UNITED 803

for will not only save you you'll improve as newly developed equipment is [Music] added the 18 cylinder Wass are among the biggest piston engines now being made the carburetor alone is larger than some automobile engines taken apart down to the last bolt and pin each part will go to its appropriate subdepartment to be tested then refinished or replaced Parts have been grouped in baskets to ride the overhead conveyor for the 5-hour trip through the cleaning Bank our 2100 horsepower stretch out in a line 60 ft [Music] the three4 is being stripped to her bare Fusz and every part subject to the slightest wear is checked by inspectors new slotted Flats about the size of barn doors permit shorter takeoffs and slower landing speed the landing gear like all of 65 34's critical equipment has duplicate operating mechanisms one electric and one hydraulic each entirely independent of the other the extraordinary delicacy and precision of a top instrument Craftsman can make a watchmaker feel heavy-handed the gyroscope brain of this automatic pilot spins at 18,000 revolutions per minute with parts so small that they're adjusted through a microscope yet the giant propellers are also so finely balanced that they can be set in motion by the weight of a single Paper match an automatic pitch control mechanism shifts gears from climbing to cruising in Flight upon Landing the blades can be fully reversed so that they push against the air stopping the airplane smoothly and swiftly Visual and micrometer inspections are supplemented by World of Tomorrow devices which uncover any hidden flaws in orderly arangment the new and renewed parts are conveyed to the final assembly line and once again they begin to assume the form and function of a giant double wasp engine being here in Progressive stages of reassembly its 18 cylinders equipped with water injection and Jet thrust exhaust deliver a maximum of 2400 horsepower when the pilot guns borrow these great power plants for takeoff the 9,600 horses under his hand drive the dc6 through the atmosphere with more power than is provided by any locomotive now riding the [Music] rail after being run for 5 hours in the test cell under conditions far more rigorous than anything ever encountered in actual flight the engines are returned to the dock [Music] [Music] and now the overhaul draws to a close the hundreds of Britain orders have been worked checked and signed off the final inspectors have swarmed the plane with flashlight and checklists and found everything in order and on the fifth day 6534 backs out of the dock feeling like a new airplane which she is but there's still another two days of careful scrutiny on the ramp by inspectors who check on the inspectors before she's ready for flight testing during the next four hours the test flight crew will check and recheck the special factors which giv 6534 her great defendability those reserves of range altitude speed and power for range her tanks can swallow the whole 4200 gon load of this huge gas tank truck giving her the ability to reach a landing Place hundreds of miles Beyond any scheduled destination for alud 6534 climbs far above any Mountaintop in the entire United States to cruise the smooth upper air far above ordinary weather [Music] disturbances her pressurized cabin keeps the inside atmosphere at an easy breathing 7500 ft while the air outside is a thin 19,000 for Speed the four big engines will Cruise the dc6 at better than 300 mph for power the dc6 requires hardly more than half of its horsepower to achieve this fine performance which means that she can not only fly with three engine but she can keep on climbing and she can maintain her altitude comfortably with any2 6534 ordinarily cruises at only 55% of her rated power leaving a comfortable Reserve which can be used to maintain normal schedules against adverse wind conditions [Music] 6534 okay for flight take her [Music] away and 6534 goes back on the line back and forth over United 13,250 M of scheduled route clouds are hanging low over the Los Angeles Air Force this winter morning and the rain which drizzles off 6534 silver shoulders is only a sample of the weather which lies far to the east today 6534 scheduled for fight 608 the Hollywood eastbound to New York with one stop at Chicago the crew checked in an hour and a half before flight time posted on the weatherboard the captain finds a broad assortment of detailed data including reports of wind conditions at various altitudes flight logs from pilots who just flown in oral rout the meteorologists get new information minute by minute today's ground weather is unfavorable from Denver East but as Us Upper air is clear and smooth at the 19,000 ft cruising level the co-pilot computes his gasoline load to carry the plane Beyond Chicago to an alternate airport if need plus an ample Reserve departure time comes closer as