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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0056.PDF
22 FLIGHT CIVIL AVIATION . . . BREVITIES A RECENT announcement by the M.C.A. of the British Air ways Corporation's traffic statistics for September indicates that more passenger-miles were flown than in any previous month. The total was 125,000,000, which was no less than 33 per cent greater than that for September, 1950. The total number of passengers carried was 181,000—a 24 per cent increase on the figure for the corresponding period of the previous year. B.O.A.C.'s revenue passenger load-factor in September was 73.7 per cent while B.E.A.'s figure was 76.4 per cent. Australia's Director of Air Navigation, Mr. Stuart Campbell, has left to take up his duties as commercial-aviation adviser to the Government of Thailand. His post in the Australian Directorate of Civil Aviation goes to W/C J. H. Harper, who was formerly head of the aircraft investigation committee. A new Brazilian air-survey company has been formed as an associate to a Toronto firm, the Photographic Survey Corporation Ltd., which is itself the Canadian associate of the Hunting Group of companies. To be known as Prospec, and based at Rio de Janeiro, the company will make available in Brazil all the ser vices—including the supply of instruments and technicians—in which the P.S.C. now specializes in Canada. The fact that the Wellington-Nelson (New Zealand) steamer passenger service is to be abandoned this year, because of high running costs, is expected to bring about considerable augmenta tion of the New Zealand National Airways Corporation's services between these two points. To accommodate the expected increase in traffic, the company will replace with 24-seat DC-3S the 15- seat Lodestars which are now used on this 45min crossing. A draft outline of India's first five-year plan for her domestic airlines has been published. It contains, among other provisions, a stipulation that the aircraft operated on internal routes should be standardized. At the moment both Dakotas and Vikings are widely used and the authorities must soon reach a decision on suitable replacements. In the international field the plan envis ages re-equipment with jet-powered airliners and, in fact, finan cial provision has been made for subsidizing such a venture. Some idea of the regrettably small proportion of the world's aircraft manufacturing effort now being directed towards meeting civil requirements can be obtained from a recent statement issued by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. The company, one of the largest in the world, has announced a current backlog of $1,280,000,000, of which 89.6 per cent concerns purely military business. Only the remaining 10.4 per cent represents orders for civil machines. The official handbook entitled Aviation Law for Applicants for the Private Pilot's Licence M.C.A. P. 85/1951) has been revised by the M.C.A. It now contains extracts from the U.K. Air Pilot and includes a map of the air-traffic control organization in this country. It brings together in convenient form those provisions of the Air Navigation Order and Regulations which are of par ticular concern to the private owner and club pilot. The booklet may be obtained from His Majesty's Stationery Office, and is priced at is 6d. A record monthly turnover in international air traffic trans actions put through the I.A.T.A. Clearing House in London was established during October. The turnover totalled $17,445,000, as compared with the previous record of $16,500,000, set up in September 1950. By offsetting the credit and debit balances of its members, the Clearing House eliminated the need for cash settlements on 89 per cent of the October total. In the cases of two airlines, offset ratios of 98.9 and 98.1 per cent were possible. The Clearing House is able to settle accounts in both dollars and sterling. By the time the new tourist-fare services on the London-Paris route are in operation next October all B.E.A.'s 49 Vikings will have been modified to make them convertible at short notice into any one of five distinct seating versions. They can become 24- passenger luxury versions with reclining seats, hot-meal catering and a bar; 27-passenger hot-meal and bar; 34 cold meal arid bar; a tourist version, carrying up to 38 passengers, to whom light refreshments only will be served; or a two-class version with 12 tourist seats in the front cabin and 15 reclining seats in the after cabin. All these versions will operate at the same basic weight. B.O.A.C.'s NEXT Encouraging evidence of progress with the Bristol 175 is provided by this photograph of the first prototype under construction. Since informa tion was first released about this design there have been advances in the direction of greater economy and flexibility. With the latest mark of Proteus turboprop, performance and load figures are expected to be even better than were forecast, cruising speed being in the region of 360 m.p.h. B.O.A.C. are understood to be reviewing interior arrangements in the light of recent events, but so far a five-abreast 75-seot arrange ment is foreseen as the "luxury" layout. The aircraft is spacious enough to carry over 100 passengers, so quick convertibility between four-, five-, and six-abreast seating is provided for. B.O.A.C.'s project engineer for the 175 is Mr. M. W. Anderson, who was previously asso ciated with the development of the Corporation's Argonaut fleet.
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