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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 2436.PDF
4°4 FLIGHT OCTOBER JTH, 1943 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. TECHNICAL TRAINING Navy Courses for Air EngineersI N your issue of September 2nd you published a letter aboutboys wishing to train as Engineers. This suggested that the Navy had no interest in training boys as Air Engineers.Since the beginning of this year the Navy has been running courses for Air Engineers at Cambridge and Edinburgh. The headmaster of any secondary school should know ofthese courses, and any boy with the right qualifications would have ho difficulty in being selected. For a boy of 17-18, keen on Air Engineering, I doubt ifthere is a better opportunity. P. MILLER (Instructor Lieutenant, R.N.). AIRSCREWS Why Only Three Blades on a Typhoon ?A FTER reading S. J. Fairhurst's article on airscrews inFlight of September 16th, I am tempted to ask why the Typhoon with its 2,000 + h.p. engine has only a three-bladedairscrew and the Spitfire IX only a four-blader? According to the article, fighters with 1,600-2,000 h.p.engines with rated aititude 28,000ft. and over are under-bladed with four-bladed airscrews, and contra-rotating airscrews arereally necessary. If this is the case, surely the Typhoon's airscrew is veryinefficient at speeds of 400 m.p.h. and over. The same applies to the Spitfire IX to a lesser degree.There must be a reason for the preference of a three-bladed airscrew on the Typhoon. I wonder if any of your readers canenlighten me? ' G. P. JONES. THEORY OF FLIGHT Weight, Speed and Wind Direction IF it is indeed the case, as "Pilot, R.A.F.," suggests, thatthousands of his confreres are handed aircraft without being given any hints on how to. get home on zero H.P., then itwould seem that somebody has forgotten something. When you buy a car they give you a booklet telling you how to getthe best out of it and avoid the worst; apparently this admir- able practice does not obtain in the R.A.F. I reallv cannotsee why not. Obviously, the fault does not lie in "Pilot, R.A.F.," and his friends, who are merely taking a sensibleinterest in an important matter, but there is a prima facie case against those who, one must assume, have failed to make theinformation sufficiently easily accessible. It is, of course, substantially correct that weight does notaffect the gliding angle, relative to the air, but it does affect the speed, which is important in a head or tail wind. In general,hang on to all the weight in a head wind, and, if the wind is strong, fly a little faster than you would for best glidingangle. In a following wind throw everything overboard and tend to fly more slowly. As to the flaps, it all depends on -the type of aircraft and the-type of flap; generally a few degrees of deflection is advan- tageous, particularly in a following wind. W. E. HICK. TOPICS OF THE DAY Too Much of a Good Thing ? T WAS more than pleased to read the article entitled "Let-»- Us Be Honest," appearing in the September 16th issue of your excellent publication. This articles does, I believe, filla. long-standing need, and will, I hope, serve to make some people think twice in the future. For the past nine years I have been engaged in one phaseof the aviation business, and from my knowledge of the in- dustry I have the greatest faith in the future of air transportand private aviation. Furthermore, I consider myself a reasonably good traveller and not prone to experience more. than the usual number of fears which beset us mortals. However, after having travelled on 28 airlines, and innumerous private aircraft, in good weather and in bad, I must honestly say that either I am being dragged out of bed atsome unearthly hour in the morning to go to the airport, or else I am already en route, in which case I am either bored,scared or sick. I have experienced forced-landings in Bulgaria and in Paraguay; I have dodged cliffs for hours in snow-squallsabout the Sardinian coast; the airliner in which I was travel- ling from the Continent to Croydon when an hour overduedescended rapidly through the overcast to what the pilot believed to be the red light at Croydon, but which in realitywas one on top of Tower Bridge; I have been bounced through Andean passes, over the plains of Texas and throughthe Carpathians; and I have experienced engine failures in Tunis and at Cabo Juby. After all of this 1 find that I verymuch enjoy the pleasures of an ocean voyage by steamer in peacetime, the interesting acquaintances one makes on theSimplon Express, the luxury of the Twentieth Century Limited, and the independence of the motor car. If I couldcommit a crime which would result in my being grounded for life, I should most assuredly do so. I think flying is a wonderful achievement, and I hope itgives great pjeasure to vast multitudes. Personally, I go by land or sea when I can. "AIR-WEARY." CIVIL AVIATION Fear from the Air Must CeaseT HE recent extensive correspondence on the future of airtransport in your columns seems to display everyone's point of view except that of the rather elusive dumb anin^^the " Man in the Street." We have had the big business point of view and the technician's point of view, but a fewelementary facts have yet to be voiced. The British public, in common with the public of otherlands, have seen their cities laid waste and their homes destroyed, with appalling casualties, the total number ofwhich will never be known. Many thousands of children all over the world associate the sound of an aircraft with horrorautomatically, and I think I voice a majority opinion when I say it must stop for ever. Fear from the air must cease What nation- can plan its life, what architects will designthe beautiful cities of the future, what incentive is there to plan-homes and schools if they are to be at the mercy of anygangster politician with an air force at his call, no matter what his nationality? There is much talk 6i American domination in the air,of British backwardness, of selfish national interests. For many years the control of air transportation has beena prize to be struggled for by railway companies, shipping interests and the like all over the world. In the main, theirrecord of public service has not been very savoury, especially in the last few years prior to the war. The Cadnam repo&Sthough mild and considerably toned down, was not pleasamT and this was typical of a code which permeated the wholeof transportation in the democratic countries. Civil aviation will be the most vital public interest in theworld from now on. Its internal organisation can easily be used, together with its bases, for military purposes. Its pos-sibilities for abuse are infinite. If our new airlines, which can be of incalculable goodto a world public, are to remain in the hands of sectional interests devoted to the interests of a coterie of shareholders,many men will feel that this war has been fought in vain. Aviation, civil or military, is an expression of man's powerat its best and at its worst. The peoples of Britain, Poland, Russia and China know too well what that power is. Germanyand Japan will know, too, increasingly and relentlessly. The Press is already voicing opinions as to what should bedone when the war is over, and the general indications show a distressing lack of vision and originality. Already one hearsthe dreary cliches of 1919 being repeated, and on plenty of post-war problems besides air transportation.There is no place for the mediocre mind with an eye to the main chance when this war is over. Any attempt toobtain air monopelies in world areas must fail. The air is free to all. There must be a world policy, intelligentlyplanned, otherwise these dreary old men, full of fear and greed (and who will soon die anyway), will set to schemingagainst each other to lay the foundations for a next war. There are big minds in every country. The men who wishto live in '' freedom from fear '' have this thing in their own hands. The Allied Nations will not lose this war, but man;/people all over the world fear that they will lose the peace following it. WM. T. REID.
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