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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0056.PDF
36 FLIGHT, 11 January 1951 POUR LA FRANCE : The delivery of IS S.0.30P Bretagnes to Air France, the first of which, os reported on page 37 is already in the company's hands, will mark the beginning of France's realization of her post-war ambition to equip her air- lines with competitive types of purely national design. Also intended for Air France are the Breguet 763 Deux-Ponts freighter, of which five have already been ordered and the S.E.20I0 Armagnac, a long-range four-engined 107-passenger transport intended for transatlantic routes. CIVIL AVIATION NEWS . . . miles, but also flew 36.2 per cent more aircraft-miles than inJuly, 1949. B.E.A. also achieved a notable increase (36.7 per cent) in the number of freight ton-miles flown. Companies operating scheduled services under associate agree-ments with B.E.A. flew 2,000,000 passenger-miles during the month and carried a total of 17,178 passengers. Average load-factor was 58.6 per cent. Overall revenue load-factor for B.O.A.C. was 59.2 per cent,the lowest divisional figure being 37.5 per cent in the case of the South American routes. Strenuous efforts have since beenmade to recapture the traffic lost following the withdrawal of Tudors from services in this area. B.E.A.'s average o.r.l.f. was58.0 per cent. ISRAEL—S. AFRICA SERVICES T^OLLOWING the introduction by the Israeli national airline,-*- El Al, of services between Israel and South Africa, the schedules between the two countries which had been operatedfor the past year by S A.A. have now been adjusted. A joint statement by both operators says that a weekly service by eachcompany is not justified during the period from June to Febru- ary. Each airline is, therefore, running one flight on alternateweeks. The position will be reviewed as the peak traffic season is approached; this is normally between March and May. S.A.A.is at present using Constellations on the route between Lydda and Johannesburg; El Al uses DC-4s. Incidentally, reports from South Africa indicate that a speed-up of work on Durban's international airport at Reunion will probably enable the first runways to be in use by May. Bothrunways will be grass, with tarmac turning-points. BRITISH ACCIDENT ANALYSIS THE M.C.A. has just published a survey of the accidentsinvolving British aircraft which occurred during the year ended December 31st, 1949. It reveals that, in this period,there were 58 notifiable accidents to powered aircraft registered in Britain, and nine to gliders. Twenty-two of the powered air-craft incidents were fatal, resulting in 106 deaths; two gliding accidents caused two deaths. Of the total of 67 crashes, 28warranted an official investigation. A statistical analysis of their causes brings to light some features which seem worthy of specialmention. Four accidents were found to have been due to lack of fuelor to mismanagement of the fuel system; it is thought that, in all cases, a thorough cockpit check would have prevented them.At least one crash occurred during unnecessary low flying, two were caused by insufficient height being allowed for recoveryfrom intentional spins, and one resulted from insufficient room being left for recovery from a loop. Eleven crashes were attri-buted to faults in some part of the aircraft or its power units; of these, two occurred during test flights and, of the remainder,six were not fatal. There were two mid-air collisions. In one case the weather was fine and the other, involving light aircraft, happened in an airfield circuit when visi- bility was about two-and-a-half miles. These two incidents certainly emphasize the need for keeping a constant eye on the surrounding sky even in the finest of weather. One interesting aspect is that only a small proportion of the total accidents was due to collision with the ground in bad weather. Hitherto, this type of accident has accounted for a very high proportion of the total fatalities. Since 1946 there have been 17 accidents of this nature involving British aircraft. At least nine occurred during let- down for landings and it is considered that, in most cases, they could have been avoided by the proper use of the radio equipment being carried. The M.C.A. report stresses the need for pilots to exercise special care when flying in bad weather (especially when selecting altitude for en route flying) and to give adequate terrain clearance, with allowance for possible errors in navigation. It is also considered essential to obtain an accurate posi- tion fix before letting down and to make allowances during the " let-down " for normal tolerances in the aic being used. Thirteen accidents took place during forced or precautionary landings, although it is of special interest that, of the eight forced land- ings, only one concerned a single-engined machine. The five precautionary landings all involved single- engined aircraft; in four cases the pilots decided to land because of bad weather. Spilt fuel and over- priming are mentioned as the cause of three instances of fires on the ground while engines were being started. THE PERENNIAL DC-3 NOT only in this country, but in the United States also, air-lines are seeking ways of prolonging the life of the faithful DC-3, which, since its introduction by American Airlines into commercial service in June, 1936, has proved to be one of the most popular aircraft ever produced. Whereas in this country the Dakota is normally flown at a gross weight of 26,900 lb, in America the a.u.w. is limited to 26,200 lb, subject to certain limitations on runway length and height of airfied a.s.l. The maximum authorized by the A.R.B. is actually 28,000 lb, while, in Service use, up to 31,000 lb has been permitted. The present exemption from I.C.A.O.'s " transport category "performance requirements expires in about three years, but it v TOILET ^-- ^ 'X -3-»T"5tEVWRD CABIN'- BACCACE \ ENTRANCE DOOR RADIO BUFFET COATS BAGGAGE The layout of U.A.L.s version of a modernized DC-3. is thought that this will probably be renewed under more strin- gent operating limitations. In view of the fact that the Korean war and the international situation in general appear to threaten the diversion of four- engined equipment for military transport duties, American operators are now considering methods of increasing the DC-3's payload to meet traffic demands which are at present being filled by aircraft of much higher capacity. The conversion to the Super DC-3 is generally considered too expensive (it is in the region of £80,000), and a more simple expedient is being sought in the re-arrangement of seating in much the same fashion as Scottish Aviation is now converting B.E.A.'s Pionairs. The idea of carrying 28 passengers in a DC-3 is by no means new, but the conversion adopted by United Air Lines is said to be one of the most striking yet carried out. The first of Unitcd's 59 DC-3s to be converted is already in operation on the Chicago-Moline, 111., run, and is said to be proving popular with passengers. Seven rows of double-foam-rubber seats are provided, plus a steward's seat which faces sideways and is located just to the right of the entrance door. The toilet com- partment has been moved forward and replaces the forward cargo stowage. A new buffet is fitted opposite the steward's seat. At the moment there are 505 DC-3s engaged in commercial operation throughout the world and, as there seems little possi- bility of the DC-3's gross weight being increased much above the present levels, it seems likely that many more operators will soon be following the examples of B.E.A. and United.
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