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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1066.PDF
BUCKFHIARSSTN —.^ CANNON ST LONDON BR SJ KATHARINE DOCKS 168 FLIGHT, 3 August 1961 AIR COMMERCE These are the locations of and approaches to the three London heliport sites recommended in the report reviewed on this page. See "Any Decade Now," below ANY DECADE NOW AFTER two years" deliberation the Committee on the Planningof Helicopter Stations in the London Area has issued its report, a document of about 100 foolscap-size pages which cost anestimated £911 Is 7d to prepare. Without seeking to disparage the immense amount of work that has gone into this report, and into thecommittee's 30 meetings, the patient cynics who have tried to get action for so many years may wonder whether the report will actas a catalyst in the long-overdue provision of a public heliport in London. Pointing out that single-engine helicopters have high operatingcosts, can operate only in visual conditions and cannot, because of possible engine failure, operate over built-up areas, the committeeconcludes: "For these reasons the helicopter has not yet become a significant factor in civil air transport." Be that as it may, after considering nine sites near the river withinreasonable range of the West End in some detail, the committee recommends Nine Elms, Cannon Street Station and St KatharineDocks as the three most suitable, on which heliports capable of accepting up to 25 movements an hour by large helicopters couldbe built. Nine Elms was the subject of a report to Mr Duncan Sandys ayear ago by another committee (the Joint Interdepartmental London Helicopter Committee). The three sites short-listed in thecurrent report are by no means entirely suitable: Nine Elms has no underground station near it, Cannon Street would be too smallfor regular and frequent services, at least initially, while St Katharine Docks, apart from being a considerable distance from the WestEnd, would not have satisfactory approaches over the river unless a number of cranes were reduced in height. The heliport platformwould be 50ft high at Nine Elms, 54ft at Cannon Street, and at least 48ft at St Katharine Docks. Future of the latter as a heliport siteis now doubtful since the Port of London Authority regard the development of such a site as incompatible with other developmentsthere. Pending the clarification of a number of factors, says the report,"including the airlines" plans and the types of helicopter to be used on inter-city services, we are unable to reach a final conclusion onwhich site should be chosen." Noise in level flight at 1,000ft would be no greater than traffic noises in a busy street, it is concluded,and the greatest noise will be in the immediate locality of the heliport and within a radius of half a mile of it under the take-offand landing paths. The Minister of Aviation, in a forward to the report, expresses thehope that it will " stimulate constructive criticism and useful sug- gestions." Is it not the purpose of the report to stimulate action?A much greater sense of urgency is necessary if London is to have regular helicopter services within a reasonable time: it is exactlyten years this October since BEA issued its so-called Bealine Bus specification for a large passenger helicopter. Can we honestly saythat we are any nearer now than we were then to the ideal of frequent inter-city and inter-airport helicopter services? Willanother decade drift by before London has a public heliport? Footnote: Mr Dodds reminded Mr Thorneycroft in the House olCommons on July 24 that developments were still awaited from another report—"a very optimistic one"—from the Inter-Departmenta!Committee on Helicopters in 1951. Could the Minister say that there was hope of getting a London heliport? Mr Thorneycroft: "We must never lose hope " He urged Membersto read the 1961 report—"as a preliminary to further discussion it would be very useful.'" PROGRESS WITH THE CARVAIR GRATIFYING progress has been made with the Carvair pro-totype since its first flight on June 21; the aircraft made25 flights amounting to 46hr in a month, and has undergone its first check 1. Particularly encouraging is that there is no sign ofaerodynamic buffeting from the new nose, and Mr D. B. Cartlidge of Aviation Traders (Engineering) Ltd, who piloted the Carvairon its maiden flight, has reported that it can now be said "with reasonable certainty" that the Carvair's design configuration isright. Position error corrections have been established and the weight centre of gravity envelope provisionally determined, checkflights having been made at each corner of the envelope, including a number at extended aft e.g. Handling at forward e.g. is now 95per cent complete and the ARB has flown the Carvair at its maxi- mum forward e.g. for landing weight and take-off weight. Allspeeds up to VDF (demonstrated diving speed), which is 276 m.p.h. i.a.s., and down to VMCA have now been covered. Runway performance is good, and the landing distance ispossibly shorter than that of the DC-4, as DC-6-type brakes are fitted. Maximum cross-wind so far encountered has been 16kt, andfull weight take-offs have been made at ISA + 19 C, the aircraft's behaviour under the latter condition being described as "mostimpressive." The propeller division of de Havilland has installed some strain-gauge equipment for a particular series of flights, afterwhich more handling assessment at the extended aft e.g. of 30 per cent will be done; and lateral and directional stability characteristics—so important with the much larger nose and enlarged fin—will be investigated thoroughly. Performance measurement flying andradio testing will also be done, and it is hoped to obtain a full C of A in time for Carvair services to start in November, probablyon the Rotterdam route. Three time-expired DC-4s have been purchased by Channel AirBridge from Resort Airlines, and are now being converted, after a "Check 4 plus," to Carvairs. The second nose is now in the matingjig at Southend and the third nose is in the assembly jig. Channel Air Bridge hope to have the second Carvair in service by the end ofthe year, and four flying next year. Several airlines are already showing interest. The FAA has also been looking at the Carvairwith a view to certification—a pointer to the future use of this promising conception by American operators. BOAC STRIKE POSTCRIPT WHEN the BOAC strike was over Sir Basil Smallpeice, managingdirector, sent a letter to all corporation staff setting out thereasons behind the strike, so far as they can be discovered, and the management's viewpoint. The concluding paragraphs of Sir Basil'sletter, quoted below, leave no doubt at all as to this viewpoint:— "Those who caused this strike and continued it acted in recklessdisregard of the damage done to the airline from which the men they represent earn their living. Worse than that, certain shop stewardswere even reported to have said, at an early stage of the strike, that moves were planned which 'could cripple BOAC in a matter ofdays.' The intention to do such wanton damage to the corporation is one which all of us will not easily forget. "The immediate loss of revenue, at a net rate of £Jm a day, isserious enough. More serious, as one newspaper put it, is the cumulative effect of these strikes on the confidence of BOAC'scustomers throughout the world. For it is the customers, those
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