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CPrestige aircraft
Inside the new BAC One-Eleven Help
Inside the new BAC One-Eleven
WRAPS OFF V.LP.
SQUADRON
Australia's most exclusive fleet
of aircraft was opened yesterday
for Press inspection — a marked
reversal of the secrecy that sur
rounded the aircraft last year.
The aircraft, of No 34 (VJP)
Squadron, RAAF, arc the BAC One
Eleven and Mysterc jels, the HS-748
and Viscount turbo-props, and the
piston-cngined Convair Metropolitan.
The flagship is the BAC One-Eleven
which arrived from England last week.
A second will arrive next month.
The One-Eleven is a miniature ver
sion of President Johnson's Boeing
707s. Twin VIP lounges and senior
executive seating occupy the forward
compartments and general staff are
accommodated at the rear.
The RAAF's One-Eleven is comfort
able, but not nearly as lavish as the
executive machine demonstrated
throughout Australia in 1966 by the
manufacturers.
Furnished in the squadron's interior
colour scheme of brown and gold, it
has three separate VIP compartments—
a main office for four, sleeping ac
commodation for two and seating in
an ante-compartment for four senior
advisers. There is staff seating for 16.
Gauges
Two galleys, a refrigerator and a
cocktail bar cater for passengers, while
the VJPS have work desks, filing cabi
nets and a multi-channel radio set for
music and news reception.
The main VIP lounge has an alti
meter, an air speed indicator and an
outside temperature gauge. "It saves
him having to ring the pilot up to find
out. and these are the things they al
ways seem to want to know", an
RAAF spokesman said. "It's a flying
office".
But if the One-Eleven is a flying
office, the: sleek, 56-foot-long Mystere
jets are flying sports cars. Twin 4.2001b
thrust General Electric jets push the
aircraft at more than 530mph, com
pared with 550mph from the 11,0001b
thrust of the Rolls-Royce Spcys driving
the One-Eleven.
Spartan inside — there are only eight
scats, four of them facing the rear —
the Mystere can climb to 20,000ft in
only three minutes. Work tables can
be installed between each pair of seats.
Workhorses
The workhorses of the fleet are the
two HS-748 turbo-props, which can be
adapted to convey eight passengers in
full VIP comfort, or up to 40 not so
VIPs. They have a top speed of 326
mph and a range of 2.000 miles.
But, despite the sleek comfort and
speed of the new machines, all less
than one year old, the most luxurious
aircraft in the squadron are still the
lurbo-prop. Vickcrs Viscounts, each
bought second-hand in 1964. One was
owned by the Shah of Iran and the
other by the Union Carbide Corpora
tion of the USA.
The former Imperial aircraft was the
one inspected yesterday. About as fast
as the HS-748s, it is the favourite air
craft of the Governor-General, Lord
Casey, and it was also preferred by the
late Prime Minister, Mr Holt.
The re-equipment programme, which
included the One-Elevens, Mysteres and
HS-748s, cost $21.6 million, more than
double the estimated price when the
aircraft were first ordered in 1965.
Most of the increase was caused by
having to buy maintenance equipment
and spare parts for the One-Elevens
and the Mysteres.
The Prime Minister's desk in the aircraft. Help
The Prime Minister's desk in the aircraft.
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