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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1459.PDF
I2O FLIGHT CIVIL AVIATION THE COMET'S JOHANNESBURG FLIGHTR EPRODUCED below are some extracts from a letter whichwe have received from Mr. Martin Sharp of the de Havilland Company, who was a passenger in the Comet on its recent flightto Johannesburg, via Cairo and Entebbe. The total distance of the outward journey was 6,212 statute miles, and the overall time,chocks, Heathrow, to chocks, Johannesburg, was 17 hours 33 minutes, giving a speed, including halts, of 354 m.p.h. Timesand speeds for each leg are tabulated. At Cairo, the Comet took on 4,900 gallons of kerosene and its take-off weight was 104,060 lb,while at Entebbe 4,000 gallons were supplied, and the take-off weight was 98,502 lb. In view of the considerable period which frequently elapsesbetween starting up and taking off, and between landing and cutting engines, the following times for the Comet in the orderchocks away to take-off, and touch-down to chocks, at Heath Row, Cairo, Entebbe, and Johannesburg respectively, are well worthrecording: 1830—1837; 2345—2348; 2445—2451; 0559—0602; 0729—0735; 1201—1203. Comet (LondonOohanneiburg) Flight—July 17th to 18th, 1951 Distances (miles) Airborne times (Take-off to touch-down hr min) Chock times (hr min) Airborne speeds (m.p.h.) Ground times at chocks London Airport- Cairo 2,280 58 5 18 442 57 min (Cairo) Cairo- Entebbe 2,082 5 8 5 17 405 1 hr27 mtn (Entebbe) Entebbe- Johannesburg 1.850 4 26 4 34 418 Mr. Sharp writes: "This flight has demonstrated that theLondon-Johannesburg route can be worked economically and well with the Series i Comet. Entebbe runway has been apleasant surprise. Its contour includes a stretch of downgrade which is worth some thousands of pounds of take-off weight to ajet aircraft. The result is that Comets can do the outbound trip regularly with full payload (B.O.A.Cs 36-passenger version with12,500 lb), with only the two halts at Cairo and Entebbe, in under 20 hours as a regular thing. We did it comfortably in 17 hr 33 min.Homeward, the Comet will probably have to call also at Living- stone and Rome, because Johannesburg is too hot and high for afull payload take-off to Entebbe, and Cairo is too hot for a full payload to London at all seasons because of westerly winds. Inpractice B.O.A.C. will probably work the Johannesburg line with four halts both ways—Rome, Cairo, Entebbe, Livingstone—so asto give a balanced public service. " What really does tell is that 5 hours (2,000 and more miles) in aComet doesn't tire the passengers or crew, and a continuous 6,000-mile journey like the one we have done doesn't either. It isthe absence of vibration. You feel unstressed, somehow. This Comet (OZ) has a 28-seat compartment furnished and is quieterthan a Connie. We plan to return home via Livingstone, Entebbe, Khartoum, Cairo, Rome. To-morrow we shall be trying out atPietersburg." SORTING OUT THE SUBSIDY THE C.A.B. is now planning to introduce an arrangement bywhich airmail pay can be satisfactorily separated from Govern- ment subsidies to airlines. In a recent letter to the chairman ofthe Senate Commerce Committee, Mr. Donald Nyrop, chairman of C.A.B., disclosed that new agreements on airmail pay havebeen reached with the four largest U.S. operators, A.A., E.A.L., T.W.A. and U.A.L. with whom discussions along these lines havebeen in progress for more than a year. As a result of these conferences, the four carriers have agreedto accept a mail rate of 63 cents (about 4s 6d) per ton-mile for the period from the beginning of the proceedings until Decem-ber 31st, 1950, and a compensatory rate of 45 cents (about 3s 4d) per ton-mile from January 1st, 1951. On the same issue, theSenate's Small Business Committee has called for a new govern- ment policy towards non-scheduled airlines: it has requested thatthe C.A.B. should cancel its order restricting the number of flights made by these smaller operators. The committee is of the opinionthat the present arrangement merely results in the use of a subsidy TOMORROW'S HELICOPTER: This artist's conception of the Howard Hughes 205 twin-turbine-powered helicopter represents a stage in rotor-craft design which may be much nearer than we think. It would have a seating capacity for 70 passengers, a range of 200 miles and would cruise at over 100 m.p.h. A "skeleton" prototype began its trials last year. A revolving lift is installed aft, for baggage stowage. to provide expensive luxury services for a small part of thepopulation. It is thought that an immediate large-scale expansion of low-cost "coach" travel is needed. Recent operations by non-scheduled companies are cited as proof of the large potential which exists for this type of travel. Most of the largest American operators, incidentally, have thisyear enjoyed the best six-month earning period in their history. New traffic records were established almost continuously fromthe beginning of the year. June produced an all-time record for all major operators, with the exception of United who wereseriously affected by their i i-day strike. An estimate of the total traffic puts the passenger-mileage figure at over 5,ooo million,an increase of 45 per cent over the corresponding period of last year; air cargo rose by as much as 130 per cent. The main result of this extensive traffic improvement is that,in spite of high taxes, there has been a sharp rise in net profits. Although at the moment American Airlines is the only largecarrier subject to excess purchase tax, it is thought possible that other companies may become so liable this year. Mail rates,however, are being lowered slightly and costs are moving slowly upward. It is thought that a truce in Korea might reduce themovement of passengers to and from the west coast but that traffic during the remainder of the year will continue at a highlysatisfactory level. B.E.A.'s UPS AND DOWNS ALTHOUGH having to combat more than its fair share of- troubles in the form of crew arid aircraft shortages, B.E.A. has this year enjoyed a very considerable increase in business.The Corporation carried its millionth passenger recently, an achievement which has only been equalled by six other airlinesin the world, all of them American. Costs, however, have con- tinued to rise this year, and in May amounted to almost £1,000,000.The deficit for May (£44,856) was actually £20,000 less than the corresponding period of the previous year, although the loss forApril-May was slightly larger than in 1950. B.E.A.'s most urgent need, of course, is for larger-capacity aircraft, and the news lastweek that the Elizabethans have now been awarded a full C. of A. carries with it the promise that these aircraft may now be availablerather sooner than recent forecasts have intimated. It is thought, in fact, that the first Elizabethan will be delivered into B.E.A.'shands in about a fortnight's time. Having struggled manfully against many difficulties this year,it is particularly unfortunate that just as traffic is approaching its summer peak a number of services have had to be cancelled because
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