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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1483.PDF
FLIGHT, 13 November 1953 637 PLANS FOR THE PRINCESSES EVENTS of the past few days have brought encourage ment for all those who feared that the magnificent Saunders-Roe Princess flying-boats might suffer the same fate as the Brabazon. It would be premature to forecast where or when the Princesses will enter service, who will operate them, or when suitable engines will be available. How ever, now that both B.O.A.C. and Aquila Airways have announced a desire to acquire and operate them, there is some guarantee of a commercial future for these splendid craft. According to a report published last Friday, Sir Winston Churchill has given instructions that an operational future must be found for the three Princesses. Such action would certainly be characteristic. The same day B.O.A.C. issued the following statement: — "Clearly, in view of economic considerations, B.O.A.C. has had to move cautiously during the past few years. We had to be assured that a suitable flying-boat engine was available before we were in a position to take a view. Now, however, a Proteus major turboprop engine is being developed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company—a Briush jet power-unit that should give the Princess flying-boats the long range and passenger-carrying capacity required to make them very com petitive on international air routes. "Sir Miles Thomas, chairman of B.O.A.C., has always held the view that flying-boats are a peculiarly British sphere, combining the British maritime tradition with Britain's most up-to-date achievement—the development of the jet engine. "Accordingly, B.O.A.C., with its long experience of flying-boat operations, will co-operate with the Government and the Saunders-Roe Company in the operational development of the Princess. "It is yet too early to say where the Princess might be flown com mercially—the matter is under close study—but it should be possible to operate it world-wide on most of the B.O.A.C.'s present Common wealth and Atlantic routes." It was also learned that Capt. H. W. C. Alger, the former manager of B.O.A.C.'s No. 4 (flying-boat) Line at Hythe who was seconded to Saunders-Roe in August 1951, is now in North America making enquiries about possible flying-boat bases. Capt. Alger was selected in 1950 to be manager of the Princess Unit then being formed to prepare for operating the new flying-boats on B.O.A.C.'s routes. The unit was disbanded shortly afterwards. On Saturday, November 7th, the day following B.O.A.C.'s statement, Mr. Eoin C. Mekie, chairman of Aquila Airways, Ltd., disclosed that his company had offered to pay "much more than £lm for each aircraft." He said: — "In view of the prominence given to B.O.A.C.'s comments on the future of the Princess flying-boats, I wish to make it quite clear that Aquila Airways made a firm offer to the Ministry of Supply on Thurs day, November 5th, 1953, to buy all three machines. This offer was made in response to an approach by the Ministry to all independent airlines and I believe it is the first and only offer." Aquila Airways, Ltd., are at present Britain's only civil flying- boat operator, with a fleet of two Solents and four Hythes. Last March the entire share capital of Aquila was taken over by Britavia, Ltd., parent company of Silver City Airways, Ltd. Aquila's plans for the Princesses have not been revealed, although Mr. Mekie has expressed confidence that they could be operated at a profit. The first Princess, now being test-flown, made her maiden flight in August 1952. The other two airframes have since been com pleted and cocooned, and are in storage at Calshot. Estimated cost of the three aircraft up to June 1952 was stated last year to be £10,800,000. The ten Proteus 2s—eight of which are in coupled units—now fitted in the first Princess are a temporary installation only. For operational use, military or civil, more powerful turboprops will be necessary. It is now generally accepted that fewer engines— e.g., six Proteus 3s—would be preferable to the present ten units, with their attendant weight and complexity of coupling gear. The fact that coupled engines would be peculiar to diese three flying boats would add to maintenance difficulties, whereas the single units are intended for large-scale airline service. With Government approval it might be possible to obtain 3,780 e.h.p. Proteus 3s—now in super-priority production for the Britannia—for installation in the Princess. Even so, the big flying- boats are not likely to be ready for service for at least three years, and the installation of six of any existing type of Proteus would reduce the effective range to 1,500-2,000 miles. Alternatively, according to Sir Miles Thomas, the Princess might be fitted with "major Proteus engines," which would give it a commercial per formance, but these would not be ready for four or five years. No further details of such an engine, presumably one intended for later Britannias or their derivatives, are available. However, the following carefully phrased statement was issued on Monday by the Bristol Aeroplane Co.: — "When work on the Princess project was suspended on Govern- "Flignt" photograph ment instructions, development of the Coupled Proteus engines specified for the boats was also suspended. Since then, Bristol development of turboprop engines in single form has been so encouraging as to make it possible to offer the required power for the Princess with the use of single engines only, thus obviating the need for the elaborate coupling gear. This proposal is under examination by the interested parties." The latest—but certainly not the last—words on the subject were, at the time of going to press, contained in a message to B.O.A.C. staff issued by Sir Miles Thomas on Tuesday afternoon. Some extracts are quoted below. "So many confusing statements have been published by the Press in connection with the future of the Princess flying-boats, and there is so much interest in flying-boats among B.O.A.C. personnel, that I feel that the Corporation's position in the matter should be made clear." [In parentheses, we would observe that "confused" Press reports often result from failure to provide the Press with clear and accurate information.] ". . . With its original engines, the Princess flying-boat was, in our assessment, uneconomic. Therefore we said that we would not operate them commercially on our scheduled services. But we always realized that engines might be developed that would give the boats an economic performance. . . . "Moreover, in September 1952 we offered to set up a marine develop ment flight as part of the Corporation's organization, but separate and distinct from our normal commercial operations. . . . We were told, however, that it was doubtful whether operations on the scale we had contemplated would materialize for a few years, and it was suggested that the matter should be deferred. . . . "As soon as the Bristol Aeroplane Company, in collaboration with Saunders-Roe, had reached a stage in the development work on a type of engine which gave promise that the Princess would be an economic proposition, the Corporation showed renewed interest in the boat. . . . "We had conversation with officials of the Ministry of Supply on October 20th, and on October 28th I had a formal meeting with the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in the House of Commons, the record of which concerns our proposals to operate the Princess. . . . "Our broad proposals are that when the hull has been fitted with engines that will give them a competitive commercial performance we will buy them at the commercial price then current, and operate them on world-wide routes. It is unlikely that the appropriate engines will be developed before 1958. "In the intervening period, suitable preparations for operating the boats on passenger and freight routes will be developed. It will be appreciated that the Corporation is in a unique position to make the best showing of these aircraft, in which so much public money has been invested." ON SAFARI Two colourful and cheerful passengers who disembarked fro~n Airwork's Safari-service Viking at Blackbushe last Friday were Asmani Siidi and Panya Sefu, ex-Askaris, who flew to this country to represent the Tanganyikan Branch of the British Legion at the Armistice Rally. They were accompanied by Capt. C. Bone (left), chairman of the Legion's African section, and welcomed by Maj. B. A. Wilson of Airwork.
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