THISDAYonline

The BAC 1-11 aircraft, which has been suspended by the federal Government, was manufactured by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), a government forced merger of Vickers, English Electric and Humting. The One-Eleven was the first commercial aircraft produced by the newly formed BAC.

It was designed as jet replacement for the earlier turboprop Viscount that had been extremely successful. This gave the 1-11 a clear place in the aviation market, and unlike the VC-10 and Trident, it was not hindered by the strict specifications of a single airline.

Early trials gave the BAC some problems, especially when the prototype crashed a few weeks into testing. The cause was blamed on an unrecoverable deep stall, as the "T" tail was discovered to have been caught up in air disturbance from the main wing. This led to the redesigning of the main wing leading edge.

In April 1965, the 200 series entered into service with the British United Airways, and did the same later that year with Braniff, Mohawk and Aer Lingus. The BAC was powered by the new Rolls Royce Spey 506 turbofans and carried about 79 passengers on short haul routes.

The upgraded 300 and 400 series had more powerful Spey 511 engines, and its operating weights increased from 79 to 89 passengers on board.

The BAC also underwent a number of minor change designs, the main visual difference being the nose wheel and undercarriage doors. The original 200 had a much rounder nose cone, which was altered to a more pointed design.

The 400 were designed specifically for the U.S. market, the differences being mainly internal with American equipment used. American Airlines was the first to take a large order late in 1965.

A stretched version, the Super One-Eleven was designed to meet the requirements of BEA, featuring an extended fuselage, extended and redesigned wings and the definite Rolls Royce Spey 512 turbofan, and was able to carry 119 passengers on short and medium haul routes.

It entered into service with BEA in November 1968 and proved to be a very popular aircraft.

To make the 475, which were the final production version, its modified wings and upgraded engines were incorporated into the 400 series, and with its high power to weight ratio and low-pressure undercarriage, it was designed to operate from airports with shorter and lower strength runways.

By 1973, only the 500 and the 475 were still in production, and gradually as the decade drew to a close, production stopped. BAC eventually sold the rights for production to Romania, where a small number of ROMBAC 1-11 were made in the 80's. A total of 244 1-11 units were made.

With the introduction of stricter environmental requirements for aircrafts in the late 70's and 80's, the Rolls Royce engines were seen as being notoriously loud, and penalties were set for excessive noise around airports, many 1-11's were modified with "Hush kit" engines extensions which allowed them to continue operation.

In the 80's and the 90's, the 1-11 became a popular choice for new start up airlines especially in the U.K.

Stage 111 noise limitations are now threatening the 1-11's continued operation as an airliner, however it is still in service with quite a number of operators using it, though in Europe it is now a rare sight.

Quite a number of African Airlines operate the 1-11, some are Al-Barka, Fassey Aviation, Chanchangi Airline, Chrome Air and Nationwide in South Africa. Many other Nigerian airlines did not purchase directly from the manufacturers but leased from the operators.