the airport limousines bring their passengers from the hotels and Terminals and as the passengers check in for their flights it becomes obvious that just about everybody Travels by air these days well remembers that a very few years ago under similar weather conditions this flight would not have left the ground that's true today lying across the North Central Plains is a low pressure area characterized by rough air and strong winds blowing in a counter clockwise Direction not long ago unfavorable weather along a single basic route might have canel the flight nowadays we have many available routs all radio controlled Airways and we can choose the one where the weather is best so today we'll fly our regular course as far as the Grand Canyon and then swing South Via Emeral of Texas and let those circling winds give us a Tailwind boost which will offset the extra mileage tomorrow the Storm Center will have moved softward we'll fly a Northerly course the next day we'll be back on our regular route Pilots call this pressure pattern flying but it simply means that the longest way round is frequently the quickest way home also the smoothest and the sunniest well it's time to be getting down under the [Music] airplane out on the wet ramp 6534 is drinking her breakfast as the flight engineer Third Man of the crew concludes his nose to tail check of her [Music] equipment overhead in the cockpit the captain and co-pilots begin the checking and crosschecking which will go on more or less constantly until they land at Chicago although every instrument and control and dial is second nature to these men each is called off and checked whenever the airplane prepares to leave the ground the ramp agent has collected 49 gate passers 6534 is traveling pretty full [Music] today the stewardes will have plenty to keep them busy and somehow it never fails that for every Mrs Bennett embarking on her first flight there's a Mr Bennett relishing the chance to show off his vast experience Ang Ground Control from United 608 ready to taxi IFR to Chicago United 608 cleared to Runway 25 L United 608 ready for takeoff United 608 cleared for takeoff climb westbound on the west leg of the LA low frequency range to on top report on top roger8 clear for takeoff four synchronized throttle daming 9600 horses into action and a schedule V Sunshine 3 m Up Chicago 2,000 M and 6 and2 hours to the east [Music] when 6534 climbs into the cloud cover a few hundred ft above the field Mrs Bennett would feel much better if she knew that the plane is riding a radio track more sharply marked than a highway route but her uncertainty is momentary because these big airplanes are usually only 15 minutes from sunshine aircraft headed east fly at the odd tht altitude leaving the even levels cleared for plan flying West so when the captain levels off at 19,000 ft 6534 is far above any mountain top in the United State and clear of airplanes flying in the opposite direction passing Uber Dam and Lake me the co-pilot radio is position and gets in return the latest weather and wind data [Music] anything interesting goes back to the cabins of the PA loudspeakers your attention raises this is your captain speaking through the windows on the left side you'll soon be looking down into the Grand Canyon of the Colorado directly below us the dark green triangle is the south rim of the canyon you can see the highway to elar hot is Bright Angel large radio reports indicate we should continue to have only scattered clouds until we're over the Divide so there'll still be quite a lot to see thank you but a thousand miles to the east the clouds are solid not scattered Chicago dispatch expects to bring 6534 in as scheduled but the airlines believe in anticipating every possibility and so the Chicago dispatcher refers flight 60 and payload control at Denver these offices control the movements of every airplane United's mainliner Fleet as well as loads they carry 24 hours of every day so out over one of the most exensive private telephone and teletype systems in the world go payloads request for data on the individual passengers aboard 6534 Angeles reservations which passengers want connections at Chicago to Chicago reservations which passengers want connections un united for Washington Philadelphia Detroit Boston to Milwaukee Cleveland and Detroit airport can you take care8 if we divert it to you from Chicago soon the communications net brings back the data on flight 608 every passenger is now known by name and every individual's problem will enter into the final decision payload and dispatch work up their plan for the flight if Chicago ceiling drops below the 300t minimum they'll set 608 down at Milwaukee for refueling on route to New York free arrange transportation will bring her Chicago passengers to downtown Chicago these alternate routings are planned as a matter of routine procedure of