The story of the Airbus starts as early as 1965, when the concept of a short to medium range, wide-bodied European airliner was first mooted. Initial discussions were held between British and French representatives with a view to designing a high-capacity aircraft for British European Airways (BEA) and Air France. Similar studies werewere also underway in West Germany for Lufthansa, so these two projects were brought together. The first agreements were made in 1966 and on 26 September 1967 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the governments of Great Britain, France and West Germany to develop the Airbus A300 (300 being the number of planned seats in the aircraft). the number of planned seats in the aircraft).

28 October 2012 is the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Airbus A300. Chris Wood takes a look at the aircraft that spawned a whole new family of commercial aircraft and challenged the American dominance of the world’s airliner market. airliner market.

Having leased an A300B4 from Hapag-Lloyd for the 1986 summer season (G-BMNA), Dan Air then purchased the first A300B4 built (no 9, G-BMNB) for 1987 and followed it with the second one (no 12, G-BMNC) in 1988. 'NC is seen here at Tenerife-South on 30 July 1990, being turned around for the return flight to Gatwick (Chris Wood)

The Airbus A300 at 40

The story of the Airbus starts as early as 1965, when the concept of a short to medium range, wide-bodied European airliner was first mooted. Initial discussions were held between British and French representatives with a view to designing a high-capacity aircraft for British European Airways (BEA) and Air France. Similar studies werewere also underway in West Germany for Lufthansa, so these two projects were brought together. The first agreements were made in 1966 and on 26 September 1967 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the governments of Great Britain, France and West Germany to develop the Airbus A300 (300 being the number of planned seats in the aircraft). the number of planned seats in the aircraft).

governments starting expressing doubts about the aircraft, and its sales potential, so, in late 1968, Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley proposed a smaller version known as the A300B. This would carry 252 passengers, have a maximum take-off weight of 125 tons and be powered by General Electric (GE) CF6-50 engines. Using the GE engine hadhad the advantages of reducing development costs (it was already being developed for the Douglas DC-10) and potentially making the aircraft more attractive to American customers. The British government was not happy about this and, in March 1969, it withdrew from the project. Hawker Siddeley, however, stayed in, going on to design and manufacture the wing. design and manufacture the wing.

The partners in the new project were to be Sud Aviation of France, the project leader, Deutsche Airbus of West Germany and Britain’s Hawker Siddeley. The costs were to be shared with France and Britain paying 37.5% each and West Germany 25%. The proposed powerplant was a new engine being developed by Rolls-Royce, the RB207,RB207, so engine costs were to be split with Britain paying 75% and France and West Germany 12.5% each. The aircraft was expected to carry 306 passengers, be powered by two 50,000lb thrust RB207s and have a maximum take-off weight of 149.7 tons.

However, both the British and French

Having leased an A300B4 from Hapag-Lloyd for the 1986 summer season (G-BMNA), Dan Air then purchased the first A300B4 built (no 9, G-BMNB) for 1987 and followed it with the second one (no 12, G-BMNC) in 1988. 'NC is seen here at Tenerife-South on 30 July 1990, being turned around for the return flight to Gatwick (Chris Wood)

The Airbus A300 at 40

SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE MUSEUMAFB Ysterplaat

The SAAF Museum's magnificent Avro Shackleton MR.3 'Pelican 22'

The South African Air Force Museum has a large collection of aircraft spilt between several sites throughout the country. Paul Dunn visits the museum at AFB Ysterplaat, in the suburbs of Cape Town.

The SAAF Museum was established in 1973 to preserve and restore aircraft and other artefacts from the history of the air arm. The museum is headquartered at AFB Swartkop, where the majority of its collection is displayed. In addition, smaller collectionscollections are open to the public at AFB Ysterplaat and Port Elizabeth Airport. The facility at Ysterplaat is in fact the second largest military aviation museum in the country, although much of its collection is not on regular public display.

AFB Ysterplaat is located to the north east of Cape Town's city centre. It was originally a civilian airfield known as Maitland, which was taken over by the SAAF as AFS Brooklyn at the outbreak of WWII; the airfield received its current name in 1949.

YsterplaatYsterplaat has long been associated with maritime operations and remains an active SAAF base, home to two units with an 'over-water' role. Of these, 22 Sqn is a helicopter unit, operating the Westland Lynx and Atlas Oryx in conjunction with the SA Navy.Navy. Fixed wing maritime patrol is provided by 35 Sqn, an operator of the C-47TP Turbo Dakota.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE MUSEUMAFB Ysterplaat

The South African Air Force Museum has a large collection of aircraft spilt between several sites throughout the country. Paul Dunn visits the museum at AFB Ysterplaat, in the suburbs of Cape Town.

40 years ago, on 1 October 1972, the airline then known as Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) was split in two, with one element becoming Singapore Airlines (SIA). The division prompted a rapid expansion that in December 2010 saw SIA credited with being the second largest airline in the world when measured in terms of market capitalisation.

Karl Drage and Doug Green look back at the Singapore Airlines story. Images as credited.

Years of40

Image - Karl Drage

Origins

From 1936, Wearne's Air Services linked half a dozen Peninsula Malayan cities with various de Havilland Moth and multi-engined types, curtailed by WW2. MalayanMalayan Airways had come into being in 1947 using Airspeed Consuls, expanding with DC-3s to serve Indonesia, Vietnam, North Borneo (the present East Malaysia), Burma and Thailand.

Singapore's potential as a regional trading hub was recognised early in the nineteenth century, its location the catalyst for meteoric growth as a commercial centre. This prominence made Singapore the obvious choice for HQ, setting the tone of the ongoing working relationship with its neighbour to the north. In 1958 Malayan took over Beaver operator Federation Air Service and before long the DC-3s

Excellence

In last month’s competition we wanted to see your F-18 Hornet pictures. The winning image above was selected by Captain Ralph “Deasy” Knittel, the current Swiss Air Force F/A-18 Hornet Display Pilot. Here’s what Deasy had to say about Jim Simpson’s winning entry:

“Great Shot, good speed, nice cone!” - Deasy

To find out Deasy’s 2nd and 3rd placed shots, check out theHangar.tv

Our congratulations go to Jim who has won himself a 6-month GAM subscription.

IT COULD BE YOU NEXT!Global Aviation Magazine is giving members of THEHANGAR the

opportunity to see an image of theirs on the back cover of the October issue, as well as the chance to win a 6-month GAM subscription.

This time the theme is the Airbus A330! See THEHANGAR for more details.