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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0434.PDF
434 Two of Lufthansa's four Convair 340s, hangared at Ham- burg. The German airline's fleet will eventually include eight Super Constel- lations (four due for delivery this year and four in 1956). VIEWS ON LUFTHANSA TODAY, April 1st, is the scheduled date for the inaugurationof Lufthansa's scheduled services in Germany. International flights within Europe (from Hamburg to London, Paris andMadrid) are to start on May 15th, and it is expected that transatlantic services between Hamburg and New York willbegin on June 6th. Speaking recently in Hanover, Herr H. M. Bongers (managingdirector) expresssed the hope that the airline would achieve economical operation during 1957. Lufthansa planned to achievethis aim by concentrating temporarily on their inter-continental services (the frequency of transatlantic flights—to be six perweek this summer—will be doubled during 1956, and flights to South America will be inaugurated). By 1957, the companyshould be offering some 650m passenger-miles annually. In London last week, the International Transport Workers'Federation suggested that Lufthansa was seeking to introduce salary scales which would "endanger the economy of other airoperators." The federation announced that it learned "on unim- peachable authority" that the airline sought to introduce flying-staff salary scales far below those of other European air transport undertakings; "rates offered are only 70 per cent of the averagesalary paid." This, the federation asserted, was undoubtedly unfair competition, to which the flying staff of all other airlineswould take grave objection. AIRBORNE WEATHER RADAR 'T'HE main developments in the field of airborne radar, when•*• used to give warning of hazardous weather, are summarized in a recent circular (with the above title) prepared by the I.C.A.O.Air Navigation Bureau. This discusses the basic principles of the relationship between the radar display and the correspondingatmospheric conditions, within the range of equipment available at present. The circular is a slightly revised version of a working paperprepared for member-States prior to the fourth session of the I.C.A.O. Meteorology Division. In addition to sections on thefundamental principles of radar, rainfall intensity, cloud detec- tion, the "bright band", "upper band", lightning, turbulence andrainfall intensity, and airborne radar equipment, the publication contains a useful list of references on the subject. FLIGHT, 1 April 1955 CIVIL AVIATION INSURANCE RATES AND RISKS TN his report at the recent annual meeting of the Aviation-*- Insurance Offices' Association the deputy chairman, W/C. E. G. Thomas, asked the question: "If our aircraft are to becomestill more complicated may not the risk to underwriters become heavier still?""What about the repair of these complicated examples of modern technology?" he asked. "Labour and material costs con-tinue to rise, and it becomes more difficult to repair even minor damage in situ. These facts are certainly not reflected in rating." W/C. Thomas continued: "It seems clear to me that the timehas come for concerted action not only to resist the continued pressure for rate reductions, but to improve rates. Insurance costsare one of the smallest items of an operator's budget. They involve only some three to four per cent of his hourly operating costs andI suggest that the insurer is no longer a reasonable target for re- ductions in these costs . . . The market has expanded over thepast few years but so has the volume of business. The total volume of business done by I.A.T.A. members during 1954 was over£700,000,000 and this was done by some 2,500 aircraft. This will emphasise one of our weaknesses—the lack of sufficientspread. The need for careful appraisal and rating of each particular risk is obvious." CIVIL AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS, 1953 SOME fifteen months after the end of the period under review,A Survey of Accidents to Aircraft of the United Kingdom, in the year ended 31st December, 1953 (H.M.S.O., price Is. 6d.) hasbeen published by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. It records that during the year there were 87 accidents to aircraftregistered in the United Kingdom, twelve of which were fatal. Aircraft engaged in public transport were involved in 11 accidents,of which four were fatal. A total of 65 accidents (eight fatal) concerned light aircraft, in 28 of which, the Ministry states, theaircraft was being flown by a student pilot. Two non-fatal accidents to gliders were reported, and there was no accident involving ahelicopter. On the regular passenger-carrying services of U.K. operators, onwhich 1,432,337,000 revenue passenger-miles and 169,600 stage flights were flown, there occurred two accidents, involving 70fatalities. Among the statistical criteria quoted in the survey are: stage flights flown per fatal accident, 84,800; aircraft miles flownper fatal accident, 29,401,000; passengers carried per passenger killed, 35,400; passenger-miles flown per passenger killed,23,480,900; fatal accidents per 10,000 stage flights, 0.12; fatal accidents per million aircraft miles, 0.034, and passengers killed perhundred million passenger-miles, 4.3. Of the eleven accidents to public transport aircraft, six wereattributed to pilot error. For the first year since post-war records were started there was no accident due to collision with highground; neither was any due to engine-failure. The number of accidents to light aircraft showed an increase ofsome 50 per cent compared with 1952, for a 20 per cent increase in flying activity. Pilot error, according to the Ministry, was respons-ible for 44 of the 65 accidents. Stalling accidents numbered nine (almost double the 1952 figure); five others were due to a lack ofappreciation of weather conditions; and ten due to failure of an engine of its accessories. An analysis of the stalling accidents had indicated that the twomain causes of the majority were (a) too low an approach speed for the prevailing conditions and (b) insufficient speed in a glidingor partial-power turn. There were eleven accidents to types other than light and publictransport aircraft, five of which are stated to be due to pilot error. Tip-tanks are seen on this Super Connie of Northwest Orient Air- lines, photographed taking off from Bur- bank. It is one of four destined for service on the Tokyo - Seattle great-circle route.
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