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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 2182.PDF
NOVEMBER IST, 1945 FLIGHT 485 CIVIL AVIATION NEWS the total in 1940, to 54.4 per cent, so far this year. In preparation for Atlantic service^' T.C.A. has established a liaison officer in London to facilitate priorities for paying passengers now carried on the converted Lancasters used between Montreal and Prestwick. The T.C.A. president announced recently that a service was planned across the North Pacific to Russia and China. This, in addition to services to Australia and New Zealand, to the West Indies and South America, and its transatlantic service. Canadianjwfflt Douglas DC-4S will be used on the routes. ROUTINE CROSSINGS f TN the midst of all the trumpetings abouVftie various AJ- services, people in this country and ,/Ise where are li, forget the years of routine AtlanB O.A.C. with their North Atlantic the moment, and because we haveregular passenger service has route for tne winter months,panies are starting services the North Atlantic Jjas^P ' SeptejaaBer 25,-in fact,this service, ia_v4hich a hadi flying comj ' n Ferry. WbikF, at lableiandgflsrifs, the .TOThe Southern two American com- C. Return Ferry over .rrying on. xked the fourth anniversary of / schedule in each direction had long 'Since 1ak«n the plac/ of the original '' flights when pos- sitpe " pro |p6nme. Dimng last winter, thanks to the excep- tioloallyjftfod weatherJtharacteristics of the Prestwick base, there"""were only throe cancellations While the U.Sfcgrompanies have, for the time being, the monopoly of the winter North Atlantic, it will be as well to remember this ferry service and the fact that it was B.O.A.C. who really pioneered the North Atlantic route. FRENCH SOUTH ATLANTIC $&R"VEY A FTER two false starts—the first on October 10th when the•f* hull was damaged during take-off, and the second on October 23rd when the aircraft returned with engine trouble—The prototype Latecoere 631 flying-boat Lional de Marmier left Biscarosse on October 24th and reached Rio de Janeirothe next day after a refuelling stop at Port Etienne. According to reports there were 24 observers and other passengers aboardin addition to a crew of 19, so that a two-stage flight of 5,500 miles give some idea of the big Latecoere's capacities. AMERICAN EXPORT MAKE A START DURING last week two Douglas Skymasters of AmericanExport Air Lines made a preliminary Atlantic run in pre- paration for their planned thrice-weekly services between La Guardia, New York, Rinneana and London. One of the two The Danish K.Z.III which is being sold in Denmark and Sweden. Skymasters made a quick turn-round and flew back to theU.S. via Iceland and Newfoundland, while the second Sky- master came into Hum, Bournemouth. Attempts have beenmade to obtain permission to use either Bovington or Northolt, but without success, and the failure was particularly trouble-some since the aircraft had developed a minor hydraulic fault which could not be dealt with at Hum. 'The assistance ofScottish Airways was obtained, and the necessary part was brought down from Prestwick. Amongst other passengers brought over by the Skymasterswere Mr. James Eaton, Vice-President of American Export; and Mr. Charles Spears, Vice-President of American Airlines.The run was completed more or less to schedule despite the extremely rough conditions on this side of the Atlantic—con-ditions which caused the Queen Mary to anchor off the Needles on her way home. For the moment, at least, American Export propose to con-tinue to charge the same fares^$572 for the single trip—as were charged while Sikorsky S-44 boats were being used.When the Skymasters are replaced by Constellations the posi- tion may be reconsidered. Since only a comparatively smallpay load can, in the best of circumstances, be carried over the Atlantic, the fare-rate can be adjusted only on a basisof final utilisation and frequency. American Export are, of course, now part of the American Airline System, and thename for the section running the European services will duly be changed to American Airlines Overseas Division. FARE TROUBLE PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS have so far been refused per-mission to start their initial Atlantic services. As might have been expected, the Civil Aeronautics Board have with-held their blessings on the grounds that the company failed to give the required 30-day notice of fare revision. CONSTELLATION PRELIMINARIES WHEN the production Lockheed Constellation appears inservice it will be interesting to remember that preliminary ground design checks were probably used more extensivelyduring its development than with any other aircraft. Whether or not the considerable time gap between the flightof the prototype and the appearance of the first production examples has meant that a great deal of further practical de-velopment was necessary, the bulk of the really basic develop- ment work was carried out before this prototype had beencompleted. Test runs in six different wind tunnels, for in- stance, were used in the course of airflow investigations, andthe Lockheed people claim that not a single external change has had to be made to the aerodynamic design of the proto-type. A full-seals power mock-up of the entire hydraulic system and general plumbing arrangements was made, andtest rigs were used to investigate vibration frequencies and study stress effects in various parts of the structure. Lateron, the prototype itself was installed with a series of water tanks for different load tests, the waterand consequent loads being shifted about the air- craft by a system of pipe lines. Apart from the use of hydraulic power boost forthe controls—which, apart from the obvious con- trol-lightening advantages, permits the use ofsmaller control areas, narrower shroud gaps, and simplifies the direct areodynamic problems—-theConstellation will probably be the first civil air- craft in service to be fitted with a thermal de-icingsystem and cabin pressurisation. CONVENTIONALLY INTERESTING A REMINDER of the almost forgotten days ofPuss and Leopard Moths is the Danish K.Z.III, which, strangely enough, is at presentbeing sold to private owners and others in Den- mark and Sweden while we go without. It is ofcomposite construction, the fuselage of steel tube and the wing of wood. A comparatively highcruising speed for the type—106 m.p.h.—is coupled with a landing speed of 34 m.p.h. obtainable withthe help of high-lift flaps and slots covering the entire leading edge. The manufacturers claim thatit continues to be controllable at and below the stall. The engine used is one of the new CirrusMinor II series. At the moment the K.Z.III is being producedin two-passenger form, but a three-passenger version is on the way, The initial production bythe manufacturers, K.Z.-Aero, Ltd., is for a hundred of these machines.
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