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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1698.PDF
FLIGHT, 25 November 1955 817 This Britavia Hermes, seen taxying-in at Black- bushe, last week became the first aircraft of its type to fly the Atlantic. The occasion is recorded in a paragraph below. CIVIL AVIATION EIGHT '8s FOR K.L.M. THE first export order for the Douglas DC-8 was announcedsimultaneously by the manufacturers and the airline concerned, K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines, on November 16th. The airlinehas ordered eight DC-8s, costing, with spares, £ 18.5m, with delivery beginning in March 1960. K.L.M.'s president, Gen.I. A. Aler, said that the aircraft, carrying more than 100 passengers at 550 m.p.h., would be used on the North Atlantic "and otherimportant intercontinental routes." The announcement said that K.L.M.'s DC-8s would be poweredby Pratt and Whitney turbojets (presumably J75s), and would have a gross weight of 257,000 lb; payload would be 34,000 1b.K.L.M.'s choice of the DC-8 is significant for several reasons. It is widely believed, rightly or wrongly, that the Dutch airlinehas a profound influence on procurement policies of many airlines outside America; certainly the technical experience and businessacumen of K.L.M.'s executives are widely respected. Their pur- chase of the DC-8 will thus be interpreted as an act of faith inthe Douglas company's ability to produce an efficient, money- making jet transport. Moreover, K.L.M. have unequalled experi-ence of the Douglas series of commercial aircraft, having operated or ordered every model since the 1934 DC-2. Including the DC-8 order, K.L.M. now have £35-40m involvedin future aircraft procurement. The other aircraft on order are four L.1049Gs (for delivery in 1956), ten DC-7Cs (1957), nineViscount 803s (1957) and two Friendships (1958). It is thought likely that S.A.S. will follow K.L.M. in orderingAmerican jet transports. The Scandinavian airline is at present known to be evaluating both the Boeing and Douglas designs. VIKINGS FOR THE ARGENTINE SOLD to the Argentine Government by Eagle Aircraft Services,Ltd., four Viking IBs will be flight-delivered to Buenos Aires at the end of this month via Gibraltar, Dakar, Natal and Rio deJaneiro. As these stages are beyond the normal capacity of the Viking, the aircraft have been specially modified—as illustratedbelow—in the Eagle workshops at Blackbushe. Two additional fuselage tanks, each of 220 gal capacity, have been installed, givingan endurance of 12 hr and thus enabling the aircraft to cover up to 2,400 miles. The tanks are all-metal units fitted inside suitablystressed wooden containers; feed is fully automatic. DRAGON AIRWAYS ACQUIRED T>URCHASE of Dragon Airways has been announced by•*• Hunting-Clan Air Transport, the Elder Dempster Group and the Tyne-Tees Steam Shipping Co. Controlled by these threecompanies as equal partners, Dragon Airways have been taken over for the purpose of developing the northern network of scheduled services run by Hunting-Clan. Under this agreementDragon's name will be changed, their capital structure re- organized and their base moved from Liverpool to Newcastle.During recent months Dragon's Herons have been operating under charter to Hunting-Clan, who regard these aircraft as wellmatched to the traffic demand on most of their Newcastle-based routes. TRANSATLANTIC HERMES /~\NE of the six Handley Page Hermes operated by Britavia. Ltd.,v-' last week became the first aircraft of its type to fly the North Atlantic. Carrying 39 passengers on both outward and returntrips, it was chartered to carry relief members of a ship's crew to New York and to return the replaced men to the U.K. Theaircraft, Hermes 4 G-ALDU, left Blackbushe on November 14th and reached New York in 17 hr 15 min flying time via Shannonand Gander; it returned via Gander in 16 hr 9 min. It was commanded by Britavia's flight captain, Capt. W. P. Allan. FRENCH WITHOUT TOWERS T OSS of revenue resulting from the strike of traffic control staff•'-' at French airports, which began at Paris on November 10th and spread rapidly to other French terminals, was last weekestimated to be in the region of £100,000 daily. The French Ministry of Transport last week issued a statement recognizingthat the wages of certain categories of staff were insufficient, but denying the strikers' demand for a flat bonus of about £10 a month.Services between London and Paris were resumed last Monday on a limited frequency after being suspended for seven days.B.E.A. operated two Elizabethan services between London and Creil, north of Paris; Air France operated a Constellation servicefrom Orly; and Skyways resumed their normal coach-air service between Beauvais and Paris. The Air France and B.E.A. fre-quencies were expected to increase day by day, though the strike was still in force at the time of going to press. JERSEY AIRLINES EXPANSION T TNDER an agreement between B.E.A. and Jersey Airlines,*-' announced last week, the latter company is expected to take over a number of the Corporation's Channel Island services fromApril 6th next year. The routes concerned are those between Guernsey and Southampton, together with all services now oper-ated by B.E.A. with Rapides. Commenting on these developments, Jersey Airlines recall that in 1953 they received approval to operateall the routes now to be taken over from B.E.A. Conditions of approval were so onerous, however, that the company could onlyhave operated these sectors at a loss. Formed as recently as 1949 Jersey Airlines have expanded atan impressive rate. The success of the company is closely linked with that of the de Havilland Heron feederliner, for Jersey werethe first British airline to adopt the Heron; their flagship, Duchess of Jersey, was in fact the fifth production machine. Four Heronsare now in service, together with three Rapides, and three more have been ordered for delivery before the end of March 1956. FromApril next, therefore, it will be possible to operate all Jersey's routes, with the exception of some Alderney services, with Herons.By the summer of 1957, when additional Herons will be added to the fleet, the Rapide will no longer figure in the company'stimetables, though one of these aircraft may be retained for charter and ambulance work. . .-.-. , v .,--.., CUSTOMS DELAYS ALLEGED PI a Parliamentary question on November 10th, Mr. WilliamShepherd asked if the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been called to the "delay in the clearance of airfreight at London Airport occasioned by the Customs people at London Airport refusing to work late at nights and at week-ends." Replying, Mr. Henry Brooke, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said that he was not aware of any delay attributableto the lack of Customs facilities. Customs procedures had already Viking ferry tanks installed by Eagle Aircraft Services (see story above).
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