SAA Orange Tail

Mei.May 1975

No. 137

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TIMETABLES THROUGH THE YEARS

Being of an ever changing nature timetables have become a factual and historic part of an airline’s growth and modernization through the years. Increases in traffic and new destinations are probably the most common reasons for the frequent alterations to timetables. Whilst thumbing through earlier editions of these rather scarce articles it was interesting to note that general information was lavished on intending travellers, putting them at ease long before boarding the aircraft. An excellent example of this is found on the single folded sheet of Union Airways (later to become South African Airways) – Winter 1933 – timetable. Under the heading “General Information for Passengers,” one finds such reassuring remarks as :­ “In our machines no special clothing or other equipment is necessary for a flight, as our planes are all closed cabin machines – Passengers need not have any apprehension about air sickness as it manifests itself only in very bad weather and then in a much less violent form than sea-sickness.”

Rules for the flight included : “No objects must be thrown out of the plane whilst in the air. ‘Air Pockets’ do not exist. When a sudden sagging of the plane is experienced, the cause is an undulating of the air similar to waves in water. Gliding A sudden ceasing of. the noise of the engine is no reason for apprehension, as the engine is shut off for technical reasons. Curves : When turning, the plane inclines over to one side to return to the normal position when the alteration of the course is effected. This also is of no consequence, and the passenger need not hold himself nervously to his seat.” Definitely lacking in today’s 36 page timetable.

The increased seating capacity of modern-day aircraft and the speed with which journeys are covered has caused certain services on board to be relinquished. A service no doubt well patronized by pre-war travellers was the Wireless Service which invited passengers to receive or send wireless messages during the flight – simply by approaching the wireless operator accompanying the aircraft. This facility advertised under ‘General Information’ on SAA’s Blue and Silver Way- Pocket Timetable of September 1935, would no doubt be welcomed by today’s many businessmen using our services daily.

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SAA CABIN CREW INCREASES

At a wings presentation, held in Avion Park Recreation Centre Hall on 15 Aprf 1975, the airline’s cabin crew strength was increased as Mr. C.C. Strydom, Cabin Services Manager, welcomed the 52 newly trained flight stewards into service.

The three Ab Initio Groups­79, 80 and 81, headed by Senior Instructor L. Murdock and Instruc­tors G. Ravenscroft and M. Steyn, form the largest single group to have been trained over the past 15 months. This is proof of the rapid growth of the airline and the prepa­rations being made to have suffi­cient crew members to man the three new Boeing 747 SP aircraft arriving early in the new year.

It is interesting to note that the training groups today are almost as large as the entire staff was during 1934/5, the airline’s first year of operation, when it consisted of 4 aircraft, 11 pilots and 57 personnel.

Those present on this special day included Mr. M.M. Louw (Personnel Director), Mr. Lourens, Mr. Jooste, Captain Van Renen and many relatives of the newly trained flight stewards. In his address Captain Van Renen, SAA’s Director (Flight Operations), emphasized the need for cabin crews to bear in mind:- 1) That all passengers must be treated with the respect and courtesy they so rightly deserve, 2) That crew continually refresh their emergency drill proce­dures – and, 3) That they always be neatly dressed in clean uniforms. Points well worth remembering. On behalf of SAA we welcome all 52 new crew members into the adventurous world of the airline and wish them many years of happy flying.

The largest group of flight stewards to be trained in the past 15months

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IT PAYS TO MAKE SOUND SUGGESTIONS

A number of the airline’s technical staff members have again made suggest­ions to improve South African Airways equipment or procedures, thereby re­ceiving handsome rewards in recognition. The latest suggestions came from :

1) Mr. D.J. Botha – Aviation Techni­cian (Fitting), Jan Smuts Airport who earned R50,00 for his suggested modification to the stabilizers of the Wamkor Aircraft Passenger Steps.

2) Mr. R.A. Sussens – Technical Assist­ant, Jan Smuts Airport who earned R20,00 for manufacturing a sound absorbing box for use on Rank Xerox copying machines.

3) Mr. T. Jevromovic – Aviation Tech­nician (Instruments) Jan Smuts Air­port earned R10,00 for his modifica­tion on the Hayden Aircraft Clocks and

4) Mr. F.J. Newman – Aviation Tech­nician (Mechanical), Jan Smuts Air­port received R5,00 for suggesting the use of a lockout cam gauge for J.T.4 engines.

Which goes to show that those thoughts you have in mind could well earn you extra cash, so let us know about them.

