FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1454.PDF
608 FROM ALL QUARTERS . . . Capt. Bill Baillie with a certificate of performance recognizing the Viscount's achievement in setting up a new point-to-point record for the journey from London to Melbourne (10,511 miles at 293 m.p.h. including stops). He recalled that Endeavour had reached Melbourne in about half the time of the pre-war D.H. Comet, previous holder of the record, and expressed his regret that—due to the Royal Aero Club's handicap formula!—B.E.A. had not won the race. The manufacturer's pride in the aircraft's performance was eloquently proclaimed by Mr. George Edwards. Until the race they had regarded the Viscount as a medium- range aeroplane, but with Peter Masefield around anything could happen: "he can even make Vickers go fast." He had been alarmed by the native spsars [acquired in Darwin] carried by the team members as they dismounted from the aircraft. Perhaps Peter Masefield would use these to spur on delivery of the remaining B.E.A. Viscounts? Alternatively, Weybridge might be plagued by B.E.A. project chaps saying this was how the next airliner should look—"60 deg of sweep-back and practically no wing." More seriously, he added that in contrast to this glamorous occasion there was a great deal of day-to-day work behind the scenes and, emphasizing the warmth of relations between maker and operator, that Vickers-Armstrongs were happy to- join B.E.A. in all the ventures ahead. Air. Edwards also stressed the part played by Rolls-Royce, whose Dart turboprops were "in their class the finest engines in the world." For the team, Mr. Masefield said that one or two worries were on their minds. In the first place he had to convince the chairman that they had not been on a rest-cure; they had also to prove that they were not redundant, since B.E.A. had gone so well in tiieir absence. The aircraft had performed magnificently, the only snag throughout the 30,620-mile tour being a single burst tyre. Including time in the stack, they had flown 113 hours and the average cruising speed had been 320 m.p.h. Completing some 375 million revolutions, the Darts had consumed only 17 pints of oil AIRLINER ALTHOUGH originally formed to safeguard the interests of Merchant Navy officers, the Navigators' and Engineer >• Officers' Union now includes a large number of civil aircrew among its members. The subject of their future was raised at the Union's annual general meeting last week, and it provoked stronger feeling than any other matter discussed. In his address, the Union's general secretary, Douglas Tennant, C.B.E., stated the problem in uncompromising terms. The fol lowing is the relevant part of his speech: — "I have thought long before I decided to make the following remarks regarding our concern about the manning of aircraft by B.O.A.C. and the statutory regulations dealing with this important matter. It is the declared policy of B.O.A.C. that, on their long-distance multi-engined aircraft, they will dispense with the person solely responsible for die navigating, provided that one of the pilots has the necessary qualification to satisfy the regulations. As a result of our endeavours, the Corporation fortunately did not accelerate their policy, but agreed that, whilst the present navigators would not be made redundant, there would be no further recruitment. The Union warned the Corporation over three years ago that, if this policy of dispensing with navigators was pursued, they would eventually run into serious difficulties, and I would refer you to the loss of the Hermes aircraft in West Africa, which was solely due to faulty navigation. This aircraft had no navigator on board as such and, moreover, there was no First Class Navigator's Licence carried on this aircraft. "At the present time the Comets, flying up to speeds of 500 miles an hour, are being operated without a person whose sole concern is that of navigation. These aircraft carry two pilots but, in addition to their duties as such, they are required between them to undertake the navigation of the aircraft. Fuel is a critical factor with jet airlinerb and small errors in navigation at speeds up to 500 m.p.h. could have fatal consequences. I do not wish to say more in public than necessary, but I wish to emphasize our concern about the policy which is being pursued by both the Ministry of Civil Aviation and B.O.A.C. It would be a tragedy if these world-beating aircraft were brought into discredit through the manning policy. "On the engineering side, the Corporation would appear to be embarking on a dangerous policy. On certain lines, at present, no engineer officers are carried; and, whilst we have been unable to ascertain the real facts, I believe that the cost of maintenance and repairs of aircraft being operated without engineer officers exceeds the cost of carrying a highly specialized engineer officer. Furthermore, I would go so far as to say that the Comets would not have operated with their regularity and efficiency had it not been for the high degree of competency of the engineer officers attached to this line. I would mention that, before the Comets came into service, it was