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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0873.PDF
FLIGHT, 24 June 1960 881 the four-year-old General Passenger Fare Investigation, in whichCapital had proposed a five per cent increase plus a one-dollar surcharge per ticket. This would, it is hoped, result in a revenueincrease of some $7m a year over the 1959 total. The 12 US domestic trunk airlines lost $13.5m in the firstquarter of this year (of which Capital lost $5.4m) compared with a net profit of $7.7m in the first quarter of 1959. The old problemof costs rising faster than revenue is being accentuated by rising jet capacity, while a combination of bad weather, accidents, Electrarestrictions and bomb hoaxes have combined to reduce traffic. So Capital's pleas for fare increases will not be frowned upon as anisolated case, but take their place in the general—and rather ominous—picture of an industry that has over-mortgaged itselfin the re-equipmsnt scramble. Vickers are said to have played no pan in Capital's decisionto withdraw its request for subsidy, nor in the recent management changes. The latter have not met with the approval of the CapitalShareholders Association which was formed by pilots of the airline last August and which has grown very rapidly in member-ship from 300 to about 2,500. This body has filed with the US Securities Exchange Commission an application to solicit proxiesto call a special stockholders' meeting with the aim of completely overhauling the board of directors, and especially of strengtheningfinancial representation on it. The Association regarded the latest management changes as hardly sufficient to "keep the Britishaway from our doors." If Vickers should have to proceed with foreclosure, Capitalwould have no apparent option but to seek voluntary bankruptcy; both parties, naturally, have every interest in avoiding this stateof affairs. The airline would then be run by a trustee who would be responsible for putting it on a sound financial basis. Capital'sannual interest charges have risen from $220,000 five years ago to $2,790,000 today as a result of large-scale re-equipment, and theirtroubles have occurred in spite of a three-year period in which they were the only US carrier with turboprops. LOUD AND CLEAR IN THE CARIBBEAN HTHE world's largest and most up-to-date inter-island aero--•- nautical telecommunications system, linking the eastern island territories of the West Indies, was officially inaugurated inBarbados on June 10. This new $2 million multi-channel VHF system was planned and installed by International Aeradio inconjunction with Pye Telecommunications, Ericsson Telephones and Creed & Co. It provides the most modern automatic telephoneand teleprinter service for airlines operating in the Caribbean and gives instant contact between airports, airline offices and aircraftthroughout the 24 hours of the day irrespective of weather and other conditions. The system will be operated by IAL's subsidiary InternationalAeradio (Caribbean). It was formally handed over by G. R. Scott-Farnie, managing director of IAL. The first call (fromBarbados to Trinidad) was made by the Federal Minister of Com- munications, die Hon Andrew Rose, and reception was loud andclear. The network has a capacity of 12 separate a.:d simultaneousvoice channels plus 12/18 teleprinter channels, and provides an extensive area coverage air-ground system. The main route runsfrom Trinidad through Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and St Kitts, and through a link with All America Cableand Radio Corporation to St Croix, Puerto Rico and on by co-axial cable to North America. Work began on the system four years ago when InternationalAeradio conducted an extensive survey to decide whether or not a VHF scheme was practical and to select sites. To make theproject possible, roads had to be built to the mountain top sites, power supplies provided and hurricane-proof buildings erected. AUSTRALIAN TURBINE UTILIZATIONS A USTRALIAN operators have been well known for many years•** for their high aircraft utilization and their Electra opera :ions appear to have maintained the good record, despite the operationallimitations. Ansett-ANA introduced their first Electra, VH-RMA, onMarch 18, 1959, and up to May 27, 1960, it had flown 4,076 hours. It was the first Electra in the world to pass 4,000 hours,though Eastern's Electras were on service in February 1959. The second Ansett-ANA machine, VH-RMB, since May 13, 1959, hasflown 3,899 hours. These two aircraft have more hours up than any other Electras in operation today. In addition to theseoperating hours, both have more than 50 hours up on delivery and other flying before regular operation. The third Ansett-ANAElectra, VH-RMC, has flown 1,520 hours since February 14. TAA's first Electra, VH-TLA, flew 3,319 hours up to May 21since it was introduced on July 4, 1959, and VH-TLB's figure was 3,231. Their third Electra is on loan from Qantas and hasflown 713 hours since March. TAA's 13 Viscount 756s in 1959 flew 38,393 hours, or 8hr 9mina day. Their two 816s flew 3,322 hours, or 8hr 13min a day, having been introduced in June. Ansett-ANA's 832s flew7,585 hours or 7hr 48min a day, following introduction in March- May of 1959. The 747s flew 5,241 hours, or 7hr 18min a day.(All these statistics are block-to-block.) TAA's Friendships were introduced in May-Octpber 1959 andnine flew a total of 10,040hr, or 7hr 20min a day, in 1959. This is well behind West Coast's figures, but TAA is still operatingsome DC-3s. Friendship utilization will rise as the DC-3s fade away. The first Friendship, VH-TFB, from May 20, 1959, toMay 14, 1960, flew 2,292 hours. (This is the aircraft that was lost earlier this month in TAA's first accident fatal to passengers.) OVERSEAS AVIATION'S NEW HANGAR "TVOBODY has been able to tell me of another company with-L* a rate of expansion as great as that of Overseas Aviation," said Geoffrey Rippon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministryof Aviation, after opening the new Overseas hangar at Gatwick on June 14 (see photograph below). The hangar is unusual in thatits structure is of timber. Cost was about £300,000. Overseas are the second independent to establish a permanentengineering base at Gatwick, having previously—since their for- mation early in 1958—been based at Southend. The first Gatwickindependent, now part of British United Airways, was Transair, who have been based there since the airport was opened in June1958. An article in our issue of June 3 (pages 772-773) discussed the possibility of other operators basing themselves at Gatwick.When the designers of the new hangar went to the Ministry of Aviation with plans for a structural framework of timber, the onlyquery was on the grounds of possible fire risk. Obviously the question of fire endurance had been carefully considered, andcalculations showed that the structure had a certain minimum fire endurance of half an hour. The Ministry asked for a fireendurance of one hour, and with the co-operation of the Ministry the design was submitted to the fire research station at BorehamWood. The Ministry's requirement was met. The point about timber is that it has a better fire endurancebecause it does not explode or expand, causing the collapse of supporting walls. It withstands normal building fires for longerperiods than other materials before falling. In the case of Over- seas' hangar there will, in the unfortunate event of a fire, be atleast an hour available to clear the building of its personnel and contents. Architects were P. & D. T. Myers, London; maincontractors were J. Jarvis & Sons Ltd, Paddington; structural timber framework was by Beves & Co (Structures)Ltd (Engineer: H. J. Andrews); and consulting engineers (foundations and apron) were DonovanH. Lee & Partners. Overseas Aviation and BIATA: see page 882. The scene at Gatwick on the evening of June 14 as Geoffrey Rippon, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Aviation, formally opened Overseas Avia- tion's new timber-structure hangar (see note above). The hangar has a clear span of 150ft, is 150ft deep and 33ft high. It is the largest clear span timber building in the UK. On the steps with Mr Rippon are Ronald Myhill and, behind, Bernard Dromgoole, respectively chairman and managing director of Overseas. Fleet: 9 Argonauts, 5 Vikings and a Dove
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