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Aviation History
1970
1970 - 1352.PDF
no AIR TRANSPORT. . . FLIGHT International, 23 July 1970 Dan-Air chooses Nord British independent airline Dan-Air is introducing the Nord 262—on the British register for the first time—to its domestic scheduled services. Below, HUGH FIELD examines the thinking which led to the airline's choice, and in the following article he looks at certi fication problems and handling from a pilot's point of view. N EXT MONDAY, July 27, Dan-Air is scheduled to introduce the Nord 262 on its short-haul internal routes, thus end ing 17 years of continuous DC-3 operation. On that date the company breaks with tradition in another respect by moving its third-level operating base from Bristol to Newcastle. As, over the years, companies have sought a DC-3 replace ment, most have found that the choice was limited and that any of the available types would dictate some change in the route structure if it was to be operated to the best advantage. Dan-Air was reluctant to make changes to its routes for there has been a steady demand for the Bristol-Cardiff-Liverpool- Newcastle service for many years which has generated useful goodwill. To Lulsgate, Dan-Air's DC-3 has been very much "their" aeroplane to the extent that some weeks ago, when the date for the last DC-3 service became known, one regular commuter insisted on booking for the last flight, "whenever it finally takes place." Over a year ago, Dan-Air started a serious programme of evaluation, including route proving, which led to an order for a Handley Page Jetstream in 18-seat form. A lightweight ver sion of the North West Industries interior was to have been used and Dan-Air felt that the aircraft would offer a sound compromise between ruggedness and passenger appeal. The company planned to take delivery in January and to phase out the DC-3 by March at the latest. Because of the uncertain state of Handley Page during the autumn of 1969, it was in tended to lease the aircraft at the start but both the manufac turer and the operator were confident that Jetstream sales would be stimulated by its introduction on third-level UK routes; the aircraft would then have been, bought outright and a repeat order was a strong possibility. The Dan-Air Jetstream remains on the floor at Radlett following the end of work on the project in February, and Dan-Air was forced to start again to seek a replacement for the DC-3, now a matter of increased urgency as it was desirable to avoid the expense of a further Check 4 and C of A re newal. It is interesting to note the record of this particular DC-3 ("PP") which was bought from Scottish Aviation in 1961; at that time it had flown 6,320hr since being built in 1943, but this figure now stands at over 18,000hr. Larger types considered Having decided that a pressurised turboprop would best suit its requirements, Dan-Air was forced to look towards larger types than had been the original intention. A second hand Viscount or Herald would have been possibilities but a low first cost had to be coupled with low operating costs. The proven short-haul record of the Nord 262, in both Europe and the USA, was attractive and negotiations were opened with Air Ceylon who were looking for a larger machine. Their 262 was flown to Nord at Melun-Villaroche for refurbishing and certification by the ARB and emerged in Dan-Air's livery early this month. Final outfitting of the interior with 29 seats has been completed at the company's Lasham maintenance base. This week has been spent completing the route training and operational requirements for the issue of an Air Operator's Certificate. The decision to close the Bristol base and to operate the Nord from Newcastle has been dictated by Dan-Air's future plans for its northern routes. At present the DC-3 West Coast route is keyed in with a scheduled service between the Isle of Man, Carlisle, Newcastle and Kristiansand flown by an Ambas sador. It is planned to use the Nord 262 on this route at some future date and so the opportunity has been taken with the introduction of the new type to centre the company's opera tion on Newcastle. Four captains and five first officers have been given type conversion and, allowing for a small element of non-scheduled flying, the aircraft is expected to complete 2,150hr in its first year in service. On to the British register IN A LEADING ARTICLE in Flight for April 1, 1960, the Max Holste Super Broussard was hailed as a "unique DC-3 re placement." Of the available types, the Twin Pioneer and Caribou were felt to be too specialised while the HS.748, Friendship, and Herald were described as "proper airliners" and hence regarded as too sophisticated. The Super Broussard was unpressurised and it was not until Nord had taken over design responsibility in November 1960 that work was started on the pressurised version with 'the type number 262. Certifica tion was completed in July 1964, by which time orders had been received from Air Inter, Japan Domestic Airlines and Lake Central Airlines. Sixty Series A aircraft with Bastan VI engines have been delivered and a further 13 are ordered but the company has now started marketing the Series C with Bastan VII engines, first deliveries being to the French Air Force. Whereas the Series A uses water methanol for power re covery in hot and high conditions, the Bastan VII in the Series C has been re-engineered to give a higher maximum power output. By increasing mass flow and by the addition of a second axial compressor stage, maximum power is increased to 1,360 s.h.p. but this is flat-rated to 1,045 s.h.p. (60 s.h.p. more than the Bastan VI), so there is a large margin in hand for power recovery under adverse conditions without re course to water methanol injection. This development is directed at improving sales overseas and is not intended to confer a performance improvement in temperate climates; some of the surplus is used to provide an increased a.c. electrical capacity. I visited Melun to discuss some of the recent Nord 262 developments with Ingenieur-en-chef Jacques Hablot and to see for myself the first French commercial transport to be certificated by the ARB. Accepting that the type has held FAA certification under FAR 25 for five years, it would be reasonable to expect that UK certification would present no problems. Following the first ARB test flight of the Dan-Air aircraft, three areas were felt to be in need of improvement. This machine is a Series A airframe with Bastan Vis but it was felt that the higher-capacity electrical system developed for the Series C should be installed, partly to cater for the engine anti-icing load and partly because changes were called for in the stall-warning system. One of my main aims in flying the Nord 262 was to see what aspects of the stall could be considered objectionable or dangerous, because this is an area where the ARB appear to have taken a strong line lately. The crux of the problem is the extent of the nose drop in relation to the wing drop and there are signs that this problem is more than usually critical where a significant portion of the wing lies in the slipstream of a constant-r.p.m. turboprop. The ARB is naturally concerned to legislate in relation to the worst case, where a combination of mishandling at high weight in turbulent conditions may lead to a warning horn being ignored or at any rate to a slow
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