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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1467.PDF
AUGUST 25TH, 1949 FLIGHT 231 NO GALLEY SLAVES ;;c The Interior Layout of B.O.A.C. Stratocruisers : Another Viewpoint IT is now customary for an aircraft manufacturer to con-sult with the operator on every detail of a new designbefore work is even started and to continue to hold consultations at each stage of construction. In particular, the planning of the interiors of airliners has become almost entirely the responsibility of the individual customer, each one contracting for a layout which he considers most suit- able for the work to be undertaken. This absence of a basic interior design applies to the Stratocruiser. Some views, originating in America,* on the costs of the interior layout of B.O.A.C. Stratocruisers, were recently published and tend to convey a wrong impression. In par- ticular, the position of the galley was adversely discussed, since the B.O.A.C. central location was thought to be a modification to a basic layout which incorporated the galley at the rear. Those views, in some instances, were keenly critical and therefore merited further examination on this side. As is usually the case, when all aspects of a story have been heard it assumes a different complexion. Par- ticularly if the picture is surveyed from the beginning. Much of the criticism advanced can be traced back to the delayed delivery of the Stratccruisers, which is, of course, most unfortunate and embarrassing, but no one could have foreseen the prolonged strike which has brought this delay about. Apart from the strike, there has, it appears, been further delay as a result of certain development problems quite outside the prospective operators' control, and B.O.A.C. are not the only airline to be so inconveni- enced. It should not be overlooked that the original discus- sions between the manufacturers and B.O.A.C. started nearly four years ago—in fact, before the end of the Japanese war, when the aircraft was merely in the design stage as a civil development of the C-97 military transport based on the B-29 Superfortress. At that time purchasers were quoted a basic price for the aircraft virtually as a "shell" (as, indeed, is common practice), leaving each customer to submit his own plans for interior layout and equipment. The galley was specifically to be customer- furnished equipment in every case. Guided by long-range forecasts on traffic trends, and their own convictions and experience in passenger comfort and service in the air, the B.O.A.C. interior layout committee presented a design incorporating an amidships galley. A central position for the galley was chosen by B.O.A.C. in accordance with their normal policy as seen in the Solent, Canadair, and Bristol 175. Experience only can prove the merit of the decision applied to the Stratocruiser. * " American Notebook," " Flight." August 4th. ' - The cost quoted by Boeing was matched, including sparesand ancillary equipment, to come within a Treasury appro- val of \2 million dollars, and B O.A.C. confirms that thecost of the project is still inside the sum so provided. The actual prices paid by individual purchasers for each order,incidentally, remain a confidential matter between pur- chaser and manufacturer. Although Pan American had ordered 20 Stratocruiserswith a rear galley (and being the first purchaser, they obviously obtain first delivery) their design cannot be con-sidered in any way a basic one; in fact, no particular interior layout was adopted by the manufacturers as a basic design.Apart from B.O.A.C., United Air Lines, the American domestic operators, are another company who have orderedcentrally located galleys in the Stratocruiser. In order to save conversion costs the four Stratocruisers ordered byScandinavian Airlines System and subsequently repur- chased from them for sterling by B.O.A.C. will be acceptedwith rear galleys. Maintenance-base Transfer Three years ago, when the B.O.A.C. Atlantic Division (as it was theii called) maintenance was done in Montreal, the aircraft order was placed and delivery was expected to begin after 18 months. There was no suggestion at that time of the base being transferred to England. To save American dollars on both capital and labour the galley with its British equipment was designed by B.O.A.C. and manufactured at Montreal in readiness for the Stratocruisers which were to be delivered there from Seattle. Installation would then havt- been a Canadian dollar item with B.O.A.C.'s own staff at its own base. The ovens themselves are British equipment purchased for sterling. By reason of the aforementioned delay in delivery and the removal to Filton of the B.O.A.C. base, the benefit of this scheme has been lost. An immediate advantage of the central galley is that room is provided for an extra toilet in a strategic position, an important consideration in view of its 65 passenger accom- modation, and at the same time no seating accommodation is sacrificed. It will not escape observation that a central galley provides maximum stability in rough air for the stewards during their culinary activities. Looking further ahead, and studying the plans, it would appear that B.O.A.C. have provided themselves with a flexible layout and can, if need be, offer self-contained two-class travel without major modifications should such a system be intro- duced within the life of the Stratocruiser. WORLD FLIGHT COMPLETEDM RS. R1CHARDA MORROW-TAIT landed at Prestwicklast Friday afternoon from a round-the-world flight which had taken a year and a day. Starting in a Percival Proctor(Gipsy Six) on August 18th, 1948, with Mr. Michael Townsend as navigator, she flew by way of Marseilles, Cyprus, Bahrein,Karachi (September 3rd), Delhi, Calcutta, Rangoon, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokio (October 27th); they then beganthe hazardous -Siorth Pacific Ocean section of the flight, from Japan to Alaska via the Aleutian chain, and reached Shemya,Alaska, safely on November 4th, only to have the Proctor wrecked in an almost-successful forced-landing on a highwayas a result of fuel shortage. (The special navigational and meteorological problems of this section of the flight weredescribed by Mr. Townsend in an article in this journal on June 30th last.) As there was no possibility of resuming the flight imme-diately, the navigator returned to this country to complete his studies for a forthcoming examination at Cambridge and thepilot stayed in the United States in an effort to raise money for another aircraft in which the journey could be completed. Eventually, an elderly Harvard was purchased and, after various adventures—which appear to have included brushes r. 2=; with the U.S. and Canadian governments over such matters asan export licence—she reached Greenland 011 August ijtli, where Mr. Townsend rejoined her. On August I7th-i8th theyflew to Reykjavik, Iceland, and on to Prestwick the next day. MECHANICAL-HANDLING EQUIPMENT '"PHERE can be few firms in the aircraft and allied industriesJ- which do not, to a greater or lesser extent, make use of mechanical-handling facilities in their works. Those who areconsidering the acquisition, during the coming year, of new plant c.f this kind may be interested to learn that theMechanical Handling Exhibition, first held in London with considerable success in July, 1948, is to be repeated atOlympia, London, from June 6th to 17th, 1950. The Exhi- bition will be larger than the fust one, and its run of 11 daysinstead of nine has been arranged to include two Saturdays. Exhibits will cover the full range of equipment for the hand-ling, lifting, stacking and short-distance transportation of goods; they will include trucks, conveyor and elevator systems,ropeways, cranes, hoists, winches, and all accessories. The Exhibition is organized by Mechanical Handling, one ofthe publications of Associated Iliffe Press, and is supported by. the leading industrial associations concerned. ' •
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