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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 2151.PDF
OCTOBER IJTH, 1942 FLIGHT 4" POINTERS TO PERFECTION which is left wing low at low speeds and right wing low at high speeds. Maybe the test was carried out in bad weather and the right-wing-lowness was never discovered ; or the test was of such short duration that a flaw, say, in in airscrew blade root never had a chance to develop suffi ciently to give the chronic vibration which would lead to. a discovery of the trouble while the aircraft was still on a non-operational flight—and not miles over the Continent. Routine testing is of vital importance. Because, with the present rate of production, tests must necessarily be of comparatively short duration, they must be exceptionally stringent. No item or feature of which the test pilot feels the slightest doubt must be allowed to get by—whether it is a directional gyro which '' topples '' rather too easily, or the slightest irregularity in trim which would, in a type without a-tab for that particular axis, become tiring over long periods. And if anybody doubts whether such points can be overlooked, I can produce, if necessary, quite a few examples from the .personal experience of pilots of my acquaintance. T?t6 such examples will do for the time being. One of Those Things In one, a blind-flying instrument had been installed with the storage dust-excluder still fitted ; this restricted the suction and made the instrument only partially useful—it worked, but only just. Either the aircraft had been tested so carelessly that the obvious fault had not been noticed, or the instrument had been a replacement for one which was reported " dud " on test and the aircraft had not been taken into the air again after the change. In another case, the initial flight at a particular R.A.F. unit showed the machine to have a peculiar kind of fore-and-aft instability. It_»>SCs afterwards found that not only had a job of work on the elevator been left incomplete, but the structure had been recovered with some of the rigger's tools still inside the horn balance! In fairness to all manufacturers, it must be admitted that this machine had already been to an R.A.F. unit. But it is a good example of the sort of thing that can happen. If the Powers That Be ever have reason to believe that production testing is becoming sloppy, then the time has come either for the arrangement of a six-monthly reshuffle of tgsTpersonnel or for the introduction of a group of "test pilots" who will appear without notice at the dif ferent factories and retest the day's output. I don't think that such visitations will ever be necessary at works where large aircraft. are produced, since a great deal of work is involved in the testing of " giant bombers," and nothing is likely to get by, nor can such machines be tested in bad weather. The danger only applies in the case of smaller types which are.being turned out in really large numbers; when a day or two's hold-up, due to fog or other cause, means that tfie test pilots are overworked, and that the less experienced or less ruthless of them is inclined to let things go. The C. S. Complex Knowing human nature, and, despite my remarks a few weeks ago, I cannot feel certain that either R.A.F. or " Civil Service " test pilots would necessarily be any better than those employed by a firm in which they naturally have an interest. The Civil Service has always had a " nine till twelve and two till five " complex, .except when the '' Servants'' are of a naturally hard-working and enthusiastic disposition Either a group of "test testers," (>r the movement of pilots from time to time, seems to provide the most obvious solutions of the problem—if there is any serious problem. Undoubtedly the firms are now finding it difficult to find really good test pilots, and the solution is certainly not to be found in the posting of ex-operational pilots who are due for their period of rest. Testing, even production test ing, is a iob which requires enthusiasm and energy, as well as one for which only certain types of pilot ever really qualify with success. It isn't an easy job, nor is it by any means a rest-cure. The ex-operational pilot is either too tired to do it properly, or he is permanently bored and screaming to be posted back to a squadron. In general, the older pilot, who never expects or wants to go to war, but who will take a tremendous interest in work which hi' knows to be important, will make the best and most scrupulous test pilot. * As for the work of prototype testing, I arff at least theoretically in favour of a mixed "pool" of pilots— though no doubt if I were the paid and happy servant of any particular firm I should want to wring my own neck even for suggesting such a thing. I cannot help feeling that a prototype is much too important merely to be left in the hands of one or two of a firm's pilots, however experienced and sensible and unbiased they may be. The "pool" might consist of a mixture of factory pilots, R.A.F. test pilots (who have had the benefit of experience with every type that has previously been produced), and operational pilots from the particular Command likely to be interested in the new type. Each of the two latter have a normal job of work to do, and would merely be seconded by name for the development work when this came along, while the first would naturally have his routine passing-out work to do, and would probably, in addition, make the preliminary flights in the prototype. Should Have Been Strangers The pool pilots, named and '' at the ready '' for such special assignments, would perhaps bring a greater degree of freedojn and honesty into the criticisms than is at present possible. I can think of at least one type, pro duced in prototype form before the war, which would never have appeared in quantity at all if such a pool had been given a chance to go to work. And a lot of time, material and energy would have been saved for use on more worthy aircraft. Well, there, for what they are worth, are my ideas. An occasional shuffle of routine test pilots, between firms or, at least, between the different branches of a firm, and a group of unbiased test checkers. Those for keeping up the standard of test work and ensuprng the production of good and reliable aircraft once the sausage machine has been started. And a pool of pilots of mixed and wide experience from which a trio—one civilian, one Service test pilot, and one operational pilot—would be extracted when any proto type or flying scale model was ready for action. The civilian would be on the spot to watch the preliminary work, and the other two would be merely getting on with their normal flying until such a time as M.A.P. sends, through the Air Ministry or their own Command, a request for their presence, on attachment, at such-and-such a ifrm's airdrome. Once the prototype is under way, the whole job could then be left to the residents. '' INDICATOR.'' [On the Correspondence page (p. 421) will be found other views on the subject of test pilots.—ED.] A.T.C. Enrolment Age Lowered NOW that the organisation of the Air Training Corps has become,fully formed and training capacity developed, the minimum age for enrolment has been lowered to 15^ years. Uniforms will be issued to cadets of 15^ provided they have done three months' service in the Corps. The previous enrolment age was 16, but cadets below 16 were allowed to participate in training where squadron facilities existed. This new enrolment age of 15J, intended primarily to help bridge the gap between school-leaving age and Corps service, was not previously possible without over-burdening the grow ing A.T.C. organisation. There was also the problem of pro viding uniforms for the very large number who wished to join the Corps. It was therefore decided first to concentrate on those higher age groups which would soon be reaching R.A.F. entry age.
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