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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0354.PDF
352 FLIGHT, 20 March 1953 CIVIL AVIATION K.L.M. LOOKS AHEAD N AMES connected with nuclear physics will be given to all of the 13 K.L.M. Super Constellations now on order, typical examples being Atom, Proton and Neutron. The first three aircraft —compound-engined L1049S—are due for delivery in June, and five more will arrive later this summer; the remaining four will join the "Flying Dutchman" fleet next year. Other K.L.M. aircraft due for delivery this year are two DC-6As and six Convair-Liner 340s. Earlier-type Constellations in service with K.L.M. are named after Dutch towns and cities, as are the company's DC-4S; the six DC-6s bear the names of members of the Dutch Royal Family; DC-6Bs have been given explorers' names; the DC-6As will commemorate pioneers of Dutch aviation; the Convair-liners are each named after famous Dutch painters. The system of identifying Super Constellations, which is the first break from the policy of choosing names with essentially national associations, reflects K.L.M.'s belief that future airliners will employ nuclear power. SABENA RE-EQUIPMENT WITH delivery of six new DC-6Bs now in progress, Sabena will introduce the type this month on regular transatlantic services from New York to Brussels, on the longer-stage European and Middle East routes, and on the African services from Brussels to South Africa and the Belgian Congo. The aircraft will be fitted out as 77-seaters for use exclusively on low-fare services. The first of eight DC-6Bs ordered by the Belgian airline was delivered on March 10th by Captain A. Vernieuwe, formerly operations manager and now vice-president in charge of operations. During the war Captain Vernieuwe served as a bomber and transport pilot with the R.A.F. He made the flight from Santa Monica, California, to Brussels with only one refuelling stop at Gander. The makers estimate that the 3,450-mile hop to Gander was one of the longest made by a DC-6B. On the Atlantic route the new Douglases will supplement the DC-6s now in service with Sabena (the company has five) and will increase the number of seats available, by comparison with last year, by 75 per cent. Seven DC-4S are also operated by Sabena. The overall increase in passenger capacity conferred by the new fleet is estimated at 33 per cent. Like its neighbouring airline K.L.M., Sabena also has two DC-6A Liftmasters on order, for use on long-haul freight SABENA CELEBRATED the arrival of its first DC-6B at Melsbroek last week, when Capt. A. Vernieuwe (right) completed the 5,950-mile delivery flight from Santa Monica. He was greeted on arrival by Transport Minister M. Segers (left), who arrived from Brussels in a Bell 47 of Sabena, and M. Perier (centre), chairman of the Belgian airline. services. Delivery of the DC-6As, together with two more DC-6Bs, is expected during the early part of 1954. On arrival at Melsbroek, Captain Vernieuwe was greeted by a large crowd and a number of distinguished personalities including Mr. Cowen, U.S. Ambassador to Brussels, M. Gilbert Perier, chairman of Sabena, M. P. W. Segers, Belgian Transport Minister, who arrived at the airport in one of Sabena's Bell 47 helicopters. The rotorcraft, which had flown from the centre of Brussels, touched down at Melsbroek at exactly the same instant as the DC-6B. In a speech of welcome, M. Perier described the DC-6B as a symbol of the maturity of the modern air transport industry, but admitted that Sabena's new types represented "the last cry" of the characteristic piston-engined airliner. He added that the next type of transport to be introduced on the company's long- range services—in 1957 or 1958—would be equipped with turbo- props or turbojets, but did not specify the type chosen. Discussing the question of ordering more advanced aircraft, he said that Sabena was faced with financial problems which did not apply in the case of certain contemporaries, and that from the view points of finance, regularity and safety, the DC-6B was an adequate solution for the next four or five years. However, the company was planning for the replacement problems which would present themselves at the end of this period. A forcible reminder of the expense of modern aircraft, and the consequent importance of intensive utilization, was given by M. Perier's observation that DC-6B amortization was at the rate of £285 per day per aircraft. FOUR AIRLINES are represented in this picture of the apron at Ciampino, Rome, secured from a B.O.A.C. Hermes IV. Beyond No. 1 Hercules 763 of the Hermes are seen an Elizabethan, Viking, and Viscount ofB.E.A.; on the right are Constellations of Air France and Qantas and a B.O.A.C. Argonaut. Comets are among the other frequent "visitors" to this busy airport. • • • • •• • 1
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