the declared policy of the Corporation to fly these aircraft without engineers. It may amaze you to know that, according to the present regulations, the FLIGHT and the aircraft had flown approximately 1.1 miles per gallon. Its reliability had been the most impressive feature of the tour. They had learned a lot about the operation of Viscounts in the tropics, and of taking off successfully at 62,000 lb a.u.w. As well as two fat books of performance figures, which he would pass on to the airline's project and development branch, Mr. Masefield had also brought with him the £3,000 cheque awarded for the Viscount's second place—and this he presented on the spot to B.E.A.'s financial controller, Mr. R. L. Weir. We subsequently learned a little of the Viscount's movements following its arrival at Christchurch 40 hr 43 min after leaving London Airport on October 8th. An intensive programme of demonstrations, from New Zealand and Australian aerodromes, followed almost immediately. The number of seats was increased from eight to twelve to give extra civic, airline and Press repre sentatives a preview of Viscount comfort (T.A.A. have Viscounts on order, and one of their pilots—Capt. Ball—flew to Britain in Endeavour for a six-month course with B.E.A.). Everywhere the British team and their aircraft were greeted with the same enthusiasm. There is no doubt that the impression made by the flight, followed by personal appearances in Australasia and along the Eastern route, constitutes an intangible but valuable fillip to the prestige of Britain's aircraft industry. R.Ae.S. Branch at Boscombe Down A LOCAL Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society has been **• formed at Boscombe Down. The president is A.Cdre. A. H. Wheeler, O.B.E. (Air Commodore Commanding A. and A.E.E., Boscombe Down) and arrangements have been made to hold the inaugural meeting at Boscombe Down on Tues day, November 24th. The guest speaker will be Sir Frederick Handley Page, C.B.E. Members of the public interested in aeronautics may attend the inaugural meeting, and they may also apply for membership of the local branch to the hon. secretary, Mr. D. J. Higton, Aero plane and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down, Amesbury, Wilts. CREWING operator can in fact predetermine at the blue-print stage whether an engineer officer is to be carried or not, by the simple means of not providing a station for him in the cockpit. Occasions have arisen where the Certificate of Airworthiness has called for an engineer officer, irrespective of whether an engineer's station is provided or not. This surely indicates how haywire the present position is. "I think it is high time that the British public realized what is going on, but I would make it clear that the representations we have made during these last three years have been on the basis of safety and not ncessarily of maintaining our members in jobs. We have done our utmost and it may be time for the public to take a hand; after all, it is their airline—they pay for the losses which are incurred . . . Modern air craft require specialized aircrews to ensure the maximum safety of the travelling public and the aircraft captain is entitled to expect that his crew are highly trained and specialized so as to assist him in carrying out his heavy responsibilities." Later speakers, among whom were included B.O.A.C. naviga tors and others, supported the secretary's views. One member went so far as to quote certain incidents involving Comets during the past year which, in his opinion, could partly be ascribed to the lack of a whole-time navigator. Two of these instances were the unscheduled landing on the 1,000 yd strip at Juhu, Bombay, in mistake for Santa Cruz international airport, close by and with a similarly aligned landing direction; and the case of a Comet which became lost over the Sudan while avoiding the worst part of a tropical storm and arrived at Khartoum 1 hr overdue. To a man, the aircrew present agreed that navigation should be the sole concern of one of the crew—although that man need not neces sarily be solely a navigator. The annual report of the Union's council dealt with such matters as Government relations with independent charter operators, to whom 102 licences were current (although healthy competition with the Corporations was welcomed, the Union fore saw "repercussions of a serious character"); revised pension arrangements (agreement had been reached with the Corporations, and a document was awaiting the Minister's signature); discussions with I.F.A.L.P.A. regarding aircrew-complement minimums; and the crew-formation to be standardized by B.O.A.C. Regarding the last factor, the Comet C. of A. specified three pilots, two pilots and an engineer or one pilot and two engineers; the council con sidered the lack of a navigator a "serious omission." The Union had also, for some time past, been endeavouring to obtain detailed information regarding the interior layout of the crew compart ment of the Bristol Britannia, as this had an important bearing on complement. Navigators and Engineers Concerned about their Future
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
