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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 2106.PDF
JULY 25, 1940 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible tor the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of thi writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. VISIBLE VORTICES - Can Trail be Followed ? YOUR article in Flight of July iS, regarding Visible Vortices,is most interesting to me, as 1 myself witnessed a similar phenomenon on Sunday, June 30. It may be of interest to record this, and I will relate the facts for what they may be worth. 1 was returning by car from Bristol on this particular occa- sion and had reached the village of Coalpitheath on the Bris- tol-Chipping Sodbury road. The weather was hot, with white cumulus clouds in a perfect blue sky, about 4/10 1 should say, with very little wind either at ground level or higher up. The time was approximately 2.30 p.m. when I first noticed what appeared to be a white smoke trail across the sky from approximately south-east to a north-westerly direction. This trail started in the distance as far as one could see, appeared very bigh, in fact, above the clouds, and terminated in a particularly large cloud, or over it. On watching further I eventually saw the white trail lead- ing away from this cloud in a southerly direction and quite definitely in the making. No aeroplane was visible to the naked eye, nor could we hear a machine. The trail had the definite appearance of a helix and this was much more noticeable about three-quarters of an hour later, when the little wind there was at that height had moved the trail across the sky and had dispersed same a little. The previous day, Saturday, the Bristol district had been visited by enemy aircraft and we thought maybe this was an enemy machine as it was flying so very high. 1 would like to know if it would be possible for another machine to follow a trail of this description if flying at a similar height, as it was so easily discernible from the ground. If so, would it not be a golden opportunity for some of our fighter pilots under similar conditions if the trail is being made by an enemy machine. D. W. PALMER. Burton-on-Trent. I READ your article on Visible Vortices in Flight of July 18with interest, and while I have no knowledge of the cause of these I thought my experience might be interesting. The evening was fine and fresh, with scattered clouds which were fairly low, and other banks of clouds at a much greater height. I watched a Lysander climb into the sky, and when it reached a height at which you could just distinguish that it was a Lysander, what appeared to be a trail of white smoke formed behind it. About five minutes later I heard an aeroplane but could not see it. Then, from the middle of one of the very high clouds, I saw a thin white trail appear. This went right across the sky although the actual machine was too high to be seen. I could see no sign of this cloud-like formation before the aero- plane went into the cloud. (MKS.) W. H. MARKS. Yeovil. PARACHUTES Are They Necessary During Elementary Training ? I HAVE done a fair amount of flying in club types, bothwith and without parachutes, and can truthfully say that I feel quite as happy m the air without a parachute as I do with one. However, 1 think it all depends on whether one is in the habit of using a " brolly " or not. One thing is cer- tain, namely, that the harness is a cumbersome* and unconsp fortable affair. '" Considering a different aspect of the question : (a) What per- centage oi flying time hi one's first 50 hours of training is carried out at 2,000ft. or over ? (b) How many pupils in an emergency would think of stepping out? (c) How many pupils who did would get out in time and get clear of bracing wires and tailplanes ? (d) Most important. How many instances can you think of, in the past five years, of a pupil saving his life or needing to save it by parachute during his first 50 hours ? (The last question rather presupposes an R.A.F. pupil in that the majority of clubs do not use para- chutes.) To consider the above questions in turn: (a) Bearing in mmd the fairly short duration of lessons—say, an average of 35 mins.—the relatively slow rate of climb of the standard biplane trainers, and the average English weather, the answer is about 10 per cent, as a maximum, (b) and (c) For the first 10 or 15 hours a pupil is not told anything about " baling out," and in an emergency would probably "freeze up" on the controls. In any case, by the time he was free of straps, speaking tube and wires, and had got out of the cockpit, it would be too late to jump by parachute. The 2,000ft. in question (a) is a minimum height at which most pupils could be faced with the need to jump and be expected to get away with it. (d) The number of cases of pupils saving their lives in these circumstances must be so low as to be negligible. I therefore maintain that, for elementary training, para- chutes are quite unnecessary, and that, in view of their weight, hampering effect on a pilot's movements, expense of produc- tion and even more of maintenance, they should be neglected until advanced training is commenced. If it is argued that one should at least give the instructor a parachute, since he would know how to use it and is always exposed to the risk of needing to do so, I would ask, " What sort of instructor would get out of an aeroplane and leave his pupil in it ? " It is to the credit of the makers of our elementary trainers that their structural strength and reliability permit one to disregard this aspect of the need for parachutes. I feel sure that there would be a good reduction in fatigue of pupil and instructor if they had only the harness strapped round them. INSTRUCTOR. [Our correspondent's arguments are certainly worthy of serious thought. What do other readers think?—ED.] Long Service LAST week three of the older hands on the staff of BlackburnAircraft, Ltd., were the recipients of, handsome silver trays in recognition of their long services with the firm. They were Major F. A. Bumpus, B.Sc, A.R.C.S., Wh.Sc., F.R.Ae.S., who has completed 21 years' continuous service as chief designer, chief engineer and latterly joint managing director; Mr. Edwin Hudson, F.C.I.S., who had also com- pleted 21 years' continuous service as secretary to the firm; and Mr. G. E. Petty, F.R.Ae.S., whose record is 25 years' continuous service, during which period he has risen to the position of chief aircraft designer. Both Major Bumpus and Mr. Hudson have served on the Board for ig years, and their gifts (which were from their fellow-directors) included in their inscription the following: "A token of esteem and in appre- ciation of his loyalty and devotion to duty through a period which has included many difficult years." Those who know something of the history of the industry appreciate full well that for many years times were very lean, and it was no mean task to keep a works going and to provide employment for many workpeople. Major Bumpus served from 1915-1919 with the R.N.A.S. ns technical officer. A Loughborough man, he was apprenticed to a firm of general engineers, and later studied at the Royal College of Science, London, where he gained a number of honours, including the Senior Whitworth Scholarship. Fol- lowing this award he gained further engineering experience in America. When the last war came all plans were upset and he accepted a commission in the R.N.V.R. and was appointed to the technical staff of the R.N.A.S. at the Admiralty. On demobilisation in 1919 he joined the Blackburn Company as chief designer, and shortly afterwards became a director ami chief engineer. Mr. Hudson, who is on the Council of the Hull Chamber of Commerce and has served with the Leeds Chamber of. Com- merce, has also served as chairman of the Hull branch and the West Yorks branch of the Chartered Institute of Secre- taries. He was also on the Council of the Yorkshire branch of the Institute of Transport and was deputy chairman of the Leeds and West Yorks branch of the Federation of British Industries. Mr. Petty was educated at Leeds University. His original plans were upset by the outbreak of the 1914-18 war, but he joined Blackburns quite early, and has been connected with the design side since the days of the Kangaroo. He has par- ticularly specialised on Fleet Air Arm -types of aircraft, and has represented the company in a technical capacity in many countries, including Japan, Finland, the United States of America, and Canada. . .
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