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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 2089.PDF
7 December 1950 523 Rapid turn-round times are onehf the key features of the service. Mail is loaded into the fuselage panniers with the engine still running. Additional stowage is provided for mail-bags in a special compartment beside the pilot. The Bell modified 47Ds will carry 533 Ib of mail. said to have increased by 300 per cent in die last year. In Aurora, Illinois, for example, it rose from 7151b in January to 33091b in June, while deliveries from Midway Airport to the suburbs increased from 15,4241b to 21,7671b during the same period. The shuttle route from Midway to the general post office, a round-trip distance of 18 miles, is flown 18 times daily. Suburban routes, one of them of 106 miles and the others tif 102 and 89 miles respectively, are flown three times daily. At these stopping-points the helicopters land in fenced-off areas located as close as possible to the local This small heliport is typical of the landing areas provided at suburban stops. Forty-three suburbs are served by a total of nine flights doity. post office. The elimination of taxying and time-consum- ing ground-handling enables the helicopters to achieve, in most cases, a turn-round time which does not exceed a few minutes. The Bell 47Ds used by HAS. have been lifting up to 3431b of mail, but modifications are now in hand to power them with 200 h.p. Franklin engines (instead of the 178 h.p. Franklins now used) which will permit a 55 per cent in- crease in this load—to 5331b. The company is also pro- posing to introduce night operations when crews have acquired sufficient experience. To co-ordinate arrivals of aircraft and reception parties at suburban stops all helicopters are in radio contact with Midway Airport.
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