Givelda:
Thanks so much for posting those diagrams - all my F.27 manuals/posters have long since disappeared.
A few minor pints, if I may. That God-awful C2 Fixed Compass wasn't just fitted to Mk.I's. Keep in mind here that the original MMA Friendships (all Mk.2's) were configured to the then current TAA standard; indeed the first one,VH-MMS, came off a TAA order registered as VH-TFL. So when VH-MMR arrived from the West in April 1971 and flew around the Melbourne-based Ansett network prior to going into overhaul, I had the "privilege" of sitting behind, and struggling with, that system. What was fascinating was that VH-MMR was still sporting the very different blue MMA "Supersonic Duck" colour scheme; yet nobody noticed!
I'd reckon that most Ansett F.27's had the SEP.2 Autopilot and not the infamous AL30J - certainly all the MM* series and from VH-FNR on.
Ansett F.27's also had the RCA AVQ-47 weather radar. This didn't have a bright scope, so viewing in daylight required a hood thingie (which looked as though it could double as a megaphone) so that one pilot, at least, could see what was going on. The set also needed manual tuning, which inevitably meant that on every line check you'd be asked to demonstrate this! Despite those shortcomings it worked quite well. TAA used an Echo(Elko - help me here?) radar, when I was seconded to MAS in 1972 their Friendships had this set so I got some experience of this but thought it really no better than the AVQ-47.
Ansett's F.27-500's had the very schmick Honeywell Primus radar. Fokker had actually upgraded the cockpit to look more modern - you could argue that any change would make it look more modern! Initially one/two of these Friendships were Melbourne-based; eventually the entire fleet (six) were with ANSW in Sydney. Note that my photo is NOT an Ansett machine.
I once witnessed a skipper under training managing to get the nose wheel to do a complete 360
He was bloody lucky! The not that infrequent situation involved the nosewheel turning through 180 degrees (i.e. backwards) - and then you were well and truly stuck!
