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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0113.PDF
ii January 1952 51 CIVIL AVIATION INAUGURATION : On the fortieth anni versary of the first flight by the Wright brothers, the first of Eastern Air Lines' new fleet of Lockheed Super- Constellations took off from Newark Airport for Miami on its inaugural scheduled service. INDONESIAN PILOTS TRAIN HERE A N important stage has been reached in the early development **• of civil aviation in Indonesia—a country which, because it comprises vast island territories in an area some 2,500 miles across from east to west, can profit tremendously from the benefit of air communications of all kinds. There are probably few people in this country who appreciate the extent of the islands— Sumatra, Java, part of Borneo, the Celebes, Moluccas, and so on—which comprised the Dutch Indies until the Republic of Indonesia was formed. In fact, their area of 735,000 square miles is more than twice that of Pakistan, for example, and the popula tion—some 75 million—is also greater than that of Pakistan. At least three other nations have been interested in the develop ment of civil aviation in Indonesia—America, Holland and Britain—and all are, in effect, in competition as advisers and developers of aviation in the Republic. It is therefore a feather in the cap of this country, and of Air Service Training, Ltd., that the young men who have now been selected and officially sponsored to become the nucleus of commercial pilots for Indo nesia's airlines should, after examination of the training facilities in several countries, have been sent to Hamble. Last Wednesday, January 9th, the first contingent of 18 young Indonesian men was due to arrive at Southampton to begin its 2^-year training course with A.S.T. Others are to follow at intervals, and a total of about 75 are expected under present plans. All will have flown solo and have been graded before travelling to this country, and they will also be able to speak English. Those who are successful will return as fully qualified (though, of course, inexperienced) commercial pilots with something over 300 hours on types up to the Dakota. This first party of young pilots received a big send-off from Jakarta (previously Batavia), the Indonesian capital in the island of Java, and plans had been made for them to receive a civic welcome on arrival at Southampton. In charge of the party and travelling with them is Mr. (and Mrs.) Grandier, an official of the Indonesian Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is understood that he will also be looking round for aircraft, both for training and of the feeder-liner type, during his visit to this country. Already there have been preliminary discussions regarding the possible purchase of a sizeable batch of D.H. Herons, and it is believed that the Chipmunk is another aircraft considered to be very suitable for Indonesian requirements in the training field. Although no definite announcement has been made it is understood that the intention is to form a training school in Indonesia towards the end of the year, and that not only the air craft for it but management and instructors may be sought in this country. Incidentally, the Hawker Siddeley Group (and therefore A.S.T.) agents in Jakarta are Dunlop and Kolff. Next week we expect to give some details of the training which Indonesian student pilots will undergo with A.S.T., and to give their views on the future of civil aviation in Indonesia. At present, services within the country itself are operated by Garuda Indonesian Airways, a jointly owned airline which until recently was a subsidiary of K.L.M. Ownership is now shared with the Indonesian Government and local personnel are being trained to take over duties formerly carried out by those of the Dutch company. THE DOUGLAS DC-7 ORDERED T^HE biggest domestic operators in the United States, American -*• Airlines, have announced their intention of ordering 25 of a new type of Douglas transport to be known as the DC-7. The machine will be an enlarged and higher-powered version of the DC-6B, will be fitted with four Wright Turbo-Compound engines of 3,250 h.p. each, and will cruise in the region of 360 m.p.h. Initial delivery is mentioned as being late 1953, and it is intended that the first scheduled services with the DC-7 will begin on January 1st, 1954. The prospect of a 360 m.p.h. cruising speed means that the DC-7 will actually reach well into the turboprop-transport speed- range, with a fuel consumption which will be considerably better than that of aircraft fitted with full-turboprop or even piston- engine power plants of comparable output. The specific con sumption of the Wright compounded engine is as low as 0.39 lb b.h.p. Other improvements in the DC-7 are a 16,800-lb increase in permitted gross weight over the DC-6B and a slightly . lengthened fuselage which will accommodate 60/66 first-class passengers or 95 passengers in a "coach" version. American Airlines will have to pay almost $1,600,000 each for these machines. As the amortization period of A.A.'s new fleet can be estimated at something in the region of six to eight years, it appears that the company is yet another of the diehard American operators which are determined to make money out of exploiting the lower-speed, high-capacity mode of travel to the full rather than pin hopes on high-speed jet trans ports at their present (or presently contemplated) stage of development. It is assumed that, should a suitable turboprop become available, the DC-7S would eventually be converted to this type of power unit. In this connection, incidentally, it is reported that the U.S. Navy has now confirmed its plans to build two prototype Super-Constellations (R 70-is in naval nomenclature) fitted with four Pratt and Whitney T-34 turboprops, each developing over 6,000 h.p. It is expected that these machines will CAPACITY LOAD : Five-abreast seating in the first of Eastern's Super-Connies does not seem to provide on uncomfortably cramped layout. A full complement of 88 passengers was carried on the first service; the take off is illustrated in the heading picture.
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