Post by connieguy on Mar 13, 2024 10:45:02 GMT -5
Many of us like simulating real flights from real timetables, though it has become clear that some airlines were very generous in the timings they allowed while others deliberately advertised schedules which were unlikely to be met as a way of luring passengers away from their rivals. That being so, evidence on how long individual flights actually took is of considerable interest, and is obtainable from pilots' logbooks. In the past some members of this forum have referred to their own logbooks, but if there has ever been material on propliner operations made available drawn from such sources I have not been aware of it (and would be grateful for the necessary links if I have missed it).
However, I have a friend who still has all the logbooks which belonged to his father Frank Wilson, who flew propliners and the early jets for BOAC. He entered the company after being in RAF Coastal Command, but his service there was post-war. Iain says that he initially flew on Avro Yorks and Argonauts, then moved to DC-7Cs, Boeing 707s and finally Boeing 747s, before eventually retiring as one of their senior captains. Iain has also scanned for me 4 (double) pages which serve as snapshots for the period from March 1959 to March 1960. Each entry covers the left hand and the right hand page. I will give here evidence from the first one, from 24th March to 1st April 1959. The first column gives the date, the second the aircraft type, the third its registration and the fourth the name of the captain. After that is the 'Holder's Operating Capacity', then the airports from which and to which the flight took place, the times of departure and arrival in UTC time and the hours of day-time and night-time flying. There is also a column for instrument flying (blank in all the entries) and finally a column for 'Remarks'. These are often two sequences of three numbers each separated by a dash, with occasionally other information too. It may well be that members of the forum will be able to throw light on their meaning. The first of the double pages is signed at bottom right by the aircraft captain, but the others are not.
On 24th March 1959, then, Frank Wilson flew as P2 on the DC-7C G-AOIB between Nassau and Montego Bay under Captain D. Walbourn. Take off was at 21:45 and landing at 23:35, and the amount of day flying was logged as 1:50. The Remarks column has '485 044'. Replication of this flight has shown that they landed at about sunset. BOAC clearly considered Montego Bay a suitable place for crews to be given down time, because the next flight was on the 26th, in G-AOIC, from Montego Bay to New York. Another crew had apparently taken over G-AOIB the previous day. On the 27th they flew from New York to Bermuda and back and then again on the 29th, so the 28th looks like another rest day, though perhaps they might have been working but not flying. These Bermuda flights were in G-AOIA. On 31st March G-AOIA was flown from New York to Boston and from there to Prestwick - 4 hours and 12 minutes of day flying and 6 hours of night flying. The following day, 1st April, they flew Prestwick to Manchester and from there to London. The final leg took 1 hour and 55 minutes and Frank Wilson's position is given as 'P1(S)' and the 1:55 under the column 'In Charge'. The Remarks column for some of the earlier flights contains the three number sequences and in four cases the word 'Nav'.
However, I have a friend who still has all the logbooks which belonged to his father Frank Wilson, who flew propliners and the early jets for BOAC. He entered the company after being in RAF Coastal Command, but his service there was post-war. Iain says that he initially flew on Avro Yorks and Argonauts, then moved to DC-7Cs, Boeing 707s and finally Boeing 747s, before eventually retiring as one of their senior captains. Iain has also scanned for me 4 (double) pages which serve as snapshots for the period from March 1959 to March 1960. Each entry covers the left hand and the right hand page. I will give here evidence from the first one, from 24th March to 1st April 1959. The first column gives the date, the second the aircraft type, the third its registration and the fourth the name of the captain. After that is the 'Holder's Operating Capacity', then the airports from which and to which the flight took place, the times of departure and arrival in UTC time and the hours of day-time and night-time flying. There is also a column for instrument flying (blank in all the entries) and finally a column for 'Remarks'. These are often two sequences of three numbers each separated by a dash, with occasionally other information too. It may well be that members of the forum will be able to throw light on their meaning. The first of the double pages is signed at bottom right by the aircraft captain, but the others are not.
On 24th March 1959, then, Frank Wilson flew as P2 on the DC-7C G-AOIB between Nassau and Montego Bay under Captain D. Walbourn. Take off was at 21:45 and landing at 23:35, and the amount of day flying was logged as 1:50. The Remarks column has '485 044'. Replication of this flight has shown that they landed at about sunset. BOAC clearly considered Montego Bay a suitable place for crews to be given down time, because the next flight was on the 26th, in G-AOIC, from Montego Bay to New York. Another crew had apparently taken over G-AOIB the previous day. On the 27th they flew from New York to Bermuda and back and then again on the 29th, so the 28th looks like another rest day, though perhaps they might have been working but not flying. These Bermuda flights were in G-AOIA. On 31st March G-AOIA was flown from New York to Boston and from there to Prestwick - 4 hours and 12 minutes of day flying and 6 hours of night flying. The following day, 1st April, they flew Prestwick to Manchester and from there to London. The final leg took 1 hour and 55 minutes and Frank Wilson's position is given as 'P1(S)' and the 1:55 under the column 'In Charge'. The Remarks column for some of the earlier flights contains the three number sequences and in four cases the word 'Nav'.
Clearly these flights are there to be flown, but my two attempts at the first one using real world weather files for late March have not got within 10 minutes of their time. To do that it would be necessary to fly and descend as accurately as they did, and this is not easy. Cruising height would be useful, but the logbook does not give such details. Further information as I proceed, if people are interested,
Ken
