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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1151.PDF
FLIGHT, 16 August 1957 239 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns;the names and addresses of the writers, not jor publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Too Many Aircraft for B.O.A.C.?Y OUR correspondent "Draughtsman" (July 5) expresses con-cern that B.O.A.C. has ordered too many Vickers-Armstrongs VC-10 turbojet transports, and that these aircraft may mean thepremature disposal of the Corporation's Comets, Britannias and Seven Seas. And on page 784 of the June 7 issue are the words"The conclusion seems clear: B.O.A.C. must be planning on an all-jet fleet of 707s and VC-lOs. And they appear to be countingon big increases in traffic to fill them." But in reaching this conclusion, one very important fact seemsto have been overlooked, namely, that the VC-10 is being financed privately by Vickers. The Viscount has proved that, given theorders, Vickers can produce the goods; the size of B.O.A.C.'s VC-10 order was probably determined less by future traffic require-ments than by the necessity of placing a sufficiently large order to enable Vickers to offer really competitive prices and deliverydates for the VC-10 to foreign customers as well as to B.O.A.C., and a chance of selling sufficient VC-lOs to break even. Assuming this conjecture to be correct, what will the Corpora-tion do with the surplus VC-lOs on order? My guess is that they will be released for delivery to foreign carriers in the same way asBritannias have been released for sale to Northeast Airlines and Aeronaves de Mexico. Rustington, Sussex. M. J. HARDY. Airline Operating MarginsY OUR note on "World Air Transport in 1956" in Flight forJuly 12 draws attention to the fact that I.C.A.O. has reported an operating ratio for the world's airlines during 1955 of 102.6, asagainst "the figure of 101.1 so often quoted by members of I.A.T.A." It should be pointed out that the 101.1 ratio, which I.A.T.A.and its members have quoted, was I.C.A.O.'s own provisional figure for 1955, which has only just been corrected in the Reportwhich you comment on now. In any event, the operating margin of even 2.6 per cent is hardlyenough to assure an economically healthy industry—which has been the main point which I.A.T.A. and its members have strivento make. S. RALPH COHEN,Montreal. Public Relations Officer, International Air Transport Association. The Bristol Orpheus TN a very interesting article on the Orpheus jet engine in your* issue of July 5, you state: ". . . the Orpheus is in a sense a replacement for these centrifugal engines (i.e., the Derwent andNene), being in the same thrust class, though of much lighter weight." It may seem too obvious to be worth repeating that weight isthe most important parameter of any aircraft component. But in this connection it may be noted that an aircraft is designed arounda certain engine weight, and its performance depends much more strongly on that weight than on the thrust obtained. Therefore,if you look back on the developments of almost every aircraft, you will see that replacement engines have about the same weightas the original^ but more power. Not nearly so much is gained by just putting in a lighter engine. Similarly, development of anyengine almost always implies getting more power from a given size and weight.The really interesting point about the Orpheus is that on a weight basis it is not a replacement for any other engine, but anentirely new class. Like most other companies, Bristol studied a large number ofexpendable, semi-expendable, super-lightweight, and suchlike paper engines in 1950-52, all in the 400 lb region. Finally, dis-carding this concept altogether, an engine project was formed in January 1952 for the B.E.22 Saturn, to weigh 800 lb. This enginewas especially sized for the Holland Gnat. At the end of 1952, when the Minister of Supply made it clear they would not sponsorthe Gnat, Bristol stopped work on the engine. Twelve whole months went by before the project was warmed up again under anew name, for the NATO ground support competition. During this time, as you may remember, the first Gnat had to become theMidge, and struggle along with a Viper (500 1b weight). All successful aircraft are designed around an engine which isknown to be available—if not actually off the shelf, at least well on its way there. It follows that development moves fastest if theengine builders lead the way in new concepts. This did not happen with the Orpheus: its size and specifications were really set byMr. W. E. W. Petter