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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0322.PDF
322 FLIGHT, 4 March I960 Now being trained by BOAC are the future managers of Ghana Airways. Some will be here for two years, others for six, and many will attend universities. Others will spend some time at BOAC's overseas stations. Below are discussed present trends in Ghana Airways AIR COMMERCE GHANA PUTS FIRST THINGS FIRST 'T'HE proposed re-organization and expansion of Ghana Airways,•*• says the Minister of Transport, Krobo Edusei, "will be geared to expand and develop Ghanaian influence to the greatest extentpossible, both in the continent of Africa and elsewhere." The Minister has confirmed that Ghana proposes to buy out BOAC'snominal 40 per cent holding in Ghana Airways (Flight, January 22, page 125). Instead of operating Britannias chartered from BOAC, MrEdusei says Ghana will acquire its own fleet of airliners, either by lease or by outright purchase. For a start it will "acquire" twoBritannias 102s from BOAC. Meanwhile, future management staff of the airline are being trained in the UK by BOAC (seephotograph). The present agreement with BOAC was discussed at a recent Ghana Airways board meeting, at which BOAC Asso-ciated Companies were represented by Sir Duncan Cumming. The Minister, Krobo Edusei, says that the present arrange-ments with BOAC "do not fully portray the Ghanaian Govern- ment's policy." Why, he asks good humouredly, "should therebe British hostesses on our services when Ghana has the most attractive girls in Africa? Why should cutlery and napkins bemarked BOAC?" But the past deficiencies, he says, have not been the fault of BOAC—and it is his Government's intention to con-tinue the "excellent relationship" with BOAC which has existed to date. He explains that the new routes that are to be inaugurated byGhana Airways may be uneconomic at first, but "the imponder- able benefits which will nevertheless accrue to Ghana's prestigeoverseas and to our international trade generally far outweigh such considerations." Henceforth the interiors of Ghana's aircraft will,he says, reflect the Ghanaian and African personality; all staff, as far as they are qualified, will be Ghanaian, but all staff, whetherGhanaian or foreign, must wear the Ghanaian uniform. The Minister has announced a new Ghana Airways servicecalling at Kano, Nairobi, Khartoum and Cairo and an agreement about a service to Addis Ababa is under negotiation. It is Ghana'sintention, he says, "to link together the independent African states." TRENDS IN THE CARIBBEAN TTHE national airline of the West Indies Federation, BWIA,-*• is shopping for American jet transports. The chairman, Hugh Wooding, has recently been visiting US West Coast manufacturers,and a decision is expected to be announced in the next two months. British equipment is being considered also but, according to reportsfrom America, the order is "almost certain to go to a US manufacturer." These rather surprising developments need putting into per-spective. Though BWIA is still wholly owned by BOAC, it is an associate that may well become independent with the Federation,perhaps 18 months or two years hence. The airline's financial results—a loss of £592,000 in 1958-59—have been described by thechairman of BOAC, Sir Gerard d"Erlanger, as a matter about which the Corporation has been "extremely worried and concerned..." Although the company is owned by BOAC, "the Federation, Ministers and other people do regard it very much as their airline,as the key to the development of the Federation. Its staffing is practically entirely West Indian. We have been trying to injectinto the organization a non-West Indian as managing director, and we have met with never ending good reasons why it should not bedone, why it will cause offence to the West Indies." Since these remarks, made just over a year ago, Hugh Woodingtook over the chairmanship of BWIA from Sir Enrol dos Santos, who became president. Obviously, the extent to which the airline swings away fromthe corporation's influence must be carefully watched. There is no doubt that this is a matter very much in the minds of BOAC'sboard; Mr Smallpeice, managing director, has said in the context of BWIA: "It is of great importance to us to have our main trunkroutes throughout the world buttressed by companies which are in sympathy with us rather than in opposition to us, as would be thecase if KLM or Pan American or other people were interested in Yesterday, March 3, was the day on which Lufthansa were due to take delivery at Hamburg of the first of their five Boeing 707-420s. A note on this page gives some facts and figures about the performance of the first Rolls-Royce Conway-powered 707 to be delivered—the Air- India aircraft which recently flew non-stop from London to Bombay these companies. So, from that point of view, I think there aregood reasons why we should want to maintain close associations with [BWIA]." It now remains to be seen whether the Federation is expectingto acquire the whole of BOAC's interest in BWIA. Certainly the Federation is most concerned to see that its national airline gets afull share of the forthcoming tourist boom in the Caribbean, and it is significant that a delegation representing the West Indies (whohave become increasingly sensitive about HMG's responsibility for the routes affecting their tourist industry) has been sitting in onthe recent UK/US air agreement talks in Barbados. It is also significant that Ross Staintqn, BOAC's Western-routes manager,should have made a point in Jamaica last week of emphasizing BOAC's plans to reduce UK - Jamaica fares by 20 per cent and toincrease services by 60 per cent. BIG JETS AND CONWAYS AS reported last week, the first Conway-powered Boeing 707-420,• an Air-India aircraft, passed through London on Saturday, February 20, on a delivery flight to Bombay. A non-stop flightwas made from London to Bombay, a flight-plan distance of 4,261 nautical miles, in a flying time of 8hr 29min. Some facts andfigures in respect of this record flight are now available: Take-off weight at London, 293,3501b; CAR runway length required, 6,400ftto 35ft; fuel weight 142,4511b; crew and payload, 24,5041b; esti- mated landing weight at Bombay, 187,0881b; estimated fuel used,106,2631b. Fuel consumption at Mach 0.82 and 33,000-37,000ft was measured (in kg) at l,600kg/hr/per engine. The Rolls-Royce Conways at present entering service areRCo.l2s of 17,5001b static thrust. The developed RCo.42 Conway of 20,2501b thrust, as specified for the VC10, will be available in1962. Meanwhile, to take advantage of this, Boeing have given a few details of the 707-520 to be powered by RCo.42s. For therecord, a take-off weight of about 340,0001b is scheduled, and the fuselage will be extended 10ft beyond the 152ft llin of the -320and -420 models. The RCo.42 will have a 10 per cent bener specific fuel consumption than the RCo.12—0.785 at 35,000ft and475kt compared with 0.874. Douglas, too, have announced a DC-8 development to takeadvantage of the RCo.42, though as an alternative engine to the P & W JT3D-9. This is the DC-8A all-cargo project, some detailsof which appear on the previous page ("New DC-8 Nomenclature").
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