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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 0910.PDF
888 FLIGHT International, I June 1967 An Eagle One-Eleven awaits its passeng*. one of the piers at Glasgow BRITISH EAGLE'S ONE-ELEVEN OPERATION . . . and extremely popular for families and children as there is no fatigue on the 2fhr journey time to Tunis," Mr Duffett said. A major selling factor is the hot-meal trolley service which is provided on most One-Eleven flights, the trolleys forming part of the galley installation. This ensures that passengers get their food piping hot with little or no delay. Jet flight times are so much shorter, particularly on the domestic services, that it would have been almost impossible to provide a full hot meal service without this new catering system. The same trolleys with different trays are used for cabin sales of duty- free goods. A pre-flight seating choice is also available on all One- Eleven services, including IT, and one tour operator has also successfully offered price reductions for children. Although the One-Eleven has never been intended as a cargo aircraft, Mr Peter Coultard, British Eagle's cargo manager, reports that "The One-Eleven freight capacity is substantially better than that of the Viscount. Overall the One-Eleven's capacity is well matched to our supplementary cargo require- ments. Average loads on flights which carry cargo is about 1,000kg—up to 1,700kg at times. Typically we carry about a ton of cargo in one hold, and all the passenger baggage in the other, and we don't have to lift any of it. The One-Eleven is good for small-package cargo: we carry gramophone Boarding G-ATTP at Heathrow, London's domestic terminal. Each Eagle aircraft carries its name prominently on the nose; One-Elevens have so far been named "Swift," "Serene," "Superb," "Stalwart," "Spur" and "Salute" records, electric razors, and cinema newsreels to Glasgow, car spares between London and Liverpool for Fords, and dry chemicals from Liverpool—also, in the summer, newspapers to Rimini and Innsbruck, fruit and vegetables from Dinard to London, and seafoods from Tunis." Responsible for One-Eleven scheduling and utilisation is Mr "Johnny" Johnson, planning executive, who said: "We bought One-Eleven 300s because we needed the extra range. Reliability has been so good that there has been no adverse effect at all on my side of the business. "The ideal British Eagle One-Eleven day consists of a morning and evening domestic service, a mid-day international service, and a late evening inclusive-tour flight, to obtain the best utilisation consistent with traffic requirements and the night jet restrictions at Heathrow. Our primary objective is to establish more scheduled services and the One-Eleven has greatly helped because on many routes a slower aircraft could not be fitted in. "Domestic schedules are governed by demand—morning and evening. The international traveller doesn't want to start too early in the day. The One-Eleven's quick turn-round is of great value—we can schedule much more quickly. Our terminal stops are 30min, including refuelling, whereas with Viscounts we have to schedule 45min. The One-Eleven is also quite easy to schedule to allow for maintenance down-time, and as our engineers become more familiar with the aircraft we expect it to become even easier." In the first eight months of operation—May to December 1966—the One-Eleven fleet was built up to five with an average utilisation equivalent to 1,300hr per year. This year the figure is being increased to 2,600hr. Speaking for the unanimously enthusiastic British Eagle pilots, Captain Peter Webb said: "The One-Eleven is the best aircraft I've ever flown. The flight deck is built with every- thing to hand—you can touch everything you need without any effort. Visibility is excellent. The workload increases due to shorter times is not noticeable. Automatic tuning to beacons and the twin radar scopes are particular assets. The APU gives you versatility with no need for ground help, and the One-Eleven is so easy to refuel. Systems failure warning shows up clearly right in front of you. It's a belt-and-braces aircraft —if something goes wrong, something else steps in. It's the only aircraft with which I can make an arrangement to meet someone at, say, 7.30 p.m. and be sure I'll be there on the dot. As the crews come in after flights you know where they've come from because of the time they arrive. Passengers are impressed by the positive rotation and climb." Captain "Paddy" Cormican added: "The flying controls, handling response and feel are all excellent, and there is no ; physical discomfort whatever. The flight-deck windows are so good it's just like being in a glasshouse after some other air-
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