News has reached the Airliner World editorial office that Northrop Grumman is planning to retire its pair of British Aircraft Corporation One-Elevens – the world’s last two airworthy examples. The prototype made its maiden flight on August 20, 1963, and 244 examples were built in the UK and in Romania under licence by ROMBAC, with production ending in 1989.
The two Northrop Grumman aircraft, N162W (c/n 087) and N164W (c/n 090) are based at the company’s Baltimore/ Washington Airport facility and are being retired from service because of their age – both were built in 1966 and marked 50 years of service last August. The US manufacturer says that economically it has been getting more difficult every year to justify keeping the jets flying. Now, unfortunately, that time has run out with N162W due to be retired by the end of 2017, and N164W following in 2019 or 2020. The One-Elevens are being replaced by a pair of Bombardier CRJ700s; one is already in service and the second is undergoing modification. Paul Schulz, chief of engineering for Flight Test Northrop Grumman, remarked: “The BAC One-Eleven is a really strong and robust aircraft. It can take very high inertial loads and is a very forgiving aeroplane.” The type fell out of favour with airlines due to their engine exceeding FAA noise standards. Northrop Grumman acquired its first One-Eleven in 1984, the other followed five years later, with the company obtaining an exemption from the FAA allowing them to continue operating them. Both aircraft have played crucial roles in many major defence programmes.
(Photo Brian McDonough)