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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0689.PDF
1 June 1956 689 K.L.M. has completed negotiations with three U.S. banks for a £17.85m loan to finance the purchase of its DC-8s, Electras and DC-7Cs. * * * The Communist capitals of Sofia and Budapest will be added to K.L.M.'s network next month, subject to final political agreement. * * * B.E.A.'s helicopter flights from Nottingham to Birmingham, with a stop at Leicester, will begin on July 2. There will be two services daily in each direction, except for Sundays. Licensed construction of the 11-14 in Czechoslovakia is, as shown in this picture, well under way. Built in the "George Dimitrov" factory < in Letnvany, the aircraft is being offered for export. The Czechoslovak Government has asked I.C.A.O. to stop "unlawful balloon action." It complains that Western propa- ganda balloons are still being sent over its country. * * * The national Greek airline T.A.E. has just been bought by the Greek millionaire shipowner Mr. Aristotle Onassis. He intends to operate transatlantic services with new "Douglas four- engined aircraft," and to buy Convairs (presumably 440s) for other routes. Present fleet comprises a DC-4,14 DC-3s and one Argus. * * * Mr. Laurence W. Henderson of Trans-American Air Lines (formerly North American Airlines) said recently: "Last Decem- ber we wanted Britannias but had to buy five Douglas DC-6s .. . For American 'planes, American banks will advance up to 90 per cent. But they will not advance on Britannias . . . British banks will only advance 40 per cent and want around nine per cent interest." * * * PanAm have been told by Russia that discussions on a direct U.S. to Moscow air link would be welcomed. As yet, PanAm have made no comment as the matter is being considered by the U.S. State Department. B.E.A. have still to receive permission from the British Government to operate the services to Russia discussed in Moscow seven months ago (see editorial comment). RIVIERA TECHNICALITIES THE Ninth I.A.T.A. Technical Conference at San Remo, Italy,during May was—in terms of attendance (there were 350 delegates) and the size of its agenda—the largest ever. It was also the most important (see last week's Flight). Perhaps the most absorbing discussion—and the one to which thegreatest time was devoted—concerned the problems of air traffic control and en route navigation. A.T.C. problems were considered by a committee, of which A. E.Slocombe, British European Airways, was chairman, under two head- ings : (1) improvements to present systems which might enable them tohandle the maximum possible load during the next five years; (2) new systems and principles which must be developed for the first decade ofhigh-speed jet operations in 1961 and 1970. In addition to a massive factual record, the committee produced andthe Conference accepted a series of 26 specific recommendations and conclusions, and urged that "A.T.C. problems can only be successfullysolved . . . jointly with the other users of airspace—especially our mili- tary friends—and the ground authorities concerned with the provisionof air transport services." Delegates considered that future A.T.C. should be based on an arearather than a route concept, and discussed at length the computation and presentation of navigational information, stressing the necessity forputting into the cockpit the type of instrumentation which gave the pilot a visual interpretation of his place in the A.T.C. scheme. It was notedthat self-contained navigational aids, independent of ground stations, could be made available for civil use in the next few years, but it waspointed out that airlines have not yet had any experience of them; such aids would have to be looked upon as complementary to the presentground-based aids. The Conference agreed that with the increasing speeds of aircraft itwas "unrealistic" to set up A.T.C. control areas strictly within national boundaries. Many of the existing control areas set up on a strictlynational basis were extremely small and unsuited to the needs of aircraft operations; aircraft requesting clearance through one had often passedinto the next before clearance could be radioed back. Excessively small areas also created unnecessary demands for communications and data. In dealing with the shorter-range aspects of A.T.C., the Conferencemade these recommendations for improvement: — Pending the introduction of automatic communications for continuousposition-fixing, present A.T.C. procedures could be improved (1) by use of standard phraseology and procedure in the transfer of data; (2) byspeeding by transmissions and recording; and (3) by instituting a standardized position-reporting procedure for pilots. Regardless of its limitations, primary radar was "one of the best tools"with which A.T.C. had been provided to speed traffic by reducing separation; and I.A.T.A. should do everything possible to encourage thedevelopment of an internationally accepted system of secondary radar. In areas where the frequency of position-reports and