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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0090.PDF
CIVIL AVIATION . ^. £ - greatly increased seat-mile capacity. Finally, it is pointed out thatthe airline has virtually cornered the Viscount market for some time to come, and that Capital's contract with Vickers-Arm-strongs does not include the usual U.S. manufacturer's clause controlling re-sale of the aircraft. Unusually favourable financing arrangements, the survey pointsout, were involved in the Capital order. No down payments are to be made by the airline, which will begin to amortize the debton each aircraft on a 60-month basis immediately after delivery. Interest on the unamortized balance has been set at the Bank ofEngland's re-discount rate plus 1.75 per cent—a total interest rate of 4.75 per cent. Total cost to Capital of the 60 Viscounts isquoted at $67m (£24m). Engine and airframe spares stocks valued at $15m will be maintained by Rolls-Royce and Vickers-Armstrongs at Montreal and Alexandria, Virginia, respectively. GERMAN REVIVAL LONDON'S importance as a centre of air traffic is reflected in the' plan announced by the new Deutsche Lufthansa, Germany's post-war national airline, for the opening of its European networkin April. It is the airline's intention to operate two return services daily between Germany and London—one through Hamburg andDusseldorf and die other through Munich and Frankfurt. Lufthansa will also operate three return services weekly on theHamburg-Frankfurt-Paris route. There will also be two round trips weekly between Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and Madrid.These services will be operated with Convair 340s, based at Hamburg, where new maintenance buildings are under construc-tion. Four of these aircraft were ordered, and the first deliveries have already been made. For their long-haul services, D.L.H. have ordered four SuperConstellations, with delivery of the first due in mid-March. An order for four more Super Constellations is reported to be underdiscussion. The airline hopes to introduce these aircraft to services on the North Atlantic route in June or July, operating six returnflights weekly between Hamburg and New York. Three of these flights will operate via Dusseldorf and three via Frankfurt, andthere will presumably be an intermediate stop at Shannon or Prestwick. Though Lufthansa will have to face strong competition fromairlines already long-established on the North Atlantic route, there is already a substantial flow of passenger traffic originating inGermany, which, it is thought, could be diverted to the German airline. It has been estimated that seven per cent of the passengerswho flew the Atlantic last year were of German nationality. Sixteen pilots, many of them captains in the pre-war Lufthansa FLIGHT The first German-registered aircraft of post-war design are the tour Convair 340s of Lufthansa, whose operating plans are outlined below. Lufthansa's styling, illustrated here on one of the Convairs, includes a white top, blue fuselage flash and gold lettering. and all with at least 2,000 hours' flying experience, are under train;ng for the new airline. Initially they will fly as first officers to captains seconded from B.E.A. (see photograph below). Also under training are sixteen stewardesses. WRONG RUNWAY THE captain and one passenger were injured when B.E.A.Viscount G-AMOK Sir Humphrey Gilbert hit a series of obstacles at London Airport on Sunday, January 15th, whileleaving for Rome and Athens. The aircraft should have taken-off from runway 15R, which runs from the N.W. corner of theairport in a south-easterly direction. In poor visibility, however, the Viscount turned off the taxi track some 400 yd short of runway15R and attempted to take-off from the disused stub of runway No. 3, which was part of the original pattern of the airport.There were apparently no markings to show that this runway, which is parallel to 15R, is no longer in use. During its run the aircraft struck a barrier of steel girders,which tore off the two port engines and part of the undercarriage. Though some of the Viscount's fuel tanks were ruptured theaircraft did not catch fire—a point which bears out claims for the relative safety of kerosine fuel in such an accident. Of the 25passengers aboard the aircraft, 22 flew to Rome later in a relief aircraft. In command of the Viscount was Capt. E. J. Waits. The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation announced onMonday that the Chief Inspector of Accidents was carrying out a preliminary investigation into the mishap, and that he wouldmake an advance report to the Minister. BREVITIES SABENA have placed an order in the United States for twoSikorsky S-55 helicopters, to be delivered next month. Four of these aircraft are already operated by Sabena on their inter-national network of passenger helicopter services. * * * The number of Saab Scandias in service with S.A.S. was recently increased to ten by the delivery of two new aircraft built under licence in Amsterdam by Fokker. * * * The French Thomson-Houston Company has supplied a sur- veillance radar for Paris-Orly airport to provide traffic control for the Northern French Control Region. Claimed to be the most advanced of its kind in Europe, the new installation has a range of up to 40,000ft and 95 miles. * * * The experimental Whiting Loadair system (described in Flightof December 17th, 1954) installed at New York International Air- port is now in operation. Further application of the system, whichmechanically parks an aircraft in relation to a permanent loading dock, depends on the results of a twelve-month trial.* * * India and the United States have been unable to settle the terms of a new bilateral agreement to replace that which expired on January 14th. Pending the signing of a new agreement, Portrayed are eight of the ten B.E.A. pilots seconded to Deutsche Lufthansa (left to right): Capts. J. Monro, S. J. Brown, P. C. Ward, P. R. Griffin, K. T. Quirke, D. H. Syming- ton, J. G. Simpson and A. R. Marks. After con- version training on Convair 340s, which should be completed by April, the B.E.A. pilots, wearing D.L.H. uniform, will captain these aircraft on scheduled services for the following year.
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