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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 2390.PDF
FLIGHT International, October 18 1962 631 TOO MANY PILOTS MANY professional pilots are nowadays spending only three mouths of the year flying and the rest of the time "scratching a living from other sources," according to evidence submitted to the working party set up by the Minister of Aviation to go into civil aviation pilot recruitment and flying training. The recently formed Bedfordshire Air Centre, which makes this point, suggests that at present there appears to be a glut of com mercial pilots on the market. "This information is gleaned from the number of written applications and personal visits by pilots with the object of obtaining employment with or through us," the centre states. "Expansion of civil aviation is not moving fast enough to absorb the present flow of new pilots." The centre wants the Ministry to set up a selection committee for all professional training so that prospective pilots who are not suitable do not waste their money. It argues that any organization which attempts to teach the pilots of tomorrow on yesterday's aircraft "cannot be considered efficient for the task." "Modem equipment, facilities and teaching methods are essential if a school or centre is to be considered for approval," it declares. The Bedfordshire Air Centre, established on the aerodrome of the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield, was opened in June 1961 to help improve standards of flying tuition. It has a fleet of modern dual control aircraft, six instructors and all modern flying aids, including radar. The centre has nearly 200 flying members and specializes in the training of commercial pilots and instructors. EUROPE'S ODD MAN IN WHILE other European operators lament these unprofitable days of excess capacity and slow traffic growth, Spain's second airline, Aviacion y Comercio, goes from strength to strength. The recent report for 1961 shows that last year saw capacity go up by 60 per cent while unit costs were cut by 12 per cent to the remarkably low level of 24 pence per c.t.m. Traffic bounded up even more sharply, by 75 per cent, and although the revenue rate fell in the process this was more than offset by the rise in average load factor from 62 to 67 per cent. These results continue the radical improvement which has charac terized Aviaco's progress since its reorganization in 1959. If any one factor accounts for this transformation it has been the Board's realization that advantage could be taken of the equipment prob lems of the larger operators by acquiring modern, efficient capacity on favourable terms. First and foremost, the fact that Sabena's Convair 440 aircraft became uncompetitive allowed Aviaco to obtain a small fleet of three of these aircraft. So satisfactory has this type proved, both for inclusive tour charters and for domestic scheduled services, that the Metropolitan fleet has now grown to six. Secondly, a DC-4 has been chartered from Iberia and this has contributed to Aviaco's further development of charter services, particularly between Palma and the UK. Iberia has also provided DC-3s which have been put on to the thinner domestic routes, thus allowing the Herons—which have never been profitable—to be retired. And finally, the charter from Sabena of a DC-6B, now replaced by a Caravelle, has allowed effective participation by Aviaco on the lucrative routes linking metropolitan Spain to Brussels and the Canary Islands. The airline's two main shareholders, Iberia and the Instituto Nacional de Industria, are also given an enthusiastic picture of the prospects for 1962. Early in the year, the government at last approved a general increase in Spain's domestic fares and this will allow Aviaco's internal network—which is still the basis of the airline's operations—to be put on to a more economic footing. And although the meteoric traffic growth shows signs of slackening, the company's financial position is expected to show further im provement. Up to the present all the recent profits have been ploughed back to make up for the inadequate depreciation provi sion of previous years. But it looks as though the day is approach ing when Aviaco's patient shareholders will see a satisfactory return once again on their investment. BUA Britannias to the Canaries On Saturday, October 27, British United will replace the Viscounts on their Canary Islands services with Britannias. Seating accommodation will be 16 first-class and 62 tourist. BO AC to New Zealand Next April BO AC Comet 4s will operate the first ever through air services from Britain to New Zealand, operating from Sydney to Auckland across the Tasman Sea in partnership with TEAL and Qantas. Indian 748 Plans Indian Airlines are reported to have agreed to complete their DC-3 replacement programme with Indian-built 748s rather than with Friendships. lAC might have a requirement for 15 or 20 748s. The production rate at Kanpur will, it is re ported, be at a rate of two per month next year rising progressively to 40 aircraft per year. The Indian Air Force is thought likely to require at least 70. The Cost of Undercutting Sir Hudson Fysh, past president of IATA, is reported to have said during a recent visit to Hong Kong that the airlines lost about £25m—half their total loss—last year due to rate-cutting practices. This is the first published estimate of the cost to IATA of rate cutting; in Dublin last month Sir William Hildred said that the figure was not easily measured. • More Money for ATCOs? Following the Ministry of Aviation's recent rejection of a claim by air traffic control officers for a salary increase of between 15 and 17 per cent, the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal has been hearing the ATCOs' claim in London. If granted, Grade 1 officers' salaries would go up from £1,992 maximum to £2,356 maximum, and Grade 3 from £1,539 maximum to £1,761 maximum. The annual cost of the claim is estimated to be about £180,000. The Ministry of Aviation's offer of about 4f per cent would cost about £52,000 a year. Possibly the oldest airliner in regular passenger operation, this 1928 16-passenger Ford 5-AT-B is in daily service with TATSA-Transportes Aereos-Terrestres, SA, Tayoltita, Durango, Mexico. The airline operates between Tayoltita and Mazatlan
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