aviation - the past, present and future of flight

to the Series 2 which had the new more

powerful Dart 7 engine.

This new version of the aircraft required

some modi cations by the manufacturer

namely strengthening the wing and

undercarriage to obtain higher operating

weights.

After an initial evaluation, Dan-Air

purchased the second prototype, G-ARAY,

from Falcks Flyvetjeneste (Falck’s Air

Service) of Denmark. It was delivered to the

airline’s headquarters at Gatwick on May 1,

1971 and entered service on the Newcastle–

Kristiansand (Norway) route on May 18.

Prototypes often have an interesting

past and G-ARAY was no exception. It

was demonstrated to many airlines around

the world and carried a variety of colour

schemes. The Queen’s Flight, then based

at RAF Benson, used it for crew training

between March and July 1964.

Dan-Air went on to operate 12 Series 1s,

six Series 2 models, and three 2As which

had the more powerful Dart RDa.7 Mk 532

engine.

Dan-Air’s growth continued in 1972

when Skyways International was purchased

in the February from Sterling Industrial

Securities. The airline was previously known

as Skyways Coach-Air and had been in

existence since the mid-1950s, running

coach-aeroplane-coach services between

Ashford in Kent and across the Channel on

the Continent.

The airline had hit the headlines in 1961

when it replaced its ageing  eet of Douglas

DC-3 Dakotas. An order for six new Avro

748s (later to become Hawker Siddeley) was

the  rst for the type from any UK airline.

As part of the takeover, Dan-Air inherited

the 748s, which initially  ew in a joint

Skyways-Dan-Air colour scheme.

The carrier also took on scheduled

services as part of the acquisition; to

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 37

Above: Dan-Air was the third owner of

G-BHCJ. The propliner was  rst  own in May

1969 and delivered to Transair Canada as

CF-TAZ before passing to Philippine Airlines.

It came to Britain on November 10, 1979 but

was soon leased out due to excess capacity

in the Dan-Air  eet. Richard Vandervord

The second prototype HS 748, G-ARAY, in an early

Dan-Air livery dating back to 1971. Key Collection

36-40_prop_dan_airDC.mfDCDC.mf.indd 37 05/02/2018 14:20