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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1071.PDF
JULY 15TH, 1948 FLIGHT CIVIL AVIATION Research at Short's : Meteorological Discussions : U.S. and U.K. Airline Regularity Compared ASIATIC JUNCTION : A B.O.A.C. Airo Lancastrian at Karachi. The Corporation still flies this type en a weekly service from London to Ceylon. The route is through Tripoli, Cairo, Basrah, Karachi— where a night's stop is made—and Bombay, arriving at Colombo 42 hrs. 10 mins. after leaving London. DC-6 FREIGHTER FROM the basic design of the DC-6 the Douglas AircraftCompany have developed a cargo aircraft the prototypeof which is expected to fly next spring. It will be known as the DC-6 Air Freighter. Range is estimated at 2,000 miles carrying a payload of 15 tons—approximately the amount carried in two Skymasters. Operating costs have already been suggested and something like 5 cents or 3d per ton-mile is mentioned. Although the cost of the aircraft has not been announced, Douglas expect it not to exceed ,£250,000. The new aircraft will have similar dimensions to the DC-6, with a wing span of 117 ft 6 in, but with a fuselage 5 ft longer than that of the passenger version making it 105 ft 7m. Engines will be four Pratt and Whitney double Wasps each developing 2,400 h.p. with water injection. The 5,000 cu ft available for freight will be in a cabin fully pressurized and air conditioned. NEW RESEARCH SECTION A DVANTAGE has been taken by Short Brothers and **• Harland Limited, of the transfer of equipment and personnel from Rochester to Belfast to augment their facilities for research and for testing materials. A new building has been constructed in which complete sections of aircraft, such as wings and fuselages, can be tested. Provision has also been made for making vibration tests, or tests involving the use of petrol in a special vibration laboratory. Special attention?' has been paid to check-tests on steel and non-ferrous metals used in aircraft as well as to research work on new materials as they become available. Three types of universal testing machines giving a range from 500 lb to 15 tons in tension-* and compression have been installed. Nine special machines enable hardness testing to be made, and heat-treatment facili- ties include muffle furnaces, salt baths, and a low-temperature oven. Other equipment includes a Metropolitan Vickers crack detector and a Siemens Schuchert X-ray plant. Of particular interest is the electronic section which is fully equipped to deal with strain measurements in the laboratory and on aircraft in flight. The readings of about 200 strain gauges installed in the laboratory can be recorded auto- matically in two minutes. Resonance testing, in which the complete aircraft is subjected to pre-determined vibration to simulate conditions which are met in flight, and in which the amplitude and phase relationship of the motion of the whole air- craft can be examined, has been included in order to study cabin noise and so increase passenger comfort. A wind tunnel built from pre-fabricated steel has a maximum air speed across-the -working section of 188 m.p.h. There is also an instrument section responsible for the calibration of all important instru- ments, and a fully equipped dark room to cater for all photo- graphic needs. The engineering shon is equipped to manufac- ture any specimens required by the department for research,and the model shop can produce models of high accuracy for wind tunnel purposes. Models have been built with 12 ftwing span and having fuselages 10 ft in length. Layout of the new research department is compact, and thereinforced floor space covers 200ft by 90ft with 30ft minimum head room height. TRAVEL FILM SHOWSF OR the benefit of overseas visitors, daily film shows are being presented by the Travel Association, Tourist Division of the British Tourist and Holidays Board at the the Tourist Information Centre, Leicester Square, London. They are intended to give tourists in London a preview of those places they may intend to visit during their stay, and are produced under the general title of "Travelling Around." The films are intended primarily for distribution overseas and are at present being shown in 17 countries. The Information Centre in London was established for the particu- lar benefit of visitors from overseas and already several hundred enquiries, are made daily. There is a reception room and light refresmnents can be obtained. A breakdown of the passenger traffic into the U.K. this year is not available, but it is estimated by the Travel Asso- ciation from figures issued, by the American Civil Aero- nautics Board* that 20 per "cent of arrivals from the United States are by air. The Association estimate that broadly speaking the same percentage ajjplie^. to travellers from other C^lace^/overseas. ' ..,* ,_ "- ^ B.EA. IN SCOTLAND ^ FIGURES for B.E.A. services in Scotlatfdifsr May""this yearoffer direct comparison with the corresponding month in 1947, since it was not until April 12th, 194*7, that the last private company, Allied Airways (Gandar Dower, Limited) was absorbed into the Corporation. During the month 239,209 miles were flown compared with 225,140 in 1947. .Nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-six passengers and 158,781-lb of freight were carried, compared with 8,682 pas- sengers and 101,269 lb of freight for the previous year. During the year ending May 31st, 1948, 125,699 passengers and 1,481,563 lb of freight, mail and excess baggage were carried, and the miles flown were 2,929,986. AIRFIELD ADMINISTRATOR TWO M.C.A. appointments, those of Controller of Technical J- and Operational Services and Controller of Aerodromes, have been combined into one, the occupant of which will be known as Controller of Ground Services. He will have the rank of Deputy Secretary with a salary of £2,500. The object of the change is to bring under one departmental head those functions
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