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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1302.PDF
66 FLIGHT JULY 2IST, 1949 WASHINGTON D.C. : Recognised as the most up-to-date airport in the United States, Washington is used mainly by domestic operators. Per- manent refuelling points are installed on the tarmac. Hermes and Marathon Turbo- prop Versions : A irport Movements: Aeradio Contract TUDOR BAN RELAXED SUBJECT to A.R.B. approval of certain modifications toTudors Mk. II and V, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is to lift the ban on passenger-carrying by these aircraft. The restriction was imposed on all types of Tudor, following the loss of the B.S.A.A. Tudor IV Star Ariel last January-. Neither of the types affected by this announcement was previously employed on regular pas"senger-carrying, but both have lately been used (with outstanding success) on the Air Lift, by B.S.A.A. and Airflight, Ltd. The Tudor IV, however, is still prohibited from taking passengers. SKYWAYS REDUNDANCY AS a direct result of the decision to withdraw a proportionof the civil aircraft from the Berlin Air Lift, Skyways, one of the main operators, has found it necessary to dismiss 400 employees, including ground staff from Dunsfold and aircrew. The company was flying eight Yorks and Lancastrians, and only one now remains on the operation. Rumours whicli gained currency that the company was to be wound up are stated to be without foundation. In taking its economy measures, the company was influenced also by the prospect of repercussions on the charter market caused by the withdrawal of some civil aircraft from the Air Lift since there will be greater competition than hitherto. It is generally accepted, also, that the condition of the charter market is not as good as before the Air Lift started over twelve months ago. Skyways will continue to maintain their entire fleet—more than half of which has been affected by this latest develop- ment—though the decision to do so is one which may later have to be reconsidered. The unpredictable condition of charter flying will create a problem for many other charter companies, large and small, who will be similarly affected. U.S. NAVIGATION PLAN THE use of omnirange, G.C.A. and I.L.S. in contributionto all-weather flying in the U.S.A. is no new subject in these pages, but it is now announced that the Civil Aeronautics Administration plans to complete the installation of a nation- wide navigation system within five years. It will entail the construction of 400 omnirange centres, nearly 300 of which have now come into operation. A new device for use with omnirange, and which considerably enhances the value of the system, is D.M.E. (Distance- Measuring Equipment). This development require* two trans- mitters, one on the ground and one carried in the aircraft. Signals transmitted from the aircraft are received at the ground station and immediately rebrnadrast, the time between trans- mission irom and reception at the aircraft being the measure of distance between aircraft and ground station. The time interval is measured by electronic computing equipment in the aircraft and translated into miles and tenths, so providing the pilot with what is, in effect, a mileage meter. So far, there - are only two D.M.E. transmitters operating in the U.S., but development is proceeding. Another subsidiary device for use with omnirange is an electronic system whereby an aircraft can be maintained at any required distance, e.g., two miles, parallel to the main route. The importance of this is that it virtually makes every flying route a multiple-lane aerial highway—a matter of some importance on the more congested lanes. FARNBOROUGH FORECASTS HPHERE is every' indication of some noteworthy engine J- developments in the new-production civil airliners which will be seen at Farnborough. Handley Pages expect to demon- strate the Hermes V, the largest aircraft powered by turbo- props. An experimental version of the piston-engined Hermes IV, which is in production for B.O.A.C., the Hermes V is at present undergoing tests with ground-running airscrews, but standard flight airscrews will soon be* fitted so that full-scale engine tests may begin in August and enable adequate test- flyang to be completed in time for the Display. It is possible that this aircraft (powered by four Bristol Theseus turboprops) will be fully furnished for carrying passengers. The -weight-to-power ratio of the very promising Theseus is 0.865 lb/h.p. compared with the 1.12 lb/h.p. of the Hercules piston engine, and the all-up weight of the Hermes V has been increased by 2,000 lb to 84,000 1b. Although the Mk. IV is expected to have a higher top speed (357 m.p.h.) than the Mk. V (351 m.p.h.), the cruising speed of the latter is expected to be 349 m.p.h.—nearly 50 m.p.h. faster than that of the Hermes IV. This is explained by the fact that gas-turbine power units operate most efficiently at speeds just below maximum; greatest power and optimum fuel consumption for any given height are reached at maximum speed, but a slight drop in r.p.in. prolongs the life of the power unit. At 10,000ft at maximum speed the Hermes V is expected- to cover 0.50 air miles per gallon of fuel and at 30,000ft con- sumption improves to o.8r a.m.p.g. At economical speed the a.m.p.g. ratio at 10,000ft has been estimated at 0.602 and at. 30,000ft at 0.80. " It is understood that few structural changes would i)es necessary to convert Hermes IVs to take Theseus engines? should experiments suggest that such a conversion would be- beneficial. Two Hermes Whave been ordered by the Ministry • of Supply as part of its turboprop development programme. ; Another new type which is expected to be on view at" Farnborough is the Mamba-engined Marathon, designed tn p TO
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