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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0515.PDF
^™ FLIGHT International, U April 1963 493 Nord Aviation are hopeful that the' 262 will find a ready market amongst operators of DC-3s and similar aircraft in less developed areas. This photograph is one of the first air to air views of this aircraft to be taken since it first flew last December pass had an undetected permanent error of between 15c and 20°. On this occasion, if the visibility had been any worse, the aircraft would have struck high ground whilst using the radio compass indications to follow the approach procedure. Thinking back over the flight and wondering where the error had introduced itself, the captain realized that of about eight beacons which were tuned, two had been side-tracked by radar steers, one high-powered beacon which would have shown up the error had been off the air, and in the other cases VOR-tracking had reduced reliance on the radio compass. Also, the final leg of the flight had been over 300 miles of water and the apparent off-track position when the NDB came into range seemed to support the weather forecast on an increasing beam wind. The incident underlines the importance of using all the available beacons for constant position checks and to bring immediately to light any radio navigation equipment unserviceability. Not many DC-3s and similar airliners are normally fitted with more than one radio compass, but where there are two a cross-check should dis close the error. THE NORD 262 AS A DC-3 REPLACEMENT ON page 550 of this issue is a letter from Mr J. J. Furniss, the Director of Civil Aviation in East Africa, challenging a comment in the progress report on the Nord 262 that appeared in the February 21 issue of Flight International. The article remarked that Mr Furniss's statement at the Geneva Conference on science in the less developed areas on the failure of manufacturers to produce a suitable replacement for the DC-3 appeared to do less than justice to the Nord 262. The Director's letter repeats two points which he made at the Conference, and to which he claims the article did less than justice by omitting to mention. Although the article made no specific reference to Mr Furniss's first point that "speed is unimportant when you are competing with a bullock cart," it was felt that any speed advantage a DC-3 replacement might have is especially useful if it is achieved without adding to the first price, landing speed, and maintenance com plexity; or without influencing the ability to navigate by reference to the ground in conditions of low ceiling and poor visibility; and without loss of ability to fly from roughly prepared airstrips without radio navigation aids. Within the present state of the art, Nord Aviation would claim that the 262 does not unduly sacrifice any of these points to achieve its cruising speed. Although the first price of the 262 is considerably more than that of a DC-3, Catalina, or any of the dozen or more kinds of aircraft used in transport operations in less developed areas, any new aircraft designed to carry 26 passengers is likely to cost at least as much (£145,000) whatever the type of powerplant, cruising speed, and airfield performance. Apart from the more stringent modern design safety requirements and the associated high development expenses, other factors—such as high workshop-labour rates— will almost inevitably price a DC-3 replacement well above the cost of secondhand aircraft. Perhaps in a few years' time the F-27s, Heralds and Viscounts that will be replaced by pure-jet airliners and executive aircraft will be on the market for less than £ J 00,000; and the difference in price may pay for the necessary extension and strengthening of runways before such aircraft can be used from most airfields in these less developed areas. In comparing the 262 with Mr Furniss's general specification in the February 21 article, it was felt that his remark that "the aircraft being offered by manufacturers as DC-3 replacements were unsuitable." did less than justice to the 262 for four reasons. The Nord aircraft is designed to carry the same number of people as a DC-3; costs much less than the figure of £200,000 which he quoted as being the lowest offered by manufacturers; cruises only 35 per cent faster than the DC-3, admittedly at 11,000ft compared with 6,000ft, but still low enough for contact navigation, with the added advantage of pressurization for clearing high terrain; and finally a structure and systems that are very little more complicated than those of the DC-3. and based on bigger turboprop experience, should be no more difficult to maintain, as well as being generally no less reliable. Clearly, even the 262 will be expensive for many operators in the less developed areas, but Nord Aviation would undoubtedly claim that it will not require more ground support equipment or stronger runways than a DC-3, and certainly appears to come very close to meeting the most elusive of requirements. KLIYI AFFAIRS ONE of the first indications of how KLM's new management view the future pattern of the airline's development was revealed on April 1 by the integration of all KLM flights across the mid-Atlan tic with those of VIASA and Iberia. All three airlines operate DC-8s between Europe and Central America, VIASA chartering these aircraft from KLM. With each airline operating two flights per week, the consortium is able to offer a departure every week day between one or other of the European departure points of Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich, Rome, Madrid and Lisbon to Caracas, Curacao, Bogota or Lima. KLM and VIASA have had a commercial and technical co-operation agreement on the mid- Atlantic services for two years; and, although the new arrangement is far from a full pool agreement on revenues, the experience likely to be gained from it could develop into such an arrangement. Announced at the same time as the mid-Atlantic agreement is the speeding-up of KLM's Caribbean services by replacing DC-6Bs with Convair 880Ms, chartered from VIASA. As from May 1 the 880Ms will fly on the routes from Curacao to New York, Miami and Surinam, with the frequencies on the New York service increased to four times weekly. This announcement lends weight to the report that KLM's management have nearly decided it would be economically advantageous to get round the requirement for a medium-haul jet (for which the Boeing 727, D.H. Trident and Caravelle 10 are believed to be the finalists) by using the airline's existing fleet of DC-8s, possibly increased by three, on medium- range operations and—apparently—by chartering aircraft. How ever, KLM may well be in the market for a smaller short-range jet (such as the BAC One-Eleven or the DC-9) for its European operations, where competition in the next year will make jet air craft essential, and where it may not be possible to charter or buy suitable secondhand equipment. .Air Freighting Local Carrier Allegheny Airlines are converting a Convair 440 to an all-cargo configuration capable of carrying 12,0001b. The airline plans to begin services on May 1 between Newark and Cleveland calling at various intermediate points. This will be the first US local service carrier to enter the air freight business.
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