navigationalaccuracy permitted, longitudinal separation minima might be reduced and position-reporting cut. Regional and route-by-route studies of thesepossibilities were proposed. In congested areas, all movements should be subject to regulation byair traffic control, even in V.F.R., so that the position of all aircraft will be known. Airlines should experiment with anti-collision lights. No aircraft should be permitted to come closer than 500ft to another,whether for identification by the military or for any other reason. Owing to the fact that turbine-powered aircraft would hold at con-siderably higher altitudes, the development of altimeters capable of providing measurement at high altitudes was necessary so that they couldmaintain the 1,000ft vertical separation standard. In order to make the greatest possible use of available airspace, the air-lines must continue to urge their governments to eliminate the reserved military zones and institute joint civil and military planning. Runway requirements for the new generation of aircraft wereexamined by a committee headed by R. W. Vinal, Pan American World Airways. It was agreed that jet aircraft would not require runways anywider than the present I.C.A.O. standard. In fact, it was held that run- ways and extensions of 150ft would be acceptable for the new aircraft ifequipped with "sideways" or shoulders. The Conference recommended, however, that where crosswinds ofthe order of 20 kt are frequently encountered, it might be necessary to provide additional runway or to widen existing runways. In specialcases (high snow banks, etc.) wider runways might be needed. It was agreed that runway lengths and strengths and other aerodromerequirements for jets could not be determined by any general rule, since they would vary for the particular aircraft, the stage-lengths involved,operating practices, etc. Operators must present their needs to local authorities without delay, because at least two years were requiredbetween the time the requirements are stated and the runway can be used operationally. Among the more important additional points made by the Conferencein regard to runway requirements were these: Corrections to standard day runway lengths, for temperature and altitude, should be made on alocal basis; I.C.A.O. should urgently determine the particular informa- tion which should be available at airports respecting the bearing capacityof pavements; attention must be given to surface clearing and cleaning; stopways and clearways would be necessary; the standardized taxiwaywidth should be 75ft and side-ways should be provided to meet surface clearing and cleaning requirements; there was a requirement for high-speed "lead-off" taxiways, even at low density airports; the obstruction clearing slopes already adopted by I.C.A.O. were satisfactory. Discussion of the braking qualities of wet and icy runways wasdesigned to find out whether methods of measuring runway braking action could be developed to give pilots some idea of the effect of run-way conditions on landing distance. The Conference suggested a series of terms, each associated with coefficient of friction, for use of pilots. Exchanges of views on airport buildings and aprons in relation toturbine aircraft, mechanical conveyance systems and fixed servicing installations occupied four days of discussion by a committee headed byAnton Tolk of K.L.M. Mr. Tolk summarized the discussion in these terms: "In so far as airport buildings and aprons are concerned, it wasevident that a number of problems exist, or will exist in connection with turbine aircraft—notably noise, fumes, blast, engine-starting, handlingprocedures, and apron strength. But a joint effort and continued study and development techniques will find the answers." More definition waspossible in considering fixed servicing installations and the Conference agreed that these should include fuel, ground electrical power, tele-phone, water and lighting—with emphasis on fixed fuel service. An exchange of views between airlines, manufacturers and govern-ments on structural fatigue problems in aircraft in service and related inspection techniques called for no Conference determinations. How-ever, the chairman of these discussions, Ian Grant-Murray of British European Airways, reported that the problems required considerableexpansion of present inspection techniques and might mean supplement- ing inspection with radiography, ultrasonics, and radio-active isotopes. The Conference endorsed the report of a committee of which R.Bougge, Scandinavian Airlines System, was chairman, proposing simpli- fied message and communications practices. It also proposed thatroutine in-flight weather observations be transmitted only by certain specified aircraft, rather than by all, and that a further study be madeof ways of rationalizing weather messages. Also suggested were new operational practices to streamline transmission of weather informationto aircraft from the ground, and abbreviated phraseology to convey ceiling and visibility.
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