Decision This Year On New T.E.A.L. Aircraft

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28266, 2 May 1957, Page 9

Decision This Year On New T.E.A.L. Aircraft

Tasman Empire Airways is likely to make its final choice of a successor to the DC-6 between America’s Lockheed Electra and Britain’s Vickers Vanguard —and that choice will be made this year. That is the opinion of the airline’s vice-chairman (Mr T. A. Barrow).

Speaking in Dunedin, Mr Barrow said that the types at present being considered were the straight jets, Boeing 707 (ordered by Qantas), and DC-8, and the turbo-props Lockheed Electra, Britannia and Vanguard. The cost of the straight jet aircraft was about £1,750,000, while the smaller turbo-props were marketed at about £BOO,OOO, said Mr Barrow.

Vanguard’s Range Three points in favour of the Vanguard are that it is a turboprop, it is from the same firm which is building the Viscounts for the National Airways Corporation, and it is British. In October last year 20 journalists who attended a T.E.A.L. forum gained the impression that the Vanguard appeared "tailormade for the Tasman service and beyond.” A decisive factor may be tne Vanguard’s range of 3000 nautical miles or more, not counting the safety margin. Its "double-bubble” construction —upper and lower decks—gives the Vanguard considerable freight capacity. The passenger cabin of the Vanguard is one of the largest

ever designed for civil use, according to the manufacturers, and it consequently offers greater scope than most aircraft for varied lay-out. Its capacity for tourist services is 93, for “coach” services it is 128, and for mixed services 86— 36 first-class and 50 tourist-class. Electra’s Flexibility

The Lockheed company claims for the Electra that it is its "flexibility—embodied not only in suitability for large and small airports but also in ability to fly economically at altitudes from 5000 ft to 30,000 ft and over a wide variety of distances from 100 to 2700 miles—which above all other considerations . . . makes it best for short and medium routes.”

Its cruising speed is 495 miles an hour and it will land about 60 passengers on a 4650 ft runway. It would bring New Zealand within three hours and a half of Australia.

The Electra will carry from 66 to 91 passengers, depending upon the class of accommodation. It is 104 ft 6in long, and has a wingspan of 99ft. Orders have already been placed by, among others, National Airlines, Eastern Air Lines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Some 128 Electras have been ordered, at a cost of more than £B4 million.