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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0925.PDF
FLIGHT, 6 July 1961 25 Carlisle's municipal airport at Crosby was officially opened recently by the Mayor of Carlisle, Aid. T. L Macdonald, seen here (second from right) in a Rapide of Cumberland Aviation Services Ltd NO NEED FOR DULLES INTERNATIONAL? IT is still doubtful how much use will be made of Washington'snew Dulles International Airport when it is completed, for itwas built without hangars on the assumption that airlines would build their own on leased airport ground; so far, it seems, no air-line has shown any interest in this direction. The FAA's Administrator, Mr Halaby, said recently that theFAA might have to build one hangar, at a cost of $6m; and that in addition to the $85m already authorized a further $20m would beneeded, plus $30m to provide Customs and other facilities. These figures were mentioned at recent hearings of the House IndependentOffices Appropriations Sub-Committee, One factor militating against the new airport is that airlines maybe reluctant to leave Friendship, to the south of Baltimore, which is rapidly becoming the Washington jet terminal. A request for$22£m has been made to the Baltimore Planning Commission for a building programme at Friendship over the next six years in theexpectation of continued traffic growth. RAIL AIR TO LUXEMBOURG LUXEMBOURG is now about eight hours from London as theresult of the recently inaugurated Channel Air Bridge rail/air/rail service. This is an extension of the services already operated to destinations in Belgium in conjunction with British Railways(Eastern Region) and Belgian National Railways; bookings can now be made to stations on Luxembourg Railways. The air partof the journey, between Southend and Ostend, is by Bristol 170, although Carvairs will probably be used eventually. Captain "Scotty" Allan, seen here alighting from the Fokker F.VIIbj3m "Southern Cross," in days when he flew with Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, has recently retired as deputy chief executive and deputy general manager of Qantas VOICE RECORDERS FOR AUSTRALIA OANTAS and TAA have ordered Lockheed 109C flight record-ers, with voice-recording units, for all their turbine-poweredaircraft. Ansett-ANA, too, is expected to order the same type. This follows the recommendation of the court of inquiry into theTAA Friendship crash at Mackay last year. The Australian Minister for Civil Aviation approved the court's recommendationthat flight recorders with voice units be made mandatory. The Department of Civil Aviation has accordingly made their usecompulsory from January 3, 1963, but recorders will in fact be installed in Australian airliners before the end of next year. Lockheed Aircraft Service Inc have already sent out trial equip-ment with a small voice-recording unit. They are offering to include all Australian turbine operators in a mass deal for 100 units, andthis would allow individual operators to enjoy a reduction in price. Other operators include Mac.Robertson-Miller and East-West(each of whom has one Friendship) and Associated Airlines, who operate a Grumman Gulfstream for Broken Hill Pty. Friendshipsare also operated by Airlines of NSW, Airlines of SA, and Queens- land Airlines, but these aircraft would automatically be equippedfrom the Ansett-ANA order. Australian operators, it is reported, were greatly impressed by theLockheed equipment's ability to go on recording ten minutes after power cut-off. The six parameters required by the DCA are:cockpit voice, altitude, reading, airspeed, vertical acceleration, and time. The voice recorder is limited to the flight deck and will havea cut-off for use by the crew in any discussion of private matters. The Australian Federation of Airline Pilots has agreed to the system,but in reply to one of its objections DCA has ruled that voice recording will be self-obliterating after 120min. Footnote: In April 1960 Royston Instruments Ltd announced an agree-ment with Lockheed Aircraft Service whereby the latter would offer, in addition to its own 109C equipment, the full line of data recorders anddata-reduction equipment developed by the British firm. AIR CEYLON'S FUTURE THE international services of Air Ceylon might be suspendedif a new policy recommended by the Minister of Transport,Mr P. B. G. Kalugalle, is put into effect. The Minister is said to favour an "open door" policy allowing more foreign carriers intoColombo in place of the current policy of protectionism towards Air Ceylon's services to London and Singapore. The reason for this change of heart is that there is not enoughmoney to make Air Ceylon's services more competitive by ordering jets; an Electra leased from KLM operates a once-weekly service toLondon and to Singapore. KLM has not yet decided on a medium jet, and although the Dutch airline would presumably be willing tolease one to Air Ceylon to replace the Electra, some months will elapse before Air Ceylon would be able to offer jet travel, duringwhich traffic would be lost to airlines scheduling more competitive equipment through Colombo. The Minister has recommendedthat if Air Ceylon's operations are suspended the airports of Ratmalana and Katunayake should be opened to foreign carrierswishing to add Colombo to their networks, thus enabling the country to earn more in tourist revenue, landing fees, parking andhousing charges. The airline's recent history has not been an entirely happy one: there have been disputes between pilots andmanagement, charges of management maladministration and a feeling among the pilots that Air Ceylon's association with KLM,airline of an allegedly "colonialist" power, has prevented it from acquiring new routes. In spite of these difficulties, Air Ceylonshowed an overall profit of 189,960 rupees for the period April 1958 to March 1959 according to the latest audited statements,and this is the fifth successive year in which a profit has been made. BOOM IN SOUTH AFRICAN TRAFFIC SURPRISINGLY, in view of the troubled African political scene,South African Airways, with other operators to the Republic,is experiencing an unprecedented boom in international traffic. '"The airlines" most optimistic hopes of traffic increases to fill theavailable seat capacity of the big jets," writes a correspondent, "appear to have been fulfilled." The Springbok partners—SAA,BOAC. CAA and EAAC—now offer 1,100 seats a week between Jan Smuts Airport and London in 13 jet flights. Alitalia's formerquota of 100 passengers a week out of Jan Smuts has been increased to 140 a week, and UAT has replaced its DC-6B flight to Paris witha second DC-8 frequency, but retains DC-6Bs on its service from Paris to Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia. UAT is the only carrierproviding a direct connection from Victoria Falls to Europe, a service which is much appreciated by South Africans who want tospend a weekend at the Falls before going on to Europe. PanAm is planning a second jet service from New York to Johannesburg,and is likely to give the Union its first direct connection with Lagos, going on to New York via Lisbon. Lufthansa is planning to operate a service to Jan Smuts, probablybefore Christmas. Maj-Gen F. W. von Mellenthin, until recently commercial director of Trek Airways and a well-known figure inSouth African air transport, has been appointed to Lufthansa's planning staff in Cologne as its African affairs expert.
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