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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1570.PDF
674 AIR COMMERCE 500,000 BRITANNIA HOURS SOME time during the third week in October Britannias had flowntheir 500,000th revenue hour on scheduled or charter airline operations. This total does not include the growing number of hours flown by RAF Transport Command's 23 Britannias, and it has been achieved by a relatively small number of aircraft operating at high utilizations. Bristol estimates that Britannias have earned more than £300m in passenger revenue, or nearly £35Om with freight and mail revenue added. For some time past the average utilization for all airline Britan- nias has been about 2,850 hours yearly, with peak-season daily rates of ll-12hr not unusual. El Al"s four Britannias all exceeded 3,000hr in 1960, and one reached 3,4OOhr, while British United"s fouraircraft averaged nine hours a day throughout the year ending June 1960—the equivalent of an annual utilization of nearly 3,300hr. Britannias last year were responsible for 52 per cent of all revenue hours flown by BOAC's fleet, and 12 of the corporation's Britan- nia 102s have already exceeded 12.5OOhr. The Proteus 705 of the Britannia 102 at present has an overhaul life of 2,400hr and some engines are being run to 2,8OOhr in prepara- tion for an extension of this figure. FLIGHT, 26 October 1961 This is the first picture of the Argosy in the colours of BEA, who are to take delivery of the first aircraft on November 6. A note on REA's plans for introducing Argosies appears on page 669 NORTH ATLANTIC MEETING COMPLETED '"PHE ICAO North Atlantic regional meeting has completed itsA work in Paris (Flight, September 21). The meeting took action to cope with the traffic congestion in the region, and to allow airlinesmaximum commercial freedom to plan their routes and arrival/ departure schedules compatible with safety. It endorsed apractice, recently followed by Canada, which directs air traffic in specified bands of airspace so as to enable full use to be made of allflight levels for one-way traffic. In such cases the longitudinal separation between aircraft flying at the same level and on the sametrack may be reduced from 30min to 20min, but the vertical and lateral distance between aircraft will be maintained at 2,000ft and120 miles respectively. The meeting thought present needs would be met if the obsoleteLoran at Frederiksdal in Greenland was replaced by a new 160kW transmitter rather than by a high-powered l.OOOkW transmitter.The submarine telecommunication cable across the North Atlantic from Scotland through Iceland and Greenland to Canada, whichwill be completed late in 1962 under joint financing arrangements, was also the subject of extensive consideration. For the future the meeting set long term technical goals. Itenvisaged the consolidation of areas in which air traffic control is executed. This will also require the development of a singleintegrated system of navigation aids and the reduction of the number of meteorological centres. Automation in the operation ofair navigation services is foreseen. A plea is made for intensified international co-operation to provide a more efficient and moreeconomical air navigation service than present day practice permit. MORE FRIENDSHIPS ORDERED Two repeat-orders for Fokker Friendships, bringing the totalnumber of F.27s ordered to 206 (Fokker 120, Fairchild 86), are announced. All Nippon of Japan has ordered four more Series 200s, to bringits fleet to ten; and Indian Airlines Corporation has ordered five more Series 100s. to biing its fleet also to ten. BREVITIES The US Department of Justice is co-operating with the CAB todecide whether pool agreements by US carriers would violate anti-trust laws. According to Interavia, the Polish airline LOT is hoping to get trafficrights for a North Atlantic service, and has approached BOAC about the possibility of chartering Britannia 312s. Maritime Central Airways has sold its Viscount 805 to Aer Lingus.This aircraft, previously owned by Cunard Eagle before passing to MCA, is being converted from V.8O5 to V.8O8 configuration at Humbefore joining the Aer Lingus fleet as "St Canice." Residents of South Nutfield are to explore the possibility of legalaction against British United Airways' helicopter operations from Redhill for training Royal Navy and Royal Marine pilots. The objectionis on the grounds of alleged noise. G. A. Piskov, deputy chief of Aeroflot's passenger department,speaking recently in Moscow said that in 1960 Soviet aircraft carried as many passengers as in the two previous years combined; II-18s,An-lOs and Tu-114s carry 60 per cent of the total volume of internal air traffic. In August alone, Aeroflot carried about 100.000 passengersto and from the Black Sea holiday resort of Sochi. On October 17 a BKS Dakota on its way from Leeds to pick up acharter party of 36 farmers at Carlisle crashed on the approach, into a peak on Newbiggin Fell. The flight crew of three and the stewardesswere all killed; there were no passengers on board. The DC-3 is believed to have flown into the peak during a sudden deterioration invisibility. A further note on the accident is on page 673. Under a proposed amendment to the US Civil Air Regulations theFAA is proposing that all non-airline turbine-powered aircraft weighing more than 12,5001b, and all aircraft in this weight class certified to flyabove 25,000ft, should carry flight recorders. At present it is mandatory for all airliners which fall into the above categories to carry this equip-ment. A BOAC Boeing 707 on a flight from Montreal to London on October21 suffered a pressurization failure. The aircraft was flying at 27,000ft at the time and the captain brought the aircraft down to 10,000ft. Theaircraft had to hold to use up fuel before landing at Montreal. Accord- ing to one passenger the emergency oxygen system did not functionproperly. BOAC are carrying out an investigation. Fairchild has begun production of the F-27F at the rate of one permonth for eight months; the first aircraft came off the line towards the end of September. Lord Rennell of Rodd, a member of the Board of BOAC, has suc-ceeded Capt J. W. G. James of BEA as chairman of the Board of Governors of the College of Air Training. A layout for a hovercraft terminal and hotel against the cliffs ofDover has been designed by Timothy Murgatroyd, who discusses his scheme in the October 13 issue of The Builder. The Council of ICAO has elected J. H. Riddoch of the UK, F. J.Rodas of Guatemala and B. E. Martinez of the Philippines as its vice- presidents for the coming year. Dr Assad Kotaite of the Lebanon wasre-elected chairman of the Air Transport Committee. As from December 5, all SAS intercontinental routes will be flownby DC-8s, which will be introduced on the South American route on that date. DC-8s will be introduced on the South African route onNovember 2 in place of the Convair 990 which would have taken over from DC-7Cs on this route. Mr Norman Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica, said at Kingston onOctober 13 that Jamaica will take steps to establish an international air service of her own after independence (presumably by arrangement withBOAC). There were aspects of air travel into the Caribbean, said Mr Manley. in which Jamaica was "peculiarly interested." RANSA (Rutas Aereas Nacionales SA) have converted a Strato-cruiser for all-cargo operations between the US, the Caribbean and Venezuela; it is due to go into service shortly. Capacity payload is40,0001b, and new cargo doors measuring 78in < 80in give access to the more than 6,000 cu ft of hold space. TACA International Airlines is sueing Rolls-Royce, Capital andUnited for £275,000 damages, following the crash of one of their Viscounts in Nicaragua two years ago in which 15 people were killed.TACA charges Rolls-Royce with negligence in the manufacture of a Dart, and with supplying defective parts. According to foreign press reports the British Aircraft Corporation isnegotiating with Communist China a possible order for up to 20 Viscounts. A Vickers team has, it is said, been in China and the deputydirector of the Chinese civil aviation administration has visited the Vickers factory. A BAC spokesman was last week unable to commenton these reports.
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