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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0275.PDF
FLIGHT, 28 February 1958 289 PanAm's first Boeing 707, due to be delivered in December, is shortly to join the first production aircraft in the flight test programme. CIVIL AVIATION . . . Continued from previous page A growing body of opinion believes that the financial situationon domestic services could be improved by increasing the gap between peak fares and off-peak fares rather than by an increase infares generally. The effects of such fare differentials would be twofold. First, it would encourage a more regular flow of traffic.Peak traffic can probably stand a slight fare-increase without diminishing in volume, while a relatively untapped amount of off-peak traffic would be enticed into the air by lower fares. The second effect would be to increase aircraft utilization. The size ofB.E.A.'s fleet is necessarily tailored to something approaching peak demand, and mid-week utilization is consequently low. Extensionof mid-week domestic services by the use of aircraft standing by for week-end operations would increase utilization and so cut theincidence of overhead costs. The Port of New York Authority's studies have revealed thatthe demand for local air services in New England comes primarily from business traffic, and while comparable figures have not beenpublished in the U.K., it is probable that the same position would obtain here. Despite the energetic activity of DC-3 users such as B.K.S. andStarways, B.E.A. have not in the past favoured the use of these aircraft on short-haul domestic operations. It is possible that asthe Viscount 802s take over B.E.A.'s international routes the earlier 701s will be transferred on to domestic operation. Shouldthis come about, it will then be even more necessary to attract non-peak traffic than at present. PACIFIC-U.K. NON-STOP ANOTHER record long-range stride was made last week by the •**• Bristol Britannia. Canadian Pacific's first 314 flew non-stop the 4,710 st. miles (great-circle distance) from Vancouver to London in 13 hr 57 min, an average speed of 338 m.p.h. Actual distance flown by the aircraft was about 5,000 st. miles. The Britannia concerned, CF-CZA, had been to Vancouver ona goodwill-cum-training flight from Bristol, in order to provide die dedication of C.P.A.L.'s Britannia hangar with the appropriateeclat. The aircraft (which is still on manufacturer's trials) was commanded by Bristol's chief test pilot, Walter Gibb. Among the37 on board were Mr. P. G. Masefield, Bristol's managing director; Mr. R. E. Harvey, director and general manager of Short Brothersand Harland, Ltd. (who are building C.P.A.L.'s aircraft); Capt. W. Roxborough, chief pilot of C.P.A.L.'s Britannia fleet; Shortand Bristol technicians; and a member of Flight's staff. Hopes that the crossing might have broken El Al's 6,100-mileNew York - Tel Aviv Britannia record were not sustained by the necessary high tailwinds; in fact, the average component was amere 10 kt. Nevertheless, the aircraft landed at London with sufficient fuel for more than two hours' cruising, having, accordingto Mr. Peter Masefield, "exceeded its guaranteed performance on all counts." It is hoped to publish a first-hand illustrated account of C.P.A.'s Britannia plans in next week's issue. BREVITIES /"\RDERS announced last week include three Boeing 707-320s^-^ for South African Airways and six F.27s for Aviacion y Comercio. * * * The Dart Herald is due to be rolled out of Handley Page's Woodley works this week. * * * ' Two of Federation Air Services' five Beavers will be put up forsale when F.A.S. is taken over by Malayan Airways on March 1. * * *Swissair's Board of directors has proposed an increase in the company's share capital from Sw.F.42m to Sw.F.63m. * •* • , Design of the Dresden 153, a medium-range four-enginedturboprop airliner for East German Lufthansa, is reported to be nearing completion. * * * The Cardiff Corporation and the M.T.C.A. have agreed on an 18-acre site for a heliport, to be situated on Leckwith Moor, less than a mile from the centre of Cardiff. * * * Deutsche Flugdienst, of Frankfurt, have purchased five Con-vair 340/440s from K.L.M., and have an option on a sixth. This German independent, in which Lufthansa holds a major share,plans to acquire four-engined aircraft later this year. B.O.A.C. will replace theirBritannia 102s by 312s on the London - Nairobi route afterJuly 31. Next spring the 102s on the routes to Sydney andTokyo will be replaced by Comet 4s. * * * The Minister of Transportand Civil Aviation, Mr. Harold Watkinson, revealed in a writ-ten Parliamentary answer last week that Croydon airport willbe closed at the end of this summer. Swissair have appointed Mr. Ernest Schmidheiny to be chair- man in succession to the late Dr. R. V. Heberlein. Mr. Schmidheiny joined Swissair's board in 1947. The Air Transport Association claims that introduction of thethree-dollar fine has cut the number of "no-shows" by a half. * * * An internal helicopter service linking Milan, Turin and Genoa is planned to start on April 10. * * * T.W.A. is to acquire the four L-1649s originally ordered byL.A.I., bringing T.W.A.'s fleet of these aircraft to 29. * * * American Airlines have appointed as director of aircraft sales, Mr. Allan A. Barrie, formerly general manager of Iranian Airways. * * * A Catalina belonging to R.A.I., a subsidiary of T.A.I., crashedlast week while landing at Raiatea Island, near Tahiti. Fifteen people were killed. * * * A prediction that the U.S.S.R. will have a VTOL supersonic transport "in the near future" has been made in an article in the Soviet magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi. * * * Japan Air Lines are about to take delivery of two DC-4s pur-chased from PanAm for about $400,000 each. A further two DC-4s have been sold by Northwest to Trek Air, the SouthAfrican independent. * * * Mr. John Leydon, chairman of Irish Airlines (Aerlinte Eireann)announced in New York on February 11 that the company would begin operations on April 28 with three round trips per week.A daily service will be operated in each direction as from June 1. * * * The first party of Aer Lingus technicians is in Amsterdam tobegin F.27-training at Fokker. The first Friendship, due for delivery to Aer Lingus in the autumn of 1958, is expected to makeits maiden flight in March. * * * B.E.A. has been approved by the Minister of Transport, onthe recommendation of the A.T.A.C., for the operation of air services between London, Gatwick and Southend until December1964. No inauguration date has been announced; it will depend upon traffic demand and the availability of aircraft—fixed-wing orhelicopter. t # ^New B.O.A.C. Stratocruiser services to Accra and Lagos starting in early March will be routed via Barcelona and Lagos. An initialfrequency of three a week will be increased to four in April. A 30-day stop-over is allowed in Barcelona on the north-boundjourney from West Africa to London, and the Corporation has traffic rights in both directions between Barcelona and West Africa.No stop-overs or terminating traffic may be carried between London and Barcelona.
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