Capital Airlines Lockheed Constellations. In 1955 they became the first U.S. operator of the British manufactured, four engine Vickers Viscount, the first passenger turboprop airliner. The Viscount propjets were deployed on the flagship Washington-Chicago route and the airline had planned to fly them on expanded service; however, Capital was mostly stymied by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The CAB also refused Capital a requested subsidy. Still, Capital's passenger-miles in 1957 were 88% more than 1955. On November 14, 1956 a Capital pilot reported seeing a blue-white ball in the sky. The pilot, Captain William J. Hull, was a senior captain who
Vickers E.F.B.1 to be started on another aircraft of similar design, the Vickers E.F.B.2, and this line of development would eventually lead to the Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus. Vickers E.F.B.1 The Vickers E.F.B.1 'Destroyer' was an early British military aircraft prototype. Although not itself a success, the design was considered worth developing, and a series of similar aircraft were produced in prototype form, eventually leading to the Vickers F.B.5 "Gunbus", which saw widespread service during World War I. The Experimental Fighting Biplane No. 1 (E.F.B.1) was designed in response to a British Admiralty requirement for an aircraft intended for an offensive role. As