SAA Orange Tail

September 1968

No. 57

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NOG MEER BOEINGS VIR S.A.L.

In die loop van sy openingstoespraak voor die jaarlikse kon­gres van die Suid-Afrikaanse Vereniging van Reisagente wat op 22 Augustus in Durban gehou is, het Sy Edele B. J. Schoeman L.V., Minister van Vervoer, o.m. bekend gemaak dat daar nog ‘n Boeing 707-344C vir die S.A.L. bestel is vir aflewering in Desem­ber 1969, en dat die kontrak vir ‘n Boeing 707-344C vir aflewering gedurende April volgende jaar van Trek Lugdiens oorgeneem is deur die nasionale karweier. Een van die S.A.L. se model A Boeing 707′s sal aan Trek verkoop word. Weens die verlies van die „Pretoria’in die onlangse Suidwesongeluk is onderhandelinge met die Boeingmaatskappy aangeknoop om die aflewering van die antler „C” model taut op bestelling is to bespoedig. Die vliegtuig sal nou volgende jaar in Augustus afgelewer word.

Teen die einde van 1969 sal die S.A.L. se lugvloot dus be­staan uit agt 707′s, sewe 727′s, drie 737′s, sewe Viscounts en vier Dakotas, terwyl drie 747′s bestel is.

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GALLANT GOLFER

The eight airlines serving Mauritius, including S.A.A., have all donated floating trophies to the Brabant Golf Club of Mauritius and these are competed for annually in an inter-airline golf com­petition called the “Le Mourne Brabant ‘ which is held concurrently with the Mauritius Annual Open Championships.

This year S.A.A. was represented by Mr. J. C. Louw, Cargo Controller at Jan Smuts Airport, who almost made a grandslam during the four days he spent on the island.

He brought home with him the following trophies: (1) Mauritius Open Golf for Men; (2) Inter-airlines’ competition; (3) Lowest score on the course; (4) The Airlines’ Greensome together with Michel Pitot of AIR FRANCE. Perhaps as well Joe was without a lady partner who could enter for the Mixed Open Championships!

Mr. Louw tells us that the Le Mourne Brabant Hotel, where the golf course is situated has a very beautiful setting. It is only 30 miles from the airport, in the vicinity of Port Louis. Said Joe: “This is an ideal spot for a holiday but as I practised golf during every spare minute, this was no holiday but 4 days of solid hard work”.

Congratulations Joe!, The hard work was indeed good work. As a point of interest, the S.A.A.-Trophy was won in the Mauritius Ladies Open Single Championships. Speaking about golf, Avion Park’s Golf Section would like to advise enthusiastss that the annual S.A.A. Golf Tournament is open to all members of the Administration. There are three fine trophies and several other prizes to be won. The man to contact in this respect is Mr; D. J. (Don) Whitford, Flying Training Section, Jan Smuts Airport. Phone extension 5731. Did you know that the Jimmy Boyd Memorial Trophy will be competed for at the E.R.P. M. Club on October 10 this year. This 36-hole medal championship is open to golfers throughout the Republic.

Wouldn’t it be nice if an S.A.A. man should win this event?

Joe with the trophies he won on Mauritius.

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NEW R.A.S. PRESIDENT

At the Annual General Meeting of the South African Division of the Royal Aero­nautical Society held on July 29th, 1968, S.A.A.’s Engineer­ing Director, Mr. A. O. M. Vialls, was elected President.

One of the main features of the Society’s programme this year will be the first lec­ture of a series on civil aviation in South Africa. The series will be named in honour of Major Allister Mack­intosh Miller, who in 1929 founded Union Airways. Union Airways became South Afri­can Airways in 1934.

The Major Miller lecture will be a major annual event in the Society’s calendar. The inaugural lecture will be delivered by Major-General K. R. van der Spuy, C.B.E., M.C.

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BOEING 747 ROLLOUT SET FOR SEPTEMBER 30

The first Boeing 747 intercontinental superjet transport is scheduled to roll out of The Boeing Company s Everett, Wash , factory, September 30.

In addition to employees who work at the Everett plant, the rollout will be viewed by a number of invited guests. After roll­out the airplane will be moved to Paine Field (Snohomish County Airport) for preflight operations. Its first flight is scheduled before the end of the year.

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BELANGRIKE I.A.T.A.-VERGADERINGS

Die Internasionale Lugvervoervereniging se volgende same­gostelde verkeerskonferensie wet l besluit oor die reisgeld wat vir twee jaar vanaf 1 April 1969 van toepassing sal wees en wat deur vier afgevaardigdes van die S.A.L. onder leiding van mnr. M. Larkins, adjunk-direkteur (I.A.T.A. en grondhantering) bygewoon sal word, neem op 19 September te Cannss, Frankryk, ‘n anvang.

