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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1457.PDF
FLIGHT 25M August, 1V*V ZZl '//unrated by " Flight" photogropht VISCOUNT in the air A Glimpse of a New Phase Handling and Performance of in Air Transport : i Turboprop Airliner No. 32 OF THIS SERIES WITHOUT exception, everyone who has been fortu-nate enough to fly in the Vickers Viscount haslanded full of praise for the smooth and silent comfort it offers. It is no exaggeration to say that this intended replacement for the Viking is an exceptional machine which heralds a new phase in air transport. Moreover, the fact should not be overlooked (or obscured by consideration of the particular qualities bestowed by the four Rolls-Royce turboprops) that this Vickers design gives every indication of being a first-class job in its own right, whether powered by gas turbines or piston engines. It is well-known that the prototype is to be followed by an enlarged version, to be called the Viscount 700, of which some details were given in our issue of March 24th last. The increased accommodation is likely to give it wider appeal among operators, to enable it to operate with greater economy, and to take advantage of the much greater power available from later marks of Dart (R.Da3, 1,420 s.h.p.). There is, however, no reason to believe that the behaviour or characteristics of the Viscount 700, with 5ft greater span and 6ft 8in larger fuselage, will differ to any marked extent from those of the first machine. No prototype has given less trouble during its early stages, and following nearly a year of development and testI B Y T H E EDITOR flying during which some 200 hours of air experience had been gained, the machine was taken into the hangars a few weeks ago for the fitting of pressurization equipment and for a complete inspection of airframe and power units. Much of the testing for grant of a Certificate of Airworthi- ness had been completed, and now that the aircraft is flying again this work will be completed as soon as possible. Because the earlier tests were carried out with Darts delivering 1,000 s.h.p. each, the present units which have now been type-tested at 1,250 s.h.p. are derated for the completion of C. of A. tests to avoid repeating certain tests at a higher power. In any case, the 1,000 s.h.p. per Dart is quite adequate for +he prototype's needs. It is now eight months since a member of Flight's staff was able to give his impressions while flying as a passenger in the Viscount. Last week I was permitted to fly as second pilot to F/L. G. R. Bryce, and to sample the aircraft from the pilot's point of view. Naturally, at this stage, I was not able to handle the machine to the same extent as on the usuau "in the air" tests, but some definite impressions could nevertheless be gained by doing some of the flying, watching some more, and comparing notes afterwards. Corporation pilots have done many hours of routine test-flying on the Viscount and are under-
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