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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0496.PDF
32S PROSPECTING the COMET ROUTE Sir Mites Thomas, Chairman of B.O.A.C., on High-lights of a 30,000-mile Air Tour In New Zealand : Right, the PrimeMinister, the Rt. Hon. S. Holland ; centre, Sir Miles Thomas : left, theHon. W. Goosman, Civil Air Minister. ON his return, on February 27th, from his 30,000-mile " Comet trail-blazing tour," Sir Miles Thomas wasinvited by Flight to give his outstanding impressions of the journey. In answer to questions, he made the noteworthy statements quoted below. The flight was by scheduled services, with the exception of 900 miles in a R.N.Z.A.F. Devon. He flew to Australia in Constellation 749s, in Australia by T.A.A. and A.N.A. DC-40 and DC-3S ; across the Tasman Sea in T.E.A.L. Solents ; and on the return journey, from Singapore, by B.O.A.C. Argonauts. At Hong Kong, in the Deep Bay location, Sir Miles inspected the site for a new airport; in a public statement issued on his return he said that it should provide ample runway length for the Comet— 2,500 yards with excellent approaches. In the same announcement he said : " It is hoped ultimately to reduce the elapsed time between London and Sydney to something under 40 hours when the Comet settles down to the route, but easier scheduling will be arranged to enable air- and ground-staffs to gain experience." << r • 1HE object of my journey was threefold : First to I get up-to-date information on the Corporation's current activities on the Kangaroo and Far Eastern routes; secondly, to inspect and discuss airport facilities for the Comet; and thirdly, to have business talks with executives of the Commonwealth airlines with whom B.O.A.C. has close associations. '' I am glad to be able to say that the recent revision of the administrative pattern of B.O.A.C. is beginning to show tangible and most encouraging results. At the out stations all along the Kangaroo routes the managers reported (and, indeed, demonstrated) that the flow of work is proceeding more smoothly and although, inevitably, staff morale had been affected by the enforced redundancies, there was a rising tempo of enthusiasm and a sense of effective accomplishment. " On all occasions except one I travelled as a normal pas- senger on scheduled services. The quality of food aloft has attained a very high standard now that frozen food, pre-cooked, is provided by B.O.A.C. The temporary-1 elimination of "George," the automatic pilot, is making greater demands on the crews, but these are not excessive and, indeed, manual control of aircraft flying through the turbulent conditions beween Indonesia and Darwin is preferred by some of the .more experienced passengers. I found them very appreciative of the amenities that are provided at Karachi and Darwin for a quick shower, shave and change of clothes, which have a remarkably freshening effect. "Airport control in Sydney (Mascot) could, I thought, he- better. The airport was pronounced "closed" almost on final approach, the decision being taken out of the cap- tain's hands, and a lengthy diversion to Dubbo imposed. " All along the route I was much impressed by the close co-operation between Qantas and B.O.A.C. personnel. Equally, a tour of Qantas maintenance facilities at Mascot left no doubt that the high standard set by the original Australian pioneers is being thoroughly well maintained by Mr. Hudson Fysh and his executive. "On the return journey from Singapore north to Hong Kong and then west I travellecf by Argonaut. These new- aircraft of B.O.A.C. are gaining new friends every day. The pilots like the way that they handle, and the passenger amenities, with the central galley and the lounge space aft, plus the convenience of individual tables provided for feeding, are much appreciated. The latest modifications to the headrests make the chairs as comfortable as any I have travelled in, and neither at climb nor cruise power are the Merlins, with their fish-tail exhausts, in any sense fatigue-inducing as to noise level. When the crossover manifold systems are installed, which eject all the exhaust outboard, the Argonaut will be very quiet indeed. "As to the preparations for operation of the Comet on the Kangaroo route, I found tremendous interest every- where in the potentialities of this all-British jet-driven civil aircraft. Because of the effect of temperature and humidity on the take-off power of jet engines generally, the airport conditions have to be examined carefully and in this examination I benefited from the investigations that Sir Frank Whittle had conducted before my arrival. " At Calcutta, which was once thought to be a critical ' point, 1 was assured by the Indian Director of Civil Aviation, Mr. Bhalla, that he was wholly sympathetic to the demands of the Comet, and he gave me an assurance that a 7,000ft runway with a 500ft overshoot space would be available when required. In Singapore it seems clear that the joint use of Tengah aerodrome by the R.A.F. and civil aircraft is undesirable, and an inspection of Kallang indicated that there was adequate length of ground available, that the bearing strengths were suitable, and that the approaches were satisfactory. Incidentally, because Kallang is so much nearer Singapore's centre than is Tengah, an estimated saving of £30,000 a year in passenger transport costs can be envisaged. "The Comet not only needs satisfactory, runways but radio aids as well. These are beiug installed on the route. Instrument landing systems and long-range voice facilities will be available. The policy behind the operation is that the Comet shall be taken under control while at altitude and several hundred miles away from the airport, so that the pilot can be allotted a time of arrival and given an accurate forecast of local weather conditions. While it is clear that B.O.A.C. will shoulder the cost of pioneering Comet operation on these routes, the local authorities reali/'1
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