Transatlantic Services: Their Beginning

To the most important things responsible for the globalization of the world that we enjoy today is definitely flying and specifically the advent of Transatlantic Flight. In the beginning of the 20th century, the only thing holding the world back was the Atlantic Ocean that was separating the powerful United States with the ancient Europe. It was a powerful combination that would allow the globalization of the world when the time came. However, in the beginning of the 20th century the main problem was the aerodynamic complications that prevented the planes at the time from crossing the Transatlantic. The internal vibrations and other complications prevented such long range and long duration flights. Thus, the only way to cross the Atlantic from the United States to Europe and specifically England was to go across with a transatlantic ship. For this journey, a transatlantic ship took about 7 days to cross the vast gulf of the Atlantic Ocean.

However, all of that changed when the daring and brave aviator Charles Lindberg crossed the Atlantic in a plane in 1927. It signaled beginning of a new era when the traveling between the two continents would become commonplace someday. As soon as the 1930′s started air carriers at the time started experimenting with transatlantic flights. Of course the first experiments were empty flight but the slowly and slowly carriers started carrying postal mail with the transatlantic flights. At the time, there were two major carriers: British Imperial Airways and Pan American Airways, which would in time, become the flag carrier of the United States. Both of these airlines started to cross the Atlantic and deliver postal mail across the two continents. However also Deutsche Air was a powerful competition as it carried mail between South America and West Africa. Although it was some time before investors would start commercial flights with passengers, these ail mail routes provided the necessary expertise for the transatlantic flight. A postal flight across the Atlantic Ocean was concluded in less than a day.

Another major problem at the time was the availability off suitable landing strips for transatlantic flights. The necessary concrete just wasn’t there and thus instead of land planes, ship planes called the Flying Boats were used for Transatlantic flights. These flying boats were easily capable of landing in water with the fuselage acting as the landing gear or a boat.

It was perhaps Pan AM vision that allowed transatlantic flights to become really successful and commonplace. Juan Trippe, who was the founder of PAN AM quickly saw that transatlantic flights would be a major business someday and he quickly negotiated for routes and stopping points along the way like the Bahamas. He also ordered a special flying boat to be produced the legendary B-314 which would continue to serve the PAN AM fleet for decades to come. It was able to carry 74 passengers and it had a galley and sleeping quarters aboard. At last, the big day came when in June 28, 1939 PAN AM had its first commercial flight with passenger across the Atlantic. This first flight was between New York and France and the passengers were charged $375 for a one way trip. It was the beginning of an era where PAN AM would dominate the world with its famous Clipper Service that flew across the Atlantic continuously and dominatingly.

Although the World War II proved to be slow in business due to world affairs, after the war the pace of aeronautics and commercial flights across the Atlantic picked up speed. It was also a time of boom for American carriers as the carriers pf Europe were war weary. Three major American carriers were present at the time: The famous PAN AM, the American Export Company and Transcontinental and Western Airlines (T W A). Especially right after World War II, these American carriers were especially dominant in the world market for transatlantic flights. However as the wounds of the war were getting licked, European Air Carriers also begun to emerge as competitors I the Transatlantic Air Market. Airlines such as the Belgium Sabena and the Dutch Royal Airways like the KLM would also provide a stiff competition to the American Carriers. However, the transatlantic carrier PAN AM proved to be the most famous and the most powerful of all the airlines in the Transatlantic route until its collapse in 1991. However, it was responsible for pioneering the way and joining the two continents together. By the advent of the 1950′s, Air Travel between the two continents of the Atlantic Ocean had become commonplace and the world was on its way to becoming a one big global community.

781

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

The Seaplane and its History

As soon as the first plane was invented, it became the founding stone for the sea plane which took of for the first time in 1910. The first sea plane the ‘Le Canard’ flew for 800 meters in its first flight. During the achievements of its era, it was considered monumental. Although the first flight of the Sea plane occurred in France, United States would soon follow after with the invention and production of its first seaplane in 19911 by Glenn Curtiss. It was a monumental event for the United States as it signaled a beginning of an era that would mar a huge race in Aeronautics between Europe and the United States.

The word Seaplane was meant to symbolize two types of planes associated with the sea. The type that is still used today is the floating plane or the hydroplane that we still see and use today. In this type of a seaplane, the fuselage or the main body of the aircraft never touches water but rather the landing gear touches water. Although this wasn’t common at the beginning, it soon became a worked out and accepted model that can be still seen in service in smaller planes that needs to land on water today. The design of the hydroplane was also used to design aircraft that could land easily on aircraft carriers (which consequently made the United States the most powerful country in the world with the success of its aircraft carriers)

The second type of a Seaplane that was very popular in the 1920′s and 1930′s was the Flying Boat. As the name suggests, it was a design that allowed the planes fuselage to act as a boat when it landed on the sea or a body of water. Hence, it was termed the Flying Boat due to its ability to land and take off from water. When a flying boat landed on the water, its main fuselage would sink by 15% into the water for smooth landing and hence it would not use any landing gears. This model of a seaplane termed the Flying Boat was very popular in the 20′s and 30′s and it was even used in the World War I very extensively.

