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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1254.PDF
FLIGHT JULY 7TH, T040 Civil Aviation News Major R. H. Thornton, M.C. ; Sir Clement Jones, C.B. ; andMr. H. L. Newlands, M.B.E. On the eve of taking over, Sir Miles Thomas paid tributeto Sir Harold Hartley for his guidance and inspiration. The time he had spent as deputy chairman, he said, had left himin no doubt about the manifold problems which had yet to be tackled, but he was impressed by the determination of theCorporation's staff to overcome them. The organization was being "streamlined" and every employee's task was nowmore clearly defined than was possible during the transition period following the war, when uneconomic airliners made fromconverted bombers had to be introduced hurriedly. Sir Miles said the annual deficit was coming down, and the capacity-ton-mile per employee was increasing encouragingly. JATO AT LA PAZ >- -v BRANIFF International Airways have started the commer-cial use of JATO (jet-assisted take-offs) from La Paz, Bolivia. The airport is 13,398ft above sea level, and untilrecently the airline was flying DC-3 services on the route from Lima. It is understood that the standard DC-4 can be operatedwithout assistance from La Paz, but JATO equipment has been provided to increase safety and permit heavier take-offloads from that airfield. Each aircraft is equipped with four JATO rockets, two on the underside of each wing, at the root.The pilot initiates the rocket action by a switch in the cockpit, and the combined effort from the four is equivalent to some1,200 h.p. PROCTOR ACCIDENT REPORT THE Chief Inspector of Accidents has reported on the cir-cumstances of the accident to a Proctor V, G-AGTD, which occurred at Kingstown airfield, Carlisle, on October18th, 1948- The aircraft, belonging to Astral Aviation, Ltd., had been chartered to fly two passengers from Newcastle toCarlisle.and return. Kingstown was unlicensed, but permission to land was givensubject to the operators doing so at their own risk. The flight to Carlisle was uneventful, and it was during the take-off fromKingstown (where an additional passenger had emplaned) that the accident occurred. A 750-yard take-off run was avail-able in the direction chosen. The first 600 yards was uphill, and when the aircraft reached the top of the slope it was stillnot airborne, and was rapidly approaching the boundary. The pilot, Mr. J. G. Robson, throttled back and applied brake.He was, however, unable to prevent the aircraft crashing into the adjoining field. It was severely damaged and the threepassengers were injured. On examination, it was found that the surface of the ground was very soft and muddy, and insome places the grass was over I2in high. At the point where the take-off began, the wheels had sunk into the ground to a depth of 4in. The Chief Inspector is of the opinion that theaccident was due to the retarding effect of the airfield surface conditions on the fully loaded aircraft during its take-off run,and that the pilot should have appreciated the situation. With the second observation the pilot did not agree. AIRLIFT ACCOUNT "PREPARED by the Air Ministry and the Central Office of*- Information, an account of the Berlin Air Lift has been published by H.M. Stationery Office. To claim, however, thatit is an account of the British contribution is a mis-statement, in that the effort of the British civil charter companies hasonce again been left almost unnoticed. Mention is certainly made in several places of the immense value of the civil con-tribution, particularly in respect of the special experience and equipment which some of the operators had for carrying largequantities of liquid fuel; but there is a lack of detailed descrip- tion of their particular operations. Moreover, although thepublication is adequately illustrated, there are but two photo- graphs of civil aircraft. In spite of these shortcomings, the publication makes in-teresting reading, particularly in its exposition of traffic-control methods and the development of the Air Lift. British losses during the Air Lift have totalled 23 men killedin seven crashes, three of which involved civil aircraft. AERADIO PROGRESS ELEVEN airlines, in addition to the British Corporations,now have holdings in International Aeradio, Ltd. All or part of the air/ground circuits, radio aids to navigation, point-to-point and meteorological broadcasts are operated by I.A.L. at r7 stations on the main trunk routes and I.A.L. officers'handle air-traffic control and flight information service at seven. Asmara and Sharjah airports are now completely underthe company's management, while a special representative is maintained in Turkey and I.A.L staff have been seconded tothe Syrian Government. It is rather interesting, also, that a specially equipped mobile unit designed by I.A.L. providestraffic control facilities for aircraft visiting Newmarket air- field fot race meetings. Other services now provided by the Company include brief-ing, radio maintenance up to C. of A. standards, and the provision of qualified technicians and other staff as consultantsand advisers to the Crown Agents for the Colonies and various governments. The Aerad Flight Guide has formed a compactradio manual with world coverage, and there is an efficient amendment service; more than 100 operators are now subscrib-ing to this service, which is compiled from official information. In special instances along the main traffic routes used byBritish and American operators the British company'is working in co-operation with its American counterpart, Air Inc. In view of the participation by airlines, referred to above,it is of interest briefly to quote some' figures from the Aeradio report and accounts for 1948. A profit of ^20,192 is shown. m GERMAN INTEREST: A P.A.W.A. Stratocruiser on a recent visit to Frankfurt created a great deal of interest amongst the civil population. Pan American Airways are planning a regular Stratocruiser service between the U.S.A. and Germany, to start next December. D 10
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