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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1568.PDF
672 FLIGHT, 26 October 1961 On the left is how the BAC One-Eleven will look in the markings of its first export customer, Braniff Airways. A note on the US airline's order for six with an option on six more appears on page 670. The engineering mock-up of the cockpit, as can be seen in the right-hand picture, has been completed in all essentials at Hum. Seating is for two pilots with provision for two other crew members if required. This mock-up is duplicated at Weybridge for customer evaluation AIR COMMERCE... FREEDOM FOR FREIGHTN O objections had been made, as Flight closed for press, to theAir Transport Licensing Board's proposal that UK domestic air freight rates need not be approved by the Board. The proposalwas published in the October 4 issue of the Board's Notices; accord- ing to the Regulations, objections and representations must belodged within 21 days. The original closing date, October 25, has been extended by afurther 14 days because BOAC was omitted from the original list of holders of the licences which the Board is proposingto vary. BOAC's inclusion brings the total number of licence holders affected to 22. The Board has evidently decided that in air transport, as in allthings, the best governed are the least governed. UK air freight rates have never, in practice, had to be officially approved,though they had to be when the new Act was introduced in 1960. It is obviously absurd for BE A, for example, to have to wastehours of their own and the Board's time arguing the case (to cite one example) for a new cargo commodity rate to Scotland towhich British Railways object. The Board has used Regulation 6(1), which enables it to vary air service licences, to introduce itsproposal to free UK air freight rates. The development of the infant air cargo industry will clearly befurthered if operators do not have to go to the Board every time they want to introduce a new tariff. Very soon BEA are to introduceArgosies on domestic routes (see page 669) and freedom of initiative on tariffs will obviously help these aircraft to be fully exploited. That no objection to this proposed emancipation of UK airfreight has been made by surface operators is, perhaps, sur- prising. An objection could have been expected from the BritishTransport Commission, who would presumably represent British Railways and British Road Services, as well as others from privatelong-distance road operators. 2d A MILE TO SCOTLAND THE ATLB has approved BEA's application to offer 3gn singlenight fares from London to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast from November 1. Vanguards will be used to Glasgow and Edin-burgh, and Viscounts to Belfast. BEA express themselves as being delighted by the Board's decision, and point out that at 2d a milethese are the cheapest regular air fares in the world. A spokesman for the British Transport Commission said: "TheBoard's decision came rather late today [October 17], and we have not had much time to consider it. But the Commission will con-sider an appeal when they have seen the decision in writing." The question of an appeal is still being considered, a BTC spokes-man told Flight as this issue went to press. BEA IN AUGUST ALTHOUGH BEA carried a record number of passengers—over /\ 590,000—in August this year, load factors again fell. Pas- senger traffic during the month was 14.3 per cent up on the same month in 1960, while capacity ton-miles offered increased by 22.8 per cent. Passenger load factor was 68.4 per cent, a decrease of no less than 8.7 points, the lowest ever recorded for August since 1950. There are signs that current traffic results are encouraginglygood; if this trend continues, and if there is not too much fog this winter, BEA may yet end the year with a profit. The corporation'scampaign for the strict control of expenditure meanwhile continues. BEA's Comet 4Bs, all of which have now been delivered, provided28 per cent of the corporation's total capacity in August. The air- craft carried some 600,000 passengers for about 450m passenger-miles at an average load factor of 60 per cent. These jets now operate all BEA's eastern Mediterranean services and also serveScandinavia, Switzerland, Frankfurt, Diisseldorf, Nice, Lisbon, Warsaw, Moscow and Malta. Average utilization during the first year of Comet operations was2,026hr, and by the end of August the annual average rate of utilization had risen to 2,132hr. This compares with 2,600hr perannum for Viscount 800s. Annual utilization rate for the Vanguard during the first five months of the financial year was l,564hr.On August 14 the overhaul life of the Tynes was raised from 400 to 500hr, and trials are now in progress to permit a further increase to600hr. This coming winter BEA is to carry out extensive modifi- cations to the Tyne engines which, it is hoped, will raise the over-haul life to 1,000hr by the start of next summer's programme. THE DUKE'S HERALD TOUR MORE details are now available of the Duke of Edinburgh'sforthcoming tour of South America by Herald; as reportedin Flight's October 5 issue, BEA will provide the crews for this tour. Two Heralds will be used, one from BEA's fleet and the othera new aircraft from the Herald production Jine at Woodley. The tour will begin at Georgetown, British Guiana, early inFebruary and will finish at Tenerife two months later. There will be five BEA pilots, led by Capt W. J. Johnson, and two stewards,plus one BEA engineer and two from Handley Page. The Heralds are expected to cover about 20,000 miles in SouthAmerica, and will be flown from London to Georgetown fitted with extra fuel tanks for the long overwater crossing. The Duke will goto South America by BOAC Comet, it is understood, and the Herald flight will be the first long-distance flight outside BEA'snormal area of operation since a BEA Viscount participated in the London - New Zealand air race eight years ago. ARGOSY 200 FURTHER details are now available of the Argosy 200, which isnow in production and which, except for the new fail-safebox-spar wing, is basically similar to the Argosy 100 series. The Argosy 200 can carry a maximum payload of 31,0001b, or 3,0001b more than the 100 series, over a range of 400 miles with full reserves, or a payload of 25,OOOlb over 500 miles with reserves. Maximum take-off weight has been increased by 2,0001b over the 100 series to 90,0001b, with corresponding increases in the zero-fuel and landing weights. The new wing reduces the basic structure weight by 1,0001b, but the same RDa.7/2 Dart 526s as on the 100 series are retained. Weights: Max take-off, 90,0001b; max landing, 84,0001b. Performance: Average cruising speed, 280 m.p.h. at 14,200 r.p.m.;normal cruising ceiling, 20,000ft; cruise ceiling (one engine inoperative), 17,300ft; range with 20,0001b 'payload and no reserves, 1,750 stmi;ultimate still air range, 2,760 st mi; balanced field length, max take-off weight, SL, ISA, 5,300ft; at 4,000ft, ISA plus 20°C, 82,0001b weight,5,960ft; landing distance, SL, ISA, 80,0001b weight, unfactored, 3,120ft.
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