FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0953.PDF
8 July 1955 63 scheduled to ensure "breakfast-time" deliveries throughout the area served. These flights, incidentally, form part of a Transair "newspaper network" serving nine points in Europe and involving over 1,400,000 miles' flying per year. NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA FIRST steps have been taken in Australia towards the operationof civil helicopter services. The privately owned Australian National Airways announced on June 29th a decision to set up ahelicopter division, equipped, initially, with a Bristol 171 Sycamore. In charge of the division will be Capt. Max Holyman,who will be the first A.N.A. pilot to visit Britain for helicopter conversion training. The Sycamore will be used for emergencyand feeder services. Basic rules for the operation of commercial helicopters werelaid down on June 19th by Australia's Department of Civil Aviation. It was stated by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr.Athol Townley, that special attention would be given to the careful selection of routes, control of noise, and ownership andlicensing of heliports. Licences would be considered "in the light of the need to confine the level of engine noise to approximatelythat made by the rotor blades." The government would provide heliports only at aerodromes; approved standards would belaid down for construction of heliports elsewhere. In general, said Mr. Townley, approval would not be given for use ofroof-tops by helicopters which were incapable of operation with "Clipper Jupiter Rex" is the flag- ship of PanAm's new fleet of seven DC-7Bs, which carry 810 gal addi- tional fuel in the enlarged nacelles of their four Wright Turbo-Com- pounds—3,250-h.p. piston engines. one engine stopped. This re-striction might be relaxed if the surroundings allowed.Another important Australian development is the announce-ment of a Qantas order for two L.1049Hs, for use as combinedpassenger-freight aircraft on the Sydney - London route. Deliveryof this new version (the 22nd) of the Super Connie will be made inmid-1956. Capable of quick conversion forall-freight services, the L.1049H will feature a strengthened floor of extruded magnesium andlarge loading doors fore and aft; dimensions of the doors are (for- ward) 5ft l^in wide by 6ft 4jin high, and (rear) 9ft 4|in wide by6ft 2jin high. Its normal maximum payload will be 34,623 lb though Lockheed say that the fuselage will accommodate a further5,000 lb when authorised to take-off at 5 per cent above its usual gross weight of 137,500 lb. Tip tanks will be fitted, giving anabsolute still-air range of 5,580 miles. Following the introduction of Viscounts by T.A.A. and DC-6Bsby A.N.A., new speed records are being set almost daily on Australian domestic routes. One of the most impressive perform-ances was that of A.N.A. DC-6B Kurana, which flew from Perth to Adelaide on June 2nd at an average speed of 420 m.p.h., carrying47 passengers and 8,000 lb of freight (strong tail winds are en- countered on this sector). Another was that of the T.A.A. Viscount,VH-TBC, which—also with tail-wind assistance—recently flew from Melbourne to Sydney at 395 m.p.h. On June 17th, incident-ally, T.A.A. carried their 100,000th Viscount passenger; the air- line's Viscount services began just six months previously—onDecember 18th. Three of the Commonwealth's best-known civil pilots, repre-senting each of Australia's three largest airlines, became M.B.E.s in the present Birthday Honours list: Capt. Keith Virtue ofA.N.A., who holds the Australian record of 23,500 flying hours; Capt. Aubrey Koch of T.A.A. (over 17,000 hours) and Capt. KenJackson of Qantas (over 15,000 hours). BREVITIES T'HE first Viscount demonstration flight from Washington was••• operated by Capital Airlines on June 24th. Passengers included the United States General Attorney, Mr. Herbert Brownell; theUnder-Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Louis Rothchild; the chair- man of the C.A.A., Mr. Ross Rizley; and the administrator of the C.A.A., Mr. F. B. Lee. * * * Airports, Ltd., owners of Gatwick, announce that the sum of £350,000 has been agreed as Government compensation for the acquisition of the airport, which is to be developed at a cost of £ 16m as an alternative to L.A.P. * * * The recently opened Aero-Ypenburg helicopter school, nowusing a single Hiller 12B, has ordered an S.N.C.A.S.O. Djinn for delivery in March 1956. Training charges at the school arereported to be about £30 per hour, and £1,000 for a complete course of helicopter instruction. * * * Lufthansa's admission to active membership of the InternationalAir Transport Association was announced on June 29th, bringing the number of I.A.T.A. member companies to 73. One of Luft-hansa's predecessor companies was a founder of the pre-war I.A.T.A. in 1919. The Association has also announced the elec-tion of Mr. A. A. Priester, a vice-president of PanAm, as chairman of the I.A.T.A. technical committee. * * * Hitherto concerned solely with freight, the Colombian airlineSociedad Aeronautica Medellin (S.A.M.) has acquired two DC-3s and two DC-4s with a view to entering the passenger field. Theaircraft were supplied by K.L.M., who are jointly concerned with the Colombian airline in the formation of a new company—RutasAereas S.A.M., which is expected to take over the passenger services. * * * Air France will shortly introduce tip-tanked L.1049G SuperConstellations on their transatlantic routes. The airline, which nas ten of these aircraft on order, expects the first two machines to arrive in Paris this month; deliveries should thereafter continueat the rate of one a month. The French 1049Gs will be capable of conversion in three hours from 32-seat "Golden Parisian" lay-out to 81-seat tourist. An innovation incorporated in some of the machines will be the use of nickel-plated airscrews, to givelonger service life. * * * At present under Air Ministry requisition, Lulsgate Airport has been offered by the M.T.C.A. to Bristol Corporation for use as a municipal airport. Situated about six miles from the city centre, the airfield is open to purchase or lease by the Corporation. Civil Aviation Information Circular No. 65/1955 outlines thenew conditions under which flying experience gained by first officers acting as "pilots-in-charge under supervision" may be credited towards the command hours required for senior licences. * * * DC-4s have replaced Sandringham flying-boats on the Qantasservice from Sydney to Noumea, the new Hebrides and Suva. The only flying-boats now used by Qantas are the Catalinasoperated on short-haul routes in New Guinea. * * * I.C.A.O.'s budget for 1956 will be $2,826,971 (just over £lm);this sum, slightly more than the 1955 budget, was voted at the Organization's ninth assembly, which concluded in Montreal onJune 13th. West Germany's request to join I.C.A.O. was approved by the assembly and now awaits final approval by U.N. * * * New appointments announced by Sabena include that of M. A.Vernieuwe as executive vice-president; in addition to his present duties as operations manager M. Vernieuwe takes charge of theairline's commercial services and the organization of its overseas stations. Other appointments are those of M. V. Pacco as vice-president, sales, and of M. M. Stainier, as vice-president, opera- tions. The appointments follow the news that Sabena's commercialmanager, M. P. Stouffs, has, for family reasons, been granted prolonged leave of absence.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