Mnre. A. M. Conradie, bestuurshoof en F. J. Swarts, adjunk­handelsdirekteur (beplanning), sal die vareniging se jaarlikse alge­mene vergadering te Munich, Duitsland, op 28 Oktober bywoon.

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NEW AIR WAYBILL TO BE INTRODUCED

After almost four years of background research and a total of 5,000 man-hours of development, a newly designed air waybill will be introduced by all I.A.T.A. member airlines during this year. The new document was evolved as part of a general pro­gramme to develop a universal air freight control system pro­viding efficient data for traffic handling, accounting and statistical purposes and compatible with manual and mechanical operations. Existing regulations are complied with but important informa­tion is concentrated to the left on the new Form which facilitates easier typing and reading.

By using the new document in conjunction with computers, statistics will become available which will permit more effective cargo load planning, assignment to flights and determination of cargo space requirements,

It has long been recognised that the future of air freight relies largely on improvements in ground processing procedures and the new air waybill will achieve the following four main objectives in this direction.

(a) It will provide better service to shippers and consignees through improved control from acceptance to delivery. (b) It will help to eliminate airport congestion by ensuring that consignments move more rapidly through terminals, both at origin and destination. (c) It will help pioneer the use of more efficient processing tech­niques by incorporating data processing facilities. (d) It is another component in the overall process of reducing ground handling costs.

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U IS VEILIG IN HULLE HANDE

‘n Aantal van die S.A.L. se voertuigbestuurders het onlangs in die kajuitdienstegebou op die lughawe Jan Smuts bymekaar gekom vir die jaarlikse oorhandiging van sertifikate vir ongeluk­vryediens.

Sertifikate is aan altesaam 35 bestuurders op hierdie geleent­heid oorhandig.

Die funksie is bygewoon deur mnr. A. M. Conradie, bestuurs­hoof, wat die oorhandiging waargeneem het en mnr. M. M. Louw, personeelbcstuurder.

Beide hierdie here het die bestuurders wat hulself onderskei het, aangeprys, met spesiale melding van die volgende bestuur­ders, (spesiale klas) wat die langste ongelukvrye rekords in die S.A.L. het.:

Die here H. J. Esterhuizen (22-jaar toekenning); G. J. Prinsloo (19-jaar toekenning) en P. J. Viljoen (19-jaar toekenning).

Die S.A.L. se bestuurders het gedurende 1966 1,156,525 myl afgclë mot ‘n ongeluksyfer van een in elke 21,000 myl. In 1967 het hulle 1,996,114 myl afgelë met ‘n dialing in die ongeluksyfer tot son in elke 30,244 myl.

Ons foto toon mnr. A. M. Conradie (regs) wat die sertifikaat aan mnr. H. J. Esterhuizen aanbied.

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RETIREMENT CORNER

Two well-known South Afri­can Airways personalities ret­ired from the service recently. They are Messrs. F. Pinard, Administrative Officer, Sales Section, Johannesburg and E. W. H. Cooley, District Sales Manager, Durban.

Mr. Fred Pinard reached the retirement age on August 12, 1968, after having been in the Administration’s service for 44 years – 32 years of which were on the Airways side.

He joined the Railways in 1924 and transferred to South African Airways at Rand Airport, Germiston; in 1936. During World War II he was a South African Air Force per­sonnel officer and finally became an adjutant in the Middle East. His career in South African Airways after cessation of hos­tilities included apnointments to the positions of Supervisor at the Airways Terminal, Johannesburg, Air Station Supervisor at Pal­mietfontein and Jan Smuts Airport, Senior Sales Promotion Officer and Administrative Officer, Sales, in Johannesburg. Mr. Eric Cooley started his career in February, 1929, on the Railways in East Lon­don and transferred to South African Airways in 1949 after a six-year period of military service where he attained the rank of lieutenant. He joined the Sales Pro­motion Section in 1955 and opened a permanent sales office in Durban a year late where he held the position of District Sales Manager until his retirement on July 31, 1968.

 We wish them both and their wives a long and happy retirement.

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STUDIE IN KONSENTRASIE

Die groepie wat hier so aandagtig na ‘n kort verduideliking luister van die werkverrigting en vermoëns van die S.A.L. se moderne verbindingsstelsel in die dataverwerkingsafdeling, Lug­dienssentrum, Johannesburg, is studente van die Witwatersrandse Tegniese Kollege.

Die groep was deel van ongeveer 200 studente wat die geleentheid gebied is om ecrstehandse inligting oor die S.A.L. se besprekingsprosedures in te win alvorens hulle sekretariële poste in die handel en nywerheid opneem.

