Evening star., 1949-11-13
British Jet TRANSPORTS May Rule Air Commerce

fIQnSn1OkGIS OtIiI
Have Plenty Of
Problems
evitable. Specifically. some Of the
Jet airliner problems center around
the present high fuel comsump-
ton Of the pure jet engines and
its effect on revenue-producing
load, range and ability to At into
the present airport traffic control
systems; the effect on passengers
Of the possibly violent gusts" and
high-speed ascent and descent
through turbulent air which the
operating technique Of Jet airliners
will almost certainly involve; the
effects Of tropical temperatures
and high altitude airports on jet
aircraft takeof performance and
the effect Of ice on Jet eng Inc
operation.
"It would be foolish to suppose
that foreign airline operators will
place orders in this country" says
the heretofore chauvanistic British
aeronautical weekly. the Aero
plane. until they are thoroughly
satisfied that the Comet and other
turbine-powered aircraft are truly
commercially economic aircraft
and capable of practical applica-
ton to the worlds air routes with
all their meteorological and traf-
f1c control disadvantages"
Economic Angle
This low-pressure sales talk for
Ia British product from a British
subject is news, first. because it is
mot characteristic of past practices
when commenting on air progress
over there, but more so because
Of the haunting and unspoken
thought that should the jet air.
liner program fail utterly or be-
come begged down in technical
economic or political quicksand
the nationalized British airlines
indefinitely will have to "buy
American" at least for the priced
world competitive routes.
/ Buying American" airliners is
abhorrent to the British, not be-
cause they abhor American prod
ucts but because it harms the
British aircraft industry's export
effort and its future technical
progress. British aircraft authori-
ties first cite the loss in scarce
dollars. Then they say American
plane builders (and Britain's COM
petitors) reap the benefit of Brit
ish operating experience. Too, en-
ployment goes on in America to
build the planes and British work
ers remain out of work at home
but the crowning blow to the Eek
port effort" is delivered when
British airlines fly American built
planes, for they constitute a "boost
for our competitors and a stigma
on all our aircraft products"
Should the British jet airlinel
program succeed in every particu-
lar and meet the optimistic sched-
ule held out by the uninformed
and should we continue to de
nothing over here for the nex'
two years or so, our internationa,
airlines operating the North At
lantic very well might discover
one day in 1855 that BOAC has
replaced its Consultations ane
Stratocruisers with five to 81;
! hundred mile-an-hour jet air.
hline1s. Their great advantage II
/ speed, their quiet, vibrationles.
cabins, their predicted ability tx
| fly New Yo-k-London non-stoI
in about half the time now re.
quired, would create a superio,
position closely parallel to that
held by the Queens Elizabeth ano
| Mary on the seas. And for many
years to come. America will "buy
British"
Americans Alarmed
This pretty picture Of great ex.
pectations for Britain's jet air.
liners and their conquest Of worlG
air commerce will be painted ir
| Washington many times in the
coming months by alarmed Amer.
leans in both the aircraft man.
i, ufacturing and airline operating
industries, not nearly so much be-
cause of the technical advantages
| the British aeronautical engineers
and operators enjoy, but for the
compelling need that Britain mus
become a leading, if not the lead.
ing, exporter of jet propulsion
aircraft to survive the battle o1
life.
AS the American aeronautica,
industry and Government policy
makers prepare to enter the lasi
half of the 20til century. most o1
their current problems should dis
appear when they compare arlc
contemplate the portentous sig.
nificance to our future of Sil
Frank Whittle's original jet en-
gine with the effect wrought or
the universe by the Wright broth
ers' original Kitty Hawk plane in
the last SO years. Both are en-
shrined in the Smithsonian-as a
constant reminder.
! Reserves
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