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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0012.PDF
There has been competition in the design of a suitable load ing system for the new Carvair, and two prototypes have been built and evaluated. The scissor lift (top), designed by Aviation Traders, will probably be the unit used for loading cars, although the Littlegreen unit (lower picture) may also find a use in the freight role exacerbated by a high seasonal peak : trough ratio. On the Calais and Ostend holiday routes this is of the order of 10:1 and 4 :1 respectively; on the Rotterdam route the business is more even, of the order of 14 :1. The long-haul routes will have their problems too, but they will bring many economic reliefs. For example, it takes a clerk longer to make a booking to Geneva than it takes him to make one to Calais. This sort of effect, says Mr Douglas Whybrow, director of Channel Air Bridge, is likely to be felt in many ways throughout the operation. Obviously, Channel Air Bridge could not have contemplated operating new long-haul routes with Bristols. Indeed, the very feasibility of these long-planned routes has postulated the existence of a suitable aircraft. The story of how the Carvair came into being is probably well known by now; but it is good enough to withstand at least one more repetition. The Air Bridge's specification for the ideal second-generation ferry aircraft, drawn up four years ago, called for: (1) low first cost, (2) simplicity of servicing and overhaul, (3) about 70 feet of hold space (accommodation for five cars) (4) 25 passengers, (5) a payload of some eight tons, (6) faster (200 m.p.h.) and quieter than the Bristol, and (7) space for toilet and galley. The story goes, and it is a true story, that Mr Freddie Laker, managing director of the Air Bridge's parent company, said one day: "I've got an idea." That idea—sawing off the nose of a DC-4 and grafting on a new one—was thought about for many months, and it is now within a week or two of obtaining its certificate of airworthiness. Test flying was completed early in December. Three Carvairs will be delivered to Channel Air Bridge in time for the new long-haul services to begin in April. Seven more are to be produced for the Air Bridge, and will be delivered during the course of the next two years. Eight more are on option. Other airlines are already "nibbling." 12 FLIGHT International, 4 January 1962 Changes for the better invariably prompt the question: "How did we manage before?" Comparative profitability of the Bristol and Carvair, in very general terms, can be measured by a look at the Southend - Rotterdam route—which, incidentally, is still the longest vehicle-ferry air route in the world. Cost of the Bristol for the 330 statute-mile round trip is about £175, compared with about £200 for the Carvair. While the cost of the Carvair is about 15 per cent higher, its productivity, because it has half as much speed and carrying capacity again as the Bristol, is 100 per cent higher. At a guess, the Carvair's round trip revenue on the Southend - Rotterdam route is perhaps £370 compared with £185 for the Bristol. In a nutshell, therefore, the Carvair has up to double the revenue- earning capacity for a 10-20 per cent higher operating cost, depend ing on the route. Such an improvement cannot help but transform the economics of the whole Channel Air Bridge operation. In more detail, how does the Carvair stack up against the original specification, which seemed like a frivolous dream? The Air Bridge wanted low first cost; but it could scarcely have dreamed of a vehicle exactly matching its technical requirements that leaves a lot of change out of £200,000. A good DC-4 goes on the market today for anything between £35,000 and £45,000. Cost of the modifica tion, which is done by Aviation Traders Ltd (also a British United company, and apparently quite a thriving one), is about £105,000. On top of this are extras such as the tank seal, which the DC-4 requires after every 16,000hr, and the zero-timing of airframe and engines. (Cost of four zero-time Pratt & Whitney R.2000s and their Hamilton standard propellers is of the order of £12,000.) These and other smaller extras bring the total cost to a level which more than meets the original "low first cost" requirement. Had Channel Air Bridge spent £500,000 on a new turbine air craft of comparable work capacity, it would have found itself paying amortization charges of at least £70 or £80 an hour at a utilization of l,000hr a year. This would be as much as the total flying cost of the Carvair. The dream also specified simplicity of maintenance and overhaul. Not even the most cynical engineer could call the familiar DC-4 a can of worms. The expensive test equipment required for modern turbine airliners calls for what might be termed the "laboratory" rather than the workshop approach to maintenance. This is clearly apparent in the maintenance departments of Aviation Traders at Southend, where British United's Britannias, DC-6s and DC-4s and the Air Bridge's Bristols are maintained. Here, side by side, are two generations of test equipment. The Britannia's Proteus com pressor r.p.m. relay, to take one of numerous examples, requires for its 600hr check laboratory class equipment whose cost cannot be spread over other types in the fleet. Again, the Sperry SEP.2 auto pilots of the Britannia's and DC-6s have to be returned to the makers for overhaul, whereas the A.3 autopilots of the Bristols, DC-4s and Carvairs are overhauled by Aviation Traders. In short, the Carvair will not make Channel Air Bridge's maintenance bill soar, as would a modern turbine aircraft. How does the Carvair fulfil the rest of the dream ? Space avail able for cars is 69ft—only 12in short of the original requirement; passenger capacity is 23, compared with 25; payload is just over 8 short tons, instead of the original 8; there is space for a toilet and provision for galley service; cruising speed is 200 m.p.h., which is 45 m.p.h. faster than the Bristol; and the quietness and comfort of "The... quietness and comfort of the aft passenger cabin [of the Carvair] will be as good as in any turboprop airliner." The Carvair provides seating for 23 passengers plus a toilet and a galley PASSENGER DOOR
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