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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0093.PDF
FLIGHT, 20 January 1956 93 A 10ft increase in span, coupled with a re- vised trailing edge, gives the Boeing Inter- continental (right) 500 sq ft more wing area than the standard Boeing 707-120. Boeing claim that even the heaviest of the three versions described below will have "take-off and landing characteristics at least equal to those of any long-range transport aircraft." CIVIL AVIATION VISCOUNT SCORE NOW 274 FORMATION of a new airline company, Air Austria Luftfahrts,on January 11th, was followed two days later by the announce- ment of their order for four Viscount V.803s of the type alreadyordered by K.L.M. The Dutch airline, incidentally, is reported to have a 29 per cent holding in Air Austria, and, it is believed,will make available DC-4s for their initial operations. The Austrian order brings the total number of Viscounts nowsold to 274 and the number of airline customers to 24; three governments and three private companies have also boughtViscounts. Until recently, the largest number of Viscounts ordered by a single operator was 60. The latest repeat ordersplaced by B.E.A., however, increase to 65 the total number of Viscounts bought by the Corporation. Of this total, 26 aircraft—all V.701s—have been delivered. One more V.701 is on order, and B.E.A. have also signed contracts for 24 V.802s and 14 V.806s.Powered by 2,100-e.h.p. Dart R.Da.7s, the V.806 will have a cruising speed of 363 m.p.h.; the first is due for delivery in theautumn of 1957. In addition, B.E.A. have also ordered 20 Tyne- powered V.901 Vanguards for delivery in 1959-60. DECCA AS AN EMERGENCY AID TT now seems to have been established beyond doubt that water*• contamination of the fuel was responsible for the emergency landing of B.E.A. Viscount G-ANHF at Cazaux, Bordeaux, onJanuary 2nd. The aircraft, it will be recalled, was safely landed by Capt. E. R. Watts with one engine—No. 3—giving full power,and with only occasional bursts of power from the other three. The Corporation is now completing its inquiry into the cause ofthe fuel contamination. In reporting on the emergency landing, Capt. Watts paid thisremarkable tribute to the Viscount's Decca navigational aid: — "During the incident on January 2nd I was fortunate enough to havea Decca Navigator on my machine. I say fortunate, for although I had a very competent crew the additional advantage of having a visual checkon my position was invaluable. When the trouble developed I set course for Bordeaux purely on Decca, later checking by beacon and bearings.We were flying over eight-eighths cloud during most of the descent and at one stage I was told I had actually crossed the coast. I glanced atDecca, which gave me a position some 35 km from the coast; I decided to believe this and continued to hold as much height as was possible.Some seconds later we broke cloud over the sea, thus proving Decca to be right. I was very happy indeed to have had the additional crewmember along with me, namely Decca." FIRST TO SOUTH AMERICA TT would have been a pity if the tenth anniversary of the firstx official flight from London Airport, or Heathrow as it was called in those days, had paesed unnoticed. It was on New Year'sDay, 1946, that Lancastrian Star Light of the newly formed but short-lived British South American Airways took off on a provingflight to Argentina, and the occasion was recalled at a small dinner at Londonderry House on January 9th. The host was A.V-M.D. C. T. Bennett, then B.S.A.A.'s managing director and captain of Star Light on the historic flight. The guests of the air vice-marshal (who, to many people's regret, is no longer "in aviation ) included H.E. Dr. Alberto Candioti, the Argentine Ambassador;Lord Winster, the first post-war Minister of Civil Aviation, who was instrumental in the formation of B.E.A., B.O.A.C. andB.S.A.A.; Mr. Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, former Parliamentary Secre- tary, M.C.A.; Captains R. C. Alabaster and D. A. Cracknell,respectively co-pilot and navigator of Star Light, both of whom are now with B.O.A.C.; and G/C. C. F. Sarsby, then technicalmanager of B.S.A.A., now at the Ministry of Supply. C.A.A. CONTROVERSY CONTINUES T^HE former head of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Administration,-*- Mr. Fred B. Lee, told an aviation subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee recently that his resignation was not avoluntary act. Mr. Lee, who was succeeded on December 9th by the deputy administrator, Mr. Charles J. Lowen, claimed that hewas unable to obtain specific reasons for the request that he should resign, which was originally made on October 17th, and repeatedon November 29th, by Mr. Louis S. Rothschild, Under Secretary of Commerce. In a statement issued on December 12th, Mr.Rothschild said that "the decision was reluctantly made that some- one better suited in leadership talent and teamwork was required."The chairman of the subcommittee, Sen. M. Monroney, is sponsoring a bill which would divorce the C.A.A. from the Depart-ment of Commerce and re-establish it as a separate agency. According to the Aviation Week, the subcommittee will investigate"charges that C.A.A. has not kept abreast of vast technical advancements in aviation, with a result of near-chaos in air trafficcontrol." In recent months the C.A.A. has been strongly criticized, the journal adds, for its "failure to meet the growing crisis on thenation's airways." THREE OF A KIND "EXISTENCE of three versions of the Boeing 707, together•*-' comprising a "jet transport family," was officially confirmed last Sunday in a statement by the manufacturer's director of sales,Mr. Ralph S. Bell. The essential aerodynamic features of all versions, he said, were being thoroughly proved in the prototype707, which now had more than 360 hr flying to its credit. The "standard" Jet Stratoliner has the designation 707-120.This type is powered by J57 turbojets and has been ordered by Pan American Airways, American Airlines and Continental AirLines. Next comes the 707-220, ordered by Braniff Airways, which is of similar dimensions but will be powered by an"advanced P. and W. turbojet." Finally, there is the 707-320 Intercontinental (illustrated above), as ordered by PanAm, AirFrance and Sabena; this is a larger aircraft intended for stages of more than 5,000 miles with full payload and reserves. Boeing claim that the 707-320 will be capable of achieving thefollowing block times: Chicago to Paris non-stop, 7 hr; New York to Rome non-stop, 1\ hr; London to Johannesburg non-stop,10 hr 48 min; London to Sydney via Cairo and Calcutta, 21 hr 7 min. Power-units of the Intercontinentals on order will be theP. and W. JT4, but Boeings say that "new English turbojets now under development" may also be used. Leading particulars of the707-120 and the 707-320 are summarized below: — Length ... ,.,Span ... ... ... HeightWing area (sq ft) Gross weight (lb)Passenger capacity (tourist) Fuel capacity (U.S. gal) ...Cruising speed (m.p.h.) ... First deliveries of the three versions are due in December 1958 (707-120), August 1959 (707-320) and October 1959 (707-220). AQUILA'S NEW SERVICE INAUGURATED A "RUSH of bookings" is reported to have resulted fromextensive television coverage of Aquila Airways' new 1,600- mile fortnightly service from Southampton to Las Palmas, capitalof Gran Canaria. Departing on January 8th, the service was 120134ft 6in 130ft lOin38ft 3in 2,400240,000 125 17,400550-575 320146ft 8in 141ft 6in38ft llin 2,900295,000 146 21,200550-600
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