Incredible HS 748! 2 extremely rare aircraft cockpits in same air-to-air session SUPERCUT [AIRCLIPS]

Video from the channel Air-Clips.com about Hawker Siddeley HS 748, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 38:46. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

The video follows the crew of a Wasaya Airways Hawker Siddeley HS 748 in Pickle Lake, in northern Ontario (Canada). It starts with an introduction to the operation and a full exterior inspection of the aircraft carried out by its pilot the afternoon before the flight. It continues with an air-to-air sortie: a company Dash 8-100 freighter takes off with the film crew on board to film the HS 748 in flight, with cameras in both cockpits. It ends with a missed approach due to bad weather and the return of both aircraft to Pickle Lake.

During the exterior inspection the pilot checks the access panels, the gear pins, which must be removed before flight, the flap hinges, the hydraulic level sight glass and the landing lights, which rotate down under the wing. He explains that the controls work through cables and pulleys, with no electronic or hydraulic assistance. The engines are Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops with water-methanol injection to gain power on takeoff or in a possible engine-out and go-around. The aircraft has no reverse thrust: on landing the propeller is set to zero pitch and the brakes do the work. The rotating beacon carries a cage to protect it from stones kicked up by the nose wheel on gravel strips. This particular aircraft is a "super tanker" dedicated solely to carrying fuel: it is loaded into wingtip tanks and a flexible cabin tank through a single fill point.

In flight, the checklists, the takeoff from runway 27 and the formation photo session are shown. With a low cloud ceiling, both aircraft carry out a missed approach at Kingfisher and return.

Wasaya operates a mixed fleet, including Dash 8, Beech 1900D and Caravan aircraft, carrying passengers, cargo and fuel to remote communities. According to the crew, the HS 748 holds up well on gravel strips and in winters of 25 to 30 degrees below zero, although it carries less payload than an ATR 72, the type the company expects as its replacement. The captain explains that he trained in Sault Ste. Marie, graduated in 2016 and worked on the ground, on the Caravan and as first officer on the 748 before becoming captain. The area is uncontrolled airspace: a remote radio operator in Thunder Bay, about 500 km to the south, provides weather and traffic advisories, and the pilots coordinate among themselves.