February 1962 to November 1969
ANSETT-ANA
VH-RML - c/n 319 - a V.818 series Viscount
Australia registered
February 1962
Purchased from Compañía Cubana de Aviación S.A. via a broker.
Details please to information@vickersviscount.net
The hand over of this aircraft was delayed until March 1962 due to the late arrival of the replacement Soviet built aircraft. The hand over was originally scheduled to take place at Rancho-Boyeros Airport, Havana, Cuba which couldn't be agreed and then Miami International Airport, Florida, USA which was also not possible for politcal reasons, so Nassau Airport, Bahamas became the third choice.
Ansett-ANA representatives including senior lawyer Theo Moss and the ferry crew had arrived in Nassau in February and had to wait there for nearly a month having already spent some time in Miami, Florida, USA.
8 March 1962
Registered to Ansett-ANA.
Registered address: - Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria.
ANA stands for Australian National Airways.
9 March 1962
Acceptance flight of 2 hours 25 minutes carried out by an Ansett-ANA crew.
Ferried from Havana to Nassau Airport, Bahamas where it was officially handed over to Ansett-ANA and the legal paperwork completed. The ferry Captain was Jack Ellis, who had previously flown with Ansett.
One of the Cuban ferry crew defected in Nassau and claimed political asylum with the Bahamian authorities which put the Ansett-ANA representatives in an awkward situation for a time.
11 March 1962
Departed Nassau, Bahamas on delivery via Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada - Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada - Sondrestrom Air Force Base (Bluie West), Greenland - Keflavik, Iceland - Heathrow, London, England - Rome, Italy - Ellinikon, Athens, Greece - Damascus, Syria - Bahrain, Persian Gulf - Karachi, Pakistan - Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India - Calcutta, India - Bangkok, Thailand - Saigon, Vietnam - Zamboanga, Philippines - Biak, Dutch East Indies (now part of Indonesia) - Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.
The Ansett delivery crew consisted of Captains Kenneth (Ken) Ashmead, Donald (Don) McKinley and Edward (Ted) Smith, Navigator William (Bill) C Kennedy and Engineer Ray Hudson.
The original delivery route from Nassau was planned to Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada but due to strong headwinds the route was changed to Moncton, New Brunswick and then Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. They arrived at Goose Bay Airport during a heavy snow storm and landed with the assistance of a GCA (Ground Control Approach) provided by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
During the refuelling operation at Keflavik Airport, Iceland there was a problem with one of the wing fuel bladder bags leaking due to a faulty connection which required temporary repairs which ensured that there was enough fuel to reach London where the problem could be properly resolved.
13 March 1962
Arrived at London Airport (later known as Heathrow), Middlesex, England where the defective fuel bladder bag was removed and sent to the manufacturer for repairs.
The arrival was eventful as the radio communication button jammed on which cut out all radio transmissions from the control tower for a while until the fault was noted.
16 March 1962
Departed from London Airport (later known as Heathrow), Middlesex, England after successful repairs to the defective wing fuel bladder bag.
Syrian Air Force Mig fighters were scrambled during their flight over Syria and Royal Thai Air Force North American F-100 Super Sabres were scrambled during their flight over Thailand.
The weather radar failed while they were flying over New Guinea.
22 March 1962
Arrived at Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The total flying time on delivery was 59 hours 30 minutes.
Total time 4,692:33 hours.
24 May 1962
Flight tested after maintenance, modifications and a repaint in full Ansett-ANA livery.
27 May 1962
First entered service with Ansett-ANA.
Originally configured with 52 seats which was later increased to 63 seats.
22 December 1962
Total time 6,131:29 hours.
18 April 1966
Made an emergency landing at Eagle Farm Airport, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia with the nose undercarriage steering system inoperative.
The flight had originated from Mount Isa Airport, Queensland with a stop at Longreach Airport, Queensland.
During the takeoff from Longreach the nose undercarriage steering failed resulting in a heavy vibration but the crew maintained directional control and continued to Brisbane where they declared an emergency.
After a normal landing the front of the aircraft veered off the intersection of two runways onto the grass, again with heavy vibration and thick tyre smoke.
After coming to a halt everyone on board evacuated the aircraft down rear slides and also from the overwing emergency windows.
There were no reported injuries to the passengers and crew but the aircraft sustained serious damage due to excessive vibration, including the tailplane leading edges, instruments and the weather radar.
John McKnoulty was a passenger on the flight as part of a 'Cobb & Co' cricket tour and took some photos after he had evacuated the aircraft (see the photo section for this aircraft).
Repaired and returned to service.
30 July 1968
Total time 8,078:18 hours.
23 January 1969
Total time 9,119:52 hours.
10 July 1969
Total time 10,084:06 hours.
25 November 1969
Title transferred to Ansett Transport Industries (Operations) Pty.
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