MAGAZINE 10 | (^67)
In the late 1950s, business aviation demanded more modern alternatives
to the old machines of the time of World War II. But the aeronautical
industry was still in search of more suitable solutions to serve this market
BY | ANDRÉ BORGES LOPES
A
n unpre-
cedented
growth in
the use of
aircrafts
as civilian transport
means has market the
period following World
War Two. Driven by the
technological progress of
the conflict years, by the
improvement of airport
infrastructure and by
a dramatic quantity of
“military surplus” sold at
affordable prices, hun-
dreds of commercial avia-
tion enterprises came to
sight around the world.
At the same time the
business aircraft concept
was consolidated: air-
crafts with two or more
engines and capability for
night or instrument flies
that could comfortably
and safely transport exe-cutives, customers and
guests of big corporations
in business trips, without
the restrictions of com-
mercial aviation routes
and schedules.
A survey carried out
in June 1953 in the US
verified that nearly 950
aircrafts were fit in this
category. The Beechcraft
Model 18 accounted for
46% of this total. The
Douglas DC-3/C-47 for
20%, the Lockheed L-12
(Electra Jr), L-14 (Super
Electra) and L-18 (Lo-
destar) for 19% and the
other models for 15%.
In common, all of them
derived from commer-
cial aircrafts developed
before the war: piston
twin-engine aircrafts with
non-pressurized cabins
and limited endurance.
Usually, they were simpleadaptations of airline or
cargo machines, recon-
figured for a smaller
number of passengers
and with more luxurious
internal finishing.
In mid-1950, military
fighters already were
breaking sound barrier,
commercial jets began to
cross the stratosphere at
800 kilometers per hour
and the airline four-engi-
ne aircrafts made nonstop
ocean crossings of over
5,000 kilometers, flying at
high altitudes. Meanwhi-
le, business aviation tra-
velled below the clouds in
old aircrafts that hardly
exceeded 300 kilometers
per hour. Obviously there
was the need to offer
more suitable options to
these users. çBut industry
was still in search of a
better solution.THE FIRST
BUSINESS JETS