of Foiland Aircraft. Now that the Orpheus is a success, it is ironical that not much credit for it is given to Mr. Petter; and the chief beneficiary of the new engine is notFoiland but a long list of airframe manufacturers in France, Italy, Germany and Japan.Cincinnati, Ohio. J. M. STEPHENSON. The Stratocruisers T CERTAINLY did enjoy reading Mr. Dennis M. Powell'sA article, "The Stratocruisers Carry On" Flight, June 14). These venerable aircraft have undoubtedly set a high standardof comfort, particularly on the North Atlantic routes. I would like to add some information of my own concerningthem. First of all, I believe that 56, and not 55, commercial versions of the Stratocruiser were constructed. Pan American tookdelivery of 21 B-377 aircraft (N1022V to N1042V). Perhaps the discrepancy is due to the fact that the Stratocruiser prototype(formerly NX 90700, now P.A.A.'s N1022V) is not regarded as a production aircraft. However, it eventually wound up as a regularcommercial aircraft. Fifty B-377s are still flying, but six have met with various acci-dents. The first, I believe, was the loss of P.A.A.'s N1039V over the Brazilian jungle near Carolina on April 29, 1952. The accidentinvestigation proved to be a difficult undertaking, due to the nature of the terrain, and I cannot remember what was determined to bethe cause. (Unfortunately, I am away from home at present and do not have all my notes at hand.) P.A.A.'s N1032V was lost afterditching in the Pacific off the coast of Oregon in 1954 or 1955. The ditching of P.A.A.'s N90943 was mentioned in Mr. Powell'sarticle. United Air Lines lost N31230 around 1952 as a result of a crash during a training flight in the vicinity of San Francisco.B.O.A.C. lost G-ALSA in a crash during landing at Prestwick Airport on Christmas Day, 1954. Northwest Airlines lost N74608as a result of an emergency ditching in Puget Sound shortly after taking off from Seattle on April 2,1956.Boeing report that 888 aircraft of the basic type were constructed. The majority, of course, were C-97 Stratofreighters and KC-97Stratotankers for the U.S.A.F. As an amateur aircraft historian, I would appreciate receivingcorrespondence from anyone wishing to exchange information of this nature. [S/Sgt. Robert L. Armstrong, 1933rd AACS SQ,Box 27, Harmon Field, Stevenville, Newfoundland, Canada.] Newfoundland. ROBERT L. ARMSTRONG. Another Avia ON reading your excellent "Aero Engines 1957" survey, Inoticed on page 127 a reference made to early activities of Polish designer W. Narkiewicz. This states that he was a seniorengineer at Czech Avia works. In fact, he was supervising con- struction of several engines at the Polish Avia, which had noconnection whatsoever with the Czech firm of similar name. Avia—Fabryka Maszyn Precyzyjnych i Silnikow (PrecisionMachinery and Engine Factory) was established in Warsaw in 1924, and was initially engaged on production of special machineryfor various industries. In 1926 "it entered aero engine business with repair and overhaul of engines of several types, and was soonentrusted with the construction and development of prototypes. These included Zalewski's WZ-7 80 h.p. seven-cylinder radial of1929; WZ-100 100 h.p. five-cylinder radial of 1930; and Avia P-4 90 h.p. four-in-line of 1930. All these were built under supervisionof W. Narkiewicz. Avia was also producing components for the Polish-built Wright Whirlwind, and various engine accessories.The last fully tested Avia pre-war engine was the Avia 3 60 h.p. four-in-line inverted. London, N.9. J. B. CYNK. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Aug. 18. Swiss Aero Club: International Balloon Meeting, Bale. Aug. 18-25. Aeronautical Union of Jugoslavia: International Parachute Contest, Tivat-Boka, Kotorska. Aug. 23-25. Sporting Flying Club: International Rally, Copenhagen. Aug. 24-25. Puy Aero Club: International Rally, Le Puy. Aug. 31. R.N.A.S. Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire: At Home. Sept. 1-15. Anglo-American Conference, London and Folkestone. Sept. 2-8. S.B.A.C. Show, Farnborough. (Public Days, 6th, 7th, 8th.) Sept. 5. Helicopter Association of Great Britain: Annual Dinner, Dorchester Hotel. Sept. 9-15. Battle of Britain Week. Sept. 13. Royal Aeronautical Society: 45th Wilbur Wright Lecture: "Advanced Education and Academic Research in Aero- nautics," by Dr. Clark B. Millikan, Hon. F.I.A.S., F.R.Ae.S. Sept. 14-15. Popular Flying Association: Rally, Sywell. Sept. 15. R.Ae.S. Garden Party, Wisley. Sept. 16-20. Institute of Metals: 49th Annual Autumn Meeting.
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