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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1103.PDF
FLIGHT, 8 June 1950 CIVIL AVIATION THE WELSH HELICOPTER SERVICE T~*HE British European Airways scheduled helicopter service•1- between Liverpool and Cardiff, which began on June 1st, is now well under way. The service was officially opened byLord Pakenham who, together with Lord Douglas of Kirtleside, chairman of B.E.A., and Lady Douglas, flew as passenger withthe first SE-51 to leave Spe^e on the inaugural day. In this instance both helicoptSrs landed at Wrexham, which,from July 1st, will be an "on request" stop in the schedule: the time taken for the flight to Cardiff, including the 15 minstop at Wrexham, was 2 hr 20 min. Lord Pakenham subse- quently stated that his Ministry was watching this service withthe greatest interest, as it had "immense future possibilities" as a means of transport over distances of comparatively limitedlength and between city centres. While this service, even if it enjoys maximum load-factorscontinuously, is not expected to be economic from the opera- tors' point of view, it will, in addition to providing a speedylink between two centres with inconvenient rail communications, give the Corporation valuable operating experience. It maywell prove to be the first link in a chain of services which in a few years will provide direct connections between the centresof all Britain's most populous areas. I.A.T.A. TECHNICAL CONFERENCE A LTHOUGH the scope of any large-scale discussion of tech-A nical matters which affect the world's airlines must of necessity be very broad, a central theme recognizably pre-dominated" at I.A.T.A.'s Fourth Annual Technical Conference, which was held at Asbury Park, New Jersey, from May 9thto 21st. This motif was that of air-traffic control, or, reduced to simpler terms, the problem of how to get airline servicesin and out of airports on time, in all weathers, with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency. The aim of the conference, which was attended by some 200representatives of I.A.T.A.'s airline members, is well summed up in the words of its chairman, Brig. Gen. H. R. Harris,vice-president and general manager of A.O.A. : "What we are looking for is one per cent more reliability of schedules, threeminutes more utilization of aircraft per day and a fractional increase in economy through more efficient operations. If therecommendations of the conference get us this result, as we expect, the benefit to the public and ourselves will be immense." The agenda was divided into three main working groups—communications, engineering and operations. In the first cate- gory, the conference stated its case by detailing the threeobjectives of traffic control as being (i) the promotion of safety by eliminating any chance of a collision in the air or on theground, (ii) the arrangement of orderly traffic flow, and (iii) the promotion of the fastest flow of traffic possible underentirely safe conditions. Thirteen "broad characteristics" were enumerated which, it was felt, should apply to all traffic-control systems. These included simplicity of operation and interpretation by personnel, flexibility to meet deviations fromplanned traffic-flow, service in all weather conditions, standard- ization of all aids and procedures, and the necessity for keep-ing on the ground the major proportion of the weight, volume and complexity of the allied equipment, as well as authorita-tive control of the landing process. A number of minimum traffic-control specifications werelisted, pertaining to such aspects as separation standards, channelling of traffic in high-density areas, elimination of un-necessary deviations from great-circle routeings, and the avoid- ance of turns greater than three degrees per second. I.A.T.A.standards for position reporting were revised to avoid over- loading communications channels. It was also decided thatthe operational value of G.C.A. would be increased by the institution of international competency standards for G.C.A.controllers. Priorities which the conference felt should be assigned to the installation of I.L.S. components were also listed. On the subject of engineering the conference endorsed theprinciple of rational performance requirements which future aircraft must meet under government airworthiness regula-tions. A separate committee was appointed to study I.C.A.O. category "A" requirements and develop uniform policies forboth American and European operators. The creation of a separate airworthiness category for cargo aircraft was heldto be desirable, but impracticable at the present time. It was also considered that the general level of I.C.A.O. requirementsshould be raised to give a more adequate level of safety. Pointing out that the I.A.T.A. recommendations were aimed Dr. Edward Warner, president of I.C.A.O., with the vice-chair- man of the confer- ence, Mr. H. W. Ree. Mr. Ree (left) is vice- president of D.N.L. at more flexibility for the designer and operator, Brig. Gen.Harris explained that to-day's requirements often led to the building of aircraft with performance margins which wouldnever have to be called upon—to the detriment of passenger comfort, range, weight-lifting ability and low cost. It was also agreed that the '' tabular critical cargo compart-ment method " of planning aircraft loads (now used throughout the United States) would be recommended for internationaluse to replace the old " slipstick " method. The former system, which is extremely simple and rapid in use, has the additionaladvantage of giving a permanent record of load distribution. The question of errors in^ air-speed indicators altimetersand thermometers was also discussed, in view of their increas- ing importance in such aspects as the vertical separation ofaircraft and pressure-pattern flying. It was found that the radio altimeter appeared to measure heights with greater accur-acy than the pressure altimeter, although the two instruments were not designed for quite the same job. While no improve-ments were foreseeable in pressure altimeters, the radio versions could be expected to give an even greater degree of accuracy.The conference also endorsed the I.C.A.O. proposals that oxygen should be required for cabin passengers at altitudes.above 13,000ft in unpressurized aircraft and for crews when more than 30 minutes are spent at altitudes of 10,000ft ormore. The use of oxygen in pressurized aircraft as laid down by I.C.A.O. was also agreed upon, but the meeting felt thatthe value of supplying emergency oxygen over 30,000ft should also be studied. The communications working group voted to ask I.C.A.O.for permission for airline operating messages (dealing with administrative and reservations matters) to be carried on fixedaeronautical telecommunications networks. A study of the respective merits of R/T. and W/T. for air-to-ground com-munications had shown that R/T. was entirely safe and prac- ticable. A special working committee was appointed to studythe procedures used in various regions and to establish some world-wide co-ordination. The group also decided to askI.C.A.O. to take the necessary steps to expand the use of R/T. as a primary means of communication on long internationalroutes. Further study was also recommended of the proce- dures for relaying air-to-ground messages by alternative stationswhich were not subject to "fade-out." The possibility of in- tegrating the procedures for aircraft radio and fixed groundcircuits with a view to relaying aircraft messages along ground networks was also thought to be a point worthy of furtherinvestigation. In addition, the conference reviewed the latest developments in all existing radio-navigational aids, many ctwhich were demonstrated before the delegates. One of the highlights of the sessions was a symposium ofviews on jet-transport operation, to which further reference will be made in a forthcoming issue of Flight. I.C.A.O. FOURTH ASSEMBLY A DDRESSING the opening session of I.C.A.O.'s Fourthii Assembly in Montreal on May 31st, the Hon. T. H. White, the Australian Air Minister, said that his country no longersupported proposals for a " world company of governments "to operate main airline routes. He stated that while in Australiathe recently defeated Labour administration had supported this proposal since 1944, the country now recognized free enter-prise in air transport and his government regretfully felt that nothing could be gained by re-opening the de'bate on a multi-lateral air rights pact. The French delegation also occasioned some surprise bydemanding action on a pact for the general exchange of com- mercial flying rights among nations. It had previously been
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