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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0639.PDF
FLIGHT, 30 March 1950 417 MAINTENANCE AND SAFETY . . . indirect costs as well as materials and work done by outside contractors, accounted for in one case 18 per cent and in the other case 2 r per cent of the total cost per usable capacity ton-mile flown. Other items of expenditure, such as Station Costs, Pas- senger Services and Sales and Publicity, together accounted for a further 24 per cent of the total. Approximately 31 per cent was absorbed by such items as Administration, - Pre-operational and Development Costs, charter of aircraft and crews, etc. It is already apparent that vigorous action is being taken by both Corporations to reduce the total cost for usable capacity ton-miles to a more economical figure. One policy which they might profitably pursue would be an all-out drive to increase the sale of seats and freight space, i.e., to increase the load factor, together with a similar but more domestic drive to reduce the 31 per cent of the cost per usable capacity ton-mile flown absorbed in 1948-49 on administration, pre-operational work and development, and on the charter of aircraft and crews, etc. It has already been said that, given certain circum- stances, air transport is essentially a business capable of AN AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT More News of the " Freighter Fertilizer" FULL-SCALE tests have recently t>eeii carried out at Filtouwith a Bristol 170 adapted lor the aerial distribution of agricultural dressing material. In the November 24th, 1949,issue of Flight, we published the first details of this applica- tion of the Freighter, and since that date the Bristol AeroplaneCompany have pursued their investigations to the extent of establishing distribution densities. An experimental hopperof one ton capacity has been installed in a Freighter, and pelletted superphosphate dropped over the " Brabazon " run-way from varying heights at 125 knots, and with varying sizes of outlet aperture. The fact that the pavement of the large runway at Filtonis made in slabs 20ft square has facilitated the measurement of distribution density. After each dropping operation, thelengths and width of the swathes have been measured and the density of each swathe calculated by the results of sweepingup and weighing the material on each 20ft square of runway pavement across the swathe. In drops from 400ft, an overallswathe-width of 180ft was measured and produced a density of 0.5 cwt/acre extending over 128ft, and a peak density inthe centre of the swathe of 3.4 cwt/acre. With a dropping height of 700ft, the overall width of the swathe was increasedto 360ft, with an average density of 0.5 cwt/acre over 196ft, and with a peak density of 1.8S cwt/acre in the centre. The Type 170 is easily able to maintain an annual utiliza-tion rate of 1,500 hours, so that one aircraft, equipped with three two-ton hoppers, would be capable of dressing 180,000 becoming self-supporting if adequately developed with energy and enterprise. The 1948-49 deficits thrown up by our two Corporations indicate that the amount of energy and enterprise needed will require to be worth over eight million pounds. It seems unlikely that this large annual loss will be completely obliterated—in the case of B.O.A.C., at any rate—in less than seven years' operating under any new organization which is introduced and which contains the required energy and enterprise; but the indications are that those concerned are very alive to the situation. We must not slip into the defeatist attitude of considering the money spent on our civil aviation over the last five years as thrown down the drain. We now have the finest technicians and the finest aircrews in the world, what remains is to build up a commercial organization to fill the aircraft our engineers provide and our aircrews fly. What would appear imperative is that the commercial side of the Corporations should exert the utmost effort to back up the other departments, while the administrators tackle the con- tinuing problem of reducing,administrative costs and intro- ducing economies without in any way lowering efficiency. When the 1949-50 accounts are published it will be interesting to analyse them and see whether they; indicate that such measures have been applied. • , :; .<. ., ,. * -:.-» . This sketch of the Bristol 170 interior shows a suggested installation of three hoppers, each of two tons capacity. acres per annum on the basis of this annual utilization. Ata rate of ^45 per flying hour, the cost of aerial dressing i? calculated as being 7s 6d an acre or £3 15s for each ton o'phosphate distributed; or, at a cost of £40 per flying hour 6s 8d an acre, or £3 3s 8d for each ton of phosphate. NEW GLAZING PLASTIC ACCORDING to reports from America, a transparent plasticmaterial of comparatively recent introduction, known as Sierracin. is being widely adopted by airlines, and by at leastone aircraft manufacturer, for glazing cabin windows. Eastern Air Lines and Pan American, it is said, are to re-glaze all theirConstellations with this material, and T.W.A. have specified it for new Constellations on order. It is also stated that ordershave been received from this side of the Atlantic, B.O.A.C. and Air France being named. Though cheaper than safety-glass, Sierracin is approximatelytwice as expensive as comparable plastics. A weight-saving of 144II) (for a Constellation's cabin windows) is cited in com-parison with glass.. Tts chief claims are that it is not subject to "crazing" and is not adversely affected by most cleaningcompounds or by scaling compounds. Physical properties claimed include a Rockwell hardness ofM60-M100, tensile strength io,7oolb/sq in, flexural strength 16,000—I9,ooolb/sq in and resistance to continuous heat ofIrom 210 to 225 (leg F. Light transmission is given as 89 per cent (refractive index, 1.55). Manufactured by the SierraProducts Co., the new material is distributed by the Moulton Co., Inc., 2310 Winona Avenue, Burbank, Calif. HYDRAULICS V "Fluid Pressure Mechanisms," by H. G. Conway, M.A..A.M.I.Mech.E., F.R.Ae.S. Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., Parker Street, London, W.C.2. Price 25s. THE author of this book is the technical director of BritishMessier, Ltd., and is widely recognized as being one of the leading figures in the hydraulic field. The book provides a comprehensive review of the mechanism of fluid-pressure equipment and systems, but is not concerned with detail design or constructional features so much as with the essential prin^ ciple of various components, how they work and how they differ from each other. In scope, the subject-matter covers hydraulic, pneumatic and compressed-gas systems of high-, medium- and low-pressure, and there is little doubt that engineers and designers in the aeronautical as well as in the other spheres of mechanical practice, will find the book to - be of real value. It is unfortunate that, in a publication costing 25s, the production should be such that no fewer than eight pages (in the copy we received for review) should have gone through the printing machine twice, and, as a result, be aa unintelligible fuzz.
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