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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0802.PDF
286 FLIGHT. MARCH 24, 1938. CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. BROADSIDE FIRE I AM obliged to Mr. Manning and '' Tactician '' for theirreplies last week to my queries on the Cazaux effect. I would be grateful if Mr. Manning would elaborate his suggestions in regard to the Magnus effect. I agree that in the absence of data at supersonic velocities no qualitative estimate is pos- sible, but I should be glad if Mr. Manning would indicate- qualitatively his ideas of the Magnus effect on the whole trajec- tory from gunner to target. Your correspondent, "Tactician," is hardly justified in assuming that I have forgotten that there are other factors determining the accuracy of broadside fire. It may be interest- ing to return to these at some future date, but, at the moment, they are not the subject of my query, which was related to the so-called " effet de Cazaux," and I must decline to follow another scent, however powerful the red herring. I have not yet had an opportunity of looking up the references in Les Ailes, but I shall do so at an early date in the hope of finding an answer to my questions. I appreciate, perhaps for reasons additional to those in the mind of your correspondent, the difficulty of answering my questions, but some answers are necessary to establish the fact that a mysterious special phenomenon was actually observed at Cazaux and if so, what was its nature ? It would help to throw some light on the matter if '' Tactician'' would suggest probable answers to my questions, and I think that this should not be too difficult. ^ JOHN D. NORTH. Oldbury, Bridgnorth. :.--.-•.-.•:- STARTING YOUNG ~~ MR. I. S. Philcox's letter [March 10] represents, I think,the view of thousands of the younger generation who desire to do more than fly round an aerodrome with an in- structor. Yet there is also the medical point of view to be considered. Can a young boy—or an ageing business man, for that matter—stand up to the nervous strain of flying so-called "light" aeroplanes, which nowadays do anything up to 150 m.p.h. ? Should an immature youth be given absolute con- trol over 130 h.p. which, if badly used, can become a missile of destruction ? I do not think so; but to satisfy legitimate demands, why not licence really "light" aeroplanes for the use of both young and old, and issue a special restricted licence for that class, not for filing "all types" ? I suggest that something light and inexpensive, such as the Drone, should be possessed by most clubs and schools for this purpose. A. MCKEE, Southsea. (Solo at 15, " A " licence at 17.) INTERNAL AIRLINE COMPETITION AS recorded in your columns, Railway Air Services havestarted South Coast operations this year two months earlier than on previous occasions. Following closely upon the heels of the announcement by Channel Air Ferries of a service from London to Brignton, Isle of Wight, Bournemouth, Bristol and Cardiff, one cannot refrain from the suspicion that the motive is competitive, particularly as the Ryde-Bournemouth section is a new route as far as Railway Air Services are concerned. One hears a great deal nowadays about lack of international co-operation (let me be quite fair—not to any great extent in the field of commercial aviation); cannot we at least have internal co-operation in this country ? There is not, as yet, sufficient air traffic within the confines of the British Isles to support competitive services of this nature ; the rapid rise and fall of so many operating companies during the past few years amply supports this contention. Good news in this respect is the announcement made some months ago of co-operation between Railway Air Services and certain other companies in the.North of England and Scotland. The formation of Isle of Man Air Services (a combination of Railway Air Services and Blackpool and West Coast Air Ser- vices, an associate of Channel Air Ferries) has given that area a winter schedule much superior to the one of 1936-7 by elimi- nating wasteful competitive duplication and spreading the journeys over the day. May we not see similar co-operation between other companies, which can only be to the benefit of the travelling public by creating new through facilities and more evenly spaced services. At the present moment it looks ARCTIC AVRO : Belonging to the Royal Canadian Air Force, this Avro 626 with Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah V engine is one of a first batch which have been mainly built in this country and then finished off in Armstrong's Ottawa depot. A further order for 626s, complete with skis, cockpit enclosure and louvred nose cowl is being executed. as though this summer may see a repetition in the Southamp- ton, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight area of the confusion which a short time ago existed in the Isle of Man district, confusion which must inevitably increase the dangers of commercial air transport. The services at present operating form a basis on which a most excellent system of connections could be arranged between almost -every part of the British Isles, given the necessary time table co-ordination. Will not the companies concerned take a big step forward this summer, particularly in the South of England, to their mutual benefit and that of their passengers ? Harpenden. JAMES M. JOHNSON. SPECTATORS, CAMERAS AND CLUBS WHILST enjoying the hospitality of the gliding club atGreat Hucidow, on Sunday, March 6, my son was sub- jected to abuse and threatened with assault (presumably by one of the officials of the club) for using a camera; indeed, I am convinced that he would have been assaulted had I not arrived on the scene in time to intervene. As it was, my son and I had to run the gauntlet of three different groups of individuals, all of whom were, I suppose, club officers, and to give an undertaking not to make use of the film, before we were allowed to depart, and when eventually we had left the gliding field it felt quite good to be " back in England again," as it were. Neither my son nor I saw any notice displayed forbidding the free use of cameras, and one would hardly expect to en- counter such prohibition in any event, as most people look upon gliding as a sport purely and simply. I do think the club should exhibit notices setting out any rules and regulations which they wish the public to observe, and it might be a good thing also if the officials were provided with a badge to denote their authority, as not one of the individuals who " inter- viewed '' my son and me had anything to show their right to tackle us in the way they did. Sheffield. • DAEDALUS. ' [We have invited the comments of Mr. C. A. Kaye, hon. secretary of the Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club. His reply appears below.—ED.] "From information received I understand that on the Sun- day in question there was a minor but spectacular crash at Great Hucklow, and in accordance with the usual practice on such occasions a request was made that photographs should not be taken. This request was observed by almost all those present, but some person attempted a surreptitious photograph, was seen and asked to leave the ground, which he did atter some remonstration. T "In view of the significance of "Daedalus' " pseudonym* imagine there is some connection between this incident and I" subject-matter of his letter, although it would seem he is m need of some enlightenment as to the rights, if any, of spe tators who without invitation enter the grounds of a pnva members' club. ),„ " The question of the prohibition of any form of PhotoSraPr* does not, of course, arise and the club are pleased to g facilities for this at all times except in such instance;, above."
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