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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1479.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2338 Vol. LXIV. FRIDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 1953 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260 Deansgate. Telegrams, lliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines) Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C2. 26b Renfield Street. Telegrams, lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £3 3s.Od. U.S.A. and Cinada, $10.00. BY AIR: To Canada and U.S.A., six months, $16. IN THIS ISSUE: Viscounts' Darts Up-rated .... 634 Plans for the Princesses- 637 Where A.T.A. Left Off - 639 Westinghouse Turbojets 641 Man-to-Man Talk-Down 643 Crusader Coach - - - 644 Replacing the DC-3 - - 646 The Stormy Life of Ernst Heinkel 649 Fiction and Fact - - - 653 C Crew Cuts T HE path of technical progress has always been a rough one for the scientists, engineers or mathematicians concerned. In addition, many an "innocent bystander" has suffered in the cause of ultimate benefit to tie majority. One example is that of new and ingenious machines which enable an industry to hold its own in a highly competi tive international market and thus contribute to the national living standards, yet which, in the process, sometimes deprive individuals of their livelihood. A position is now arising where certain commercial aircrew trades will be confronted with this kind of problem and, naturally enough, there is great concern among their ranks. We even know of certain farsighted R.A.F. pilots who have already said to themselves "In the foreseeable future technical progress will result in many, if not all, military aircraft being crewless; so I will make sure that I become well informed about missiles, radar and so on, in order that my services will continue to be in demand." How are the airline fraternity reacting to their parallel problem? Commercial pilots are certainly not going to be eliminated for a very long time, but some of the other specialist aircrew categories probably will be. How are navigators or flight engineers to react to this threat to their livelihood? As was to be expected, the secretary of their professional organization, supported by some members, protested strongly at a recent meeting over the omission of navigators from aircrews the proceedings were summarized in Flight last week). In the view of this body, to dispense with the services of a professional navigator on long-distance airline routes would be to hazard the aircraft. B.O.A.C, with the concurrence of the M.C.A., have stated that their policy in future is to crew entirely with pilots who will have, in addition, navigational qualifications—as do the majority at present. But so far the Corporation have not by any means dispensed with navigators and, in fact, have stated that implementation of their policy will, for the time being, mean simply that no new specialist navigators will be recruited. Such legislation about the carriage of navigators as exists at present—and we under stand that revisions are under consideration at the moment—is not intended to be com prehensive, but simply to indicate certain limits and requirements for stage-lengths and crews respectively. But how can one set of rules suit one 1,000-mile flight over Europe, another over the Indian Ocean and a third across South America? Even in the developed areas the provision of aids varies enormously. It may be added, too, that jet transports carry not only their passengers over the weather but also their instruments; so reception is usually greatly superior in quality and range to that enjoyed at lower levels. Over one point we must deviate from the central path of impartiality and disagree with the Navigators' Union. We do not believe that B.O.A.C.'s crewing policy will be allowed to threaten safety standards. There did occur some time ago a grave navigational error in an aircraft over the Sahara. This isolated case concerned an aircraft which did not carry a specialist navigator. But reference (made at the above-mentioned meeting) to a Comet which in bad weather landed on a strip at Juhu, Bombay, instead of at the Santa Cruz Airport nearby, does not seem to us to be relevant to the navigator-or-not argument. Where the major scheduled airlines are concerned—and most others as well—considera tions of safety can be left to the operator, who has a great deal at stake. It may be observed here that B.E.A. carry no crew-member for navigation alone. On their stage-lengths up to 800 miles, either two pilots or a radio operator and two pilots comprise the crew; thus do adequate radio aids permit an economy with safety. However, it is not our purpose here to become involved in the details, but to point out some of the factors and considerations. Turbine transports, which are the British commercial aircraft of the present and which will be the airline equipment for all in the near future, require precise planning before take-off and control of every minute of their flights. Instruments are being provided for automatic position-indication and distance measurement, and almost constant communication is maintained with the ground. As a result of this kind of progress the routine work of the navigator as we knew it hitherto is being largely superseded by other methods and devices. In these circumstances, and having satisfied themselves regarding the safety factors involved on each route, airline operators cannot be expected to continue indefinitely to carry the cost and weight of a crew member solely for navigation, particularly when both the captain and the first officer must themselves be qualified navigators.
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