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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1365.PDF
AUGUST 26TH, 1948 FLIGHT 243 Swedish Visitor Scandia Seen for the First Time in England AFTER several days in Dublin,demonstrating to officials of AerLingus, the Saab Scandia first touched down in the United Kingdom at Prestwick. Further demonstrations were given to aviation circles in Scotland, and after a short stop at Silloth, near Carlisle, the new Scandinavian prototype feeder-line transport landed at Gatwick on August 20th. After a preliminary look-over, -two flights were made by M.C.A. officials and airline representa- tives, and of the 40-odd passengers who flew in it for the first time, not one was lacking in appreciation of the perform- ance and comfort of the aircraft. In outward appearance, this DC3 replacement is modern but conventional. Ease of manoeuv- ring on the ground with the steerable nose-wheel was apparent as the aircraft was brought in to park in front of the passenger building. Spectators were surprised to see, as the aircraft was stopped, a telescopic strut at the tail extend itself verti- cally until it touched the ground. This tail prop locks down and holds the aircraft in the correct horizontal attitude to prevent any mishap due to overloading aft. For the passenger, the inside of the Scandia is comfortable and the colour scheme in this demonstration aircraft, with green cloth seats, brown leather armrests and a beige ceiling, is very pleasing. This particular version accommodates 24 passengers with ample leg room, and a wide gangway. Each passenger has a good view through reasonably large windows, and the noise level in flight throughout the aircraft was unusually low. Skylights along the roof relieve the gloom too often experienced in aircraft when unlighted. Flight impressions for the passenger were that after a short run_ the climb was steep but without apparent exertion; m faot, during the take-off the noise in the passenger cabin was such that normal conversation could be carried on. Spacious twenty-four seat layout of the Scandia. A complete description of the aircraft's structure and equipment, and an appreciation from the pilot's viewpoint appeared in the June 3 issue of "flight." Manoeuvrability with wheels and flaps down was demonstrated in what might be considered a bad-weather landing. The aircraft was brought in close to the airfield and was landed without fuss after two S-turns and a steep descent. The engines are Pratt and Whitney R.2000 giving 1,450 h.p. The Scandia is therefore under-powered at present, since it was designed for two of the later Pratt and Whitney E-12, R.2i3o engines which give 1.650 b.h.p. dry and 1,800 b.h.p. with water injection. This would permit the aircraft to operate at a greater altitude, for which pressurization of the fuselage would be included. It has also been suggested that in order to overcome dollar difficulties in Commonwealth and European countries Rolls-Royce Merlin powerplants might well be fitted. They have several advantages in that many years of develop- ment now lie behind them, the initial cost would be moderate and spares and servicing are assured for some years to come. On Monday of this week the Saab Scandia was demon- strated to officials of the British corporations at Northolt. After returning to Sweden for a short period protracted tours of the Continent and South American countries are planned. LONDON AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION THE report from the Select Committee on Estimates for theconstruction of London Airport has been published. With reference to the runways and terminal buildings it was statedthat the present temporary terminal buildings would be super- seded by semi-permanent buildings in the central area. Theywould be of a two-storey, pre-fabricated type, and would not interfere with the permanent buildings which would be erectedlater. Work should begin at the end of this year and the buildings should be ready for use by 1950 with a life of aboutten years. Reasons for making semi-permanent buildings were that more experience over the requirements for a major civilairport were needed and, secondly, that interim construction could be completed more quickly. Access to the central area,said the report, would be by a shallow tunnel leading from the present Bath Road. The tunnel would contain two 22-footcarriageways and two 15-foot cycle tracks. Since the excava- tion would require removal of a section, of one runway, it wouldbe necessary to complete a parallel runway before work on the tunnel could begin. Construction of the last three runways on the north side otthe Bath Road under Stage III of the project involved divert- ing the road some distance to the north, and it was agreedthat as alternative accommodation would have first to be pro- vided for the occupants of houses" demolished, the runwayscould not be completed for a number of years. The estimated traffic capacity at various stages was con-sidered to be optimistic, and the Ministry now considered the maximum traffic possible at Stage II, with six runways, wouldbe 72 movements per hour instead of 90-100. It was antici- pated, therefore, that some air services may have to be refused B 17 as there would not be a diversionary airport with adequateterminal buildings to relieve Heathrow. The total cost of development of the airport was shown in the Estimates at aprovisional figure of £26,000,000. Of this, some £6,583,000 had already been spent, and £1,588,000 was estimated to bespent this year. To complete the work south of the Bath Road, a furthei sum of about £15,000,000 was required, in-cluding over £6,000,000 for the development of the No. 1 Maintenance Area and £4,000,000 for the terminal buildings.The work to be done north of the Bath Road, to complete Stage III of the scheme, would cost £3,000,000. There hasbeen a slowing down in the construction programme as a result of the general policy of restricting capital investments. In conclusion, the Committee considered that the choice ofHeathrow a= the site for London's major civil airport was well made. The effect of restrictions on capital construction waslikely to be serious, since the completion of Stage II was already thought to be inadequate to meet traffic demands, andany delay in progress would only make that possibility more uncertain. Provision of maintenance facilities was importantto the British corporations, which estimated a saving of £1,000,000 a year if all aircraft were based at London Airport.The Committee recommended that a programme in accordance with the reduced resources available should be worked out.The programme should allow maximum application of labour and materials to work on the completion of maintenance areasand hangars, in order that the corporations might be accom- modated at the airport as soon as possible. In fact, it wasrecommended that the reduced constructional programme should again.be reviewed with a view to possible acceleration.
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