961. In a £A9m conversion programme carried out in 1961 all the JT3C-6 engines were modified to JT3D-1 fan standard, half of them in Sydney and the other half in the US by American Airlines. The cost of converting each JT3C-6 engine to JT3D-1 fan configuration was £A54,000. The additional cost of the quick engine-change unit averaged £A56,600 per engine, bringing a total cost per engine conversion up to £A110,000. The £A9m also included the air- frame modifications—full-span slats, 22in leading-edge extension, and the addition of rudder boost and increased fin area. All this produced a 707-138B aircraft of much improved performance, having a fuel consumption 15 per cent less than the 707-138s as originally delivered. It was money well spent. The name V-Jet was painted on the fins, and all four subsequent Qantas 707s, bringing the fleet up to 11, were of the 707-138B standard. Overhaul Hfe of the Pratt & Whitney JT3D-ls is now up to 3,4O0hr, and Supersonic signing: Qantas's chief executive Mr C. 0. Turner (seated left) recently celebrated 30 years with the airline. Now 57, he joined the company in 1934 as chief accountant, becoming chief executive in 1955. Qantas are an American-equipped airline, but last April they booked delivery positions on four BACjSud Concords. Others, seated from left to right in Qantas House, Sydney, are Sir Daniel McVey and Mr A. W. Millson, respectively chairman and managing director of British Aircraft Corporation (Australia); and from left to right standing; Messrs F. C. Derham, Qantas director of finance; P. W. Howson, director of technical services; R. J. Ritchie, deputy chief executive; and R. R. Shaw, technical development manager Qantas are expecting this to reach 4,000hr next year and 5,000hr eventually. In August and September Qantas will take delivery of two more 707-138Bs, and next year three mixed-traffic jets, for which an order was placed a few months ago, will be delivered. Seating configur- ation in these bigger 707-338C jets will be the same as in the present 138Bs, i.e., 20 first-class and 84 economy-class, the rest of the space being used for freight, large quantities of which are being moved on the Kangaroo route between London and Sydney, particularly eastbound. Cargo and mail (the latter, at 105d per ton-mile, being Qantas's highest-yield traffic) are at present being put into the aft passenger cabins of the 138s as well as in the belly holds. When you ask Qantas how 707 punctuality compares with that of the Super Constellation, you don't just get a general reply to the effect that it is much better. At the end of a day spent visiting the engineering base we got a typewritten sheet of paper with it all set out. Delays due to technical reasons in the last 12 month period: 8.2 per 100 departures compared with 13.9 for the Super Connie. Fan engine en route premature removal rate .02 per The round-the-world services are soon to be extended—probably in November—to include Mexico. Routing may be Bermuda, the Bahamas, Acapulco and Tahiti VANCOUVER SAN FRANCISCO HONG KONG MANILA DJAKARTA COCOS Is NOUMEA : FIJI NORFOLK Is. AUCKLAND 'WELLINGTON CHRISTCHURCH JOHANNESBURG PERTH, MELBOURNE
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