|
This
photo from Rolf's collection shows PIA
S-61N
helicopter sporting registration mark AP-AOA.
For short-haul operations
in East Pakistan's delta region, based on Dacca, PIA set
up a network of scheduled helicopter routes, using three
amphibious Sikorsky S-61Ns which were delivered between
October 1963 and February 1964. The first revenue flight
took place on November 25, 1963, the first routes being
to Khulna, center of the East Pakistan jute industry,
and to Faridpur. The value of this new mode of transport
lay in the time saved, the 80-mile journey to Khulna,
for example, taking 21 hours by surface travel and just
37 minutes by the helicopter. Faridpur, only 36 miles
from Dacca, derived even greater advantage by the
reduction of journey time from 22 hours to 17 minutes!
More than 20 points were served as the complete fleet
became available. These services had to be switched to
fixed wing aircraft in 1967 after two accidents reduced
the S-61N fleet from three to one, although by this time
traffic had developed to a more worthwhile level to
favor the construction of runways for fixed wing
aircraft operations |
