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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 1352.PDF
MAY 2i, 1936. FLIGHT. 553 WHAT the OPERATOR WANTS Representatives of Airline and Charter Firms Give their Opinions on Desiderata in Aircraft and Equipment : Ultra-high Speeds Not so Important as Economy HIGH SPEED I —Not Necessarily the Main Requirement in \ Charter Work, Maintains Mr. L. H. St ace, \ I Managing Director of Air Commerce, Ltd. \ MUCH has been said in late years of the rapid expan sion of airlines throughout the world, but little notice has been paid to the corresponding increase in the amount Of private charter flying. Manufacturers of aircraft in Great Britain have been quick to supply suitable flying equipment for the airline operator, and this is understandable, for big money is involved. A fleet of two-, three- or four-engined aircraft can cost many thousands of pounds, and it is obvi ously worth while to de sign and build " some thing better" for such a market. In the case of private charter work one is not confronted with either large aircraft or large fleets, and possibly, for that reason alone, de signers have not yet pro duced a machine that can be considered really suitable in all respects. The average charter or '' air taxi '' operator requires a small aeroplane capable of carrying up to three passengers and ample luggage. A single engine of undoubted reli ability is desired, and of about 150 h.p. The engine must ol necessity be easy and cheap to maintain and capable of running long periods without attention if required. The ideal machine should have a maximum range of about 800 miles, but it would be quite acceptable if this were to vary with the load, as in the case of the D.H.90. Since a large percentage of charter work consists ot flying for the Press and newsreel companies requiring aerial photographs, the aircraft should be a high-wing monoplane giving a good forward and downward view. Another peculiarity of private charter flying is that, until every town has its own aerodrome, landings and take-offs have to be made in fields. This calls for a sturdy construction and a really good take-off. Most charter pilots can recall times when a field that was easy to land in caused them a few anxious minutes and a high blood- pressure in flying out by "pulling it off the ground" in a stalled condition and just clearing the hedge. Surely it is not too. much to hope that an aeroplane can be made to take-off in something approximating to the distance it needs to land? The only" other point relates to cruising speed, and in this I feel that my views may diverge from those held by other operators. I consider that a high cruising speed is not of major importance, and an aircraft fulfilling all the foregoing ideals would suit me if it cruised at 130 m.p.h. &e mention has been made of instruments, stability, etc, owing to lack of space, but if any aircraft designer should be interested enough to desire my humble opinion on these matters I will gladly furnish them. HAPPY MEDIUM I Capt. G. P. Olley Also Believes High \ Speeds Undesirable : He Would Prefer \ Large Commercial Loads THERE are two obvious methods of running air ser vices over comparatively short distances in a country which is well provided with means of surface trans port. One is to use machines which are a great deal faster than anything at present available and to fly often ; the other is to use com paratively slow machines carrying really large com mercial loads. If per formance is, to some ex tent, sacrificed, it should be possible to produce a machine which is a very good commercial pro position from the smaller operator's point of view. In this way both pas senger and freight charges could be brought nearer to surface trans port standards, and the number of prospective air travellers and users would automatically increase. While this increase is, so to speak, coming along, the typa of machine which I visualise would at least be a paying pro position when using a comparatively small proportion of its available capacity. SPEED and ECONOMY ! Some Interesting Requirements Suggested by \ \ Mr. P. W, Lynch-Blosse, Technical Adviser \ to British Airways, Ltd. ALOW-WING all-metal monoplane may, perhaps, be regarded as the most convenient type for economical operation and ease of maintenance. The minimum cruising speed should be at least 150 m.p.h. For Continental and longer internal air lines the speed must be increased to at least 200 m.p.h. at 75 per cent, power. To a certain extent speed and economy are achieved to gether, without the necessity for increased horse-power, provided that the machine is "clean" aerodynamically, that V.P. air screws are fitted, and that the construction is light. As extra speed is achieved without added horse-power, it is interesting to note that economy will be affected in the following ways : (a) Capital cost: provided that several machines are required for an airline, a reduction of about 20 per cent, on the number of machines of a slower type will be effected ; (b) fuel consumption : about 20 per cent, in the fuel bill per trip ; (c) maintenance: about 20 per cent, reduction in the maintenance bill per trip; (d) reduction of staff, since there will be fewer machines.
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