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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0299.PDF
FLIGHT International, 28 February 1963 283 AIR CO E R C E MR CORBETT'S REPORT WHEN the Minister of Aviation, Mr Julian Amery, receives Mr John Corbett's report on BOAC it is unlikely that he will show it to Parliament. This is the import of his reply to a question from Mr John Rankin in the House of Commons on February 18. Mr Rankin asked whether the Minister was "going to bring it [i.e., Mr Corbett's report] to Parliament" before he took any further steps. Mr Amery replied: "I am awaiting first of all Mr Corbett's report, which is to be a report to me, and I will then of course tell the House about—and no doubt discuss with the House— any steps I may take beyond that." So far as present policy can be interpreted, therefore, the Minister will take action on BOAC on the basis of an inquiry which will not be made public. BEA'S JET PILOTS TWO years ago, when BEA's Comet 4B pilots were objecting to the corporation's third attempt to get "four-sectors per duty" crew schedules adopted, Mr Anthony Milward, chief executive of BEA, described the future trends in aircrew utilization as "vital to the corporation's economy." At that time (Flight, March 10, 1961, page 323) we noted that BEA captains flew an average of 575hr in 1959-60 compared with an average of 587hr for the previous five years, and that first and second officers flew 553hr compared with 564hr. What has happened since then? With four-sector duties in being, Table 1 shows the increase in the number of sectors flown by Comet crews during the last two years compared with the generally con stant situation in the other fleets. Even so, the average number of Comet flights per crew member is still below that for the Viscount and Vanguard fleets. At the moment, Dr H. P. Ruffell Smith, an experienced pilot and doctor, is heading an investigation into cock pit workload, based on a system of points for various duties carried out. This investigation has been under way on BEA's Comet flight for almost a year, one of its main objectives being to determine whether jets impose a greater workload on crews than turboprops. Table 1: Average number of sectors per an Comets Vanguards Viscount 800s Viscount 700s 1959-60 Copt 352 289 IstOffr | 410 334 Turn 1960-61 Copt 209 375 348 IslOffr ! 287 445 442 1961-62 Copt j IstOffr 275 310 279 463 352 388 411 500 Taking BEA aircrew operations as a whole, Table 2 shows a fall during the last two years of around 9 per cent in the annual flying hours of captains, and nearly 10 per cent in the case of first and second officers. Table 2 fying hr-effective duty hr Captains 1st & 2nd Officers Average BEA sector duration Number of trips Captains 1st & 2nd Officers 1959-60 575-1,641 553-1,522 1.50 384 369 1960-61 577-1,602 589-1,504 1.40 412 420 1961-62 530-1,524 535-1,433 1.30 407 411 second officers 11 per cent. As might be expected, BEA's expen diture per capacity ton-mile fell 8.1 per cent on crew salaries, and 24.5 per cent on crew expenses. During the same period, BEA's total cost per c.t.m. fell 5.6 per cent. Obviously the BEA flight operation's department has taken the C.X's remarks to heart. Whilst there can be no doubt that navigating fast jet aircraft on busy airways and in accordance with approach procedures does impose a heavy strain on aircrews, there are nevertheless some compensating factors compared with flying old propeller-driven aircraft—such as shorter flight times, simplified engine and systems handling, and pleasanter cockpit conditions. Although from BEA's point of view the trend in aircrew utiliza tion of the past two years has been satisfactory, both they and the pilots are eagerly awaiting the results of the Ruffell-Smith "points- system" investigation to form the basis for a set of mutually agreed standards for working out crew schedules. Munich Accident Inquiry To Re-Open? A report recently com pleted by Capt Josef Reichel, chief accident investigation officer of the West German Government, is expected to lead to the re-open ing of the inquiry into the 1958 BEA accident at Munich. As reported last week de Havilland Trident 02 escaped from Britain's bad weather to continue its tests from Malta. The crew of 19 observers and technicians was commanded by D.H. test pilot Jimmy Phillips. His co-pilot was Capt W. R. Mitchell of BEA's Trident development flight But with the shorter BEA average flight time associated with the introduction of Comets and Vanguards, the number of trips in a year performed by captains has risen 6 per cent, and first and
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