FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1160.PDF
274 Interior layout of the Boeing 707 Stratoliner is shown for the first time in these photographs of a cutaway model. Ahead of the crew compartment is a radar scanner; behind it, the main cabin, with entrances fore and aft. This model is arranged as a 108-seat tourist aircraft, with tive- abreast seating (right). Windows, of rectangular form, are spaced 20in apart. Boeing have applied to the C.A.A. for a type certificate. CIVIL AVIATION . . . MR. MASEFIELD'S CRYSTAL BALL CPEAKING in Seattle on August 9th, during the I.A.S. ^ turbine-transport symposium, Mr. Peter Masefield predicted that seven categories of transport aircraft—all turbine-powered— would be bought by the airlines in large numbers during the period 1958-66. In looking so far ahead, said Mr. Masefield, "I am sticking my neck out a long way." One fundamental, he believed, would remain true for the next decade: for the same amount of payload, the turboprop would be 20 per cent cheaper to operate than the jet but 100 m.p.h. slower; alternatively, the jet must be built to carry 25 per cent more payload than the turboprop over the same range if it was to achieve the same operating cost. The "seven categories" defined by Mr. Masefield were as follows: — "First the long-range jet. In the next decade, this 'No. 1 PrestigeType'—designed to fly non-stop across the American Continent and non-stop, with high regularity, from London to New York—will haveto cruise at around 550 m.p.h. and carry rather more than 100 pas- sengers. It will, I suppose, eventually weigh pretty close to 300,000 lbgross and it will cost getting on for $6m (£2.15m) ... I guess a world market for something like 200 of these aircraft . . . the only twopresent contenders here appear to be the Douglas DC-8 and the revised Boeing 707. "Now the Second Category is, I believe, the long-range turboproptransport—capable of doing the same non-stop journeys as the 'Category One Jet,' about 100 m.p.h. slower and about 20 per centcheaper, carrying the same sort of payload—about 20,000 lb or 100 passengers. This 'Category Two Turboprop' will gross, I suppose, atabout 180,000 lb and cost somewhere around $3.5m (£1.25m) each. I guess a world market for about 400 of these long-range turboprops.. . . The Bristol Britannia and a turboprop version of the Lockheed seem to be the two present contenders in this class. "The Third Category is the medium range jet. I believe that thereis a somewhat restricted world market for this sort of aeroplane—a 70-passenger, 150,000 1b, 500 m.p.h. aeroplane, capable of flying 2,000miles non-stop. This aeroplane is coming along and, in my opinion, will sell to the extent of about 100 aircraft. It will cost about $2.5m(£900,000). The de Havilland Comet 4 will be right in this class. "Then Category Four . . . represented by the Lockheed Electraand the 'Viscount successor.' This 'work-horse' of air transport needs to carry between 70 and 90 passengers—according to seating density.It must cruise at rather better than 400 m.p.h. and it will weigh around 100,000 lb. . . . The cost will be not quite $2m (£700,000) each.I believe that there will be a world-market for at least 500 of these aeroplanes. "Next, Category Five—the second string in the 'work-horse' stablefor medium and short-haul jobs. Again this will be a turboprop— I'm sure of that. The requirement is, I think, for between 50 and 60passengers. The cruising speed should be about 350 m.p.h., the gross weight around 65,000 lb. . . . I fancy there is a world demand forsome 400 of these aeroplanes at around $lm (£350,000) each. . . . The chief contender here is, obviously, the Viscount-Major—the V.800series with the boosted Dart engine. "Category Six is one of the most difficult—our old friend, the'DC-3 Replacement.' The DC-3 never can be replaced by quite the same article. But I believe that most of the attempts to replace it—and they have all failed—have had too big a seating capacity. I foresee a demand for a relatively small and cheap four-motor aeroplane,preferably using turboprops of about 600 or 700 h.p. each. It should cruise at about 280 m.p.h. and carry 30 passengers, or a few less. Thegross weight would come out at about 20,000 1b and the cost, I suppose, around $400,000 (£140,000) each. The market for these aircraft ismost difficult to guess. But it should not be less than about 600 aircraft. Nearly 300 civil Beavers are now operating in 36 different countries. Among the operators of this outstanding de Havilland Canada bush transport are a number of scheduled airlines, one of the latest— represented here—being Queen Charlotte Airlines, British Columbia. . . . No aeroplane has been designed quite in this category at present."Finally, Category Seven—a large, multi-engine helicopter, designed to fly directly between city centres up to 250 miles apart, as well asbetween a few major airports and their city centres. All our studies lead us to believe that the helicopter cannot be made into a truecommercial proposition until it has around 50 seats and cruises at not less than 150 m.p.h. The powerplant would be two—or perhapsfour—turboprop type engines, with a total of not less than 8,000 s.h.p. The vehicle would be expensive—at 60,000 lb gross weight it wouldcost not less than $1.5m (£500,000). I am sure, however, that if such a helicopter can be produced in the next ten years, then at least500, and their developments, would be sold. . . . "Those seven categories do, I believe, cover the major requirementsof the major scheduled air transport operators. Each of the seven types will, obviously, develop in service. And you will see that theyadd up to a requirement for about 2,700 aircraft costing more than $7,000m (£2,500m), with spares. Between them, they would requirea production of about 1,800 jet engines of two types and about 13,400 turboprop engines of four types. That's the ratio I see in the eraI'm thinking of. "One of the major things which will be controversial is the ratio ofjet to turboprop aircraft. ... I have suggested that there will be a requirement for 300 jet aeroplanes with 1,200 engines, compared with1,300 turboprop aircraft with 5,200 engines—rather more than four to one in favour of the turboprop. On the money side, I have suggestedtentatively that the jet-transport orders will be worth a total of $ 1,800m (£642m) against $4,000m (£ 1,430m) for the turboprops." THE KILIMANJARO ACCIDENT TPHE findings of the Court of Inquiry into the East African •»• Airways DC-3 accident were published earlier this month. The accident, which marred E.A.A.'s previously unblemished record, occurred on May 18th this year, when VP-KKH, flying from Dar-es-Salaam to Nairobi, struck the Mawenzi peak of Kilima- njaro with the lost of all 16 passengers and four crew. The report found that the basic causes of the accident were the captain's decision to fly dangerously near the mountain, coupled with the amount of cloud near Kilimanjaro at the time. The site of the impact was only 7 n.m. from the direct track from Dar-es- Salaam to Nairobi. The Court described the flight plan as a "misnomer," since it was evident that it was prepared before the crew had collected the weather forecast for the route. Had the pilot discussed the weather with the forecaster "he might well have decided to proceed via Tanga. ... It must be remembered, however, that he was fairly new to the Corporation, and he might
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
