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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1477.PDF
FLIGHT, 11 October 1957 567 Speculation about Herald orders from Australia was renewed when, recently, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr. Donald Anderson, visi- ted Handley Page Reading to inspect and fly in the air- craft. He is seen here (right) with Sir Frederick Handley Page. (News-item on this page.) CIVIL AVIATION . . . AUSTRALIA AND THE HERALD EVER since the Handley Page Herald was announced in 1954,there has been Australian interest in the aeroplane. The first"letters of intent to purchase" came from Queensland Airlines and from A.N.A., involving 29 Heralds, and though these orders havenever been confirmed, they still appear to be in prospect. Mr. Donald Anderson, Australia's Director-General of Civil Aviation,has recently observed: "We think the airliner is a first-class prospect, especially fitted with the Dart engines." This remarktallies with one made last May by G/C. R. C. M. Collard, H.P.'s sales manager, when he announced the Dart Herald. "It is notsimply turbines that operators are interested in," he said, "it is the Rolls-Royce Dart." He added that Queensland Airlines andA.N.A. had both stated in so many words: "We want Heralds, but we would prefer them with Darts." The Australian D.G.C.A. called on Handley Page Readingduring his visit to Britain (see photograph), and flew in the second (Leonides-powered) Herald. He had previously said that Australianairlines needed to replace 62 DC-3s, and that "if we place an order for the Herald, it would probably be completed over the next tenyears." This recalls the remark of the Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Menzies (recorded in a recent issue), that rather than buildbigger airports, he would encourage operators to "buy modern pressurized aircraft such as the Handley Page Herald or the FokkerFriendship which would be able to use existing airports." Because other manufacturers besides Handley Page—particu-larly those selling medium-haul jets and turboprops—are looking hopefully towards Australia, it might be timely to tidy up theconfusing domestic airline situation there, and also the transport- ordering position. Australian National Airways, although recently bought byAnsett, are likely to operate independently, but there seems certain to be standardization of equipment. This standardization mayextend also to Butler (50 per cent of whose shares are owned by Ansett following their purchase of A.N.A.) and to QueenslandAirlines, who are wholly controlled by Butler. Thus, so far as new aircraft orders are concerned, two main prospective Australiandomestic customers emerge—Ansett-A.N.A., and T.A.A. In addi- tion, Butler and Queensland are likely to be influenced in theirequipment programmes by whatever Ansett-A.N.A. do. It was recently reported in Aviation Daily that A.N.A. are nowinterested in Friendships—presumably in order to match the Friendships ordered by their nationalized rival, T.A.A., whichare due for delivery early in 1959. But A.N.A. would not get Friendship deliveries much before the end of 1959—and HandleyPage are offering to deliver Dart Heralds before the end of 1958. Thus A.N.A. may be considered a hopeful Herald prospect—andlikewise Butler and Queensland Airlines if, as seems likely, they follow in the A.N.A. and Ansett "DC-3 replacement" footsteps. Ansett-A.N.A.'s recent decision to order four Lockheed Electrasappears to settle their medium-haul programme (their rivals, T.A.A., are still deciding between Caravelles, Electras and Van-guards). But the Ansett purchase of eight Convair Metropolitans does not necessarily shape that airline's short-haul programme:Mr. Ansett has expressed his interest in the purchase of Viscounts —either new, or from T.A.A, in exchange for DC-6Bs. To sum up, manufacturers are looking to Australia to see:(1) Whether Ansett-A.N.A. and their associates will buy Friend- ships or Dart Heralds; (2) whether Ansett and A.N.A. wiil buyViscounts (Butler, of course, already have two) or will stick to Metropolitans; and (3) whether T.A.A. will buy Caravelles,Electras or Vanguards. BREVITIES A BOEING KC-135 military tanker fuselage, similar to that**• now in production for commercial 707s, has completed "nearly 100,000 miles" (presumably about 200 hr) of simulatedflight in underwater pressurization tests. Target for underwater tests is to be a flight time equivalent to 150,000 hr. * * * The Brazilian airline, VASP, is reported to be interested inbuying six Fokker Friendships. * * * On October 1 PanAm opened a direct non-stop service fromNew York with DC-7Cs to Rome. * * * • Aden Airways, a B.O.A.C. associate, are to operate new DC-3 services to Bahrain and Mombasa. * * * The first-ever non-stop flight from Los Angeles to London viathe Polar route was completed by a T.W.A. L. 1649 A at London Airport on September 30. The inaugural service took 18 hr 32 min. * * * Capt. Gordon Store of B.O.A.C.'s DC-7C fleet will commandthe Royal flight to Canada, which is due to leave London Airport at 7 a.m. on October 12, arriving in Ottawa 13J hours later. * * * The possibility that the Italian airline Alitalia-L.A.I. may order Caravelles may be inferred from Fiat's licence to build sub- assemblies for the Sud-Est jet transport, and from American reports that the Italian airline is strongly interested. * * * Lord Douglas, B.E.A.'s chairman, said on September 30 thattourist traffic between Britain and Switzerland had been "well below expectations." He has been discussing in Geneva plans fora reduction of services between the two countries. * * * New routes between the U.S. and Brazil were discussed onSeptember 20 by the two countries. Brazil is reported to want permission for a third Brazilian airline to land in the U.S. and towant a route from New Orleans to San Francisco or Los Angeles en route to Japan. American airlines want similar rights in Brazil.* * * The de Havilland Aircraft and Propeller Companies say thatthey have assured B.E.A. of their intention to continue the supply of airframe and propeller spare parts, as well as technical informa-tion and service, to operators who may purchase Ambassadors from the Corporation. So far Butler have bought three, and B.K.S.three. The Bristol Engine Company have given a similar under- taking in respect of the Bristol Centaurus engines. Three ways of doing the same thing: left to right, jet noise suppressors for the Douglas DC-8 (157), de Havilland Comet 3 (RA. 29), and Boeing 707 (157). The Comet and 707 equipment conform to the Greatrex (Rolls-Royce) principle; the Douglas device has pneumatically operated vanes, seen here in the position which, according to the Douglas explanation, "causes the exhaust to mix more rapidly with the cool surrounding air."
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