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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 2098.PDF
68 FLIGHT. JULY 21, 1938. Commercial Aviation for four passengers. In the centre is a large room which may be furnished as a lounge or dining room. The rearmost section is a de luxe compartment which, according to the sentimental compiler of the Boeing specification, may be used as a bridal suite. The galley and men's dressing rooms are across the hall from. each other near the forward -end of the passenger deck; the women's room is at the back. The ten-passenger compartments have Davenport seats. Two of these are triple seats facing each other on the star board side, and the other two are double seats facing each other on the port side. The triple seats each make up into upper and lower berths running crossways in the cabin, while the two double seats make up into an upper and lower berth running lengthwise on the port side. The berths are 6ft. 3m. long and 32m. wide and give 35m. head room. The de luxe compartment has a triple seat (Davenport type convertible into upper and lower berth) built-in settee, dressing table or desk, two end tables, glass mirrors, vvashstand and cabinet, and an overstuffed chair. The dining room, which accommodates fourteen persons at a time, has modern tables between casually arranged over stuffed chairs. When used as a lounge, without dining tables, it is furnished with seats for fourteen people, convertible into berths. Between meals the galley may become a bar. Nor does the Clipper lack interest on the structural side. The wing has two main girder-type spars and a stressed skin covering consisting of aluminium alloy corrugations on the inside and smooth Alclad aluminium alloy sheet on the outside. The fuel tanks are built integrally with the sponsons, the out side skin of which serves also as a wall of the fuel tank. A shipyard method, using full-scale metal templates (draw ings on white-coated aluminium sheets, taken directly from the " loft " where hull contour lines were laid out full size) serves to supplement or replace blue prints. Another innovation is the extensive use of electric spot- welding for joints in places which are not highly stressed. For instance, the Alclad sheets for the wing were joined by this process before being riveted to the wing structure. The Boeing 314 weighs 82,500 lb., and has a span of 152ft. Length and height are 109ft. and 28|ft. respectively. Seventy- four passengers are accommodated in the daytime and forty at night, in addition to the crew of eight. The cargo holds will carry more than 10,000 lb. of mail and freight. With forty passengers the boat has a range of 4,000 miles. The top speed is about 200 m.p.h. As the outcome of initial tests modifications are being made to the tail (twin rudders have been found desirable) and to the sponsons. AERODROME OWNERS in CONFERENCE Association's First Provincial Meeting : Fees and Reserve Rentals Discussed APART from inevitable and sometimes angry allusions to the question of direct subsidy, the discussions at ^ last week's first provincial conference of the Aero drome Owners' Association at Brighton revolved for the most part around the standardisation of aerodrome fees and of the business arrangements over Reserve and Volunteer Reserve School accommodation. Thirty-two aerodromes were represented at the Conference, and opinions were as diverse as might be expected, though agreement was reached on the major points at issue. In his speech at the Royal Pavilion the chairman of the Asso ciation, Mr. C. M. Newton, naturally expressed his disappoint ment at the Government's apparently irrevocable decision that no direct subsidy would be available, and he made it clear that the owners would not consider help through Reserve contracts as in any way taking the place of this subsidy. The aerodromes were not, in fact, being helped so much as helping the Govern ment in this matter, and, in particular, he felt that the Air Ministry should be made to pay a fair rental for the facilities. Referring to the recent visit of a delegation to Germany with the idea of forming an international organisation, he said that this coufitry had been left to work out the project. During discussions it was suggested and agreed that imme diate steps should be taken to introduce a standard scale of charges for aerodromes to be agreed upon by the Air Ministry and the Association. This scale should, according to one speaker, be incorporated in the Air Navigation Directions and its acceptance and application be made a condition of the issue of an aerodrome licence. Standard Charges The Association's suggested fees for landing are worked on a basis of yd. for each 1,000 lb. of the gross weight of the machine, the minimum charge at any aerodrome being is. Load fees will be at the rate of is. 6d. for each passenger and an additional is. 6d. for each 150 lb. or 4 cubic ft. of goods, apart from the luggage which is normally allowed free for passengers. Night landing charges will be left to the aerodrome owners' discretion. Private machines which are housed under contract at an aerodrome shall have free use of the aerodrome, and forced landings through weather or other cause at the aerodrome from which the particular machine has just departed will not be charged. There will be a rebate for commercial operators using an aerodrome regularly, and the load and land ing fees will be reduced in the case of ferry services and pleasure flights. Apparently, practice landings by private aeroplanes will be charged at the usual rate—which is a little hard on the pilot who may not always be aware that he is rapidly in creasing an already heavy bill at every touch-down. A good deal of criticism was voiced at the meeting on the matter of the Air Ministry's methods of arranging for Reserve schools. It was suggested that the Government had played one owner against another in an attempt to bring down the rentals, and in two cases the Air Ministry was reported to have used the acceptance of a certain figure by one municipality in order to encourage another to agree to this figure, whereas, in fact, each had explained its decision to refuse to accom modate the Reserve for reasons of its own. In other cases a rental had been agreed upon and the Air Ministry had then, it was said, increased the number of machines in use. (Since the schools are invariably operated by private companies it did not seem to us that the Air Ministry is to be blamed for any hard business deals which may be made.) It was agreed, however, that the Association should come to an arrangement with the Air Ministry so that the rentals should be standardised according to the number of machines used in each case. In the evening of the first day of the Conference (July 14) the representatives were the guests of the Mayors of Brighton (Aid. Hone) and Hove (Coun. Hillman), the former taking the chair. While seconding Aid. Hone's toast to the Asso ciation, Coun. Hillman referred to the fact that theirs was the first joint airport to be opened in the country, and made refer ence to the National Air Defence Cadet Corps, a centre for a squadron of which will presently be made at Shoreham air port. In his reply, Mr. Newton, the chairman of the Associa tion, paid a tribute to Aid. Milner Black (the chairman of the airport committee) and Mr. Volk, largely through whose efforts the joint Brighton, Hove and Worthing Airport had come into being. On the next morning the delegates were shown round Shore- ham Airport, where extensions and additions are now being made. Very shortly the Air Ministry will be taking over the control there, and the control room is being extended to accom modate both the new officers and the radio and teleprinter equipment which is being installed. Additionally, night-flying equipment will also be ready before the winter season, and Shoreham aerodrome will then be ready for all comers. Already the amount of flying carried out from Shoreham is being very much increased, and during the last month or two what may be considered as a civil extension of the School of Air Naviga tion at Manston has been in operation there, three Rapides and a Dragon being used for the practical work by the pupils. By way of returning hospitality, the Association gave a luncheon on that day, Sir Francis Shelmerdine being the guest of honour. Mr. Newton said, among other things, that he hoped that the Air Ministry would make an attempt to improve the aesthetic appearance of the buildings which they were putting up at different civil aerodromes. Aid. Milner Black said that the joint airport idea was a good one where grouped towns were concerned and, after expounding a system of air port finance which suspiciously resembled the social credit scheme, pointed to Perth as an airport where the municipality had successfully prevented the Air Ministry from ruining the appearance of the airport building. Finally, Sir Francis Shelmerdine, replying for the guests, said that the Air Ministry welcomed the idea of an International Association and hoped that at the next meeting between the Air Ministry and the Association, which would be held on July 29, agreement would be reached on the matter of both fees and Reserve rentals- There is, it seems, reading between the words, just a chance that something may be done by way of assistance for aerodrome owners in a rather more direct manner than that of offering training schools. That remains to be seen, but it does not seera likely that, after all this time, the Government will reverse its constantly reiterated decision against direct subsidisation.
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