them are used as evidenced by the fact that United's entire fleet operates Almost 100% of its schedule it's meal time now and 6534 is cruising Eastward over the Continental Divine those four thundering engines barely audible through the blankets of fiberglass which soundproof the two big cabins over the Prairie face now riding the beam up toward the Great [Music] Lake Mr Bennett goes over the spee he's giving tonight while B settles back for an after now beyond the wheat belt across the Mississippi and is 6534 approaches Chicago the dispatcher radios at the airport is now open your attention please in through the overcat on a routine instrument approach they already have Landing system andr in a booklet you'll notice that radio beams are projected from the airport Runway the Glide path is like an electronic Highway slanting downward at the correct angle to bring us out at the exact of the runway tickle beam called is the white line in the CER of that Highway in front of me here in the cockpit is a simple instrument which tells the whole story the vertical needle Wars when the a feet to right or left of the localizer beam the horizontal needle does the same thing if we get above or below the Glide F to make the perfect roach it's only necessary to keep the needles centered our mile posts the special radio Beacon which cause signal lights to flatten the cockpit as we pass over them and Mark our distance to the touchdown point though we'll be in the over most of our approach runs our radio Aid will tell us exactly where we are at all times down on the Chicago Runway in8 minutes thank you every experienced air Traver well remembers when this kind of an overcast would have me endless circling over the terminal airport while the overwork Tower talked down the Stacked airplanes at 15minute intervals but this afternoon planes will touch down in perfect safety no more than 3 minutes apart with the Casual ease andess of clear weather the same kind of clouds which concerned Mrs Bennett a few hours ago have lost their significance now she understands how the pilots know exactly where they are at all times United 608 calling approach control over Aurora at 5500 [Music] over Roger United 608 cleared to ILS outer marker no delay expected 5 miles from the field the captain lines up with il and the pointer settle down to a steady face Wings flat to the Glide path nose straight on the localizer 6534 is angled for theact as as she were down through an invisible xray eye of the Precision beam radar sweeps the skies Tim pointing the position of every airplane in the area within a few feet the radar man monitors all ILS approaches and could talk any of them down if need be now crossing the outer Mark United 608 over the outer marker at 07 Roger United 608 you are now cleared to the Chicago Tower ILS approach United 608 leaving outer marker inbound although outside vision is obscured the captain can see perfectly with the aid of his Precision instrument air speed 135 130 125 the 125 125 125 and there 6534 break out of the overcast lined up for a perfect Landing as the wheel set down on the snow covered Runway the pilots P back to throttle reversing the pitch of the propell the engin keep running forward propeller blades pain from P to push helping to bring the airplane to a smooth Swift stop Chicago after 2,000 miles of sunshine over some of the worst ground weather of the year and on the Midway ramp within 5 minutes of schedule New York bound passengers will have time to stretch their legs make a phone call or send a wire [Music] but despite the nasty underfoot the well-coordinated ground Crews will have 6534 refueled and stocked with hot meals mechanically checked from nose to tail mail and luggage and cargo handled and stowed and the airplane and her people back in the air within 30 [Music] minutes with a fresh crew aboard 6534 is ready for an on time departure talk up that one to the teamwork of a cracked ground [Music] crew destination New York 6534 climbs through the overcast from snow to Sunshine in 11 minutes by the clock and her fellow passengers will be in New York on time once those words would have been a boast now they just a routine statement of fact for today and every day at air travel's peak hour in the late afternoon more than 500 airliners are alof at once over the United States carrying some 600 tons of cargo and 15,000 passengers swiftly safely and dependably in a thundering tribute to the of America big and small whose crisscrossing routes are weaving a bright new tapestry of service to the present and promise to the [Music] Future close up your magazine freshen your lipstick throw those papers in your briefcase straighten your ti we're approaching the airport [Music] [Music] [Music] flight 608 from Los Angeles Ria Chicago to New yorking at gate three to close another page in the log book of United 6534 [Music]