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FAREWELL TO BEV BROWN

Bev Brown, SAA’S Manager,  Expenditure Accounting, bid farewell to his colleagues and a friends at a function held at Avion Park on 26 March 1975.

The function was attended by, amongst others, the Person­nel Director Mr. M.M. Louw, Commercial Director Mr. F.J. Swarts, Mr. M.E. Smuts, Direc­tor (Technical and Financial Control) and Capt. “Pi” Pienaar  SAA’s new Chief Executive.

 Mr. Louw remarked that Bev had an unblemished service re­cord since 1932 when he joined the Railways in Durban as a European labourer. A year later he transferred to the office of the Local Accountant of the same system where he commen­ced his long and happy years of service in the accounting section of the Administration. Bev joined the ranks of SAA in 1967 and soon found himself liked by all. His excellent knowledge of accounting had gained him the respect he so rightly deserved. Often referred to as the ‘gentleman of accounting’ he inherited the title of “the man who spent money faster than the Commercial section could earn it.” Due to retire on 30 June 1975, Bev has decided to take 3 months leave prior to retirement to make preparations for his settlement in Durban where both he and his wife were born. Asked about plans for the future Bev shrugged a shoul­der and said nothing had been planned as he believed in doing what came naturally. To Bev and his wife go our heartiest well wishes for a long and happy retirement.

A farewell handshake from Capt. “Pi” Pienaar as Bev takes leave of his SAA colleagues

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737 OPERATES FROM ICE STRIP

A Canadian regional carrier has reported the use of one of its Boeing 737-200 C’s for a cargo flight into an ice runway north of the Arctic Circle.

The first landing at Strath­cona Sound was made on 18 March 1975. Snow had been cleared from a 240 metre strip, but the carrier reported that 180 metres would have been adequate because of the take-off and landing capability of the 737. Thrust reversers and brakes were used. Landing weight was 48 470 kg and the ice measured 162 cm thick. Minimum thickness required for landing was 125 cm of ice. The flight was the first of several that will be operated into Strathcona Sound to supplement a sea-lift carried out last year. There is a mining settlement of about 60 people in the area.

What are the necessities of life at a remote site north of the Arctic Circle? The flight carried 14 350 kg of cargo that consisted of lumber, ma­chinery, and one full-sized pool table.

It was not the first opera­tion of the Boeing twinjet from ice; a Norwegian airline has for several winters flown resupply runs into Spitzbergen Island, using a runway scraped from a frozen river.

Both operations illustrate the flexibility’of the 737. The 115-to-130 passenger jetliner is now flown by 46 operators in 29 countries. On 12 March 1975, Boeing delivered the 400th of the 737 series to the Brazilian airline — just seven years and one month since the first 737 went into service.

One of the 400 Boeing 737 aircraft already delivered. SAA has six of these versatile aircraft in service

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“HENG ON”

A speaker at a conference on “The Perfect Secretary” held in Johannesburg recently, pointed out that those left in charge of telephones are fast becoming a liability to their company. We certainly trust that this is not true of South African Airways with its many telephone outlets to the public. Nevertheless, many of us could possibly benefit by observing the guidelines suggested in an effort to improve services and the image of the respective companies. Here they are :

You should answer phones promptly – not after finishing a conversation with a fellow employee. Full attention should be given to the caller and a positive approach adopted. When a caller comes through to the wrong department the correct number should be ascertained and the call’imme­diately transferred. Remember it is the caller who is waiting and paying for the call.

You should train yourself to take mes­sages completely and correctly – deliver them^, promptly and to the right parties.

It is essential that you make yourself familiar with the information on the front pages of the telephone, and possibly the yellow page, directories.

You should also train yourself to remem­ber important telephone numbers and infor­mation regarding different clients.

Remember in using the telephone you are handling a vital link between a client and the company. As you do not represent yourself – but the company, you should be friendly and helpful at all times.

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AIRCRAFT SAFETY BY NDT

The Non Destructive Testing and Standards Section (NDT) at Jan Smuts Airport is a hive of activity, not only during working hours but also during the late hours of the evening when x-raying of aircraft sections takes place, or the quality of certain materials is determined. The IATA Safety Manual stipulates which aircraft accessories and structures are to be x-rayed for possible deterioration or hair-thin cracks which may not be visible to the naked eye, thus jeopardizing the safety of the aircraft. SAA being safety conscious does not only do as the manual stipulates, but goes further, by withdrawing aircraft from service for random testing.

