Matt Falcus - 50 Airliners that Changed Flying

First published in 2018

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

Matt Falcus 2018

The right of Matt Falcus to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-7509-8876-6

Typesetting and origination by The History Press

Printed in India

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

Cover Illustrations

Upper Front: Despite its technological advances, only two airlines ever ordered Concorde aircraft. (Authors Collection)

Lower Front: The fuselage of the Constellation has a distinctive shape, with a bulbous forward fuselage that tapers to a point at the tail, and three vertical fins spread across a wide horizontal stabiliser. (Authors Collection)

Back Left: Passengers enjoy the comfortable spacious interior of the Stratoliner.

Back Right: The Benoist Type XIV was probably the first aircraft to fly a scheduled passenger service.

: Sud Aviation Caravelle cockpit. (Author)

: As well as comfortable passenger cabins, the DC-3 was used as a troop transport during the Second World War. (Author)

T he author would like to thank a few individuals for their help and support in producing this book. Jon Proctor, whose experience working in the airline industry and collection of images from those days is beyond compare. Id like to thank my wife, Lucy, for her support in my aviation interests, and my parents for encouraging me to follow this interest from an early age. Finally, Id like to thank Amy Rigg and all at The History Press for bringing this book to life.

M att Falcus is a British aviation writer and author of a number of books. His interests in aviation started at a young age when watching aircraft from the viewing terraces at his local airport. In 2003, he began writing articles for consumer magazines such as Airliner World and Aviation News, and has written popular guides for enthusiasts both online and in print. He has also been interviewed on BBC Radio 4, Radio 5 Live, and collaborated with organisations such as British Airways, London City Airport and the Royal Air Force. Matt is also a private pilot.

S itting on board an Airbus A380, among more than 500 other passengers, its difficult to imagine that little over 100 years ago flight was a new, experimental endeavour. Early pioneers saw its potential in delivering the mail much quicker, and the onset of war meant great advancements in aeroplanes because of their ability to be used for military purposes. Yet flying one or two passengers was a novelty in those early days.

It took a number of years before the commercial possibilities of flying passengers and making money doing so dawned on aircraft manufacturers. The early limitations of aircraft, in terms of how far they could fly and how many passengers they could carry, certainly restricted their impact to small, expensive endeavours by a few entrepreneurial pioneers.

The first few decades of flight were an experimental time, with aircraft built in small numbers and their reliability being something of an issue. Yet by the 1930s great strides were being made to produce machines capable of comfort, range, speed and reliability that could be mass produced and prove suitable for the needs of air carriers all over the world. It did not take long before it became possible to link greater distances, across oceans and continents, with greater numbers on board.

With flying remaining the reserve of the rich, aircraft were developed with on-board luxuries reminiscent of the hotels and clubs one might visit, and heavily inspired by sea and train travel. Early airliners included wicker chairs in elegant saloons, with washrooms and impeccably dressed waiters. As aircraft grew in size, passengers would still regularly dress up to take a flight even into the 1960s.

Yet with the economics needed to make air travel pay, the advancement in aircraft turned in the direction of size and reducing costs. Aircraft and their engines became efficient at transporting large numbers of people over great distances, at speed, whilst reducing the cost of operating. In doing so, air travel was brought to the masses. Many might argue that, in todays world of low-cost carriers and routes linking thousands of city pairs, it is more akin to taking a bus than a luxury train or ocean liner.

A busy scene of early piston airliners at New York La Guardia during the post-war boom in air travel, made possible by pioneering aircraft designers and manufacturers, and the airlines that saw the opportunity. (Jon Proctor Collection)

However, along the way many great leaps have taken place. Those early piston aircraft with open cockpits very quickly gave way to luxury airliners with sleeping berths, pressurised cabins and engines capable of flying at greater speed. These in turn gave way to the jet age, flying higher and further in comfort. Aircraft such as Concorde enabled travel at immense speed, while the Boeing 747 jumbo jet became the so-called queen of the skies. Finally, todays ultra-efficient airliners are built of composite materials that give strength at a fraction of the weight, and offer complex technology and computerised systems.

Great superpowers of aircraft manufacturing were established early on and were responsible for many great leaps and advances in design and technology. In the early days Britain, France and Russia were years ahead. Yet America proved that aircraft could be made commercially viable and produced in great numbers, creating important companies such as Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed. Europes response has been the collaborative Airbus, whilst aircraft manufacturing in post-Soviet Russia has always remained strong.

The aircraft in this book have all played a major role in developing air travel in some important or pioneering way. Many are household names and have enjoyed a long-lasting impact on the way we travel; others have long been consigned to the history books and now can only be enjoyed in museums, yet must be remembered for their innovative contributions. Others are still flying thousands of passengers every day all around the world. Either way, these airliners will forever be responsible for shaping how we fly.