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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0029.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2294 Vol. LXI1I. FRIDAY, 9 JANUARY 1953 ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR I H. F. KING, M.B.E. ART ED/TOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams. Ftightpres, Sedist, London. Te/ephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar. Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Te/egroms, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3. 260 Deansgate. Te/egroms, lliffe, Manchester. Telephone. Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C2. 26b Renfield Street. Telegrams, lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2//nes). SUBSCR/PT/ON RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £3 3s. Od. U.S.A. and Canada, $10.00. BY AIR: To Canada and U.S.A., six months, $16. IN THIS ISSUE : The Crescent Wing - - 30 Discussing Production - 36 The Busy Netherlands - 38 Civil Air College ... 39 ;The New Year Honours 40 Fox Peter Two - - - 41 For the "Rapier" Force of Bomber Command - 42 [ M.S. 755 Jet Trainer - 44 2,000-mile Repair Job - 45 Have the Flying Clubs Failed? 50 A Gap in the Range WHAT is meant by a Dakota replacement? We remarked recently that, for every first-class man in a factory or office, there are always a number of important jobs to be tackled; and so it is with aircraft—a good one can usually be employed on a large variety of duties and will make money for its operators on any one of them. In the case of the Douglas DC-3 there are, of course, several reasons—apart from economy and versatiUty—why the type has been, and still is, so widely used. After the war, hundreds became surplus and were sold at a fraction of their value. According to the nature of each variant, they are used as pure freighters, mixed freight and passenger aircraft, or for normal airline work with from 20 to 32 passengers. Depending upon the type of work in which an operator is interested, his idea of the replacement today may be any one of the latest aircraft types doing the work previously handled by the DC-3. IQ fact> the Viking, Ambassador, Convair-Liner, Martin and even Viscount might all be referred to as the major airlines' DC-3 replacement. But there is one Dakota attribute which none of these types can reproduce, namely, the ability to operate from small grass airfields; and it is our contention that this charac teristic is one of the essentials, if not the open secret, of DC-3 service. Certainly, it is a quality which very many operators in the less well-developed areas of the world require, and for which they are still searching in vain among aircraft satisfactory in other respects. British manufacturers have produced a number of good aircraft which almost fill this particular bill—but as yet, none which was specifically designed to do so. For example, the Handley Page (Reading) Marathon has been selected for use in West Africa and Burma on just the sort of routes we have in mind. This attractive machine might well have done better if its development and production had not been held up for many months "by a change of ownership" at a critical time in its career. It accords with the latest thoughts in having four engines, and it can just about manage the desirable 200 m.p.h. cruising speed, though not with the best economy. Moreover, its small- field performance comes very near to satisfying all potential operators. The de Havilland Heron is another "accomplished" aircraft (a version with retractable undercarriage has recently flown). It, too, has four engines and can take off from, or land in, extremely short distances. Simplicity and ease of maintenance are also among its particular advantages. On the other hand, its cabin is not very roomy, and its speed and range are on the low side for some routes. Yet a third type, the Bristol Freighter, appeals to many operators, as its sales have already indicated. But here efficiency as a pure airliner has necessarily been sacrificed to provide for the special freighting duties for which it is aclmirably suited and was originally designed. A big twin, its bulky hold and fixed wheels result in a cruising speed considered low for passenger services. Already well established, however, it has reliability and versatility to offer, and is still finding new routes and applications. Many more machines could be discussed, including the post-war Douglas Super DC-3 which probably got no further because of its high cost in relation to the improvements it appeared to offer. The Dutch and Canadians have recently indicated their thoughts in the form of new designs—respectively the Fokker Friendship and the Canadair C.L.21 —and soon we may hear of plans for one and perhaps two new British civil airliners in the broad class of the DC-3. And let us not overlook the rotorplane as a potential replacement for more than one class of short- or medium-range fixed-wing aircraft. We may here quote a recent report of the New Zealand National Airways Corporation: "While there is still no evidence of a suitable replacement aircraft for the DC-3, detailed investigations have been made with various manufacturers in the U.K., Canada, Australia and the U.S.A. There are numerous projected replacing aircraft . . . none of which is likely to be available before 1956 at the earliest. The cost of aircraft construction has risen steeply and the individual cost of replacement will not be less than £125,000 per aircraft." From this statement one thing is certain, namely, that a requirement exists. Let us hope that it will not be long before one or more British manufacturers fill the gap and start to secure for us a lion's share of the orders.
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