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Aviation History
1965
1965 - 0149.PDF
••LIGHT International, 21 January 1965 85 AIB TRANSPORT DC-9 ROLLED OUT ON January 12, just 20 months after the project was given the go- ahead, the first Douglas DC-9 rolled off the Santa Monica produc- tion line 2£ weeks ahead of schedule. Closely behind was the second aircraft on the line looking nearly complete. The very short incubation period, even by present-day standards, is the more remarkable bearing in mind the co-ordination that had to be organized by Douglas with and between the seven widely dispersed major cost-sharing subcontractors, each entirely responsible for the design and manufacture of contracted portions of the aircraft. The first flight of the DC-9 is still planned for early March but, the makers say, could be made late in February. The roll-out of a new Douglas Commercial is always an event of great importance and this one was no exception. While the Long Beach Municipal Band played a stirring march the new short-hauler, the company's first since the DC-3 and resplendent ia the house livery of white with red and blue cheat-lines, was towed from the assembly hall to the flight hangar. Mr John C. Brizendine, Aircraft Division deputy general manager DC-9, described salient features of the design to some 600 guests and world Press representa- tives. Inside the hangar stewardesses from each of the airlines which have together ordered or hold options on a total of at least 100 DC-9s descended from the aircraft on its self-contained boarding stairs. As each emerged, Mr Brizendine introduced hostesses from Air Canada, Bonanza, Delta, Hawaiian, KLM, Swissair and TWA. Airframe details of the DC-9 revealed for the first time at the roll-out mainly concerned devices to ensure satisfactory stalling characteristics. This aspect of DC-9 development is obviously going to receive a lot of attention by Douglas and progress will be watched with great interest by airlines and airworthiness authorities. Apart from the recently announced increased tailplane area, the prototype is fitted with two underwing fences protruding beyond the leading edge and extending back to the beginning of the inward- sloping shroud of the double-slotted flaps. Called by Douglas "vortilons," the devices, appearing roughly in line with the tailplane tips, are intended to create turbulence and spoil lift to give positive pitch-downs at high incidence. The underwing position was probably chosen for minimum drag penalty. Flying controls on the DC-9 are basically similar to those on the DC-8—in other words manually operated servo tabs for pitch and roll and hydraulically operated rudder with trim tab. The elevator, attached to the high-mounted variable-incidence tailplane, is in two independent halves and, in addition to the inboard cable-operated servo tabs, has geared tabs outboard to provide an added mechanical advantage over elevator loads. The ailerons have trim tabs in addition to the manual servo tabs. The DC-9 flying trials programme is scheduled to take just over a year. The first deliveries to airlines and the type's commercial debut should be around the middle of next year. Decision on the Boeing 737 is expected before the end of this month. The primary factor in this decision, says Interavia, is the attitude of United Air Lines, the most important prospective customer. Braniff Airways' BAC One-Elevens are to be operated in a standard layout for all-coach-class operations with five-abreast seating and 36in pitch. Mr J. P. Delanney has been appointed general manager for UTA in the USA. Mr Delanney has been with UTA and its predecessor since 1958. Mr Max Edy, an ATC specialist with the Australian Department of Civil Aviation, has been appointed president of the Air Naviga- tion Commission of ICAO. London Heathrow handled 9,461,000 passengers and 187,500 aircraft movements in 1964. The passenger figure, which is provisional, shows a 15.6 per cent increase on the total for 1963. Two More CL-44s have, according to Aviation Daily, been ordered by the Flying Tiger Line for immediate delivery. This increases FTL's CL-44 fleet to 12. Two more of the 39 aircraft built by Canadair still remain to be sold (Flight, December 31, page 1107). Mr J. R. Sidebotham, formerly chief planning engineer ®f British United Airways, has been appointed assistant to the managing director, Mr F. A. Laker. The previous holder of this position, Mr A. Todd, is now cabin staff manager. Mr Christopher Spence, for seven years charter manager for BOAC in the USA, has joined British Eagle in a similar capacity to look after North America. Mr A. Trop, previously Eagle representa- tive for the Continent, is now manager, general services, N. America. Japan Air Lines Flights on Europe - Tokyo Routes will bs increased in 1965 from four to seven per week. Four of these will be over the Polar route and three via ths Middle and Far East. JAL will take over its 1 lth DC-8 this month and its first DC-8F shortly afterwards. Second Fokker F-27 for East-West Airlines of Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia, was handed over at Schiphol Airport earlier this month. A third F-27 has been ordered by East-West ("Flight," January 14, page 46)
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