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May 21, 1968
Aviation DAILY
Page 119

ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS TO START CHARTERS

An executive of All Nippon Airways, a domestic carrier in Japan, expressed his company's readiness to go into overseas charter business in September or October, linking Tokyo or Osaka with such nearby cities as Taipei, Hong Kong, Manila and Seoul.

Ryotaro Nakatsuka, ANA's general sales manager, said in an interview the airline would start by concentrating on the development of affinity and on-use charter business from Japan to foreign countries. The Japanese Government presently does not allow carriers and travel agents in Japan to operate inclusive tour charters to foreign cities.

Nakatsuka said ANA will use either 100-seat Boeing727s or 68-seat Viscount 828 turboprop aircraft for charter business. The airline is also negotiating the charter of a DC-8 jetliner from Japan Air Lines for charter flights between Tokyo and Hong Kong, he said. JAL has expressed support for ANA's entry into charter business, Nakatsuka said.

ANA expects at least two or three groups of 60 to 100 passengers each month on affinity or on-use charter tours from Japan to foreign cities, he said. If the Japanese Government should lift restrictions, he said about 2,000 persons would participate in inclusive tour charters each month.

AERO SPACELINES TO PRODUCE OUTSIZE CARGO AIRCRAFT AT NEW FACILITY

At a new facility in the Santa Barbara, Calif. airport, Aero Spacelines Inc. plans to produce seven standardized Guppy outsize-cargo aircraft over the next three years. Ground work for the new plant will be completed in June.

The proposed 200,000 sq. ft. plant will have three hanger structures, each with a clear span of 180 ft. by 220 ft. in depth. The structures will house aircraft maintenance and Guppy production work in addition to aircraft modification under the Air Transport/Total In-Flight Simulator program (AT/TIFS). A companion company of Aero Spacelines, Tex Johnston, Inc. has begin work under contract with Cornell Aeronautical Laboratories on the first of a fleet of AT/TIFS aircraft for transition training of jet transport pilots.

The new Guppies slated for production will have turboprop power, pressurized cockpits and anti-icing equipment for higher and more efficient cruise altitudes. Standardized loading procedures and air transportable loading equipment will be incorporated in the new aircraft.

Aero Spacelines in March received CAB authorization to transport outsize cargo for commercial customers on a worldwide basis. "Outsize cargo," by CAB definition, is cargo too large for airlift in other currently existing aircraft. Aero Spacelines produces Guppy aircraft by stretching and expanding Boeing 377-C-97s into whale-sized aircraft.

Fabrication and sub-assembly of some elements has begin on the first three of the new standardized Guppies, one a Mini Guppy and two Super models, with two additional Supers and two Minis to follow. By early 1970, the firm expects to have four Supers, three turbo Minis as well as the current Mini in commercial service.

With modification under the AT/TIFS program, the first plane will simulate a Boeing 707. The nose and flight deck section of a 707 is being built onto the nose of a Convair 440 converted to turboprop power and incorporating specially adapted and added control surfaces. The transitioning pilot will fly the aircraft from the 707 cockpit with 707 controls. Pilot control input goes to the control surfaces through an airborne computer and associates system of servos.

A.M. "Tex" Johnston, president of both Aero Spacelines and the Tex Johnston, Inc. said training flight crews on the AT/TIFS plans will reduce costs and add safety factors. He estimates direct operating costs per hour in the AT/TIFS aircraft will run 33 percent less than in the actual aircraft for the forthcoming airbus, 50 percent less than in a 747 and 75 percent less than in an SST. Aero Spacelines Inc. and the Johnston company are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Unexcelled Inc.

EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, Northwest Orient Airlines will offer a nonstop flight between Seattle-Tacoma International and Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.