IN time, seaplanes also became commercially feasible. The world’s biggest airline PAN AM used seaplanes as its main carriers for a long time until Boeing Aircraft became popular. Especially in the 20s and 30s, airports and airstrips were not very common due to lack of commercial investment. Thus, seaplanes were the perfect aircraft so that they could be used to land in a body of water especially near coastlines.

A special big sea/airfield was designed in Hawaii to accommodate transoceanic flights that would carry passengers by means of flying boats from Hawaii to Mainland. By the advent of 1940′s the era of airplanes really began and the flying boats as a commercial plane was discontinued. By the 1950′s with the advent of Boeing Aircraft, seaplanes had just become a part of a long forgotten legacy.

So with the WWII, ended the era of the flying boat airline and mainly invented since airlines did not have long runways that could handle large planes. Aids to help in navigation were minimum, weather and other problem created problems for planes and the flying boat seemed to counter them quite effectively.

562

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Transcontinental Flight History

The beginnings of transcontinental flight had their roots in a funding shortage faced by the U.S. airmail service after 1918, when it started to suffer losses every year while struggling to cope with increasing demands and operational costs. To avoid transferring such costs to customers, the Post Office asked for tax money funding from the Federal Government instead.

The early transcontinental mail route from September 1920 consisted of inter-relays of mail cargo from planes to railcars when night descended. The total time taken for such routes was 78 hours, compared to train transported mail of 108 hours. However, then president Warren Harding opined that trains still provided a more affordable service, and wanted to pull out Congress money from the airmail service.

In order to demonstrate the viability of a transcontinental mail route in time and cost savings to Harding and secure tax money funding, Postmaster General Burleson and Assistant Postmaster General Otto Praeger offered to stage a public flight across the country without the involvement of the railroad. This was planned on Washington’s Birthday on February 22, 1921, to raise its public profile.

From the outset, it would not represent an attractive flight. The pilots flew World War I surplus planes not designed for long distance routes and the open cockpits meant they were subjected to the harsh altitude weather and hot engine oil sprays. Night flights would also present a formidable challenge, as they could not rely on visual landmarks to establish their routes. With the onset of snow or fog, pilots were often forced to maintain low altitudes, which posed unknown risks of colliding with landmarks with the reduced visibility. Praeger came up with a plan to hedge these risks, with post office staff to mark the transcontinental route by fires lit at night.

Additionally, Praeger published the Transcontinental Air Mail Pilot’s log prior to the flight. A collection of Post Office pilots’ flight notes and providing detailed information such as landmarks and distances regarding the transcontinental route, it would serve to assist the pilots in navigating their attempt. It would also be a precursor to the creation of printed navigation aids in the future.

The demonstration took off at 6:00 a.m. on February 22, 1921, as two mail planes took flight on a westward journey from Hazelhurst Field, Long Island, New York. Correspondingly, another two aircrafts headed east from Marina Field, San Francisco, California. They would meet with scheduled relay planes at various stops.

It was not long before the first tragedy occurred. W.F. Lewis on one of the eastward flights, crashed soon after takeoff. J.L. Eaton took over and managed to arrive in Salt Lake City before noon, where a series of relay pilots took them through Cheyenne, Wyoming, to North Platte, Nebraska. James H. ‘Jack’ Knight was the pilot that started the route from North Platte, but little did he know that he would be the last one, and the man responsible for accomplishing the objective of this demonstration, securing the future of airmail.

Aided by torches and fire lights across Lexington Kearney and Central City, Nebraska; Knight made his way to Omaha through the freezing night cold. Upon discovering that he was the last remaining pilot on the journey at Omaha, due to unforeseen circumstances aborting his substitute’s flight, Knight soldiered on gamely and left for Iowa City at 2:00 a.m.

Knight continued to rely on ground-lit fires to establish his route across Iowa and Illinois, avoiding a crash on his landing in Iowa City airfield. After a short rest, he embarked on the last 200 miles to Chicago. Despite a cold mist that reduced flight visibility, Knight successfully touched down on Chicago Checkerboard Field at 8:40 a.m., largely dependant on a compass and torn road map. Knight was hailed a national hero, after braving the 830-mile flight with a broken nose.

When the Chicago snowstorm ended, J.D. Webster then made the flight eastward from Chicago to Cleveland at 9:00 a.m. Pilot Ernest Allison took over in Cleveland and reached Hazelhurst Field, New York, at 4:50 p.m.

Knight celebrated his personal achievement, but it was made all the more possible by a team effort from seven pilots. The transcontinental flight stretched over 2,629 miles with a time of 26 hours in the air. Harding was finally convinced. Touched by the pilots’ efforts and public interest, he wholeheartedly gave his blessings to the bill that awarded federal funding to airmail.

With money available to develop more route lighting, navigation aids, pilots and better aircrafts, the era of 24-hour transcontinental airmail routes began on July 1, 1924. The zones of New York-Chicago, Chicago-Rock Springs, and Rock Springs-San Francisco were established, found on the principles of better route management and reasonable pricing mechanisms for airmail (which cost only 8 cents per ounce within zones).

Despite the developments of transcontinental flight from the Post Office’s public experiment, there continued to be public disagreements on airmail system funding between customers, the aviation industry and government. Each party had their own agendas ranging from self-preservation to self-interest, and it was not until the 1925 Kelly Act before they were eventually address, leading to where transcontinental flight is now in today.

864

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites