
January 1955 to March 1960
Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA)
VH-TVE - c/n 48 - a V.720 series Viscount
Australia registered
June 1952
This was the fifth Type 720 of six ordered by Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA).
The total value of the order was £1,934,000 including spare parts.
Production Aircraft No. 45 - the 45th production Type 700 series Viscount built,
was the 11th Viscount fuselage assembled at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England,
and the 20th Viscount assembled at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
Production Order No. F05/720. Sales Order No. F05/88A. Stock Order No. F17/21B.
27 April 1954
Fuselage assembly commenced at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
12 June 1954
Fuselage to Erecting Shop 'E' at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
22 June 1954
Registered to Australian National Airlines Commission trading as Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA).
23 December 1954
First flight from Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
12 January 1955
Departed from Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England on delivery to Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA) named as 'Charles Sturt'.
It was fitted with Rolls-Royce Dart RDa3 Mark 506 engines.
Charles Sturt was born in Bengal, British India 1n 1795 and sailed to Australia in 1827 with a consignment of convicts. In 1828 he started to explore the area of the Macquarie River in western New South Wales. The courses of the Macquarie, Bogan and Castlereagh rivers had been followed and the Darling River had therefore been discovered. Several other expeditions took place at later dates. He died in 1869.
Charles Sturt
21 January 1955
Arrived at Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
2 February 1955
Entered TAA service.
circa 1957
Converted to Type 720C standard with a revised cockpit layout that included replacing the slatted direct vision windows, paddle type propeller blades and propeller synchronisation equipment.
30 April 1957
Landed at Townsville, Queensland, Australia with the nose undercarriage leg still retracted resulting in shockload damage to the propellers and Rolls-Royce Dart engines and lower fuselage skin in the nose area.
The actuating jack had become detached from the undercarriage leg due to metal fatigue in an attachment component.
There were no reported injuries to the 43 passengers and 4 crew on board.
Repaired and returned to service.
August 1958
Awarded a plaque by Vickers-Armstrongs to commemorate the fact that this was the first TAA aircraft to reach 10,000 hours. It was also the first TAA aircraft to reach 20,000 hours. This plaque still exists in the TAA museum in Melbourne, Australia.
6 March 1960
Dry leased (i.e. without crews) to ANSETT-ANA.
TAA received two Douglas DC-6B (VH-INH and VH-INU) on lease from ANSETT-ANA to cover the leasing of three Viscounts. The other two were VH-TVC (C/N 46) and VH-TVF (C/N 49).
This arrangement was imposed upon TAA by the Australian Government through its Department of Civil Aviation and certainly favoured ANSETT-ANA in having the use of more modern aircraft and was known as the 'Two Airlines Agreement'.
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