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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1202.PDF
?.:> April 1959 587 ITALIAN AIRWAYS UNDER REVIEW ,f\NE of the more urgent suggestions following the collision*J be.ween a B.E.A. Viscount and an Italian Air Force Sabre t-ver Anzio last October was that a special government departmentmould be established to deal with civil aviation matters—in .articular, co-ordination of the airways system. Plans for such ai^cretariat received a setback after recent elections, and for the time being at least appear to be in abeyance, but it appears thatthe Italian Ministry of Defence and Air has decided to consult airways users and to provide an effective airways system over Italy.According to A.N.P.A.C. (the Italian Air Line Pilots' Association) some of the considerations affecting possible changes are thelocation of Milan's Malpensa Airport, which is considered to be too close to the military base at Cameri, and the interference towhich the NDB at Biella is subject. This NDB defines Airway G-6; when it is affected airlines can easily stray towards theAlps or into a zone of jet-fighter activity. A.N.P.A.C. has suggested moving Mortara VOR to Malpensawhere it could be better supervised and where it would guide departures, arrivals and holding. To this would be added asurveillance radar. Departure and arrival procedure would then be as follows:outbound flights might be routed on a radial of Malpensa VOR and then brought back overhead at such a height that they couldpass over Biella NDB at 17,000ft. Airway G-6, defined by Malpensa VOR and Biella NDB, could then be accurately followedwith a cross-bearing from Poirino overhead Biella. Malpensa and a VOR cross-bearing would make accurate over-flying of Biella possible on entering Malpensa. Direct routes that could be used by aircraft flying above 10,000ft pending installationof a full VOR airway system over Italy are: (1) Malpensa VOR, Porretta VOR, Bolsena VOR and back; (2) Malpensa VOR, GenoaNDB, Elba VOR and back; (3) Poirino VOR, Genoa NDB, Elba VOR and back. These routes do not interfere with the entry, exit and over-flying of the Milan area or with military traffic, and A.N.P.A.C. say that tens of millions of lira annually could be saved by usingthese routes instead of the present tracks. They have, in fact, defined a VOR airway network for the whole of Italy, including atraffic pattern for Rome, all based on existing radio aids or those which will certainly be installed in the near future. TRUNKLINES IN THE BLACK THE year 1958, in spite of the tail-end of the business recessionA and a pilots' strike that reduced the revenue passenger-miles flown by American Airlines from 5,143m to 5,021m, was a goodone for the airline. Profit for the year ending December 31, 1958, was $13,054,000,not including $3,026,000 from the sale of property. The net earn- ings of $16,080,000 would have been even higher (some$20,280,000) if depreciation had been continued at the previous level, but the C.A.B.'s new policies for the airlines, which cameinto force in January 1958, meant that American had to raise the residual value of its aircraft and extend the life of its DC-7s. Later,after the Supreme Court action which disallowed C.A.B.'s right to establish airline depreciation policies, American reverted to theiroriginal policy of setting 1961 as a common retirement date for DC-7s acquired in 1957 and 1958. On January 1,1958, Americanalso started capitalizing interest expenses on the deposits placed with manufacturers for the purchase of new equipment; thisincreased the earnings for the year by $996,000. American are buying 110 new aircraft between 1958 and 1962and, with engines and propellers, their capital requirements are $445m. About $20m had been spent by the end of 1958, anddeposits with manufacturers were about $59m. Financing with 'nsurance companies has been arranged to the tune of $135m, but5>2OOm remains to be found out of earnings. American's revenue in 1958 increased by 3.7 per cent on the previous year's figure and the total of $317,240,000 was a record.Mr. C. R. Smith, the airline's president, said that jet services had enjoyed favourable public acceptance, load factors were high, andthat the demand for air travel was strong. While American Airlines were among the many which experi-enced labour troubles last year, United were not, and they bene- fited from their competitors to an extent that gave them a recordyear. Net profit was $13,752,000 with an extra $548,000 coming from the sale of aircraft—a total nearly twice that of the previousyear. By holding operating expenses down to an increase of 6 per centwhile revenue rose by 13 per cent, revenue per ton-mile rose from 49.4 cents to 51 cents while costs per revenue ton-mile fell from47.6 to 46.6 cents. In the president's statement to the airline's shareholders, Mr. W. A. Patterson said that "the emergencyincrease in airline fares, granted as a temporary increase in February 1958, was of appreciable help. Elimination of variousdiscounts in October and reduction of the Family Fare Plan discount were also beneficial." He would continue to press forhigher fare levels. "Despite temporary fare relief (which the C.A.B., incidentally, estimate to be equivalent to a total increaseof about 10 per cent in 1958), "industry earnings were little improved over 1957. Price and wage increases continued theirupward pressure on costs, pointing clearly to the need for per- manent relief through action by the Civil Aeronautics Board." Here is a general arrangement drawing of the Peking NR.l, Communist China's first transport aircraft. It appears to be similar in purpose to the Dove of 14 years ago: it carries eight passengers and is powered by two 520 h.p. radial piston-engines. It flew last September PROPOSED AER LINGUS COACH-AIR SERVICE "NEGOTIATIONS are now in progress between the Air Minis--L^ try and Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and the Irish Department of Industry and Commerce regarding an AerLingus proposal to operate a coach-air service between Dublin and Royal Air Force, Valley, Anglesey. It is understood that Valleywould remain a Royal Air Force station on the same joint-user basis as exists at Royal Air Force, Manston. The proposed operation appears to be an attractive commercialproposition, for Valley is only 70 statute miles from Dublin Air- port, which would entail block-times of 25 and 20 minutes for theFriendship and the Viscount, respectively. Coach connections to the populated centres of Lancashire, Yorkshire and the NorthMidlands would be routed via Bangor and Chester, and to the Midlands proper, via Bangor and Shrewsbury. Using the excursion return fare from Dublin to the Isle of Manas a basis (the distance is almost the same), the air portion of the fare would be £3 15s excursion return. Below is a table of comparative schedules and rates to existingAer Lingus outstations in the region: — Dublin to:— Birmingham , Liverpool ! Manchester • Valley Flying time (minutes) DC-3 95 65 75 45 F.I7 65 45 55 35 V.808 60 N/A 50 30 Excursion return fare £8 14s £6 11s £6 19s £3 15s Note: The runway at Liverpool (Speke) is unsuitable for Viscounts. In the Boeing 707 test tank at Seattle water spurts from a 22in cut in the fuselage deliberately made to study fail-safe characteristics. Six cuts were made in the fuselage, "and in no case," report Boeing, "did the damage spread." Note the skin diver
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