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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0084.PDF
5« FLIGHT, 12 January 1950 CIVIL AVIATION NEWS . - - Panagra, Panair Brazil, Air France, JAO.A~C, Alitalia,K.L.M., Scandinavian Airlines and Cruzeiro do Sul (Brazil) are aflected. Pending a solution of the deadlock, services arebeing terminated in Montevideo, Uruguay. Chilean, Spanish and Uruguay airlines are not affected because they are servicedby the state-owned F.A.M.A. company. AIR-FREIGHT EXPANSION A RECENT meeting of the Air Cargo Division of the Ameri-can Society of Mechanical Engineers was told by air- freight experts that substantial reduction in costs must bemade if the freight business is to become profitable. A com- pletely new type of airport, improved ground-transport facili-ties and newly designed all-freight aircraft capable of carrying greater payloads and providing greater ease of gi ound-handlingwere considered necessary. It was said that the converted passenger transports now usedcannot be considered true freighters '' any more than a large limousine can be called a truck by removing its interiorsealing.'' A consensus of opinion considered that the ideal cargo air-craft should have a low-built fuselage, large doors, a com- pletely unobstructed interior, devices for clarriping cargo inposition, air-conditioning and heating for perishable goods. Two sizes of aircraft were recommended—the first to carryfrom five to ten tons of payload at 300 m.p.h with a range of 500 te 1,500 miles, and the second, capable of coast-to-coast range, to carry from ten to fifteen tons at 400 m.p.h. None of the experts who advanced these views, however,wa-s able to put forwaid any useful solutions of the economic problems involved in such large-scale terminal and other facili-ties as those suggested. With the increasing importance of the air-freight industry (the term is lapidly becoming anaccurate description) the need for vast improvements in both the airborne and ground-handling aspects ol the operationsrequires 10 stressing. Comprehensive studies of the subject are currently being made in America and, indeed, some of themajor airlines are already considering the puichase of fleets of all-freight aircraft. Mr. Ralph S. Damon president ofT.W.A., has expressed the opinion that "the ton-mileage of cargo carried by the airlines may easily exceed passenger ton-mileage within the next ten years, and the time may come when the dollar revenues from both sources will be equal." FIRST AUTOCAR DELIVERED 'PHE first Auster J.5/B Autocar was delivered to a privateA owner, Mr. Roy Mitchell (of Engineering, Ltd., Peter- borough) on December 31st. Excellent reports, it is said,have been received from those who have flown the machine which (in its latest form with slightly enlarged fin and rudder)is said to handle very pleasantly. The Autocar is regarded as a completely new aircraft rather than a development ofearlier models. C. of A. tests have, it is stated, been passed without the need for a single modification and issue of thecertificate approved. Other Autocars are nearing completion and are due for delivery in the near future. The aircraft sells for £1,500 (inclusive of a metal airscrew,silencer and standard instrumentation)—a very reasonable price for a four-seater aircraft with a Gipsy Major I (132 h.p.engine). Additional equipment such as ianding-lamps, radio, cross-wind landing gear, navigation and interior lighting anda full blind-flying panel may be installed at extra cost. BREVITIES 'T'HE fast Convair transport to be demonstrated in South A America left Miami during December on a twenty-day tour embracing Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine. • •» * •• By ti*e delivery of the twentieth "377," Boeing Aircraft has completed the $30 million Pan American contract for Stratocruisers. This is the airline's third Boeing fleet. • * * • With the revival of trade in Western Germany K.L.M. has commenced a new twice-weekly service between Amsterdam and Munich, calling at DusseMorf and Nuremberg for the first time since the war. In conjunction with Sabena, K.L.M. also operate a service to Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna. * * * Pan American World Airways have completed the pro- gramme intended to simplify their corporate constitution. P.A.A.C. has been absorbed by P.A.A. Inc. and the name of the latter changed to P.A.W.A. Inc. The company will, however, retain the initials " PAA " on tails and wings. * * * Following the publication of the British Airways Corpora- tions' traffic figures for the month of August, 1949, the M.C.A. has issued an amendment. It was previously stated that 133,000 more passengers were carried than in August, 1948; the figure referred to the total number carried and not to the increase, which was, in fact, 33 per cent higher than in August. # * * Passengers wishing to make enquiries about the departureof American Airlines' nights from New York will be able to dial a number and receive the information just as they nowobtain weather forecasts by telephone. The replies are pro- vided by a recorded voice direct from the flight despatch office.The company expects a substantial reduction in peak telephone loads as a result. ... » * »•" • • .'- .. .. -' '"A preliminary estimate of traffic figures for 1949 reveals that B.O.A.C. carried almost 150,000 passengers and flew408,625,763 passenger-miles—an increase over the correspond- ing figures for 1948, which were 136,000 and 404,500,000respectively. The route-mileage total also increased during the year. Approximate figures for B.E.A. are 708,000 passengerscarried, 15,145,000 passenger-miles and 21,072,000 revenue load-ton-miles flown. Comparative figures for 1948 were:565,000, 12,353,000 and 15,737,000. # * *It is reported that the Societe des Avians Marcel Dassault has worked out preliminary designs for a medium-sized trans- port aircraft powered by four turbojets. As the second part of the tangential expansion plan forSchiphol airport, a 6,000-ft runway capable of supporting 150-ton aircraft has been completed on the bed of a drainedlake. The surface is 12ft below sea level. * * # According to an estimate by the New York Times, theAmerican scheduled domestic airline industry will probably show a net profit of over $16 million as compared with a netloss of $7 million for the corresponding period in 1948. * * * Gatwick has been in the news during the past week or two,due chiefly to some unfounded, or at least very premature, announcements concerning its future. It is understood thatB.E.A. favour the retention and development of the airfield, but all that has been firmly announced is that the Ministryof Civil Aviation has decided to postpone de-requisitioning (due on January 31st) for an unspecified period pending dis-cussions. It is hoped that Gatwick will be developed for use as a main diversionary airfield for aircraft otherwise destinedfor London Airport. * * # Chilean National Airlines have completed negotiations forthe purchase of six more D.H. Doves for internal services. Three of the six aircraft already purchased are being assembledin Santiago and will.be put into service this year. * * * When the fitting of cabin pressurizatioii equipment has beencompleted the Avro C-102 Jetliner will commence experimental flights over the Canadian network. A tentative selling priceof the Jetliner, announced by Avro (Canada) as a basis for discussion, will be approximately 700,000 Canadian dollars(£220,000). The figure anticipates an intial batch of 50. * * 1 * Australian airlines statistics for the three months endedSeptember 30th show a slight seasonal decline as compared with the previous quarter in passenger-totals on domesticroutes, together with a drop in load factor to 57 per cent. Freight and mail volume both increased considerably. Com-pared with the September quarter of 1948, however, the number of passengers carried increased by 4 per cent, routemileage by 5.8 per cent and freight ton miles by 45.3 per cent. * * * The Board of British South American Airways Corporationceased to operate as an independent and paid body at the end of December. For legal reasons, however, it is necessarythat nominal existence should continue ; it will be subsidiary to the Board of B.O.A.C. and will not carry out any active work.With effect from January 1st Sir Francis Brake and Sir John
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