Op hierdie wyse is daar gepoog om die jong dames ‘n denk­beeld te gee van hoe hulle t,- werk moet gaan met plekbesprekings vir hulle toekomstige werkgewers.

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“IGLOE” VIR VRAG

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens het onlangs 44 “igloe”-vrag­houers aangekoop, waarvan ‘n voorbeeld op ons foto gesien kan word. Hierdie houers, wat van Duitsland af ingevoer word, is spesiaal vir gebruik in die Boeing 727 ,QC ‘-vliegtuig vervaardig. Wanneer Ig. as ‘n vragvliegtuig gebruik word, sal dit agt van hierdie glasveselhouers netjies kan huisves. Wanneer hulle met vrag gevul is, beweeg die houers in die 727 in op spesiale roller­seksies en ‘n oorlaaibalmat. Elke „igloe” is 88 duim wyd, 125 duim lank en 82 duim hoog. Dit is bestand teen ‘n druk gelyk­staande aan 9 swaartekragfaktore.

Deur hierdie metode van vooraflaai en weeg van bokvrag­besendings word vraghantering grootliks vergemaklik.

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S.A.A.’s DOMESTIC VOICE

In the complexity of our present-day existence, the reliance we place, albeit unconsciously, on our systems of communication is not always appreciated. Its existence is taken for granted; only its efficiency is sometimes challenged. But there can hardly be a sphere in day-to-day activities where the efficiency of communi­cations systems plays a more vital role than in aviation. Because the various systems of communication are regarded as common­place, it is seldom realised that they play an all-important part in the safe, regular and efficient operation of an airline. Aircraft are today flown on the spoken word i.e. all air operations are controlled from control centres on the ground ad­vising pilots on the air corridors to be followed and the flight levels to be maintained. A great deal of very important informa­tion is fed to aircraft flying in the congested air spaces between major cities of the world in order to maintain proper separation and safe operation. As far back as 1955, S.A.A. recognised the shortcomings in international communications and the pressing need for its own communications system and set about laying the foundation for the existing radio station known as “ZUR”. Since 1956, S.A.A.’s communications requirements were continually changing and ZUR has been progressively expanded to meet these requirements. With the introduction of Boeing 707 aircraft during 1960, the use of radio-telephony became a primary requirement, which could not be met with the then existing techniques and it was for this reason that SSB (Single Side Band) equipment was permanently installed in the S.A.A. Boeing fleet. This equipment is more powerful than conventional amplitude modulation systems and has placed S.A.A. amongst the leaders in domestic radio-telephony techniques in their everyday operations. To complete the radio­telephone link, all S.A.A. inter-continental jetliners have been fitted with special transmitting and receiving apparatus allowing for operators of ZUR to maintain press-button round the clock Contact with our aircraft flying anywhere on the S.A.A. routes. A ccnstant and instantaneous exchange of information be­tween pilots and S.A.A.’s base is, therefore, possible. In fact it is possible for our Chief Executive to converse from his office iele,phcna with any of our pilots flying anywhere on our routes in the world.

The interior of S.A.A.’s domestic station ZUR at Jan Smuts Airport with Movement Controller P. Sullivan at the console.

To get in touch with one of the Boeings, say on its final ap­proach to either London or Paris Airports, an operator sitting in front of a control panel at Jan Smuts Airport, simply presses four buttons. The impulses transmitted immediately cause an amber light to flash and a chime to sound on the Boeings’ flight deck and the pilot has merely to pick up his microphone and reply. Transmissions can be made on any one of 28,000 frequencies although only a few are regularly used by South African Airways. The power and range of this equipment are proving their value daily and are virtually one hundred per cent successful in estab­lishing contact with aircraft flying over Sydney to the East, London to the North and Seattle to the West. This is invaluable in handling the countless operational matters as well as technical snags which may arise in flight. During yet another facelift of ZUR recently a number of modi­fications consisting of a number of new ideas was incorporated which made ZUR much more flexible from an operating point of view. The facelift also includes a much smarter console and general lay-out of the radio station. It can quite truthfully be claimed that no South African Air­ways aircarft on an intercontinental flight flies alone for it is in constant radio contact with the vast organisation of S.A.A. wherever it may be between the control towers of the globe. ZUR has been producing excellent results and has influenced other operators to invest in similar equipment of their own.

It was, therefore, with rather more than raised eyebrows that we read in a recent Sunday newspaper of “a new discovery” by B.O.A.C. electronic engineers – the SSB – which enables their ground based radio operators in London to be heard as clearly by aircraft crews operating as far south as Johannesburg as if they were using the telephone. The report further claimed that this was the first time this communications technique had been used as a ground-air company facility.

We have taken a long, hard look at the article, and the only aspect which is at variance with the details described above in relation to S.A.A.’s system is that the London SSB station is manned by five girls!

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