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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 2030.PDF
832 Al R COM MERCE... already bad beyond belief and the rate of improvement in no way matches the growth of air traffic either in volume or speed. Pilots need good information, easily interpreted information. No computer can work efficiently if the initial parameters are in error. A human computer can hardly be expected to do better, but in the present state of the art he is required to. More attention is required in providing adequate information to the pilot. It is necessary for the whole aviation industry to be individually aware and remain aware in the flight safety business. Where there is an accident everyone is the loser, the nation, the manufacturer, the operator, the insurer, the victim. Flight safety cannot be turned on and off like a tap: it requires constant practice. Because flight safety is boring it requires constant restimulation. The ultimate in stimulation should be the thought that because every member of the audience is partly responsible for safety, every time there is an accident he must be able to say that he has examined his part in the affair and has found himself without blame. QANTAS v. BOAC THE annual report of Qantas is a welcome reminder that all is not rotten in the state of air transport. On all scores, Qantas can look back on 1962-63 with satisfaction as the year of the V-jet pay-off. During the previous two years the rapid fall in unit costs (due largely to the substitution of Super Connies by Boeing 707s) was more than offset by the decline in load factors. Come 1962-63, however, and everything started to pull in the right direction: costs continued to fall to a record low level equivalent in sterling to 26 pence per c.t.m.; traffic soared by 27 per cent as the Australian economy recovered from the doldrums of 1961, helped of course by the Olympic Games; and load factor jumped from 48 to 51 per cent. As far as average revenue rates were concerned, the position is obscure for the decline in average passenger fares must to a large Scheduled for completion in the spring, Prestwick's new air terminal is now rapidly taking final shape. Top, centre block of the finger with Customs offices on the roof. Below, beside the departure-transit lounge the vehicle ramp from the concourse to apron level is complete, and offices on the roof of the Ministry block are being glazed FLIGHT International, 21 November 1963 extent have been balanced by a massive increase in high-rated mail traffic (which now accounts for almost a fifth of QEA's total revenues). The report records a sharp fall in average revenue rates but this seems to be mainly the result of substantial pool-payments by Qantas to partners (including BOAC?) who were less successful at selling their wares. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that QEA, unlike BOAC, enjoyed a sharp increase in revenues which reached a peak of £A41m. Profits reacted no less favourably, the net figure after allowing for all charges (including interest on capital) rising to £A1.4m. Equally significant, the ratio of net assets to revenues— which in recent years has shown up rather unfavourably in the case of QEA—improved noticeably. On the basis of the 1962-63 evidence it seems likely that Qantas is now among that small and select band of financially sound airlines which manage to turn over their capital funds at least once a year. Also in contrast to BOAC, the Australian carrier is faced with an early shortage of capacity. To augment the existing fleet of 11 Boeings and four Electras, two additional 707-13 8Bs will be acquired next year and three Boeing 320Cs have been ordered for 1965. But perhaps the most interesting contrast is to be found in the financial data which show most clearly why the two airlines are experiencing such different results: whereas the average employee is paid £1,500 a year in BOAC and £1,200 in Qantas, the average revenue earned per employee is £4,200 in BOAC and £4,900 in QEA. AMERICA CATCHES UP FOR some years past operations staffs throughout the world have been waiting for the United States to produce an ICAO type Aeronautical Information Publication to replace a dozen assorted publications issued by different US civil and military authorities which had to be consulted previously. At the North Atlantic regional air navigation meeting two years ago, they promised to produce it by July 1962 and, 12 months after that date, it duly appeared. To cover over 7,000 airfields in the AGA section would be a hercu lean task and most understandably the Americans have not attempted it. The bulk of the international airports are given the full ICAO treatment in presentation and so are set out in very much greater detail than ever before. The rest of the smaller fields are still tabulated in the old "Airmen's Guide" format with the airfields listed in alphabetical order by States so that before any airfield can be located it is essential to know which State it is in. It would be ungracious to cavil at the style of the Airmen's Guide with its weird mixture of shorthand and estate agents' language (e.g., Thousand Oaks, Ranch Conejo. 5NW: 34°12, U8°55' 666 h42-*L4-S3-U F4 Rgt tfc NW. Ctn ngt lndgs, deer on rnwy. 600' of rnwy is lgtd remainder reflectors). For the benefit of the unin itiated masses this means "The field is five miles north-west of the town, its geographical position is as quoted and the elevation 666ft. There is a hard surfaced runway of 4,200ft, on prior request you can have runway or strip lights. Storage and minor airframe and powerplant repairs are available. U is 122.8Mc/s and no control tower, and F4 is 100/130 octane fuel and lower. The RAC section appears to be adequate although no approach- to-land charts are included. The FAL section is confined almost entirely to procedures for flight between USA and Canada; it would be helpful to have information of similar procedures for scheduled and non-scheduled flights from Europe. Another notable omission is the thorny question of landing fees and allied charges. The remaining sections appear satisfactory and the LbA may now, at last, join Aeronautical Information Services through out the world on much more equal terms. The amendment service has been both prompt and regular. Vienna Near Miss A London-bound Air-India Boeing 707 was damaged on November 12 following collision with a high mas^ while attempting to make an unscheduled landing in thick fo£ Vienna. The aircraft landed safely at Frankfurt. Vienna is not a normal stop on the Air-India London service but the aircraft w making a call there for Dr Kreisky, the Austrian Foreign Mmiste who was returning from an official visit to India.
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