FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0567.PDF
FLIGHT, i May 1953 CIVIL AVIATION 561 "Flight" photograph AFTERNOON SCENE on the apron at London Airport, featuring two B.E.A. Elizabethans, a U.S.A.F. Skymaster (right) and a DC-6B ofS.A.S. Details of new Elizabethan services are given at the foot of this page. THE COMET AND THE C.A.A. TVESPITE some rather gloomy comments published recently on *•* the subject of negotiations involving the certification of Comets in America, the prospect may be brighter than is at present generally supposed. It will be remembered that a clause in the Pan American World Airways contract for Comet 3s stipulated that unless the Civil Aeronautics Administration signified its willingness to certificate the type, or to accept the British certificate of airworthiness, the contract would become void. In inserting this clause, PanAm were obviously concerned with the spirit rather than the actions of the C.A.A., since it was obviously impos sible for the Comet 3 to be certificated by March 31st, the date stipulated. The prototype Comet 3 will not fly until 1956, and neither the A.R.B. nor the C.A.A. can issue a certificate of air worthiness until several hours of test-flying have satisfactorily been completed. To date, negotiations with the C.A.A. have not produced the required assurance that, so long as the aircraft proves acceptable to our A.R.B., the American authority will almost automatically licence it for operation in America. Nevertheless, it is significant that P.A.W.A. have extended the date in the "time-clause." This action confirms the belief that the American airline's declared intention to operate Comets is com pletely genuine. Details of the P.A.W.A.-de Havilland contract have not been published but it is believed that the former company would forfeit a considerable dollar deposit—already placed with the manufacturer—by cancelling the contract. The question of certification is essentially one for negotiation between government departments, and the two companies commercially concerned have not issued any official comment. The A.R.B.'s recent mission to Washington, made for the express purpose of discussing Comet 3 certification, evoked polite but somewhat evasive reactions from the C.A.A. The American attitude was that until the C.A.A. had formulated its jet-transport requirements it could not decide whether or not the Comet com plied with them. -This answer implied a refusal to accept the standards evolved by the A.R.B. in studying the Comet and finding it airworthy; it also ignored the fact that B.O.A.C. had been using the aircraft on scheduled services for the best part of a year. While sympathizing with the C.A.A.'s unwillingness to commit itself too deeply on a subject of which it has very little first-hand knowledge, we feel that its present attitude is both insular and INDEPENDENT TRIO: Mr. Ludvic Braathen (left), chairman of the Norwegian independent airline, acted as host at a meeting—held in Oslo last week—of the management committee of F.I.T.A.P. (the International Federation of Independent Air Transport). Pictured with him are A.Cdre. G. J. Powell (centre), chairman of the Federation and of B.I.A.T.A., and Mr. J. Eric Rylands. A. Cdre. Powell is managing director of Silver City Airways, and Mr. Rylands of Skyways and Lancashire group. Other inde pendents at Oslo included Fred Olsen Airtransport, T.A.I, and U.A.T. over-cautious. The matter is now reported to have been taken up at a diplomatic level, and the Minister of Civil Aviation was expected to make a progress report earlier this week. ADMIRALS BRIEFLY GROUNDED THE entire fleet of 27 Admiral-class Vikings used by B.E.A. on A domestic and international routes were grounded on Friday, April 24th, when the possibility of passenger seats becoming loose was discovered. Apparently the rivets joining the two channel- section members which retain seats in position were too short; the corrective action consisted of drilling new holes and fitting longer rivets. The problem was tackled energetically by B.E.A. engineers at London and Renfrew, and by Monday all but one of the aircraft were back in service. Vikings and Pionairs stood-in for Admirals during their temporary absence, and no flights were cancelled. The occurrence was the subject of an altogether disproportionate degree of publicity in several London newspapers. U.A.T.S COMET SERVICES AS shown on page 547 of this issue, the French independent • company Union Aeromaritime de Transport is now operating scheduled passenger services with its two Comet iAs. In addition to the Paris-Casablanca and Paris-Casablanca-Dakar routes shown on our map, U.A.T. has now opened a third jet service—-via Casablanca and Dakar to Abidjan. May 19th is now given as the opening date of the French Comet service between Paris and Brazzaville via Tripoli and Kano, and a fifth service, linking Paris with Douala, is expected to begin on June 6th. No date has been announced for the inauguration of U.A.T.'s proposed service to Johannesburg by way of Tripoli, Kano, Brazzaville and Living stone, but it is expected to take place before this summer. RICKENBACKER ORDERS MORE 1049s ORDERS for Lockheed 1049 Super Constellations have now reached a total of in aircraft, additional to the 210 earlier- type "Connies" which have been built. The latest order—for six compound-engined 1049CS—has been placed by Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, president of Eastern Air Lines. His company is already operating 30 Super Constellations. Another order for six of the lengthened Lockheeds has been placed by Northwest Airlines as the first step in a new re-equipment programme. B.E.A.'S VISCOUNT AND ELIZABETHAN ROUTES DURING the period April i7th-24th British European Airways introduced new equipment on a number of routes. Viscounts were introduced for the first time on sustained service when on Saturday, April 18th, G-AMNY Sir Ernest Shackleton left London Airport at 0832 hr G.M.T. for Rome, Athens and Nicosia. The crew consisted of Capts. A. S. Johnson and A. Wilson, R/Off. J. Whitaker, Steward L. Melton and Chief Stewardess Pamela Rome. On the following day, Viscounts took over operation of the London-Rome-Athens-Istanbul route, the first service being operated by G-ALWE Discovery, with Capt. E. A. Turner in conmand. The third Viscount route was inaugurated on April 25th by G-ALWE Discovery (Capt. M. D. S. Hood) when it left London for Zurich. Introduction of Viscounts released Elizabethan-class aircraft for other duties and the following inaugural flights took place: London- Manchester, G-AMAC Sir Robert Cecil (Capt. A. R. Marks); London-Amsterdam, G-ALZX Sir John Norris (Capt. P. Bray); London-Brussels-Diisseldorf, G-AMAF Lord Howard of Effingham (Capt. J. R. Turner); London-Amsterdam-Hanover, G-ALZT Sir John Hawkins (Capt. A. N. Hadlev); London-Amsterdam- Hamburg, G-ALZX Sir John Norris (Capt. P. G. F. Fletcher); and London-Frankfurt-am-Main, G-ALZY Sir Philip Sidney (Capt. I. R. Harvey). With the exception of that serving Man chester, all these Elizabethan services opened on April 19th.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
