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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1791.PDF
600 Al R COMMERCE . . . McALPINE ESTABLISH CHARTER SERVICE AFTER 16 years of business flying with a considerable fleet of aircraft and their own maintenance organization, the aviation division of Sir Robert McAlpine and Sons, the civil engineers, have started a charter service with two Cessna 310s from their base at Luton. Additional aircraft will be added in due course, including one or more Helio Super Couriers. McAlpine are distributors for this type, and they have also operated and distributed Piaggio P. 166s for some years. Their sizeable maintenance base at Luton serves their own fleet, but also undertakes maintenance and conversion work for numerous other operators, including the National Coal Board, Enfield Rolling Mills, Rolls-Electronic, BICC, British Oxygen Co, United Breweries, two helicopter operators, BUA, Euravia, Skyways, motor racing drivers Jack Brabham and Innes Ireland, and Colin Chapman. Aircraft are sent for major maintenance from as far afield as Africa. McAlpine have operated Helio Couriers extensively, flying from unprepared strips 200yd long all over the country. The Courier offers a unique combination of high cruising speed and good range with STOL capability which, McAlpine find, make it more useful and econo mical for personnel transport than a helicopter. With all this experience, McAlpine should be in a good position to provide the charter service; and the forthcoming 24hr operation of Luton airport should considerably extend the usefulness of the base. Customs and night flying facilities are already available. McAlpine offer charter service primarily within the UK, but can also operate abroad if necessary. Cost of journeys would vary between 9d and Is per passenger mile for a fully occupied four- passenger aircraft. On a sample round-trip journey from Luton to Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and return, completed comfortably in one day, the total cost would be approxiately equal to that of a chauffeur-driven limousine, overnight stay for the whole party and extra meals, but a working day would be saved by travelling by air. The time saved and the reduction in wear and tear are the factors of incalculable but tangible value which air travel can save. Sample flight times (in one direction) and total cost for a return journey from Luton are: Belfast, lOOmin £128; Edinburgh, lOOmin £128; Exeter, 60min £70; Newcastle, 70min £91 5s; Cardiff, 55min £60; Manchester, 45min £70. Even greater saving in time is achieved when several centres have to be visited in one day. McAlpine are convinced that this type of business flying will increase and that the airfields available will also become more numerous. MoA, Air Ministry and USAF are all assisting in providing landing facilities at their bases. There is more than enough work for all the operators in the field and co-opeiation between them, either formally|or[informally, could provide additional benefits to both operators and customers. McAlpine could addi tionally transport freight and provide aircraft for air-to-ground photography. McAlpine's aviation division is managed by Mr R. J. Young, but the operations superintendent for the charter service is Capt Turner, who can be contacted at Luton airport and by telephone at Luton 8073 and 4182. By the time the service was officially announ ced, the news had already spread and several charter requests had been received. FLIGHT International, 10 October 1963 KLM AFFAIRS DURING a special meeting of KLM shareholders, the chairman of the board, Mr Den Hollander, said that the airline is still dis cussing the possibility of co-operating with a charter company. Commenting on the aircrew association's proposal that the airline should form a non-IATA subsidiary, Mr Den Hollander said that neither this nor the co-operation scheme would solve the problem of pilot redundancy. Although the name of the charter company concerned has not been revealed, it is widely believed to be Martin's Air Charter based at Schiphol. This small company, led by 30-year-old Martin Schroder, operates one DC-4, two DC-3s, and two DH Doves mainly on charter and holiday traffic. A further reduction of about 1,500 in the number of KLM staff is expected to be announced shortly. Since March 1961 the number of people employed by the airline has fallen by 3,000, and now stands at about 15,300. At the shareholders' meeting, which was to approve the appointment of Dr G. van der Wal as vice-president of the company, a spokesman for the shareholders said that many of them, for understandable reasons, were upset at the way things were going with KLM. The reorganization of the company had now been in hand for some time and this is not the first occasion this year that shareholders had been asked to approve a new management appointment. Commenting on the present KLM traffic situation, Mr Den Hollander said that, intensive sales campaigns notwithstanding, traffic still remained below expectations, especially on the North Atlantic and Far Eastern routes. On the subject of costs, he said, KLM had been able to lower the general level in spite of rising wages, but the final cost objectives would mean a wage pause for some time to come. Within the very near future KLM are expected to announce their choice of short-range jet for European operations. There seems every likelihood that the Fokker F.28 will be chosen in conjunction with a Government decision to assist with development expenses. Tripartite Concorde? Mr Robert Six, president of Continental Air Lines, who has booked an order for Concordes, recently proposed in Los Angeles that the United States should join Britain and France in the development of the Mach 2.2 Concorde and that in return the USA should invite Britain and France to join in the development of a Mach 3 transport. If America could propose a joint Moon project with the Russians, he said, it should be ready to embark on joint supersonic aircraft developments with "two of our best friends." An FAA spokesman is reported to have said that the proposal was not practicable. BOAC-Cunard Permit Recommended The CAB examiner recommended on October 1 that BO AC should be allowed to have its US permit modified to enable it to operate for and on behalf of BOAC-Cunard. Background to the recommendation was given in this journal for August 15, page 228. More 748 Tankage Increased tankage is announced by Hawker Siddeley for the 748. Total fuel capacity is 1,408 Imp gal, a 24 per cent increase. The introduction of a new tank sealant has enabled this to be achieved without increase in structural weight. Disposable load of the 748 was recently increased by 1,5001b. The first VCI0 fuselage with I40in x 80in freight door is seen here being moved into the final assembly area at Weybridge. This is the first of two standard VCIOs on order for Rritish United. As reported last week, eight ofBOACs 30 Super VCIOs are to have similar doors and reinforced floors for mixed- traffic work
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