Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

Issue dated - September 1954
Musings from the "Between Ourselves" magazine.

Stan Moncrieff from the YVR Traffic Department takes over the editorship if "Between Ourselves" from Betty Davidson who has held this position for the past four years.

Issue dated - October 1954
Musings from the "Between Ourselves" magazine.

Flying Aero Yacht - 1913
In the early twentieth century, an avant-garde designer built a huge airplane to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.  A short article, titled  "An Aero Yacht," in the December 13, 1913 edition of Scientific American provides us with these interesting details:

  

Air Yacht 1913

"The machine is equipped with three Emerson aeroplane engines, of six cylinder type, installed in the floor of the pilot house.  Combined, these engines will supply 250 horse-power, driving the propellers at 1,000 revolutions per minute.  Any one of the engines may be thrown out of or into action by the operation of a clutch.

"The cabin of the machine is 27 feet long, and is constructed of cypress paneling 3/8 of an inch thick, over which is a covering of canvas.

 

"The lifeboat is made of three ply cypress and ash with inter-layers of canvas.  The length of the machine is 74 feet and the boat 33 feet.

 

"It is by far the most elaborate hydro-aeroplane ever attempted.  The inventor expects to fly across the Atlantic in this machine.  We have yet to learn what it will do in flight."

 

Note from Alan: As you may have guessed, this was before the "Law of Diminishing Returns" was invented, and the Flying Aero Yacht never actually flew.

News and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and it's "ancestry" of contributing airlines.

Issue dated - may 1999
Extracts from the "Canadi>n Flyer" magazine

 

 

 

 

 

The photo of the DC-3 with a pointy nose submitted by Chuck G, brought back a memory of seeing this one of a B747 sporting the same affliction from "Between Ourselves" issued October 1969 that I spotted during the scanning exercise we are involved in.

 

 

 

 

 

Regarding the article Woman tries to leave Aircraft in mid-flight  in NetLetter nr 1128
Harvey Bergan sends us this information -

A321 Exit Door - (Click on image)

Your article mentioned that the door on the 737 is 'locked' - you could say that as all the doors are 'plug-type'. That is to say the frame is smaller than the door and with the pressure differential because of the pressurized cabin, the force holding the door closed can be measured in tons e.g. assume a door 3 ft x 6 ft gives 2592 sq inches and assuming a pressure differential of 9 pounds/sq inch gives 23328 pounds pushing out on the door or about 11 1/2 tons pushing on the door. Since the initial motion of the door is inward, there is no way that door could be opened without putting on an O2 mask and depressurizing. I realize the figures are rough but it gives you an idea.

Cheers Harvey Bergen

and Ed Coperman came through with this information on the subject.
It's the latest of several widely-publicized incidents in which passengers, often affected by alcohol or mental disturbance, attempt to open doors in flight. Fortunately for air safety, doors are locked and "armed" during flight and can be opened only when authorized from the cockpit.

The truth of the matter is that, REGARDLESS of any 'authorization' from the cockpit, aircraft doors ON PRESSURIZED AIRCRAFT can NOT be opened once the aircraft is pressurized. At 8 PSI of pressurization, if the door is 4 feet by 7 feet (an area of 4,032 square inches), the TOTAL force required to overcome the pressurization would be on the order of 32,256 pounds!!!

Cheers, Ed Copeman, 340 Captain (retired)

More travel costs!
Two UK airports have introduced a "Fast Track" system that enables passengers to bypass security queues through a priority lane. This innovative service allows travellers to go directly to the security search point and has been designed for those on a tight schedule or those looking for the ultimate in convenience.

London/Luton and Newcastle International introduced the product in April for a charge of gbp3.00.

Vern Swerdfeger sends us the url for the video of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner arriving at the Farnborough Air Show. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10676791 

 

ZED e-ticketing now available for United Airlines (UA).  Paperless ZED e-tickets are now available on the Employee Travel Site for United Airlines (UA). The other carriers that currently accept ZED e-tickets are: Air Creebec (YN), Bearskin Airlines (JV), Canadian North (5T), Central Mountain Air (9M), First Air (7F) Swiss (LX) and Qatar (QR).  Infant tickets for travel on United Airlines will continue to be issued on paper. (Source The Daily)
 


Marshall Baldwin points out this information -
Just an FYI re the following posted in NetLetter 1128 "HAL Votendam 42 Nights
Departing on 23 Sep 10 from Seattle you can spend 42 nights cruising through the South Pacific Islands and focus even more time in New Zealand enroute to Sydney. The bonus is that for $3799 you can get an upgrade to an obstructed view cabin which gives you light, a tub and easy access to strolling on deck for your 42 night vacation"
This cruise originates in Vancouver 22 Sep. and is quoted by other interline agencies at the same price as Seattle.
 
Jack and Aureen Morath are two UK Pionairs who are instrumental in arranging various events for the local Pionair population, i.e. London walks, day trips to the Continent and, in the past, an annual trip to a north American city.

Here, from the UK Pionairs monthly newsletter for July 2010 is a continuation of their recent trip report which we started in NetLetter nr 1120 - Our Far East Adventure:  (Jack and Aureen Morath) Our hotel was called the Island Pacific Hotel, a modern four-star hotel on the West Central Waterfront. Their website is   at www.sino-hotels.com/Island_Pacific_Hotel It has 343 rooms and a restaurant. The Western Market is half a mile away, Nathan Road 2 miles away and the Night market  2+ miles away. The airport is 13 miles from the hotel and the hotel has a free shuttle bus to the shopping area which is by the harbour tunnel. A couple of minutes' walk from the hotel are the trams that take you to the city centre, and other places. We stayed for 2 nights at this hotel and the total cost for us for the 2 nights was £87.33. Weekends are more expensive. We were on the 19th floor and had an excellent view of the harbour as well as Kowloon across the water.