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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1776.PDF
F LIGHT OCTOBER 2IST, Some Economic Factors in Civil Aviation . . a result of intermediate landings. Flight refuelling had ob-vious advantages at a non-traffic stop. How some possible journey times fitted into the NorthAtlantic pattern was shown in a pictorial graph—far which Mr. Masefield acknowledged Mr. C. Dykes, of B.O.A.C. Ata true air speed of 400 m.p.h., for instance, the London-New York journey could be accomplished non-stop in about 12hours' elapsed time. As a result of the five hours difference in time between the two cities, an aircraft could leave Londonat 10 a.m. after breakfast and arrive in New York at 4.30 p.m. in time for tea—or a "coke." The "apparent" time for thejourney would thus be seven hours. In the reverse direction, with the benefit of the winds, a 400 m.p.h. aircraft would takeabout nine hours for the journey. An overnight service, leaving New York at 7 p.m. before dinner and arriving inLondon for breakfast at 9 a.m., would thus be possible— an "apparent" journey time of 14 hours. These were aboutthe figures which would be accomplished by the Orion III and IV operated on the basis of improved methods of air trafficcontrol. The forthcoming North Atlantic battle between the turboprop and the plain jet was likely to be maintained fora number of years—although other types of power plant looked like being eliminated. Mr. Masefield's belief, was that the turboprop would havea long and profitable innings, in various forms and develop- ments on long-range services, before it was finally supersededby the plain jet whose extra speed, when allied with range, would make possible a greatly increased earning capacity and,hence, substantially reduced fares. Until such time as air traffic control was materially im-proved, the plain jet aircraft would be able to perform very fast services over stage lengths for which smaller conventionaltypes of aircraft could carry similar payloads more slowly. Because of its higher speed the jet would be able to providea much increased revenue-earning capacity. In consequence, the bigger plain-jet aircraft competing with the smaller andless expensive orthodox aircraft would be able to operate as economically and provide a more attractive service. For these reasons, experience'with commercial jet transports Operational Summary Fuel allowances (taxi, climb and descent) ... ... Fuel Reserves (diversion and stand off) Max still-air stage length f Block vp«d \ Stage length v. 90 m.p.h. ,wind component 1 Block speed 1 Unit* ^ib) ^H>) (mites) (m.p.h.> <miles) <m.p.h.) Orion f 11.560 14,3203.435 287 2.451 205 Orion II 12.5 IS 12.0504,730 289 , 3,356 205 Orion 111* 12.943 17,2504.4TO 349 3,440 2S7 Orion IV (Easier Standards) 48,264 19,7403,475 461 2,918 404 * By descending on only two engines and standing-off with one inboard engine stooped and its airscrew feathered, the reserves of the Orion III are reduced from the four engine figure of 3O,5OOIb to 17.2501b—a saving of 13,2501b, which is available for either pay load or range. Cost Summary Fixed annual costs Hourly cruiting costs Take-off and landing costs Orion 1 (standard piston) £332,421 £144.975 £387.78 Orion II ^compound piston) £354.645£141.420 £417.05 Orion III turbo- prop) £391,245 £173.425 £394.65 Orion IV (turbo. jet) £351,595 £151.958 £408.36 •- For an annual utilization of 3,000 hours with seven hours between landings, the operating coses will be ; Per annum Per hour Per stiFI-aiir stage mile Block speed (still-air) (m.p.h.) Orion 1 £938.421 £312 £1.14 273 Orion II £957.645 £319 £1.17 272 Orion 111 £1,080,245 £360 £1.07 335 Orion IV £1,017,198 £339 £0.72 479 Total annual operating cost Annual revenue Annual profit per air- craft Annual loss per "air- craft Orion 1 £1,004.500 £796,500 Nil £206,000 Orion 11 £1,005,000 £1,004,000 Nil £1.000 Orion III £1,160,300 £1,232,000 £71,700 None Orion IV (on easier standards) £1,267,700 £1,548,000 £280.300 None on short and moderate stage lengths was well worth gainingas soon as possible. Every hour of commercial service flown oa specialized routes would bring nearer the time when jettypes would sweep the board for^all stages from 200 miles upwards. Only experience of commercial operations wouldprovide the data on which developments could be planned. In the present state of the art there seemed little object indesigning a jet aircraft of less than about 75,000 1b gross weight—a minimuan size for economic services over moderateranges in competition with smaller conventional types. In his conclusions concerning power plants Mr. Maseiieldsaid the orthodox piston engine possessed merits of reliability and of thoroughly understood performance. It was at itsbest in aircraft of moderate size, flying at moderate speeds and heights, for moderate stages. Compound piston enginesusing exhaust-driven turbines geared to the crankshaft showed prospects of marked economic advances over the standardengine for long ranges. Turboprops had many problems of their own not encountered in the plain turbojet. Nevertheless,they offered prospects of increased speed over all forms of piston engines without corresponding prospects of increasedcost. One further stage towards eliminating the airscrew, theducted fan or by-pass engine, offered interesting possibilities. The plain turbojet—whether it be axial-flou- or centrifugal—offered the most attractive prospects of all, combined with the largest number oi technical and operational headaches,when applied to air transport. At present the economic curve of the jet aircraft resembled a V rather than a U. However,as things were going at present, there were prospects of economical services with commercial jet aircraft for mediumranges during the next six years. Mr. Masefield concluded on a note of confidence in whichhe again emphasized that efficient aircraft, matched to the routes that they were to operate, were, and would remain,the fundamental factor in the whole air transport business. Efficient aircraft, attractive to passengers, competitive in per-formance, reliable in operation and economic in service, could be evolved only through a full understanding of the problemsinvolved. He was confident that civil aviation had a major contribution to make in world affairs, and also in tlie abilityof the aircraft industries of the world in general and the British aircraft industry in particular, to deliver the typesof aircraft which would set new standards in performance and economy, and confidence in the air carriers of the world—especially in the air carriers oi the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth—to develop that network of economic serviceswhicb could provide the finest foundation of a new peace and a new prosperity. " FLIGHT " BY AIR READERS in European countries (except Poland) can havecopies of Flight despatched by air, where this method offers speedier delivery than by surface mail, to reach themwithin about 24 hours of publication. The annual subscrip- tion by air is £5 is and shorter periods pro rata. If any difficulty is experienced in remitting, our publisherswill give names and addresses of subscription agents abroad to whom subscriptions may be paid, on request to Iliffe and Sons,Ltd., Dorset House, Stamford Street, London, S.E.i. INTERPLANETARY MAN LECTURING before the British Interplanetary Society atSt. Martin's School, London, on Saturday, October 9th, Dr. Olaf Stapledon, the author of Star Maker and Last andFirst Men, gave his audience a stimulating hour of philosophical hypotheses on interplanetary man. This subject and its treat-ment was something of a change from the normal lectures and discussions at the B.I.S. which usually tend to devolve ontechnical aspects of astronautic study. Although exhibiting a mental perception utterly untraraKmelled by conventional limits of imagination, Dr. Stapledon kept in the main to an avenue which, although hypotheticalin direction, was, nevertheless, built on a hard core of physical probabilities. Although some of his conclusions were unmis-takably, even flagrantly, designed to amuse his audience, he did, nevertheless, warm his hearers at the true flame at-philosophy in emphasizing the point that, not only must we unify our own species before setting out on interplanetaryexploration, but, equally as important, rhe fundamentally truthful reasons for making such explorations must previouslybe .recognized. B 26
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