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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0171.PDF
JANUARY 3OTH, I947 ELIZABETH" OF ENGLANDH .R.H. PRINCESS ELIZABETH, at London Airport onJanuary 21st, christened the flagship of B.O.A.C.'s fleet of Avro Tudor Is. The aircraft was named Elizabeth olEngland, and the rest of the fleet will be given names asso- ciated with the Tudor period. The ceremony of christeningwas performed by the Princess pouring champagne on to the nose of the aircraft. This procedure may possibly establisha precedent for the christening of aircraft. The "custom of breaking a bottle of wine on the bows of a ship originates inthe idea of a libation to the gods, which, in the strict classical tradition, is the ceremonial pouring of wine. Lord Knollys,chairman of B.O.A.C., in inviting the Princess to name the aircraft, made reference to the personal interest shown by HerRoyal Highness in air development by her Mastership of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators. ULSTER CHARTER COMPANY V TORD LOxNDONDERRY has formed the Londonderry AirJ-*" Charter Company, which will undertake all forms of pas- senger and freight charter flying. This is the first air transportcompany to operate in Ulster, and headquarters have been established at Newtownards Airport. It is intended to buildup a fleet of aircraft consisting of a number of Aerovans, Consuls and Geminis. For short-range charter work the com-pany will use a Messenger, a Falcon and a Hornet. Lord Londonderry has, of course, been associated with avia-tion for many years, especially in Northern Ireland, and in 1934 opened Newtownards Airport for civil flying. It is now a first-class airport, with a reputation for good weather: The manager of the company is W/C. T. \V. T. McComb, O.B.E.,an Ulsterman, who commanded two Coastal Command squad- rons during the war, and later a Transport Command Liberatorsquadron engaged in ferrying troops to and from India. ARABIAN AIR SURVEY v. A DE HAVILLAND Rapide belonging to Hunting Aero-surveys left Croydon last week for the Persian Gulf. The aircraft is carrying the main part of an expedition tosurvey a large area of Arabia for one of the oil companies, a task which will take three to four months. The Rapide hasbeen modified for work in extremes of heat and cold, the survey cameras being enclosed in a glass dome which will protect themfrom variations in temperature between the ground heat and the cold aix at operational flying heights. > FLIGHT 123 SOUTH PACIFIC COUNCILS EVERAL changes will probably be made in the organisationof the trans-Tasman and trans-Pacific air services as a direct result of the first meeting of the South Pacific Air Trans-port Council, which was held in Canberra last month. The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji wererepresented by delegates, and an observer from Canada was present. Since the meeting in Wellington of the Common-wealth Air Transport Council early in 1946, Australia has nego- tiated two agreements providing for Pacific services. One agree-ment with Canada enabled the first direct air-mail service between Canada and Australia to be started. The second waswith the U.S.A. The Council approved a draft directive by the Governments of the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand toBritish Commonwealth Pacific Airlines for the conduct of the trans-Pacific air service. This directive provides for threeflights in each direction every fortnight between Australia and North America, and one flight each fortnight between NewZealand and North America. Subject to the approval of the Governments, however, the company may increase or decreast-the frequency as required. The Council also considered a draft contract between|j[LC.P.A. and Australian National Airways, under which the Tatter agreed to operate an interim service on behalf of B.C.P.A.* The Council also considered a proposal for the readjustment ol the financial structure of Tasman Empire Airways to providefor a greater proportion of holdings by New Zealand and Aus tralia, with a corresponding reduction in the United Kingdom bproportion. Other machinery which was recommended included an inter-Government agreement for the establishment of B.C.P.A., and two standing committees to be constituted under the SouthPacific Air Transport Council, the Trans-Pacific Committee and the Trans-Tasman Committee to supervise the running of thetwo services. The location in Fiji of the permanent international airportwas not decided, but the Council recommended that further aetailed surveys of the sites at Nandi and Nausori should bemade as early is possible. In the meantime Nandi will con- iinue to be used for the trans-Pacific service. The Council were of the opinion that the position with regard to regionalservices in the South West Pacific was so uncertain that nt. progress could be made at present.A South Pacific route service manual incorporating a route guide has*ieen produced. The manual contains details of oper-ating procedure, air traffic control arrangements, meteorological facilities, communications and instrument-approach charts tothe international airports in the region. The New Zealand delegation told the committee that steps had been taken tohave the manual approved by the Civil Aeronautics Adminis- tration. The Council will probably recommend that themanual be put into effect early this year. SWEDISH AIRCRAFT FOR ETHIOPIAA S.A.A.B. Safir ordered by the Duke of Harrar was recentlyflown from the S.A.A.B.- Company's works at Linkoping. Sweden, to Addis Ababa. Five aircraft of the same type whichhave been ordered by the Ethiopian Air Force have also been flown to Addis Ababa to be used for training purposes at theEthiopian Air Force base at Bishoftu. The Safir is a low-wing three-seater monoplane with a retractable tricycle under-carriage and a D.H. Gipsy Major engine. Like most S.A.A.B. aircraft, it is of stressed-skin construction. The wing span is34ft gin. The cruising speed is given as 127 m.p.h., and maxi- mum speed 146 m.p.h. Production is believed to be well underway. R/T TRAINING AT Dorval Airport, Montreal, the B.O.A.C. base for NorthAtlantic operations, a system for perfecting R/T con- versation has been added to the synthetic training establish-ment. The apparatus, known as the Mirrophone, records the voices of both the pilot and the instructor during practiceblind approaches and landings on the Link trainer. The normal standard air traffic control and approach procedure is strictlyobserved in these practices, in which conversation between the ground controller and the pilot is reduced to a minimum.After the practices the apparatus is switched on to play back on a loudspeaker the recorded conversation. The pilot under SHORT SHADOWS : A B.O.A.C. flying-boat laying to the tide at her moorings at Rod-el-Farag, the flying-boat base onthe river Nile near Cairo. The photograph was taken from the passenger-reception building.
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