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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1328.PDF
A fine portrait of the Constellation Bangor II near the Canadian-American border. This aircraft is the one inwhi ch the tenth proving flight, the subject of this narrative, was made. ATLANTIC JOURNEY 1,100 miles—may appear surprisingly long. The timetaken for the two ocean legs depends to a great extent on the winds, and the table of scheduled times and actualelapsed times given below indicates quite remarkable agree- ment. Due to a minor hydraulic defect, the first take-off fromthe London Airport was delayed, and a little more time was also lost during the rest of the journey. However,this was a proving flight, and the ground staff at Rineanna and Gander were not at that time completely familiar withthe somewhat inconvenient freight-loading arrangements for th? Constellations or the paper work involved. In the week which elapsed between outward and returntrips the improvement in organization was sufficient j:o be immediately noticeable, and is reflected also in the time-keeping on the return flight, in particular the time at Gander and Rineanna between " engines off " and " chocksaway." The time from touchdown to take-off is not quoted, for it depends upon several factors beyond the company'scontrol, the chief ones being that BOA C captains sen- Chocks sway (Scheduled) Airborne Set course 2244 21002254 2255Static time Chocks away (Scheduled) Airborne Set course Chocks away (Scheduled) AirborneSet course 0331 0030 0342 0346 IS4I 1130 15511551 OUTWARD JOURNEY LONDON TO RINEANNA Hours G.M.T. Engines off 0113 Landed 0106 Overhead 0030on ground, 2 hr. 18 min. Total time (Scheduled)Flight time Time on course(Scheduled 1 hr. 15 min.) RINEANNA to GANDER Engines off 1332 Landed 1325 Overhead 1325 Static time on ground, 2 Total time (Scheduled) Flight time Time on course hr. 9 min. GANDER to LA GUARDIA Engines off 2051 Landed 2041O.erhea 2035 Total time (Scheduled) Right time Time on course hr. 2 2 2 1 10 9 9 9 5 5 4 4 .... min 29 IS 12— 35 01 45 41 39 10 15 5044 Darkness quickly falls as the Constellation climbs fromGander on its long, ocean flight.. sibly believe in the need for a very thorough pre-take-offengine run up and check on their new Constellations, and depending upon wind direction, weather and congestion atthe airport taxying from the runway and marshalling to the gate may take from five to twenty-five minutes. Effi-ciency in handling in this case is indicated by the speed and simplicity with which passengers are fed, the freightloaded or discharged, and the paper work dealt with. Over- long delays on the ground obviously not only reduce thegreatest advantage of air travel, namely, speed from place to place, but nullify the constant efforts of aircraftdesigners to find a few more m.p.h. cruising speed. Commentary and Flight Diary After rushing round London, arranging dollar credit andtrying to get a passport renewed and an American visa issued quickly by two hopelessly inadequate and under-staffed departments, all requirements were eventually met.
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