Raaf Preparing to Lease New VIP Aircraft The RAAF is in the formative stages of preparing to replace its ageing VIP fleet. The duties of providing executive transport to the Government and visiting heads of state belong to Fairbairn-based No. 34 Squadron (refer p67, Jan 86 AA) which operates a fleet of HS 748 turboprops,

Douglas Aircraft have almost disappeared from Australian skies as the company has lost round after round of new airliner acquisitions to its competitors at Boeing and Airbus. A handful of aging DC9-30’s now being phased out by Australian Airlines are the last of a huge fleet of Douglas aircraft which once dominated Australian airline fleets.

Jim Thorn interviews JAKE NEWHAM At a time when the RAAF is taking into inventory some of the most potent hardware that it has ever operated, the Service is also facing a critical manpower problem of unprecedented proportions. To ascertain the background of this problem and to discuss broadly the operational equipment requirements of the

10 Years Ago • Concorde 201 on a proving fight from Toulouse flown by a joint Air France and British Airways crew, made the first landing for the type at John F Kennedy Airport on 17 October. Regular services began on 22 November with premium being charged for the route. • The Chinese Government has