FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1941
1941 - 2186.PDF
182 FLIGHT SEPTEMBER I8TH, 1941. Correspondence The Edior dots not hold tumsel) responsible for the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication must in all cases accompany letters SUPER-SPIN Canadian "Record" Claim ChallengedI WAS interested to read in your last week's issue that aCanadian pilot claimed as a world's record a spin from 11,500ft. to 2,300ft.I am sure many jf your readers can claim better perforrm- ances than that. I myself have been in a longer spin, thoughI make no record-breaking claims for it. .,' In 1934 I went up in a friend's aeroplane over Cairo. Themachine was a Percival Gull, newly acquired, and was reputed to be difficult to control in a spin. The object of our flightwas to find out if this was so, and at the same time to find out the aeroplane's ceiling. The ceiling proved to be 13,500ft.,and we started our spin there. Owing to the weight in the back seat, the spin became very flat, and nothing the pilotcould do would bring the controls into action. Eventually he held the stick right forward and waited for results. We came out of the spin at just over 2,000ft. We were toointerested in the final result of the experiment to count the number of turns or the duration of the drop. We must havefallen much faster thar; the Piper Cub, and, therefore, prob- ably did less turns.I can confirm the fact that after a time we ceased to notice the turning effect. During the spin we were able to discussthe problem, and see quite clearly what part of Cairo we would demolish if we continued on our course. PATRICK LORT-PHILLIPS. ASKING FOR TROUBLE ^ Flying to the Danger of the Public ? ': • AT a time when the R.A.F. is doing such magnificent workin the defence of this country and all free peoples, one hesitates before voicing anything in the nature of a complaintagainst any section of this gallant Service. This letter, there- fore, is written more in the spirit of enquiry than of criticism ;I want to know if it is really necessary, in learning to defend the many, to imperil the lives and limbs of even a few of ourown people? A short time ago there was a regrettable accident at Black-pool when two R.A.F machines, flying low over the town in a formation, collided and crashed with the loss of some14 or 15 lives; one crashed through the roof of the Central station into the booking hall crowded with people, and theother fell on a house not far away. One would have thought that, after such a dreadful calamitythe R A.F. authorities in that area would have taken a very firm attitude against any unnecessary low flying over such athickly populated district, but while on a visit there a few days ago I saw things which made me seriously doubt if astrict enough hand is being kept upon young pilots who, with a quite natural enthusiasm and a spirit of dare-devilrywhich makes them the world's best air fighters, are apt to take risks, not essential to their training, that endanger thoseon the ground too. I take off my hat in grateful admiration of the stout younghearts, cool heads, and skilful hands and feet that keep the Focke-Wulf from the shore. I know that you cannot put oldheads on young shoulders, and I also understand and applaud the admirable dash of these splendid youngsters, be theyBritons, Poles, Czechs, Norwegians or Free French—we all know where we should be without them—but there are olderheads on older and more experienced shoulders whose job it is, I suggest, to see that this splendid spirit is properlydisciplined and not allowed, in its forgivable enthusiasm, to imperil the very lives it is entrusted with protecting. Yet I saw several instances of dangerous low flying whichappeared to me to be quite . unnecessary. Three examples will suffice, viz., a " Maggie " skimming along above the headsof people on the promenade, below the level of the cliff top and not many feet away from it. I was riding in a tramcarand saw just the heads of its two occupants until, farther on, the complete machine zoomed up into view to clear the NorthPier. Three Spitfires in formation flying not more than 30ft. above the edge of the water, over a beach dotted with bathers,paddling children, and other people. A Flurricane which dived down towards the populated beach from several hundred feetand only pulled out of its dive some '50ft. from the sands. Maybe the Hurricane pilot-was practising diving at a groundtarget, but could he not have found a deserted spot, such as an empty field ? Perhaps the three Spitfires were beingexercised in the very necessary art of high-speed '' evasive action," but surely they could have done it well out overthe water, clear of paddling children ? Frankly I can think of no excuse for the cliff-skimming "Maggie," but if thismanoeuvre had some useful purpose it could hardly have been executed in a less suitable place. While in Blackpool I learnt that the R.A.F. there has earneda reputation for constant low flying over the town and the sea- front, and the observation of the average resident is: "It's awondei there aren't more accidents, but I suppose it's neces- sary and can't be helped." From what I saw I suspect that much of it is not necessaryand that it could be helped; significantly enough there are scores of R.A.F. training centres in other parts of the countrywhere this sort of thing definitely does not happen. Or am I just another of the "wrong-headed mischiefmakers'' whom Sir Archibald Sinclair so dislikes ? '' Bl. ACKPUDUAN.'' Can This Be True?T HE American monthly, Aero Digest, carries the followingstory in its July issue: " Plans for an organisation to canvass the country for appli-cants to train for flight jobs in transatlantic ferry service were announced last month by VV. G. Golien, who has been detachedfrom his regular duties as one of T.W.A.'s chief pilots for this purpose. The organisation will interview and accept fortraining prospective pilots, co-pilots and navigators for the Atfero service of Montreal. "According to Golien, pilots accepted for duty in the ferryservice will receive $1,500 per month salary. Co-pilots will receive $1,200 and navigators $900. In addition to salary,pilots will receive a bonus of $2,500 for each 10 round trips and an extra bonus of $5,000 at the end of 25 round trips.Bonuses of $2,000 and $1,200 will be paid to co-pilots and navigators for each 10 trips, and an extra bonus of $4,000 a,nd$2 400 respectively after 25 round trips." Calculating the total annual payments on the conservativeassumption that a crew delivers 25 aircraft per year, these come out at $29,250 (,£7,250) for a pilot, $23,400 £5,800) for a co-pilot, and $16,200 .(£4,020) for a navigator. Lockheeds in Australia ; '"THE Australian firm of W. R. Carpenter Airlines, which runs•*- from Sydney north along the coast of New South Wales and Queensland, then across Torres Strait to New Guinea, hasadded two Lockheed 14H airliners to, its fleet. These replace two DH 86Bs which the firm previously relinquished to theCommonwealth of Australia for use by the R.A.A.F. A A. and Altitude IN an article in La Science et la Vie, A. Fournier writes thataircraft operating at an altitude of 20,000ft. are practically immune to A.A. fire of the heaviest calibre (3.5 to 3.7m.) andthat even if the calibre is increased to about 6in. the aircraft can be practically safe if they ascend to an altitude of about26,000ft. These figures apply to daytime, when the predictor gear can be operated visually and therefore with the greatesteffectiveness. He also expresses the opinion that, at night time, A.A. fireat these altitudes is simply a waste of ammunition, but admits that A.A. batteries serve a useful purpose by preventing adescent into lower altitudes.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
