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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1366.PDF
FLIGHT JUNE IO/TH, the skilled hands of only the most experienced pilots. Generally speaking, the most advanced types the em- bryo fighter pilots have flown before anival at the O.T.U. are North American Harvards and Miles Masters. In some cases, however, a few hours on early marks of Hurricanes have also been put in. The psychological effect of flying the Spitfire for the first time is as great —if not greater than—the first solo. For months it has been dreamed of, talked about and pondered over. It is little wonder that there is some nervous apprehension when at last the day comes and the pupil finds himself with his hand on the Merlin throttle with a blank expanse of aerodrome and sky showing through the bullet-proof windscreen. Hawarden Trainer On a lower scale the transition from a trainer to an operational type is rather like going from a pedal cycle to motor bicycle. There is a dreadful feeling of being left behind, of being controlled instead of controlling, and of arriving everywhere much too soon. This last effect is most noticeable in the early landings. About 90 per cent, of the training crashes are due to over- shooting the aerodrome or forgetting, in the excitement of the moment, to drop the undercarriage. The over- shooting fault has now been reduced to a minimum by putting a marker plane in the appropriate position on the aerodrome and instructing the pupils to make an- other circuit if the wheels are not already on the ground as they pass the marker. Mental aberrations with under- carriages are cured by hours of cockpit drill in jacked- up planes on the tarmac and in the Hawarden Trainer. The Hawarden Trainer is a sawn-off fuselage—usually salved from a crash—of the type employed by the O.T.U., complete in every respect, including radio. From each control electric leads are connected to a series of lighted panels at the stub end of the fuselage. Thus, FIGHTI for instance, when controls are put in position to raise the undercarriage a light appears behind a panel bear- ing the words "wheels up." The instructor takes the ' place of the ground controller and orders passed by radio telephony to the pupil are checked against the lights which appear as the various controls are brought into play. Taking up the whole of the vision in front of ^ the machine is a picture of cloudland. Out of this coirftiff enemy aircraft which have to be immediately recognised", and the reflector sight adjusted according to the esti- mated span of the enemy aircraft and the distance from which fire is to be opened. Frequently a mistake occurs at this stage which would certainly not happen in the real thing. The pupil having quickly recognised the type of aircraft and altered his gun sight to the appropriate aircraft span, he then forgets to press the gun trigger. This is just one small drawback in otherwise completely successful synthetic training. Another phase of the training which is of particular interest is the employment of 16 mm. cine-camera-gun films. Camera guns, it will be remembered, were carried in the leading edges of the fighters in the Battle of Britain last autumn. Special cuts from the films ob- tained during the air fighting have been pieced together with expert comment and excerpts from the original pilots' reports. Battles can be fought over and over again, perfect shooting practised, and mistakes pointed out. Next the pupil himself goes aloft with a cine- camera-gun .fitted and indulges in a variety of attacks and dog fights. * These films are processorand projected and the/instructors make their comment, which may be helpful, ^terse, eomplimenta^, oR^on occasion, even rude. Upder thf Chief Flyirie Jjsflructor—a wing com- SYNTHETIC INTERCEPTIONS : Pupils grouped round an Hawarden Trainer.
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