The Daily Alaska Empire

REPRESENTATIVE TELLS FACTS OF NEW BOEING 417

Joe Anderson, a special representative of the Boeing Aircraft Company of Seattle, Washington, designers and builders of the famous B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-29 Superfortress, is now in Juneau to confer with local airline operators and corporation executives on the newly-announced Boeing 417 twin-engine airliner. Mr. Anderson arrived on Wednesday by PAA from Seattle.

Mr. Anderson is currently making an extensive tour of Alaska cities as part of a comprehensive world program to introduce the Boeing 417 transport, designed to bring to short-haul, local-service airlines the advantages of the most advanced aircraft engineering.

"Of particular interest to the operator of cargo or passenger airplanes," Mr. Anderson said, "is the fact that the Boeing 417 is designed especially for operation from smaller airports and will operate at lower cost than any other aircraft of its type in the world."

It will carry 20 to 24 passengers or a cargo load of 5,900 pounds. The plane was ordered into quantity production at the Boeing - Wichita (Kansas) plant.

The "417," Mr. Anderson explained, marks the entry by Boeing-already famous in the field of large aircraft-into large scale production of smaller transports of a size comparable to the DC-3.

The Boeing 417 is built especially to meet the needs of the community which has never enjoyed modern air service, it will put local type air operation on a sound, paying basis, operating on a direct flying cost of 11 cents per mile.

The Boeing 417, nicknamed the "little brother" of the 80-passenger Boeing Stratocruiser because it possesses-in reduced scale-so many of the mainline Stratocruiser's features, has a wing span of more than 86 feet and is approximately 60 feet long. These include hot air anti-icing of wing and tail surfaces; dual-wheel tricycle landing gear and steerable nose wheel; low entrance doors with steps incorporated in them to eliminate ramps and other ground-handling equipment; provision for cabin pressurization for passenger's comfort; a system for cabin heating and ventilating on the ground as well as in the air; easily removable and interchangeable power plants; and a wide-vision roomy flight control cabin with completely accessible flight and engine control systems.

The airplane also has a high wing, which will assure passengers of an unobstructed view. A complete overhaul and service bases for the plane are to be maintained at Seattle and parts depots will be established where need is proved. Mr. Anderson said.

Mr. Anderson, whose eight years in the aviation industry has given him a wide experience in the engineering, sales and service phases of the business, joined the Boeing organization shortly after completing his World War II duties as a Navy Commander. As an aviation maintenance officer he served nine-ten months in the South Pacific. He was graduated from Yale University in 1937.

He expects to be in Juneau until Monday and is stopping at the Baranof Hotel.