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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1357.PDF
FLIGHT JULY 12TH, 1945 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. BOMB LOADS Wimpeys Carried " Cookies " in April, 1941 I WAS interested to notice, while reading Flight, May 31st,that Messrs. A. V. Roe and Co., Ltd., advertising the Lancaster, stated: "First aeroplane to carry the 4,000 lb. bomb." I was at Waterbeach air station, Cambridge, in April, 1941, and two Wellington MKII (Rolls-Royce Merlins) were regu- larly carrying the 4,000 lb. bomb on raids to Germany. The squadron was the 99th Squadron, letters LN, the aircraft letters V and Z. Did a Lancaster carry a 4,000 lb. before this, or are Messrs. A. V. Roe, Ltd., wrong ? B. FOSTER. CO-OPERATIVE RESEARCH Let Us Push Instead of Lean! I FEEL, as one who believes in the latest capabilities of Britishengineers, that I must challenge the statements made in the editorial of Flight on June 21st. Too long'have we in this country sat back content to regard America as " . . . . that amazing country," where the obvious is done, and not merely discussed. We know we have very many difficult problems facing' us at super-sonic speeds, and we also know that the obvious way to attack them is with the most modern tools which our ingenuity can devise. Why, therefore, do we have to read " We do not, of course, suggest that the British aircraft industry could undertake a co- operative effort of a magnitude equal to the American, and in any case the Treasury would probably soon put a brake on any such ' extravagance ' " in one of the most active and ener- getic publications of to-day? Let us expose and remove the higher administrators who can see no farther than the entries on their balance sheets, and let the far-sighted technicians do what is obviously in the best interests of the country and the world. Too long have we relied on the occasional man of genius to pull us out of the rut; let "Intelligent, Active Research" be our watchwords, and let Englishmen generally stop leaning and start pushing before it is too late. C. A. PICKERING. EXPENSIVE SPEED Cheaper, if Slower, Air Travel Wanted F all seriousness, and, at the risk of being what might becalled a spoilsport, might I suggest the formation of a "Society for the Direction of Aviation to a Useful Purpose"? Some of the people in aviation seem to have become so absorbed in " gadgetry " of all kinds that one wonders where it will all end. It is with dismay that I scrutinise the latest aircraft speci- fications when they are released. Bigger and faster, more com- plicated, every scientific device which can be thought of gets stowed away or stuck on the aircraft. I find it really entertaining to speculate on how aircraft designers ever arrive at a specification. I say speculate because it seems to He a baffling mystery. Is it speed they are after? It would appear so and yet why do they not then concentrate on '' super speedsters'' with thousands of h.p. and a solitary passenger reclining at his or her ease. No, they are not quite so foolish, they compromise a little, but so little that one would think that unless aircraft flash through the sky at over 200 m.p.h. they would fall to the ground. When will designers realise that as long as there is no variety in aircraft performance a mockery is being made of aviation? The cost of air travel at present is ridiculous to say the least. Admittedly we must pay for speed, but there is a time and a place for everything. Where there are good surface transport facilities for short distances, air travel which is slow is useless. But what if the only surface transport is by sea; must aircraft always fly six or seven times faster than ships? Obviously as far as Britain is concerned there is a need for slow (and therefore cheap) air transport on Continental routes and farther afield also where long distances are involved. Too often, in the past, cheap flying has been associated with all kinds of stunts. We can get cheap flying if we are willing to sacrifice some speed. The sooner that iact is appreciated the sooner will we be able to get the best out of aviation. DOUGLAS DEANS. MANPOWER AND CIVIL AVIATION Another Enthusiastic Technician's Experience THE experience of R. L. Hughes on "Manpower and CivilAviation," in Flight, June 21st, prompted me to write to you as I am yet another who has experienced the very same; there are probably more who would like to air their opinion openly but are afraid to do so. I have served 16 years in engineering, my "experience cover- ing overhauls, repairs and modifications to engines and air- frames and test flights after major overhauls. Some of the positions held during my engineering career were charge-hand, foreman, licensed ground engineer and inspector. I have also spent many years of study and had seven years' technical train- ing. I have also been registered with the Ministry of Labour Appointments Board for U.K. or overseas posting, but find it a far better way to contact the companies concerned oneself, whether U.K. or overseas. Need I say more? I also applied to the M.A.P. advertisement for technical officers as I have always made a practice of applying for such vacancies and have always received the usual form upon which is " we regret to inform you." It appears to me that all these vacancies are filled before advertising, probably some being filled by A.I.D. personnel, the majority of whom have been in anything but engineering and have very little or no applied mechanical or engineering knowledge whatever. Without A.P.1464, etc., and the excuse "it says so in the book," these men are lost. In my opinion, to build an efficient civil aviation and do justice to passengers and crews, would be to fill supervisory and technical posts by men with practical experience in their particular branch (this would add to the safety factor) rather than have men without experience who pick the brains of the men under them. The posts which should be filled by experienced men are usually filled by the "Yes, Sir," "Please, Sir," "No, Sir," type who, as R. L. Hughes stated, haven't a clue. REG. H. SENIOR. TRIBUTE TO TEST PILOTS Michael Daunt's Valuable Work .4. IN the caption beneath Mr. Geoffery de Havilland's photo-graph in your issue of June 28th you refer to the fact that Mr. Michael Daunt was similarly honoured with the O.B.E. in the Birthday Honours List, and state that "Mr. Daunt did some of the test flying of the Gloster Meteor." • Although your statement is perfectly true, it does rather less than justice to one of the country's most expert test pilots who has now found congenial employment in agriculture after receiving his full quota of "near misses" in the profession of test flying. When Jerry Sayer, whose name as a test pilot will never be forgotten, was killed so tragically in a collision, it fell to Michael Daunt to carry on the work which Jerry had begun in jet propulsion. ' Michael was the second man to fly the Gloster-Whittle Pioneer E28, and not only did he carry out all the early development flying on the prototype Meteor, but he made the very first flight on this aircraft. Under present security restrictions I cannot risk incarceration in a dark and gloomy dungeon by writing more of the dangers and difficulties with which Michael Daunt had to contend. But when all the King's Enemies have been put to confusion, no doubt it will be permitted to disclose the full story behind the King's award of this distinction to Glosters' chief test pilot. \ JOHN GRIERSON. [We should be sorry to think that. Flight has omitted to give credit to a brave man, but in the small space under a photo- graph it is impossible to go into detail. Even our corre- spondent has omitted to mention that a colleague of his and Michael Daunt's, the ever-popular John Crosby Warren, lost his life whilst test-flying a Gloster jet-propelled aircraft.—ED.]
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