When smaller parts are to be x-rayed, they are removed from the aircraft and brought to the NDT section where the necessary tasks are performed in a specially constructed x-ray cell, a chamber of approximate­ly 9m2 with 60 cm solid concrete walls and ceiling. Structural x-rays take place in the aircraft hangars during the late hours of the night. An area with a radius of 60 metres around the hangar being used is cleared so as not to expose any staff member to the harmful hard-rays used during the performance. The technicians performing the x-rays take shelter themsel­ves in a specially constructed vehicle housing all the power plants and x-ray equipment.

Once the casette films have been exposed they are returned to the section where they are immediately processed and dried, ready for viewing, by a modern processing unit.

The specially equipped vehicle used by the NDT section to house their valuable equipment

This painstaking task performed by a mere handful of dedicated men illustrates the lengths to which SAA will go in order to remain a safe airline.

The NDT section is also responsible for the recent discovery of micro-biological contamination in the fuel tanks of aircraft and perform various quality tests on all materials used either in or on the aircraft, be it paint, cleaning detergents or a simple aerosol deodorant spray. These articles must all pass certain tests with a percentage of no less than 100 before they are considered for purchase and use on aircraft.

A few of the requirements for materials used are that they must be fire resistant, self extinguishing, be able to contain an interior fire and not contain any corrosive substances. The standards of all materials are also laid down by IATA, but once again SAA has set its own standards, far in excess of those stipulated.

The x-raying of a B707, JT3 Defuser Case

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ALLES WORD GEWYS

As gevolg van die onlangse verbod op invlugbesoeke deur passasiers aan die stuurkajuit van vliegtuie (‘n voorsorgmaatreël om skakings to voorkom), het ‘n Amerikaanse lugredery met die antwoord te voorskyn gekom vir diegenê wat bekoor is met die „see van wyserplate en toestelletjies” waarmee die kaptein van vandag se wyerompvliegtuie to kampe het.

Strategiesgeplaasde televisiekameras stuur die eintlike opstygings en landings van die vliegtuig deur na talle 25-duim skerms in die passasierskajuit.

Passasiers op ‘n onlangse demonstrasievlug van San Francisco se internasionale lughawe af, is bekoor met die „oor die vlieënier se skouer”-uitsig van die stuurkajuitprosedures en van die aanloopbane wat onder verbysnel toe die vliegtuig na V-1 en uiteindelik tot by die opstygingspunt versnel het.

Benewens die toneel op die skerms, word gesprekke tussen die vlugbemanning en die beheertoring ook in die stelsel ingevoer sodat die passasiers dit deur middel van die kopstukke kan hoor.

Die lugredery spog ook met ‘n videobandstelsel vir die vertoning van hoofprente, kort onderwerpe en lewendige televisie-uitsendings.

‘n Toneel wat u waarskynlik sal kan sien vanuit u gemaklike sitplek in die passasierskajuit van ‘n hedendaagse wyerompvliegtuig

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PAUL AND HIS MANY TRAVELS

Mr. Paul van Zyl, who recently joined the ranks of South African Airways as a flight steward has had many exciting and unusual expe­riences since matriculating at the Roosevelt High School in Johannes­burg during 1970. Paul, 22 years of age first be­came interested in travel at a very early age – after leaving school and completing his National Service in the Medical Corps at the Military Medical Institute, he commenced on his life long dream -to travel. During September 1973, Paul packed his bags and boarded an aircraft bound for Israel. On arrival he had no difficulty in obtaining work, and Paul soon found himself on a Kibbutz, breeding turkeys. The keen young traveller wanted to see the “Promised Land of Israel” so he moved from one settlement to the next, his travels bringing him to within 7 kilometres of the front line fighting between the Israelis and their Arab enemies on the Golan Heights. Although never taking an active part in the raging war, Paul found himself per­forming a task equally as import­ant, as he was at times the only male worker on the Kibbutz, the others having been called up for active service. Breaking his stay in Israel for a short while, Paul journeyed to Europe, visiting all the large capitals and many of the “off the beaten track” towns. During this time he made use of the opportunity to get to know the people and the cus­toms of these countries of which we often only hear. Much in love with Israel, Paul decided to spend a lot more time before coming home, and during his second stay he worked in the north, the Hisrael Valley in central Israel and in the Sinai De­sert towards the south. After re­turning to South Africa in January 1975 he found himself proficient in Hebrew, a language he had not heard since his early primary school days.

Not content with the already thousands of kilometres covered during the 15 months he had been away from South Africa, Paul has taken to flying with SAA. He plans to see the world and enjoy every minute of his travels whether on or off duty.

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