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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0236.PDF
»54 FLIGHT, 2 February 1950 CIVIL AVIATION NEWS . . . mileage and passenger freight capacities had been increased. The chairman thought that the prospects for 1950-51 were• brighter and that big economies resulting from the reorganiza- tion were already becoming evident. Mentioning that thefluid international situation in South East Asia made it in- creasingly important that there should be a strong and efficientair service between the homeland and the Empire territories in the eastern hemisphere, Sir Miles said : "In this connectionmuch preparatory work for Comet operations has to be done. Problems of aerodrome lengths, high altitude, weather andwind studies, the effect of humidity and tropical heat on jet performance, especially at take-ofi with full loads, have allto be motivated." Probably underlining the implications of Sir Miles Thomas'statements is the fact that Sir Frank Whittle is now touring India, where he is conferring with the C.-in-C. of the RoyalIndian Air Force and officials of the civil aviation directorate of the Indian Government on such matters as the operationof jet airliners and its effect on navigational and landing aids and ground-control facilities. Considerable modifications willbe necessary at most airfields before Comets can be success- fully routed through India. LIGHT-AIRCRAFT SAFETY IN M.C.A. Circular No. 9/1950 reference is made to the num-ber of accidents which have recently occurred to light aircraft when taking-off from fields, "largely due to failure on the part of the pilots concerned to observe the elementary requirements of airmanship." Pilots operating from confined spaces are recommended to pay particular attention to the length available for take-off and to the height of nearby obstructions in relation to the published performance of the aircraft. Attention is drawn to the fact that take-off per- formance can be adversely affected by a number of factors such as long grass, rough surfaces, uphill slopes, down- draughts (which may exist in the lee of clumps of trees, buildings and ground undulations), and also the effects of high summer temperatures. The importance of familiarity with the correct use of flaps for take-off and loading restrictions is also stressed. •. --_ DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY p Italian air transport indusLry is showing a strong ten--L dency towards centralization. Instead of the 11 com- panies which were operating in 1947, there are now only three-major airlines, Alitalia, Ali-Flotte Ruinite and L.A.I. A further measure of centralization may this year reduce thenumber of two. Approximately 50 per cent of air traffic in Italy is handled by national companies. Plans include theinauguration of Rome-New York and Rome-Mogadishu services. Much reconstruction has been accomplished at various air-fields throughout the country, and the airport at Ciampino is now considered one of the best in Europe. Plans for the newinternational airport at Fiumicino, near Rome, are well advanced, and its construction is expected to begin in thenear future. During the past year the route network of combined Italian airlines totalled 61,765 km. In the sameperiod a total of 7',784,080 aircraft-kilometres were flown and 166,852 passengers transported, while figures for mail andcargo amounted to 921,234 kg and 3,403,521 kg respectively. PROCTOR PRECAUTIONS TN Notice to Licensed Aircraft Engineers and Owners of Civil•*- Aircraft No, 34, the A.R.B. calls for an immediate inspec- tion of the mainplane spars of all Proctor IV and V aircraftto ensure that there are no defects in the timber and that all glued joints are sound. A structural failure in the air inProctor V aircraft was recently reported and these precautions have been ordered pending the result of the investigation. Thenotice also stresses that Proctors are classified in the "normal category" only and must not be subjected to evolutions whichmight lead to abrupt variations ot attitude. The new instruc- tion cancels an earlier issue of the same notice arising fromthe failure of a Proctor IV. AMBASSADOR IN EIRE THE second prototype Ambassador was recently demon-strated to Aer Lingus at Collinstown, near Dublin. Flown by Mr. G. B. S. Errington, Airspeed's chief test pilot, accom-panied by Mr. P. E. Gordon-Marshall, the sales director, the Ambassador spent three days in Eire. During this period areturn trip was made to Shannon airport, with Aer Lingus directors and officials of the Department of Industry and Com-merce on board. Several Aer Lingus pilots had the opportunity of handling the aircraft in the air on the demonstration nights. Although the Ambassador was being flown at relatively low-levels throughout its tour, the point-to-point speeds recorded were saul to have been very encouraging when related to theprevious test figures. On the outward journey the flight be- tween Hum and Collinstown was made in 1 hr 4 min, anaverage of 246 m.p.h., including climb and descent—this in spite of the fact that the aircraft cruised at only 8,000ft andthe engines were being run at less than 60 per cent M.E.T.O. The average speed for the return trip was 241 m.p.h., and theaverage T.A.S. during each flight 250 m.p.h. The Ambassa- dor's published cruising speed for these power and heightconditions is, in fact, exactly 250 m.p.h. The second prototype is equipped with the Decca Navigatorsystem, and all over-weather position-finding was carried out with this equipment, which proved itself to be extremelyaccurate and is said to have given good results even on the west coast of Eire,, nearly 400 miles from the master transmit-ting station. Aer Lingus at present operates a fleet of 13 DC-3S and has animpressive record of passenger totals and aircraft utilization. Last year the company carried 193,000 passengers and Over1,700,000 kg of freight. The longest route operated is that from Dublin to Amsterdam via Manchester—the type of servicefor which the Ambassador should be eminently suitable. SIAMESE SERVICES '"TRANS-ASIATIC AIRLINES, a company operated by the-*- Government of Thailand, is expected to commence regu- lar services between Bangkok and London and Bangkok andLos Angeles. Mr. D. S. Starr, vice-president of the company, has completed a three-month visit to New York, where hehas been negotiating for the purchase of four Skymasters to be used on the new routes. Mr. Starr states that operationswill probably commence within four or five months and that the services will be flown over both the Atlantic and MiddleEast routes. Further negotiations are in progress to pur- chase six Saab Scandias, which will be used as replacementsfor the aircraft now in service in Thailand and Burma. AMBASSADOR TO EIRE: The Airspeed Ambassador which, as reported on this page, was recently demonstrated to Aer Lingus, isseen here at Collinstown, Dublin's airport. To the right is an Aer Lingus Dakota. ' . . .
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