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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1103.PDF
FLIGHT, 16 April 1954 495 CIVIL AVIATION A NEW STRATOLINER CTRATOLINER is the name chosen by the ^ Boeing Airplane Company for the civil ver sion of the prototype jet tanker/transport now under construction at Renton, Washington. The military refuelling version will be known as the Stratotanker. Unofficially referred to as the Boeing 707 or, more dramatically, as "Project X," the aircraft is in fact officially designated Model 367-80. The original Stratoliner was the Boeing Model 307, of which a few examples are still in service. When it entered service early in 1940 with Pan Am and T.W.A. this four-engined 33-seater was one of the most advanced airliners in the world, employing the first pressurized cabin. Wings, engines and tail unit were basically those of the B-17 Flying Fortress. Like its distinguished ancestor, the new Stratoliner embodies experience gained in the design and opera tion of bombers—in this case the B-47 and B-52. The prototype, intended for test and demonstration, is due to fly in June. Some stages in the evolution of the Stratoliner/Stratotanker design, reported to have involved 21,000 hr of wind-tunnel research, are illustrated below. Design-studies considered by the company before construction of the prototype began in 1952 included the Model 367-60 (1950), a gull-winged turboprop ver sion of the C-97 Stratofreighter. The Model 367-64 (1951) retained the double-bubble fuselage but was to be powered by four turbojets. Finally, in 1952, came the 367-80, with re-disposed pods, oval-section fuselage and increased sweep-back (35 instead of 25 deg), permitting a thicker wing and increased fuel capacity. DC-7 PROGRESS Tl/RITING from New York, Flight's Editor reported recendy 7* that American Airlines have taken delivery of 18 of their 25 DC-7s, and that completion of the order is expected by June this year. He added: "I was very impressed with the plain but tasteful interior—roomy, with comfortable seats and fawn trimmings in real hide." American are pleased with the DC-7's performance, and have encountered relatively few teething troubles. Pilots like the "speed-brake" undercarriage, which can be dropped by gravity, unlocked, at any speed up to 300 m.p.h. and allows a 5,000 ft/min descent. DC-7s in service with A.A. are flown by three-man crews— two pilots and an engineer. At present the engineer occupies a small folding seat between and just behind the pilot, but a modification now in hand will provide an improved engineer's station behind the co-pilot's seat. The original proposal for a lengthened, compound-engined version of the DC-6B was put forward by American Airlines three years ago. Douglas completed design work in October 1952 and the wings and tail of the first aircraft were joined in February 1953. The first flight was made on May 18th, and the C.A.A. flight-testing programme began on July 22nd. Although the DC-7 is faster and more capacious than its pre decessor, the DC-6B, the degree of similarity between the two made construction of a DC-7 prototype unnecessary. Airworthi ness trials, involving 204 separate flights, were performed with ROYAL SKYMASTER: Shown arriving at Essendon Airport, Melbourne, is VH-INZ "Laxapana," the Australian National Airways DC-4 in which H.M. The Queen flew from Launceston. three production models. Deliveries went on concurrently with testing, so that the final certification of the DC-7 and its inaugura tion on coast-to-coast services by American Airlines took place simultaneously on November 30th. Altogether 88 DC-7s have now been ordered by seven air lines. The latest order, placed by P.A.W.A., was for seven "overwater" versions sub-designated DC-7B. Deliveries, which totalled 30 aircraft on March 29th, have been made to three airlines—American, National, and United. A number of new American domestic speed records, officially observed by the National Aeronautics Association, have re cently been set up by DC-7s. On Monday, April 5th, one of A.A.'s new aircraft, carrying 60 passengers on a normal scheduled service, covered the 2,468-mile journey from Los Angeles to New York in 6 hr 10 min; the average ground-speed was thus 400 m.p.h. The following day American Airlines broke their own record when another DC-7 (also carrying a full load of 60 passengers) completed the journey at 420 m.p.h. in 5 hr 51 min. A TUDOR INCIDENT DURING a cargo flight from the United Kingdom to Malta on March 2nd, Tudor 1 G-AGRI, owned by Aviation Traders, Ltd., stalled in cloud at 9,500ft over France. Full control was not regained until the aircraft had reached 2,500ft, and the pull- out process caused some damage to the skinning. Pending com pletion of M.T.C.A. investigations, the precise cause of the incident has not been disclosed. However, A. V. Roe, Ltd., have stated: ". . . the aircraft was flying on automatic pilot at a low speed which did not cover for sudden changes in weather ... a minor change in operating technique is sufficient to obviate any recurrence. . . ." LOCAL-SERVICE HELICOPTER THE first of America's local-service carriers to operate a helicopter will be Mohawk Airlines, who expect to take delivery of an eight-seat Sikorsky S-55 on April 26th. Mohawk at present operate ten 26-seat DC-3s on local routes in New York State. Last summer the company announced its intention of replacing the DC-3s with 35-seat twin-engined helicopters. Initial cost of the S-55 is quoted as $150,000 (£53,000). Mohawk's president, Mr. Robert E. Peach, describes its pur- JET-TRANSPORT EVOLUTION: Three Boeing design-studies referred to above: (left to right) Models 367-60, 367-64 and—due to fly shortly—367-80.
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