Evening star., 1955-11-20
By CHARLES y. YARBRoUGH

The ASTRONOMERS of finance
which best describes this coun-
try's big jump into the Jet age
of commercial aviation are no
more staggering than the task
facing the Civil Aeronautics
Administration on the same
subject.
Within the next few years.
four airlines will have spent
or viii be spending some half
a billion dollars-that's bill
lion-for jet-powered fleets,
all made in the United States.
The new planes win cost be-
tween $4.5 million and So mil
lion each.
In a transaction significant
in that it was the first foreign
order for American-built Jets.
KIM Royal Dutch Airlines
last week announced orders
for eight Douglas DC-8s at q
cost of $50 million for delivery
in March of 1860.
The line also is buying four
Lockheed Super-Constella-
tions. 10 Douglas DC-7Cs,
nine Vickers Viscounts and two
Fokker F-27 Friendship turbo-
props all for delivery by 1858.
Long tagging behind Britain
In the race for jet supremacy
IA fact attributed to Amer
ica's vast concentration on pis-
ton engines during World War
II-this country is surging
forward.
The impact can be no more
simply put than in the COM
ment Of william M. Allen.
president of the Boeing Air
plane Co. that the jet trans
port will, in effect. make the
world 40 per cent smaller"
Into the Unknown
Within the next two months,
the CAA will reach out into
the virtual unknown to eStab-
hsh regulations which the
new, near-sonic airliners must
meet to attain an airworthi-
ness certificate. It Is q field
SO new that there is little to
guide CAA's engineers.
The Civil AeronauticS Board.
which issues the regulations,
has not yet formulated COM
plete rules to meet the specific
requirements Of jet transports.
Instead, the administrator is
empowered to require what
ever is necessary to insure ian
equivalent level of safety" as
compared with piston aircraft.
Britain'S experience. the
early part of which was ill-
fated, with the jet Comets.
offers the only initial field of
operation.
British Overseas Always
Corp. introduced the worlds
first jet airliner, the De Havil-
land Comet l." three-and-a-
half years ago. The feet of
Comets brought Rome. Johan-
nesburg, Calcutta and Tokyo
into virtual commuter dis
tance. The world, including
the somewhat embarrassed
American aircraft industry,
hailed the stride.
Then. in the next 18 months,
seven Comets crashed with a
death toll of l10. and the jets
were pulled out Of service.
Seeking out the causes of the
mysterious cras shes was
another drama Of aviation his
tory. but Britain did find the
cause metal fatigue.
The Inflated interlude gave
American industry a chance
to get moving.
The Groundwork
More than i've years ago
the CAA recognized the impact
which would result when the
Jets entered the commercial
aviation scene. The experts
began preparation TO assure
the safety Of passengers trav-
cling Z miles above the earth
at speeds Of nearly 800 miles
an hour.
A picked group Of cAA en-
gineers went combtng the
world for information on prob
lens Of Jet flying.
Out Of this research, much
Of 1t within the military. came
the first United States Gov
eminent study Of civil Jet
aviation problems.
The study was in the form
of a modest pamphlet suggest
fng possible problem areas in
building a safe Jet transport.
Today the engineers are aware
that q few of the AREAS"
were not very significant and
that there are other problems
which escaped listing in the
study.
But generally, the pamphlet
reflected good foresight In
spotting Jet liner problems.
For instance, 1t was pointed
out that in a piston power
plant, there Is the problem Of
carburetor icing. Jets have no
carburetors, but instead they
have large air inlets vulnerable
to icing.
Flome-Outs
When a piston engine stops
in flight. it normally can be
restarted readily. A flame-out
in q Jet engine is not so simple.
although 1t is ceasing to be an
acute problem.
Too. there is the ever
present tremendous centrifugal
force Of . Jet turbine whirling
at something like $4,000
revolutions a minute.
Cabin presentation is q
serious matter because Jets fly
at almost twice the altitude Of
present transports. Oxygen
must be provided in event
cabin presentation should
fail and there would be in
sufficient time to descend to q