PAYING FOR SPEED

Evening Star, Issue 22451, 23 September 1936, Page 3

PAYING FOR SPEED

AMERICAN AIR LINES ADVANTAGES FROM AID GOOD ORGANISATION Speed costs money, and the American air lines have paid for it out of £36,000.000 in mail subsidies in 12 years (writes Major C. C. Turner, in the ‘ Daily Telegraph ’). During this period the British Government paid in subsidies to Imperial Airways only about £3,500,000. Other advantages arc enjoyed by the United States lines, as I found in my recent study of air transport conditions there. Petrol costs them about 7d a gallon, whereas the average in Great Britain is nearly twice as much, and Imperial Airways pays ou the Empire routes an average, I believe, of something like 2s 6d a gallon, owing to cost of transportation at outlying places. As in Great Britain, much has been provided for the air lines of the United States quite apart from mail contracts. The Department of Commerce maintains many essential services. There are many hundreds of municipal air ports which are not yet profit-making concerns any more than are those of Great Britain. The beacons and meteorological services are provided and maintained by the Department of Commerce. But the companies have spent lavishly on technical developments, and in this way they have been able to set standards for the world. VALUE OF RUNWAYS, In the United States there are 2,368 air ports and landing fields, and many hundreds of these have prepared runways. And there are other reasons for runways than the weather, which makes, the preservation of turfed surface difficult in most parts of the States. They greatly assist the take-off of air liners, and they reduce jolting, which deteriorates the machine and distresses passengers. _ Not only the areodromes ou our Empire lines, but those in Great Britain, civil and military, must have prepared hard-surface runways, especially now that retractable undercarriages are the rule. The principal companies spend money very liberally on the training of pilots and in equipment of air port buildings and offices. Transcontinental and Western have a research aeroplane, a true flying laboratory. They keep 18 older pilots whose sole duty, out of their great experience, is to advise acting pilots. Comparing American with British air liners, it will be seen that the Americans use more power for a given job of work than the British. Their air liners have been built for speed, and that means more _ powerful and therefore more expensive engines, greater consumption of fuel for an additional few miles per hour, and Jess pay load for power expended. The famous Douglas was developed at the instigation of Transcontinental and Western, who defrayed much of the great cost entailed. It soon became apparent that the clean design of this type allowed the best use to be made of power expended. In short, the Douglas demonstrated that economy of power may be secured by avoidance of waste due to unnecessary air resistance. BRITISH PREFERENCE. “ The Boeing about two years ago was the best medium-size air liner in the world, with its cruising speed of 180 m.p.h. and a high degree of comfort. It remains to-day one of the best, although the Douglas has beaten it in economy in maintenance, in comfort, and in sound-proofing in the cabin. The Boeing and Douglas belong to a class which Great Britain had not developed. Great Britain was not running inland air lines, but was concentrating on Empire routes and on reducing the wide margin between cost and revenue. The very big air liner was adopted, and after safety comfort was the goal. There was no urge to speed, and Imperial Airways claimed that air liners of 90 to 100 m.p.h. were fast enough even on the London-Paris route. This class of air liner is still in service, and is to remain in service for another year or twq. The Douglas, however, provided a good deal of comfort as .well as speed, and the chief points of superiority of the big, slow British air liners are “ four-engine reliability ” and superior accommodation. In the matter of behaviour in rough .air I cannot discover any advantage in the slow aeroplane. Certainly, I have seen fewer people ill in Boeings and Douglases doing 170 to 190 m.p.h. than I have in British 38seaters going at 95 m.p.h. AN IMPROVED MACHINE. An improved Douglas, the D.C.3, is now coming on to the American linos, and is being produced to the extent of at least 150. It is somewhat bigger than the D.C.2, and is faster and has greater range and load capacity. As a day aeroplane, it seats 24. As the sleeper transport, built for American Airlines, it carries 16, and there is a special dayroom for two persons at the cost of three fares. In small airliners Great Britain is holding her own, and there is none 'more satisfactory from the economy point of view than the De Havilland series. Indeed, the British industry offers the world a wider choice in small high-speed airliners than any other country. American air-line operators have been driven to forsake the costly competition which led to the production of such types as the Booing, the Douglas, and the single-engine Vultee; and a group of the five more important companies have combined in a demand for a new Douglas typo, one to he standardised for several years. The now Douglas is to carry 40 passengers for 900 miles non-stop, or 20 in sleeping compartments for 2,000 miles non-stop. _ A top speed of 230 m.p.h. and cruising at 193 m.p.h. at 60 per cent, of its power, or at 210 m.p.h. at 75 per cent., will be aimed at. The machine is to have four engines each of 1,000 h.p., and will he able to climb to 9,000 ft on any two engines. ALL BUILDING THEM.

It is a noteworthy fact that in all the principal European countries foui*engined 40-seaters arc now being built. Great Britain will have flying boats and land aeroplanes of this capacity. Tho new Annstrong-Whit-worth big four-engine machine in construction for Imperial Airways promises to rival nest year’s Douglas. Do Havilland’s have a new fonrengined type built on the lines of the famous “ Comet,which won the England-Melbonnie race. It is to have a cruising speed of more than 200 m.p.h. The very big machine is bettor suited to varying loads and circumstances than a smaller type, and with the increasing demand for air travel there can be no doubt that air pus-

sengers and freight in sufficient quantity will be available. ■On the other hand, the big machine is not at present consistent with the very frequent services which enable air lines to compete to best advantage against railroads. Mr Glen Martin, the famous flyingboat designer, remarked to mo recently, apropos the new mail subsidy terms to Imperial Airways; “ Now Great Britain will go ahead.” In his opinion, big technical developments are certain to accompany the programme of multiplied and accelerated British Empire services. But it is certain Great Britain will have to work very hard to hold her own against American competition.