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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1971.PDF
EASTERN TIME2OfE TiMF"' "ZONE 'ATLANTIC NEWFOUNDLAND <5REENWiOH MEAN 737 Q 0 E B •V "LABRAD 0 t T A R I o •Sffnr- NEAPOUS #CHIC "TOLEDO" The route taken by Caledonia on her delivery flight. The short trip to Hartford was undertaken in order to change the airscrews (following a recent mod.). The dotted track is that followed by the author on his outward journey by B.O.A.C. and T.C.A, to Vancouver. the last 30 feet of descent and, in an endeavour to chase the bar, a "blind touch-down" was made with about 30 degrees of bank on. The Dehmel trainer, also referred to as the Curtiss-Wright flight simulator, was described and illustrated in Flight of October 27. From the financial viewpoint the Dehmel trainer is also very attractive. Though its cost is high—in round figures, £100,000—the saving made possible is even greater. Operating a Stratocruiser, for what may be called additional flying for crew training, costs between $500 and $700 per hour, i.e., ^200 per hour, whereas the synthetic trainer can be operated, with all costs allowed for at around $60 per hour. A normal hiring-out rate, with instructor, would be about £35 per hour. When B.O.A.C. have their own Dehmel they will save at least £170 for each hour of train- ing—which can, as a result of using the trainer, be done on the ground. This does not take into consideration such things as the convenience of being independent of weather and airfield organizations, the difference in overall time to put in one hour of training or the withdrawal of the aircraft. Crews in the past have put in twelve hours of check flying each year (Stratocruiser cost=£2,400). Now they will be able to achieve the same result with nine hours' Dehmel and three hours in flight (cost, ^870). An idea of the annual saving can be gained by multiplying the difference by forty for the average number of crews who carry out such flying. The wastage of aircrew from all causes is about 15 per cent per annum. To return now to the delivery flights, it has been decided that in future one crew will be detailed to collect all the remaining aircraft as they are handed over. They will be familiar with the procedure and the flight across America. Already the Stratocruisers have been taken into each of the main airports concerned with the North Atlantic routes in order to give servicing crews there experience in refuel- ling and general handling of the aircraft. Five Stratocruisers should be ready for operation within a short time of the service commencing. Cathay, Cham- pion and Caledonia have been delivered and Centaurus and Cassiopeia will follow shortly. The remaining B.O.A.C.- ordered aircraft will be delivered a little later without their galleys. The reason for this leads us back over old ground. The galleys are being constructed by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company at Dorval, Montreal; when the arrangement was made, Dorval was the maintenance base for the B.O.A.C. Constellation fleet and the airfield to which the new Stratocruisers would have been delivered. A saving of American dollars was one important point in mind when the original plans were made. As things turned out, the base had been transferred to Filton before the Stratocruisers could be delivered, although this could not have been foreseen. The first B.O.A.C. galley—a quite small and easily transported unit—was therefore sent to Boeing for a check installation in Caledonia, and the remainder are being shipped to Filton for installation after delivery of the aircraft in this country. This will result in reduced doHar costs. And so, having traced the preparations of crew and air- craft until the two meet on the Boeing airfield at Seattle, the time arrives for take-off on the delivery flight. Take-off Preparations [The following is a personal account of final preparations and the delivery flight from Seattle to London Airport.] There had been so much to see and learn in Seattle and so little time in which to do it that I for one was delighted to hear that, as a result of one or two minor snags and the reluctance of an airscrew to unf eather on ground test, there would be a 24-hour delay before take off. I had already had an opportunity to look over Caledonia and, by a wel- come coincidence, Captain Andrew, who was to fly her home, was on the same Constellation flight as myself on the way to America and Canada—we were thus acquainted in advance. During the extra day one of the jobs was to study the detailed delivery instructions ("four copies to the Captain ") from which details are extracted. (a) Delivery captains are required to ensure that they themselves and their crew are fully conversant with the instruction and to confirm to the Flight Captain before leaving Seattle that they have read this instruction and have conducted a crew briefing meeting upon it. (b) Once the aircraft has taken off from Seattle it comes under the normal control of the stations through which it passes and of the overall control of Sub-Line Control at Montreal and Line Control, Filton. (c) The normal delivery route is Seattle-New York (Idl- wild), Gander, London and Filton. Where applicable. Line Standing Orders are regarded as governing the general operation. Aerodrome Limits are a. specific exception. The route followed between Seattle (Boeing Field) and New York (Idlewild) is that used by N.W.A. via Spokane, Minneapolis and Chicago, i.e., Green 2 to Love Rock, Red 14 to Aurora and Green 3- to New York or, avoiding Chicago, via Green 2 to Milwaukee, Red 57 to Toledo and Green 3 to New York. Although Gander is included in the New York-London section, the direct flight may be made provided weather permits and fuel requirements are adhered to. There then follows a proposed time schedule and details, of availability of fuels, carriage of passengers, communica- tions procedures, diversion, navigation and catering orders. (d) Take-off weight charts are provided for both wet and dry power, and in considering runway lengths account has to be taken not only of wind velocity but of runway
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