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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0411.PDF
FLIGHT, 28 March 1958 COMET RESURGENT . . . this point. It has not been their intention to uss Comet 4s on the North Atlantic, though they have looked at the aircraft's potential one-stop capabilities on this route. No doubt it would be a proposition, as a prestige-operation, but the Corporation is not likely to be easily persuaded—however great the political pressures—from its cautiously laid plans for introducing Comets on the Commonwealth routes. Five months may seem an over-cautious length of time between delivery and service; but B.O.A.C.'s Comet Flight has set itself a training and route-proving programme of a thoroughness which even the most ardent prestige-protagonists would, in the light of B.O.A.C.'s past experiences, admit to be necessary. It is the Corporation's estimate that no less than 1,500 Comet 4 hours will have been flown between the time they receive the first aircraft from de Havilland in September to the time the first passengers are carried on February 1 next. "Token" services would cause a severe disruption of com- mercial plans. It is B.O.A.C's intention that Comet services shall begin as a fully commercial operation right from the start. Four frequencies a week to Australia represents the most economical use of crews down this route, and makes it possible for the whole Comet operational machinery to be geared up to a realistic com- mercial speed right from the word go. But in order to mount such an operation at least half-a-dozen Comet 4s will be needed. B.O.A.C. expect to receive four before the end of this year from the Hatfield production line, with one or two more during January. Thus B.O.A.C.'s choice of February 1 as the inaugural date for Comet services appears to be realistic, especially when additional time-allowance is made for the crew-training and route-proving programme. There will be eight route-proving flights to Sydney, accounting for about 600 hours, including local flying time down the routes. In addition, there will be a further 150 hours of "evaluation" flying under route conditions, 100 of which will no doubt meet the Air Registration Board's certification requirement referred to in a previous page. All this accounts for 750 hours; in addition type-conversion flying will also account for 750 hours—making 1,500 hours in all before the first service. The Comet fleet will eventually need 117 fully-trained crews to man its 19 aircraft. Each flight crew will comprise four men— two captains, a navigating officer, and an engineer. The actual requirements will be 261 pilots, 132 engineers, and 130 navigating officers. All 117 crews will, it is hoped, be trained within 18 months from the time type-conversions begin. The last aircraft of the fleet of 19 will be in service by December 1959 (the month in which B.O.A.C.'s first Boeing 707-320 is due to be delivered), by which time Comet crew-training should be nearly completed. The requirement for the inauguration of services in February will be 24 crews. Comet-experienced pilots will have about 18 hours of route-proving, and those with more limited experience will get about 25 hours. Initial conversion-training will obviously be for officers from the existing Comet 2E fleet (whose activities will be referred to in a moment). There are 21 Comet 2E captains, most of them ex-Comet 1 pilots, and including the manager of the B.O.A.C. Comet Fleet, Capt. T. B. Stoney, his deputy Capt. R. E. Millichap, the training officer Capt. B. G. Wallace, and other well-known former Comet 1 captains like Capt. E. E. Rodley. All Cornet 4 training flights will be based on London Airport, though circuits and bumps will have to be done elsewhere for obvious reasons. B.O.A.C. much appreciate the good relations existing with the airport staff, and many of the M.T.C.A. personnel have been given rides in 2Es to obtain first-hand experience of the A.T.C. problems—particularly jet problems—from the flight- crew's point of view. B.O.A.C's Comet 2Es have never been refused special facilities (e.g., an I.L.S. approach and overshoot) when sought; but obviously intensive training-sequences involving numerous take-offs and landings cannot be done around busy London. One likely alternative, with its excellent 10,000ft run- way, is Stansted. Hum—where Britannia crews are trained— may be too far away: an hour's dead flying (in between refuelling) 427 g the officers seen here, standing by one of B.O.A.C.'s two Comet 2Fs, are (second from left), Capt. R. E. Mitlichap, deputy manager of B.O.A.C.'s Comet Flight, and (second from right) Capt. A. P. W. Cane. Formerly manager of the Comet Flight, Capt. Cane is now on the staff of B.O.A.C.'s general flight operations administration. at Comet consumption rates, even with jet fuel at Is 5d a gallon, could be an unnecessary expense. An important advantage of London-based conversion-flying is, of course, the convenience with which simulator-training can be co-ordinated with actual flight-training. Depending upon their previous Comet experience, type-con- version to the Comet 4 will require pilots to spend about ten hours on the flight trainer (not to be confused with the more " elaborate Redifon flight simulator) and up to 12 hours in the air. Time in the air will, of course, be substantially reduced when the Redifon simulator is delivered before the end of the year. About 18 of B.O.A.C.'s 261 Comet 4 pilots will be raw recruits. Because the Comet will be their first transport type, their training will be more elaborate, extending over a period of about eight months. The Comet 2E has played an essential role in the B.O.A.C. Comet story. Two of these aircraft were delivered to the Corpora- tion in August 1957, as the first stage in the long-term Comet 4 plan (see "Callsign Jet Speedbird," Flight, October 4, 1957). These two aircraft were fully modified production Comet 2s,- similar to the ten previously delivered to R.A.F. Transport Command, with one important exception. The two outboard Rolls-Royce Avon RA.9 engines were replaced with Avon RA.29s, the object being to amass engine development hours while at the same time permitting B.O.A.C. to rebuild their Comet operations well in advance of Comet 4 deliveries. By the time these words are read the two Comet 2Es will have completed about 2,700 flying hours since they were delivered to B.O.A.C. in the latter part of August last year. The aim was to clear -the Rolls-Royce Avon RA.29 for a 500-hour overhaul life before the start of Comet 4 operations: in fact, these engines have already—two months before the end of the 2E programme—been cleared for 750 hr. Moreover, the A.R.B. have given their approval for one engine in each aircraft to be run to 1,000 hr. Whether or not, as a result of the strip, the RA.29 will be formally cleared for 1,000 hr between overhauls remains to be seen. But the fact that a transport turbojet of 10,500 lb thrust is, at this moment, in the running for a 1,000 hr life is worthy tribute to its makers and operators. When B.O.A.C. took delivery of their 2Es they set a target of 3,500 flying hours to be completed by May 31, 1958. Owing to delayed deliveries, the programme had started 150 hours behind- hand. This was made up by increasing the weekly programme of round-trips to Beirut and back (or equivalent London-based single flights) from eight to eleven. In the event—thanks to the excellent serviceability of both the aircraft and its engines—the 3,500 hr programme will be completed by the end of May, accord- ing to the original schedule. The aim has been to amass 125 hr per wek with the two 2Es, i.e., 9 hr utilization per day per aircraft. Often it has been more than this (in one recent week, for example, 13 round-trips between London and Beirut were made instead of the usual 11). Rarely has utilization been less than 9 hr per day, except when weather or training requirements have intervened. The operation of jet transports at this rate for six months has obviously resulted in more than the proving of the RA.29 engines. Though dormant for three long years, B.O.A.C.'s Comet 1 experi- ence (30,000 airline hours) has been thoroughly refreshed and reassessed in the light of today's operating conditions. The Comet 2E programme has also helped the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, with whom there has been close liaison in such matters as high-level jet holding patterns, climb and descent procedures, en route cruising techniques, evaluation of Decca, and so forth. Soon, when their work on behalf of the Comet 4 is completed, the 2Es will co-operate with the M.T.C.A. in a new programme aimed at tackling the whole problem of integrating jet and conventional transports into the country's air traffic pattern. Thanks to the Comet 2E, B.O.A.C.'s Comet Flight—to borrow a phrase from the U.S. Strategic Air Command—is at a high state of readiness, and the transition to Comet 4s should be smooth.
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