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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1293.PDF
JUNE 5TH, 1941 393 ECONOMICS OF AIR TRANSPORT Lockheed 14$ of Trans-Canada Air Lines at 3s. 7d. per Mile T[HE operations of Trans-Canada Air Lines for theyear 1940 give valuable information on the cost ofair transport. The fleet, consisting of 15 Lockheed 14H aircraft, together with six Lockheed Lodestars, which were purchased late in the year, flew the impressive total of mqre than 5,000,000 aeroplane - miles (actually «Vj-aRf984). This flying occupied a total time of 32,552 WS-fe', making the average ground speed of 162 m.p.h. Total . operating expenses were $4,592,383, which averages 77 cents (43 pence) per mile. (The rate for the previous year was 88.4 cents per milej, The company receives payment for the carriage of aifmail at the rate of 60 cents per mile, but after March 31, 1941, this, rate has f been reduced. The company, after paying-interest on/ capital, had a surplus of irevenue over experjses fi $539,263 (10.3 cents per milt')| go it\seems that the! redac- tion in mail payment shouldlbfe at about this ratfe.y7 The annual report states thafcMevelopments of the past" year included the establishment? "t>£ a second transcon- tinental service, of a service to Moncton from Montreal, and to London, Ontario, and Windsor from Toronto. It forecast thje^nauguration of a double daily service between Toronto and New York about April 15 ; an extension of the service to Halifax with two round trips from Montreal daily, and the possibility of a third trans-continental schedule later this year. Gross revenue in 1940 was $4,592,383. Passenger earn- ings totalled $1,574,217; mail, $2,832,363; and express, $39,488. Operating expenses were $4,053,120, and included $2,637,313 for operation, maintenance and depreciation of aircraft; $974,645, operation, maintenance and deprecia- tion of ground facilities; $301,256, traffic and general ad- ministration, and $187,500 interest on capital invested. Revenue passengers numbering 53,180 were carried in 1940 as compared with 21,569 in 1939, an incj^ase of 150 per cent. It was not possible to meet fully the demand for passenger service on a number of T.C.A. routes during the summer and early autumn months. The average passenger journey was 551 miles. The number of miles flown daily on regular service at the close of 1940 was 15,144, compared with 8,iS8 miles at the close of 1939. Mail carried in 1940 was 527,037 lb., an increase of 65 per cent, over 1939. Air freight shipments totalled 105,788 lb., compared with 45,819 lb. Property* and" equipment are shown at $4,858,548, less accrued sitepre.ciaT.ion of $1,332,154. Additions were made g-during the year and construction of a 200-foot hanga|Wwas commenced at the new Montreal commercial airpoft (Dorval). The hangar at Moncton, construction of jffiich was begun in the autumn of 1939, was completed ea^Ty in the year. /The mileage of routes operated in 1940 was 3,662. At Mie end of the year T.'C.A. was flying 15,144 miles a day. Since operations >egan in 1937, T.C.A. aeroplanes have flown 10,433,691 miles during 65,291 hours in the air. During ,the ycar operations arid traffic headquarters were transferred from Montreal to Winnipeg, and at the ead of 1940 tlje sraif numbered 789. Every phase of civil aviation has been affected by war conditions, and Trans- Canada Air Lines is no exception. The report regretfully records the loss of one of the original pilot group on active service overseas. "The company's instrument shop at Winnipeg was doubled in capacity and is working full time in the over- haul and repair of aircraft instruments for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under contract with the Depart- ment of Munitions and Supply, a shop was established at Malton airport, Toronto, for the overhaul and repair of military aircraft, and is now in operation. '' Th/r facilities of the company at the various airports across Canada are extensively used for servicing military aircraft. Flying personnel of the company have assisted in the delivery of trainers purchased in the United States; in the ferrying of combat and training types between the different training depots in Canada; and in training civilian pilots proceeding overseas. A considerable amount of this work was done by employees in their own time as a contribution to the war effort." It is noted that the Canadian arrangements for five round trips operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation over the North Atlantic last summer were handled by. T.C.A. as their agent. RADIO DETECTION OF NIGHT BOMBERS IE call by the Hon. C. G. Power, Canadian Minister ofNational Defence, for 2,500 Canadians to enlist in the Canadian Air Force as radio mechanics for service inthe" British Isles on the detection of bombers, reveals some- thing of .the nature of the device which is being developedfor this work: "The details," he said, "are of course secret, but 1 cansay that in general terms it means that by using a great number of small radio sets of modern design, radio techniciansposted at ground points all over the British Isles will be able to detect enemy planes in the air and direct anti-aircraft firewith deadly precision. "The British Air Ministry expects great things of this inven-tion, but like anything else it calls for men to make it work. For several months now we have combed Canada for amateurand professional radio men and rushed them overseas, but that source of supply is now dried up and we arc ready totake green men, men of good education who have never seen the inside of a radio. We will train them in this new workand within a few months they will be holding key posts in the defence of Britain. Thirteen Canadian Universities haverallied to our aid to fill this urgent need. "I do not like to over-state the case, yet I can say thatit is of vital importance that we get these men, and that we ret them immediately. We are not thinking in terms ofaonths hence when we talk of radio technicians. The need is urgent. We are looking for 2.500 Canadians of good com-mon sense who are ready this minute to volunteer for overseas service in a new service, one that will develop and grow, and one to which we are harnessing the initiative and zest ofCanadian youth. Those who go into it on the ground floor will themselves be tile ones to improve it—to invent, bytinkering and experience, a still greater defence to thnt fortress of the seas upon which our minds are now all so intently fixed."Flight has already given information on,Jboth the German and American methods of detection of the .Bight bomber (April24th, page 302, and May 1st, page 312). 3*he American system depends on a "radio echo," short wav% being used becauseof its better reflecting properties and i£$ greater freedom trotri interference by static. It is difficult?'to see how any othermethod can be used for bomber detection. Canadian Air Transport Figures COMMERCIAL aviation in Canada for 1940 showed an iu-v-' crease in passenger-carrying but a decrease in freight. Air carriers reported a total of 11,966,790 aeroplane-miles flown ;isagainst 10,331,782 miles ia 3959, an increase of 16 per cent Revenue passengers carried during the year increased from XIO^8(J2 in 1039 to *37,r>oo, and non-revenue passengers de-creased from 22,669 to 22,091. This was an increase for revenue passengers of 14 per cent., but because of the longeraverage journey, the revenue passenger mileage increased by 7&,j3er.,e£nt. .Weight of freight carried showed a substantialdrop' For titfe year it amounted to 16,686,214 lb., as against 21,253,364 lb. in 1939. But the ton-mileage increased by2.7 per cent. Mail carried increased by 57 per c«nt. to a total of 2,737,122 lb. and the mail ton-mileage by 57 per cent, also
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