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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1580.PDF
684 FLIGHT, 2 November 1961 AIR COMMERCE... A regular frequenter of British airports these days is the DC-4 operated by Trans Atlantic Airlines, the US independent which has been operating this aircraft and a C-46 from Gatwick since early this year Bradford with Exeter, Hum and the Isle of Wight will be resumednext summer. There will, Flight is informed, be no staff redundancy as a result of the present changes in the financial structure andmanagement of the company. The name of North-South has for some time been linked withthe Handley Page Herald, an order for one having been placed and a deposit of £5,000, believed to be non-recoverable, paid. Thecompany hopes eventually to use Heralds for all its operations. PEGASUS LAYS OFF STAFF THE drop in traffic in winter months, to which little publicityis given with regard to the independents, was highlighted lastweek by the announcement that between 50 and 60 aircrew and ground staff of Pegasus Airlines Ltd, at the company's bases atBlackpool and Gatwick, had been given a week's notice. Pegasus, which operates three Vikings, was formed in 1958 and isoperated under the name of Claydon Aviation Ltd by Mr C. Claydon, a Luton builder. According to Mr Claydon the reason forthe airline's demise is purely lack of business. "We don't have any business between now and Easter and we cannot afford to keep thedismissed staff on. After all, we are in business—not a charity organization." A skeleton staff will be retained during the winter. There is no suggestion that Pegasus's air operator's certificate hasbeen withdrawn. According to Mr Claydon, "The reason for our closing down is because the situation is completely untenable at the moment for the smaller operators." Only one licence submitted wasapproved by the ATLB for a scheduled service between Blackpool and Gatwick which was operated four times a week by the airline,which also operated charter services throughout the summer. Mr Claydon is reported to have stated that he intends to carryon the firm, but will only hire out the aircraft. VC10 WEIGHS IN T ATEST information on the VC10 family is that a development1—i of the standard (as distinct from the Super) VC10 is pro- posed with a maximum take-off weight increased from 299,0001bto 310,0001b. This is half-way between the standard VC10 and the revised Super VC10 at 322,0001b; the latter has not changed sinceit was recorded in Flight's June 8 issue as having superseded the original Super VClOs with lengths of 186ft and later 196ft 6in. It will be recalled that the Boeing 707-320 and the interconti-nental DC-8 both underwent a similar gross weight increase to the VC10 which, in its proposed 310,0001b version, shows improvedpayload/range capabilities. The range with maximum payload, in still air, at optimum cruise, no fuel allowances for reserves is4,550 n.m. for the standard VC10 and 4,630 n.m. for the 310,0001b version. The range with maximum fuel in still air, at optimumcruise and no reserves is 5,620 n.m. with a 13,4001b payload for the standard VC10 and 5,460 n.m. with 24,1001b for the super. SAFETY AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY TWO events of some significance in the field of British air safetytook place last week. One was the Ministry's confirmationthat the air operator's certificate of Falcon Airways had been with- drawn; the second was the publication by the Flight Safety Com-mittee of a new and improved Flight Safety Focus. Withdrawal of Falcon's AOC This event took place on Sep-tember 21, but no announcement was made at the time by the Ministry. It was not until October 25, when Falcon's managingdirector, Capt M. Kozubski, denied that his company was to cease operating, that any statement was made by the Ministry, who saidthat the Director of Aviation Safety took this action on September 21 "as a result of the running down of the company's operations inthis country." On the same day Falcon Airways, said the state- ment, notified the Ministry of its intention to cease operations. On October 25, however, a spokesman for Falcon said thatoperations had been suspended only during the coming winter months. "This is just a routine procedure," the spokesman added."We did it last year." No staff were being dismissed, and Capt Kozubski actually spoke of possibly selling his two Constellationsand buying Boeing 707s. In the Commons on October 18 the new PPS to the Ministry of Aviation, Mr C. M. Woodhouse, said that air operators' certificates "can of course be, and in some cases have been, withdrawn." Asked what other AOCs had been withdrawn other than that of Falcon, the Ministry referred to one other, that of Overseas. Asked whether it was Ministry policy not to publish the withdrawal of AOCs in the future, as appeared to be the policy in the case of Overseas, a Ministry spokesman said that this would depend on the circumstances. It will be recalled that Falcon Airways and Capt Kozubski werefined a total of £300 on September 6 for infringement of the Air Navigation Regulations (Flight, September 14, page 456). CaptKozubski's joint managing director, Mr Frederick Beezley, resigned from the company on September 24. Flight Safety Focus For those who have advocated the widerdissemination of safety information, the appearance of a new and enlarged issue of Flight Safety Focus is a most welcome event. Focus has been published in bulletin form for private circulationto operators for 18 months. It is published by the Flight Safety Committee, a body independent of the Ministry comprising mem-bers drawn from operators, manufacturers, pilots, insurers and aviation authorities. Its objects are to collect and disseminateflight safety information, and to foster interest in the advancement of flight safety. Focus is the means of spreading knowledge acquiredall over the world about accidents and incidents, and to spread it as widely as possible. Among the organizations which give financialsupport are the Air Ministry, Ministry of Aviation, ARB, BEA, BOAC, BIATA, the British Insurance Association, Lloyd's andthe SBAC. One medium for giving wider currency to the contents of Focusis, of course, the technical aviation press. Here the Flight Safety Committee ran into a problem. Safety is a subject in which every-one is interested, but which is at the same time extremely delicate. Thus, if a paper were to publish all the information that is includedin the bulletin Focus without discretion, the work of the Flight Safety Committee, which depends on the co-operation of the avia-tion industry, might be inhibited. For example, an operator is not likely to tell the Flight Safety Committee of his experiences if heknows that it might appear in the press, and he be identified. Focus is distributed to people in a position to take actionin the field of aviation safety by the Secretary, Flight Safety Committee, Epsom Square, London Heathrow Airport,Hounslow, Middlesex. The first issue of Focus in its new and improved form contains much of interest. There is a note aboutthe effects of correcting yaw in a big jet when engine failure occurs with the yaw damper engaged, emphasizing that it is good practiceto turn off the yaw damper prior to making changes in rudder trim. There is a note about two cases reported when, on big jets,the elevator trimming actuator started to move of its own accord due to an electrical fault. There is also a note to the effect that itis always safer and less damaging to an aircraft to land on only two wheels following the malfunction of one, rather than to make abelly landing. Incidents involving fast rates of sink experienced by big jets approaching over blast fences are examined, and figures aregiven showing that there is an area of downward flow extending downwind beyond a blast fence; wind tunnel tests have indicatedthe hazard to aircraft on the approach of blast fences located near the threshold. Other subjects covered are flag warning failures on VOR; inter-ference to radio navigation equipment by passenger radios, the views of Col P. Stapp of the USAF on backward-facing seats andseat "g" standards; accidents involving failure of landing gear micro-switches and frozen undrained water altering elevator tabbalance; and damage to cars caused by jet efflux during taxying. On the pilots' pet subject of "hear and be heard" the followingadvice is disseminated: "If you don't understand it, have it repeated. If you do understand it, repeat it. If you don't see it, sayso. If you do see it, say so. Could be he doesn't see you." The sources of the safety information given in Focus are givenand each item is provided with an index classification for ease of reference.
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