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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0324.PDF
324 FLIGHT, 11 March 1955 The L.1049C Super Constellation — this example was delivered recently to the Colom- bian airline Avianca— has 3,250 h.p. Wright Turbo-Compound pis- ton engines. A proposed turboprop de- velopment, the LI559, is being suggested to long-range operators. TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT, 1955 . . . The Boeing Stratocruiser is very much a mainliner, demandinglong runways and having high initial and operating costs. About 50 examples are in trans-oceanic service with three airlines—B.O.A.C., Pan American and Northwest. Though civil produc- tion was limited, more than 500 aircraft of the C-97 serieshave been built for the U.S.A.F. B.O.A.C. have recently bought the United Air Line's fleet of six Stratocruisers and for the nexttwo years or so their transatlantic services will be operated exclusively with these luxurious two-deck transports. That thereis a good deal of life left in the type was shown by PanAm's recent decision to spend $lm on a modification programmedesigned to extend the endurance of their Stratocruisers. Extra wing tanks of some 400 gallons capacity are being installed, increas-ing the range by 250 miles, and cruising economy is being improved by modifications to the turbo-superchargers of the3,500 h.p. Wasp Majors. Stratocruisers in transatlantic service with PanAm (carrying only 39 first-class passengers) will thus beenabled to make a higher percentage of non-stop crossings in the eastbound direction; over the Pacific, they are regularly completingthe longest of airline stage-lengths—the 3,800 miles between Tokyo and Honolulu. This is made possible by taking advantageof both the extra range of the Stratocruiser and the assistance of high altitude "jet streams" which have, on occasions, resulted inground speeds of over 450 m.p.h. Easily the most successful long-range transport aircraft builtoutside the United States since the war have been the Canadair 4s of B.O.A.C. and Trans-Canada Airlines, which have built up an Comparable in size and purpose are (above) the Boeing 707 (four JT3L turbojets of 10,000 Ib thrust) and the Vickers 1J000, with four Rolls- Conway by-pass turbojets probably in the 15J000 Ib thrust das*. excellent reputation for reliability and comfort over the past sixyears. In B.O.A.C. service the Canadair is known as the Argonaut and is used on Commonwealth routes to carry 40 first-class or 56tourist-class passengers. T.C.A.'s North Stars, as they are called, carry 48 or 57 passengers according to the type of service beingflown. Though of similar capacity to the DC-4 the Canadair has a pressurized cabin and wings of the DC-6 type; the most signifi-cant distinction, however, is the installation of four Rolls-Royce Merlins. The H.P. Hermes IV was withdrawn from service when Cometscame on to B.O.A.C's African routes, but the Corporation has since re-introduced a small fleet of them on tourist services toDar-es-Salaam and intermediate points. Though originally designed as a 40-seater, the Hermes now usually carries 56 'passengers; comfort has not deteriorated, however, to the same extent as in some other tourist conversions. High-density HermesIVAs are also used by two British independent airlines, Airwork and Britavia, as troopers. Among operators there is still a wide measure of disagreementas to the future of pure-jet transports. Some feel that turboprop airlines, with their ability to compete with jet transports in termsof elapsed time on many routes, will meet most requirements for the next ten years or more. Others have expressed the view thatthe jets will always divert traffic from turboprops on competitive routes and, consequently, that the adoption of turboprops willentail a risk of being left behind. Yet a third faction, probably the largest, sees a future for jet and turboprop airliners; B.O.A.C., •for example, have a stake in both. To some extent the final outcome will depend on airlines'decisions over the next few years. There is, however, a powerful influence outside the control of civil operators: military air trans-port development, which can make available to airlines equipment which they could not afford to order from the drawing board.American and British policy has already generated two potential members of the next generation of airliners—the Boeing 707 andVickers 1000, respectively. The prototype Boeing jet transport first flew in May last year.Since then flight trials have gone well and an "initial order" (by British standards a large one) has been placed for a number ofKC-135s, tanker versions of the 707, which follows the pattern of Boeing jet bombers in having pod mountings for its four turbo-jets (10,000 lb thrust Pratt and Whitney JT3Ls). The proposed civil version, named Stratoliner, which, with spares, is expectedto cost some £1,850,000, could be fitted with British Olympus or Conway turbojets for which, the makers stated after a recentsales survey, European operators have stated a preference. Like the Comet 3, the Stratoliner would cruise at about 500 m.p.h. at40,000ft. As suggested by its great cost, however, it is a larger machine, having a weight of 190,000 lb (45,000 lb more than theComet) and a designed capacity payload of some 15 tons. Its cabin should be able to accommodate over 100 tourist-class pas-sengers, and the limiting stage-lengtii with present power units would probably be in the region of 3,000 miles. Still larger is the Vickers 1000 jet transport, ordered to giveR.A.F. Transport Command the "global mobility" which has so far generally been achieved only by the lavishly equipped U.S.military services. The first example, under construction at Wisley, will be heavier, longer and of wider span than the pro-totype 707. Its power units will be four Rolls-Royce Conway by-pass turbojets and the first flight is expected late this year.The civil version, designated the V.C.7, will accommodate more than 100 people and will have a speed of 500 m.p.h. or more.It is predicted that the V.C.7. will not only be able to show a profit on the non-stop London to New York crossing but that it willalso give economical service on much shorter international routes.
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