Jet Travel When?

When will the jet age arrive for commercial airlines? It's already here, say the British, who are flying their jet Comet on commercial routes. But Chairman Fred B. Rentschler of United Aircraft, whose J57 Pratt & Whitney jet engine is probably the most powerful in production, disagrees. In plain words, he cut through the fog of confusing claims about jet transports. Piston planes, said Rentschler, will still be flying the bulk of commercial travelers in 1956, and jet fleets will not come until several years after that.

The requirements for a jet plane to replace present airliners, said Rentschler, are: it must 1) carry more passengers than present liners (the Comet now carries 36 to 44 passengers compared to 58 to 75 in a Constellation), 2) be even safer and more dependable, and 3) be as cheap to operate. "In the light of these requirements," said he, "no jet transport here or abroad . . . will be available prior to 1956 except in prototype form . . . The building of a prototype transport and its translation into a production airplane so that it will be available in quantities sufficient for fleet replacement will require most of another five-year period ending in 1961."

The British jets, he added, have "a limited demand." But "we must draw a clear distinction between the supplemental operation of jet transports [with piston ships] as compared to the real objective which all of us are now aiming for, namely a type of jet air transport ... for complete fleet replacement . . ."

The real keystone, he made clear, is the engine, which "must display a fuel economy far superior to any now in operational use, since the rate of fuel consumption is perhaps the most vital weakness of the jet-turbine power plant." In respect to engines, the U.S. is ahead, said Rentschler. The "broad development and use [for military purposes] should result in an unmatched proving ground for those presently superior power plants to which commercial air transports will fall heir . . .

"The facts clearly show that the type of air transport capable of meeting the requirements for worldwide fleet replacement does not exist; such an aircraft still is pretty much on the drawing board both here and abroad. At this time, this country has a distinct advantage from the standpoint of future power plants both as to size and fuel economy. The realistic conclusion ... is that we are not behind the British with respect to the jet transports that will comprise the air fleets of the future. Rather, we are probably in position to accomplish more quickly the final objective of world jet air transport leadership."

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