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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0289.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2407 Vol. 67. FRIDAY, 11 MARCH 1955 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. and Bar 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, Autopres, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgate. Telegrams, Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW. C.2 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00. IN THIS ISSUE: News from All Quarters 290 Makers of the World's Air Transports - - - 296 Airlines of the World - 301 Britain's Independent Operators - ... 309 Air Organizations - - 312 Transport Aircraft, 1955 321 Airline Navigation - - 332 Air-transport Data - - 337 For Airport Safety - - 338 Expanding Air Commerce THE air travelling public need have little fear that their hopes and desires arenot well understood by the great aircraft manufacturing concerns of the world.That much is at once apparent from the informative personal messages which we are privileged to publish on pages 296-300. Since the operators' bread and butter also depends upon pleasing the customers, it seems that their air travel needs are likely to be well looked after. Manufacturers apparently agree to a remarkable extent as to the future route and traffic developments. It is over the precise method of carrying the traffic that their views naturally diverge. Increasingly, references to convenience are creeping into airline and airliner discus- sions, and rightly so. Not very long ago, the simple establishment of an air link was enough in itself. The attraction of air travel, as represented by convenient times of take-off and landing, and choice of services—after safety, speed and comfort, in that order—is among the most potent of influences in gaining new custom against keen competition from surface carriers. As the airlines win over new adherents, some degree of snowball action can reasonably be expected which will lead to more services and connections and fuller aircraft, to greater flexibility of air travel with less seasonal influence, and only then, in the face of rising costs, to a chance of reduced fares which will enable the cycle to repeat itself. The influences on air travel which have to be considered include the broadening field of operations. At the lower end of the scale it will not have escaped attention that the promise of helicopters has now compelled their inclusion in all forward planning for local and inter-city services. At the other end of the scale, high-speed long-range services are increasing the scope for world travel. At the moment, the non-stop North Atlantic route and the American coast-to-coast services are the ripe-for-picking airline plums. To the many business travellers on these first-class services, time saved is money saved. We agree with those who see ample opportunities for both turboprop and pure-jet aircraft to be employed to their particular advantages. The need for both first-class and tourist services was never more apparent. America's pronounced swing-over to turbo- props may be regarded as more of a practical expedient than a technical advance. Un- doubtedly, too, it has taken place under the influence of the serious but temporary set- back of the pioneer Comet 1, and of the enormous cost of designing and developing a completely new jet airliner, as compared with (in the transatlantic idiom) stretching and beefing-up an existing known and de-bugged structure. By 1965, first-class long-range passenger services will be flown almost exclusively by jet aircraft, but full advantage will have to be taken of their capacity for doing work quickly. It is unlikely that such aircraft will ever have the flexibility of turboprop air- liners. Thus, they will still need to be very carefully matched to routes and schedules. An operator must keep his aircraft earning for as long as possible in each 24-hour period. On some long stages, the positioning problem makes this difficult. A reduction in time for a flight is attractive to the passenger; the operator must think in terms of the number of round trips which can be completed in a given time. From the timing point of view, there are alluring prospects for direct North Atlantic services. A jet schedule convenient for all concerned might be to leave London after breakfast and arrive in New York for lunch, taking advantage of the five-hour time difference. On the return flight, using the same aircraft, take-off might be after dinner at night, with arrival back in London for an early breakfast. Freight opportunities are only just beginning to be realized, and the amount of cargo carried by air is no more than a fraction of one per cent by weight of the surface total. Experience and publicity are the immediate needs, while the numerous load possibilities are being investigated. Finally we may express our hope and confidence in the ability of designers to exploit the advantages which aerodynamic developments are now beginning to offer. Greater control of airflow, without doubt, opens a way to more efficient operation and, more important, to safer flying.
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