Vol. 14, No. 9 Oct. 6, 1958 Airplanes • Missiles • Helicopters • Aircraft Engines • Spacecraft OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA • JET AIRLINERS: INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW New Era Of AIR TRAVEL Industry Risks $1.6 Billion A few weeks ago, America's first j et transport was delivered to an air­ line and it is now being service tested: on cargo runs. This month, jet service will be available to the public, and passengers will be fly­ ing a t speeds which a decade ago were possible only in the latest mili­ tary aircraft. Concurrently, American manufac­ turers will be delivering their fir st turboprops, planes which combine the smooth flight characteristics of the turbojet with the economy of the propeller. The advent of these new, turbine­ powered craft will provide consider­ able benefit s. To the airlines, they will mean a greatly increased seat­ PLANES mile capacity to handle the traffic growth predicted for the next decade. (See chart on this page.) To the Heat Transfer passenger, they will mean smoother, Laboratory Dust Storms Create Severe Test more luxurious fli ght, reduced time TechniaueI Retains in transit and elimination of much For Jet Pressurization Systems Close Tolerances of the fatigue that accompanies travel. To the defense effort, they J et plane pressurization systems to conform to engineering specifica­ A new time-savin g technique to will mean increased emergency air a re proving their reliability in vio­ tions. During one test, as much as retain close tolerances on corrugated lift, through airline assignment of lent d ust storms- created in the 25 pounds of fine dust are blown and flat steel surfaces following these planes to the Civi l Reserve Air laboratories of an aircraft and mis­ through the regulator at the rate of first- stage heat treatment has been Fleet. devised by an aircraft and mi ssile sile compa ny. .065 grams per pound of air. Massive T echnical Job These tests are designed to simu­ company. The 24--hour storms are one of a The long-awaited civil jet age in late dust satura ti on of cabin pres­ The principle is one of heat trans­ ser ies of environmental tests applied the United States involved years of surization systems. But as an added fer and tl 1e iJea is lo cool th e steel to plane parts to in sure trouble-free planning and preparation on the safety factor, normal saturation is in the minimum amount of time nec­ opera ti on in the fi eld. part of the aircraft industry, the ai r­ exceeded by as much as 100 times essary to retain tolerances. The In externa l dust tests a unit is lines and even the military serv ices, during each test. When the tests are process also eliminates wa r page and sealed in a 27-cubic-foot dust booth who coo pe rated to a great degree by completed, the components must loss o [ properties. fo r eight to twelv e hours. Dust is making available equipment, facili­ show no appreciable wear and be The dev ice used is a heat-treat s wirled a round the outsid e of the ti es and training aids to help ac­ operati ng effi ciently. cooling fixture - a 4- by 10-foot unit by blowers. Purpose of these quaint airline crews and ground per­ a lu minum plate which presses external tests is to ascertain the son nel with the techniques of han­ a ga in st a 5- by 12-foot slab and pene tration of dust into sealed units, d lin g turbine aircraft. Overhaul, Maintenance holds Hat or corrugated steel in be­ erosion on exposed surfaces and e f­ The development and construction tween, reta ining its sha pe and coo l­ fects uf contamination. To Cost $1.6 Billion of th is turbine Aeet wa s a technical in g .it simultaneously. In internal testing, a unit. such ~ s The military servi ces in Fiscal job of massive proporti ons. The When the steel is taken from the a bin pressure outflow valve, JS Year 1959 will spend a pprox ima te­ American peopl e a re, to some extent, a c . d .I d . furn ace in th e fir st-sta ge heat treat­ placed in operal.lon an sea e Jn a ly $1.6 billi on for th e overha ul a nd a wa re of thi s story, hav in g foll owed ment i l registers 1.400 degrees. dust chamber constructed by th e maintenance of their aircraft Heels. it through th e press as each suc­ Placed on the slab, the a luminum conl[J a. ny . OutHow valve s contro.l the App roximately 60 per cent of this cessiv e ste p was a nnounced. · ·eel cabin pressure by modu lat- a mount ($950 mi llion ) will be s pent plate descend s a nd within a ma tter d esll . Still la rgely untold, however, is . tl e air floww g ou t of an a irplane with private industry, the balance in of three or fou r minutes the steel is a nother eff ort on th e part of th e air­ JOg 1 govern ment-owned facilities. - coo led to room temperature under c raft industry- the task of fin a ncin g cabin. Trend of this program has been I thi s chamber sand a nd dust the principle of hea l trans fer. 11 to wa rd greater utiliza tion of private I he design. development a nd m~nu ­ l'terall y bl asted through the unit An a ir hoist lowers and lift the 1 facili ties to obtain the economic ad­ farture of these new planes. It I S a a re · f 1 24 vressed a1r .or as ong as · vantages of savin gs on training costs aluminum plate in to position for th e ~ t ory that reHects th e confidence ~[ by co ll1 . a tim e. Length of test and 1 a nd tooling, and the operational ad­ r oo ling operation whi ch in one hour the industry in America's economtc 10 ur> a . 1 · f dust and sand for ced . rnount o va ntage of engin eerin g changes will lower the meta l's tempe rature future . a th e regul ator are measured made by the aircraft bu il ders. from 1,400 to 60 degrees. throug 11 (S ee JET AIRLI NE R, Page 3 ) PLANES Planes is an official publication of the Aircraft Industries Association of America, Inc., the n ational trade associat.ion of the designers, developers and manufacturers of aircraft, missiles, space­ craft, their propulsion, navigation and guidance systems and other aeronautical systems and their components. The purpose of Planes is to: . Foster public understanding of the role of the aviatiOn m­ dustry in insuring our national security through develop- ment and production of advanced weapon systems for our A military services and allies; , . W Foster public understanding of commerc~al anti ~ eneral avi- ation as prime factors in domestic and mternatwnal travel and trade. Publication Office: 610 Shoreham Building, Washington 5, D. C. New York Office: 150 East 42nd Street, New York 17, New York. Los Angeles Office: 7660 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles 36, California. ALL MATERIAL MAY BE REPRODUCED WITH OR WITHOUT CREDIT -MATS OF CHARTS-PRODUCED IN UNITS OF STANDARD NEWS­ PAPER COLUMN WIDTHS-ARE AVAILABLE FREE UPON REQUEST Editor: Gerald J. McAllister Art Director: James J. Fisher A TURBOJET TRANSPORT ~~S 1 1 5 FEWER POWERPLANT C - TROLS AND INSTRUMENTS T~~~ THE PISTON-POWERED P~ ' MAKING IT EASIER TO f~ y. The Taxpayer Wi••s The aircraft and missil e i~du s tr y has a single customer for 85 per cent of its products-the Government. This basic difference betw een the aircraft and missile builders and other maj or manufacturers engend ers unique management responsibilities. The automobile industry, for example, points its product toward indi­ vidual consumers who make millions of separate decisions regarding which model to buy. Its executives invest or risk corporate funds in new models against a known market, knowing tha t their degree of suc­ cess hinges solely on these millions of individual preferences. TO EQUAL THE SPEED OF A 4-ENGINE J ~ Aircraft and mi ssile executives, however , make their decisions to TRANSPORT, A PISTON-POWERED AIRLINER invest funds in a particular project that could succeed or fail on the. WOULD REQUIRE 30 ENGINES. basis of the preference of its single big customer. 'PLANES' These decisions by aircraft and m issile company executives directl y affect U. S. taxpayers. F or example, a competitive procurement tech­ Building Rocket Plane nique for certain types of aircraft-off-the-shelf purchasing-has been Hot and Cold Affair AIR QUOTE developed by the military services. These aircraft would be used for a variety of missions such as navigator-bombardier trainers, fi ghter­ Development of a rocket-powered "Anyo ne in the mi ssile busi· interceptor trainers, aerial photographic planes, high priority cargo and aircraft, sched ul ed to be th e fir st ness including our chi ef competi· personnel transports. This differs from the usual competiti ons for mann ed plane to reach outer space, tor, is fa ced with development­ has been li terally a "hot and cold" produ cti on problems. Those wh o combat-type aircraft, such as heavy bombers, where design studies are affair. project Sovi et long-range missile presented to the military service, a nd a winner is selected on the basis For the most part, aircraft indu s­ strength into th e mass produ cti on of design and producti on ca pability.