AVIATION: New Stars in the Sky

At war’s end, the British aircraft industry gave up any immediate hope of turning out the best conventional airliners in the world. It left that to the U.S., which in wartime had concentrated on bombers and transports (easily convertible to commercial use) while Britain bore down on fighter production. Instead, the British, who had led the world in developing jet engines, put their brains and money to work on jet transports, which they hoped would some day make current U.S. airliners obsolete.

Last week, it looked as if the British gamble was ready to pay off. At Farnborough Airfield, in Hampshire, Britain’s aircraft builders showed 180,000 spectators a fleet of sleek new commercial planes that were well ahead of anything the U.S. has in the air or abuilding. Among the 59 new fighter and commercial planes were the world’s first jet transport plane, the first turbo-prop (turbine-driven propeller) transport, and other turbo-prop transports ranging from feeder planes to ocean hopping giants. As an added fillip, there was the Brabazon, the world’s largest land transport plane, which had been test-hopped only a fortnight ago. Crowed the London Times: “Already America has had to buy British jet engines; in the not far distant future, it may have to buy air frames as well.”

Team Play. Britain’s triumph in aircraft design was due to a combination of free-enterprising plane builders, Labor government financing and good planning. It did much to wipe out the government’s flop with the Tudor planes which had cost British taxpayers an estimated $28 to $40 million. As far back as 1942, the government had put grizzled Baron Brabazon of Tara (who holds Britain’s Pilot License No. 1) at the head of a committee which mapped out five basic postwar types to go after the world plane market. Last week prototypes of all but one (which was never started) were at the order-taking stage.

As its biggest exhibit, Britain had the Bristol Brabazon, whose eight reciprocating engines (later to be replaced by turbo-jets) will carry 100 passengers 5,500 miles at 250 m.p.h. cruising speed, in high-altitude (25,000 ft.) comfort with staterooms, bar, and movies in the lounge. For medium-range flights, Britain had the Vickers 4O-passenger Viscount and Armstrong Whitworth’s 31-passenger Apollo, both turboprops. For feeder-lines, it had both De Havilland’s reciprocating engined Dove (eight to eleven passengers) and Handley Page’s 22-passenger turboprop, the Mamba Marathon.* But the star of the show at Farnborough was De Havilland’s 36-passenger Comet, the first four-engined jet transport, which took off and then flashed overhead at better than 500 m.p.h.

U.S. airmen were not worried about the Brabazon; they thought it too big, slow’ and expensive. But the Comet was a bird of a different feather and stood an excellent chance to cut into the transport market now dominated by U.S. planemakers. As one U.S. airman said: “America is going to have to produce something within one year. If the jets hold up to expectation, Comet will sweep the board.”

Free Hand. If it did, Britain could thank sharp-faced, elderly (66) Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland. Sir Geoffrey, who had designed and flown his first plane in 1909 (it crashed), has turned out some of Britain’s best-known military planes (Mosquito, Vampire). It was his firm that developed the famed Ghost jet engine that shot a De Havilland fighter to the world’s altitude record (56,400 ft.) and started Sir Geoffrey thinking about a jet transport.

Sir Geoffrey, a free-enterpriser, wanted to build the first Comet for the government without government interference. To win that freedom, along with the necessary government contract, he risked a heavy loss by accepting a penalty clause. If the Comet was not completed on time and did not perform as specified, he would have to pay the cost himself. He won the bet. He reckons that his Comet can cut the New York-to-London run to six hours, make the round-trip possible in one day. As a result of such enterprise, Sir Geoffrey last week was getting a big share of Britain’s aircraft export orders (£18.5 million for 1949’s first half, a 48% increase over the 1948 rate). He already has orders from the British government and British Overseas Airways Corp. for 16 Comets, and is hard after U.S. orders, promising delivery in 1952-53-No Hands. In spite of their lead, the British were by no means assured of victory. They have developed techniques before, only to fumble them at the administrative and production level. And there were still many jet plane problems to be licked before the planes were as practical as reciprocating engine types. They are inefficient at low speeds, e.g., when taking off and landing, and consume so much more gas than present commercial planes that they can not be “stacked” at crowded airports while waiting to land. And, on long ranges, they have to carry so much fuel that it cuts down the passenger payload.

Nevertheless, the threat was enough to cause U.S. planemakers to sound an alarm. They had no commercial jet planes under construction, or even on order, although their drawing boards were full of sketches. U.S. airlines could not afford the immense cost of a new transport estimated as high as $50 million. Both planemakers and airlines looked to Washington for help, but Washington had not made up its mind what to do. Last year, when the planemakers first woke up to Britain’s challenge, they had tried to get Congress to pass a “prototype” bill under which the Federal Government would pay for experimental commercial planes. But the bill died in the Senate.

U.S. aircraft builders were ready to go whenever anyone placed an order. Lockheed, whose Constellation is a prime target for the Comet to shoot at, has plans for a 40-passenger jet transport which it thinks could keep pace with the Comet and cost no more than a Connie to operate. Douglas also has commercial jets, stalemated at the paper stage. So does Boeing, which said, perhaps overoptimistically, that it could produce a 500-m.p.h. transport within 18 months of receiving a contract. But Boeing’s Vice President Wellwood E. Beall warned that Congress would have to act soon. Said he: “We will lose not only world markets to the British jets, but because of competition may find our own airlines forced into buying British.”

* In addition, Britain has just finished the big, experimental 60-passenger turboprop, the Handley Page Hermes V, and is completing the giant Saunders-Roe Princess, a lo-engined turbo-prop flying boat designed to carry 105 passengers transocean to South America.