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Aviation History
1972
1972 - 1709.PDF
10 AIR TRANSPORT got up at 6 a.m. and driven some 40 miles specially to experience it. It was variously described as a double rifle-shot or a detonation similar to quarry blasting. The most general reaction was "What's all the fuss been about?" although it was also generally agreed that the noise would be acceptable in the daytime, but definitely not at night as a regular thing. Bill Ford, the BAC assistant sales engineering manager at Filton, who toured the area with a precautionary BAC cheque book, reported that he was unable to find so much as a broken cup to pay for. Qantas' interest in the Sydney-Broome corridor is of course closely bound up with its desire for a non-stop route, mainly supersonic, between Sydney and Singapore. BAC officials are confident they can give this, even with the first production models of Concorde, provided the airline is prepared to accept the possibility, in a few instances of unfavourable weather, of rescheduling in flight for a refuelling stop at Darwin. It is being pointed out, not unreasonably, that this was common practice during the early days of transatlantic operation by Comets and 707s, and it is not unknown even today in aircraft captains' FLIGHT International, 6 July 1972 flight plans, even if it does not appear in the passenger timetables. A pattern of supersonic corridors is already beginning to emerge world-wide. The Shah of Persia has given the green light for over flying; the same, probably, can be expected from Saudi Arabia, and the Russians are making encouraging noises about a Siberian corridor linking London and Tokyo in 7hr, with a refuelling stop at Norilsk in Northern Russia. The fierce hostility stirred up in Japan is undeniable. But in Australia, where the Anti-Concorde Project had spent some time trying to ensure a hot reception for 002, there were clear signs of a backlash and some local exaspera tion with "ecopanic" tactics. In view of the highly selective nature of the Australian newspaper clippings now being circulated by the ACP, it might be worth recalling some thoughts in the Sunday Telegraph of Sydney the day after 002 landed. "For many people," snorted the Telegraph, "stopping the Concorde has become a tiresome obsession. It would be a pity if the strident protests of a minority succeed in denying Australians the benefits of a new era in travel. Australians need supersonic aircraft more than anyone else, to bring us closer to a world of power and ideas. So let's give Concorde a fair trial." SIAM ONE-ELEVEN AIR Siam, the privately owned Thai carrier which sus pended operations in mid-January, has resumed flights as far as Hong Kong. It is now flying twice-daily from Bang kok with a BAC One-Eleven 400 leased from millionaire shipping and property magnate Robin Loh, who originally bought the jet for executive use. Until the suspension Air Siam was operating twice- weekly over the Bangkok-Hong Kong-Tokyo-Honolulu-Los Angeles route with a DC-8-63 leased from Overseas National Airways. This service, first launched in March 1971, is expected to restart within three months. AIR INTER TOPS GROWTH TRAFFIC of the three major French airlines in 1971 was less than 4 per cent up on 1970, according to figures issued by the French Ministry of Transport. Air Inter achieved the greatest growth (in load tonne-km) on the previous year—7 • 3 per cent—while UTA recorded almost 5 per cent and Air France just over 3 per cent. UTA reported a notable increase—18-4 per cent—in its trans-Pacific scheduled passenger traffic, which is about a quarter of its total. The airline's overall load factor fell, however, by almost three percentage points. For Air France the strongest passenger growth was on its Near East routes—35 per cent—which represent under a twentieth of its scheduled traffic. The more important Central and South American routes were up by 15-6 per cent, but North American traffic fell by more than 5 per cent. Asian traffic declined by a similar amount, and intra- European traffic was up by a mere 2 • 2 per cent. Air Inter reported the strongest growth of freight traffic —16 • 4 per cent—but it has a minute share of the total for the three airlines; for the other two the increase on 1970 was just over 3 per cent. CONTROL-SYSTEM TESTING A NEW research and development test bed for evaluating automated air traffic control terminal systems is being established by the US Federal Aviation Administration at its National Aviation Facilities Experimental Centre at Atlantic City. The new terminal automation test facility (TATF) will be used to study various methods for expanding the capabili ties of the basic automated radar terminal system (ARTS III) at present being installed at 61 airports. Other projects will include testing of experimental configurations of ARTS II and other systems designed for low-activity radar towers as well as a data distribution and display system for "non-radar" towers. Some of the specific projects scheduled for TATF include metering and spacing, factors affecting the relationship of man and machine, flight-data distribution and conflict alert demonstration. MAJOR FRENCH AIRLINES: TOTAL TRAFFIC*, 1971 Airline Passengers carried (thousands) % change Passenger-km (millions) % change Air France UTA Air Inter Total Cargo tonne-km Total load tonne-km Weight load factor (%) (millions) %change (millions) % change 1970 1971 6,387 388 2,833 9,608 +4-1 + 70 +6-7 +50 10,980 2,100 1,391 14,471 +30 + 60 +70 +3-8 Source: Ministere des Transports. Includes scheduled and non-scheduled traffic. 422 140 566 +3-2 +3-3 + 16-4 +3-1 1,410 329 118 1,857 +3-1 +4-9 +7-3 +3-7 53-5 57-8 58-7 54-5 53-7 54-9 59-2 54-3 Seen during pre-delivery crew training at Shannon recently is this ex-Aer Lingus Boeing 707-348C, EI-AMW (now LX-LGV). Luxair's second 707, it is expected to be used on services to Johannesburg operated in association with Trek Airways
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