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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0353.PDF
FLIGHT, 11 March 1960 353 They would be placed end to end in line with the prevailing windbut set 10,000ft apart. It is also proposed that a single shorter runway placed at 90° to the two main runways should be pro-vided to cover occasional wind changes. If it did transpire that supersonic aircraft were produced withVTOL capacity the airport could presumably be easily con- tracted. Perhaps the best example of the doubts that are raisedin the minds of the airport planners is that those studying Paris- Nord have provided for eight vertical take-off platforms. AIR UNION BY NOVEMBER ^ T CONFIRMATION that the inauguration of Air Union is to be^ postponed until November—as forecast in Flight for January 15—was given last month at the close of a meeting of the French,German, Italian and Belgian foreign ministers in Paris. The first step towards full union is to make tickets transferable and toco-ordinate the schedules and administration of the four Air Union airlines. But technical and legal complications whichhave arisen have caused the original date of inauguration—April 1 —to be postponed. The revenue-sharing scheme which was to come into opera-tion when traffic had increased five-fold is now reportedly being disputed by Alitalia and Lufthansa. Both airlines feel that theirquotas should be increased, as their recent rates of growth have exceeded expectations. Another matter now again concerningUnion negotiations is the scheme under which Sabena's Congo domestic services were to be detached from the Union althoughincluded within its broad framework. Standardization of equipment raises another problem. Threeof the carriers—Air France, Alitalia and Sabena—are Caravelle purchasers; but Lufthansa, as the single exception within the AirUnion four, apparently shows no inclination to purchase the aircraft which France would dearly like to see generally adopted. Previous Flight references to Air Union, for the record, are asfollows: 1959: February 27, March 6, April 10, May 1, May 8, May 29, June 5, June 12, June 19, September 11, September 25,November 6, November 13. 1960: January 15. These trace Air Union history from the germ of the idea up to the prospect ofrealization later this year. CHEAP FARES FROM AFRICA SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS, who are hoping to get some ofthe cheap-fare traffic between South Africa and Britain, are negotiating to provide the closed-group Overseas Visitors Clubwith a Skymaster service twice a month. When the airline takes delivery of its Boeing 707 fleet the service would be operated withDC-7Bs. The club, whose fare is about half that of the scheduled airlines' tourist fare, was twice opposed by South African Airwayswhen it sought—unsuccessfully—to get a licence from the National Transport Commission to operate into Jan Smuts Airport.The club responded by operating into Lourenco Marques and The units shown on the left are part of the automatic reservations system in use by SAS. The system cost about £350,000 and can handle a million messages per month including a rail ticket from there to Johannesburg in the one-wayoff-season fare of £67 10s and the in-season fare of £95. This makes it possible to get a Johannesburg - London return ticket for£135 compared with the tourist return fare of £273 12s. The service is operated with Argonauts by Overseas Aviation. Thiscompany has an associate, Trans-Africa Air Coach, which also operates at similar fares between Luxembourg and LourencoMarques, while Starways of Liverpool have been operating from London to Lourenco Marques on a cheap-fare basis for the Travel-lers Facilities Club, a "rival" of the Overseas Visitors Club. The latter already has authority to operate from London to Canada atfares about half that of the scheduled airlines and has operated a number of charter flights from London to Australia. SAA's negotiations have caused consternation in the SouthAfrican travel world and the Association of South African Travel Agents has formally protested. A deputation from the associationis also believed to have indicated to the Railways Administration that it will book passengers on other airlines if SAA continues toflirt with the Overseas Visitors Club. The association says it welcomes lower fares but that they must be available to all pas-sengers, not just to club members. It costs £3 3s to join the Over- seas Visitors Club and £1 Is a year subscription. The Railways Administration has since issued a statement statingthat it does not intend breaking any IATA rules and that in the past it has refused to hire aircraft to the club. But it adds thatconditions have now changed and that it no longer considers it against IATA rules to offer cheap terms to the club. This develop-ment follows upon SAA's decision to "go it alone" on economy fares for Africa if IATA does not reach agreement at its meetingin Paris on February 23. Stop press: It has just been announced that the 35,000-memberOverseas Visitors Club has signed a £250,000 contract with SAA to operate 30 closed-group charters a year between Johannesburgand London at the return fare of £135. Constellations and DC-4s will be used and the only stops will be for refuelling. The contractis expected to be worth about twice as much next year as a result of rapidly increasing membership of the club. THE MASKED PILOT A LTHOUGH it has now been deferred for 60 days for further**• investigation, a rule which the Federal Aviation Agency brought into effect on February 1 requires that one pilot in controlof a turbine-powered aircraft must wear an oxygen mask when flying higher than 30,000ft. A subsidiary rule is that other mem-bers of the flight crew who are on duty must wear—although not necessarily use as breathing apparatus—oxygen masks which canbe quickly donned. The definition of a mask which can be "quickly donned" is given as one which can without delay beplaced on the face and properly secured and sealed with one hand without disturbing headphones, glasses or caps. It is the FAA's intention to re-inspect every mask that isclaimed to have these features; where a design is not satisfactory it will be necessary for one pilot at the controls to wear a maskwhen the aircraft in which he is flying is above 25,000ft. This latter rule may be relaxed when investigations into the safetyaspects at altitude are completed. An interesting point about this new rule is that it applies notonly to all US domestic operations but to US international operations as well; PanAm or TWA 707 pilots operating intoLondon for example, may thus have been on oxygen for the majority of an eight-and-a-half-hour transatlantic flight. Footnote: BOAC and BEA have similar rules for the use of oxygen masks. For BOAC these are: (1) If cabin altitude rises above 10,000ft (an exceptional circumstance) all the crew must be on oxygen; (2) If the aircraft is below 30,000ft, masks need only be properly stowed ready for use; (3) Between 30,000 and 40,000ft one pilot at the controls must have a mask attached to his headset ready for donning; (4) Above 40,000ft one pilot at the controls must always use oxygen.BEA's Comet 4Bs are equipped with drop-out oxygen masks at each crew station; three overhead and one at the side. At present it is neces-sary to release them manually when audible warning is given that cabin pressure has fallen below the equivalent of that at 10,000ft, but thesystem is being modified to operate automatically. Because cruising altitudes rarely exceed 35,000ft, no special regulations are in force aboutone pilot breathing oxygen or having a mask near his face ready to don. The new BEA colour scheme of red. white and black has been applied to the heli- copter fleet. 0/ the two Whirlwinds shown °t Gatwick, the nearer is that used in instrument /light- development
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