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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1695.PDF
FLIGHT, 79923 November 1961 '•plight" photograph Commercial Aircraft of the World A "FLIGHT" SPECIAL SURVEY, No 6 IN AN ANNUAL SERIES THIS is our sixth annual survey of the world's commercial aircraft, compiled by the Air Transport Editor and illustrated with drawings by "Flight" technical artists. This year we have decided to omit the engineering cutaway drawings that have been a feature of previous issues. In their place, in the belief that they fulfil a greater need in the airline operating industry, we have included a larger number of the exclusive "Flight" airline operators' reference drawings. Illustrations of this kind appeared in the previous two annual surveys, but were fewer in number and less detailed. A note overleaf explains the purpose and presentation of these drawings. The survey covers all commercial transport aircraft which are in service, in pro- duction, or projected. A line has been drawn, with a few exceptions, above a maximum take-off weight of 10,0001b. A brief history of each type is given, with the salient dates in its development; a list of orders is included for each of the types currently in pro- duction; basic, new or typical current resale prices are quoted wherever possible; and powerplant, dimensions, weights, fuel capacity, payload accommodation and performance are presented in standardized form—as supplied, in answer to question- naires, by the manufacturers. In the few instances where manufacturers have not returned completed questionnaires (the only major example is Convair), figures published in the previous issue, brought up to date with information published since, have been included. Obviously, perfection in a compilation of this kind, which contains some ten thousand items of information, is difficult to achieve—particularly in respect of the older aircraft now out of production, weights of which have gone up over the years and which have been extensively modified. We therefore welcome comments of the kind received last year from an Argonaut skipper who wanted to know who had heard of an Argonaut cruising at 329 m.p.h.; and from the DC-3 operator who doubted very much whether a DC-3 with maximum fuel could carry a payload of 8,6001b over a stage-length of 2,505 st miles. EXPLANATORY NOTES: In the data lists "cabin volume" and "maximum usable floor area" are exclusive of the flight deck; "baggage and freight volume" is exclusive of the passenger cabin; and "weight less fuel and payload" is the weight of the aircraft otherwise ready for service. Payload-range performance is quoted on a theoretical no-reserves basis for the purpose of comparison. Range with maximum payload (range A), and ultimate range with maximum fuel (range B) are stated for operations in still-air, ISA conditions at optimum speeds and altitudes. Construction of a payload- range sketch is made possible by inclusion of the payload that can be carried over range B. Cost curves have not been included, because these are valueless unless they are drawn to a very carefully defined set of common assumptions.
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