Flying Boat's Day Not Over, Says Expert

Chronicle (Levin), 11 February 1948, Page 6

Flying Boat's Day Not Over, Says Expert

Is the -~day ofy the flying boat ending? Mr.'Artliur Gouge, vicechairman an'd", "chief executive of Saunders-Roe, Ltd., Great. Bfitain, is emphatic that it is.'not,-nep6rts Alan Mitchell, N.Z. 'Er.ess Asso'ciation special "correspondent. Above the steady burr ,pf the rivetters at work on the hulls of t the. three giant 140-ton' flying-bbats now berng built'in the company's hangar on the lip of the W9;terfrbnt ^.t Cowes, Isle of Wight, he told me: — . 7 "Big 'flying-boats are the aircraft af the future. ,In 50 years' time -these . things will be child's play. I don't believe in the" theory that aircraft carrying only 40 to 50 passengefs are the most suitable for internatiorial airlines." Many people in aviation circles, however, difler from Mr. Gouge, and already there is a whisper that the Ministry of Civil Aviation is in two mnds as to whether these three new flying-boats shall/ be completed. They are gigantic things. They stand about 30 feet high, have a, wing spaii of 220 feet, and a length of 148 feet. They will be 'powered with 10 Bristol Proteus propellerturbine engines, eight of which .will be geare'd together on to one con-tra-rotating propeller system, four ■inboard units, and two single outboard units. Designed to maintain 10-hour non-stop services between Britain and New York, and allowing for the possibility of 90 m.p.h. headWinds, they will be able to operate at extreme range with 85 passengers. Their range in still air will be 5500 miles, they will be capable Of carrying 15,000 gallons or 49 tons of fuel, and cruise at 350 m.p.h. There will be- every comfort for passengers. The hull is,of.figure 8 section, the intersection of the

figure forming the floor of the upper deck. Roughly speaking, the eff ect is that of placing two nailway carriages one on top of the (other. On the lower deck seats 'will be placed five in' a row with a central aisle. There will • also be four-berth and two-berth cabins an'd a bar. On the upper deck will be a spacious dining- room, which can be cbnverted into' a cinema, and possibly another bar. . It is not. expected that the first of these flying-boats will fly before two years. After that a further year will be spent in trials. The cost of production of all three is estimated to be within £4,500,000, of which a proportion will „be the salaries and wages of more than 800 people.