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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1410.PDF
JULY IO/TH, 1945 FLIGHT 77- COJ2J2ESPONDENCE 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. POST-WAR AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY Should Employ Only British Personnel WHILE I fully appreciate that Flight is not, and shouldnot be, interested in the present-day domestic andinternational social problems, as such, I feel that space should be available for news and views in so far as these affect theBritish aircraft industry. May I express the hope that all concerned will undertaketo employ only British men and women, thus making as great a contribution to the peace as they made to the war ?HAROLD PRATLEY. ATLANTIC COMPETITION General Critchley UndismayedW ITH reference to the article on '' Atlantic Competition''published in your issue of July 12th, in which you imply that three American airlines might be more difficult to com-pete with than one. Surely '' unity is strength " ; I think the British operatorwould prefer three lines to compete with rather than one com- bined U.S.A. unit. In my humble opinion, B.O.A.C. will be capable of holdingits own, even against the three airlines mentioned. The B.O.A.C. family are in good fettle and trained to theminute; I believe our air and ground crews to be unequalled the world over. A. C. CRITCHLEY. [While we do not share it, we welcome and admire GeneralCritchley's confident view of the future so far as the North Atlantic air service is concerned. It is good to learn that"the B.O.A.C. family are in good fettle and trained to the minute." It seems to us that it will need to be in view ofthe fact that three separate American operating companies will be competing with it. The point we wished to make in ourleading article was that the B.O.A.C. will be faced with having a single section of its services (the others being devoted toCommonwealth routes) in opposition to three American con- cerns, presumably operating on separate routes and thus forc-ing General Critchley to "fight on three fronts," so to speak, a situation which few other generals would welcome.] AIRCRAFT NOISE Explanation and Laudation W. Parker's letter stating that high tip speeds cause thenoise on a Harvard. Might I add to that ? The Harvard has a direct-drive system, making the airscrew revolve at thesame speed as the engine. Might I also say that Flight is getting better every issue, butwe (I and my Spotters' Club) agree that a few more silhouettes of Japanese aircraft would make this paper even better ? Weall rush to see who can get a look at Flight first at our hall, and we especially like the articles about civil aircraft. DAVID DICKINSON.(And 15 Air-minded Lads.) And What of the Pilot ? , A S an ex-Harvard flying instructor, I think I can explain to •**•Mr. Campbell the reason for his discomfort, as it is obvious he lives near an airfield where flying training is carried out, or near a field used for practice landings. First, I must assure him that it is indeed very necessary to the pupil pilots undergoing training that this "ear splitting din" happens. It is part of the landing drill on the down- wind leg for the throttle to be completely closed to make sure that the undercarriage horn is working, and as the Harvard is cruising at about 1,800 r.p.m. the natural tendency is for the constant speed unit automatically to put the airscrew into fully fine pitch in an endeavour to maintain the revs. Of course, when the throttle is suddenly opened again to cruising boost, the sudden increase of power causes the airscrew to turn at a very high number of revolutions until the c.s.u. has time to take over and once again govern the revs., at the set position for cruising. Almost everyone knows that, the Harvard has no reduction gear and that at maximum thrust the airscrew blade tips are almost at the speed of sound—hence all the noise. Do I have Id (.-xplain the theory of sound waves, Mr. Campbell? It is indeed unfortunate that the general public has to be disturbed thus, but if this little thing did not happen more student-pilots would land with their wheels up with the resultant strain 011 the already overcharged taxpaper. So what's a little headache. Mr. Campbell? How about the pilot who sits behind the engine —all the time? A. N. WERNER (Fit. Lt., B.L.A.). Partly Due to Extreme Valve-tinting "HPHE strident exhaust beat of the Harvard appears to be due•*• to: (1) extreme valve-timing, (2) lack of muffling, and (3) doppler effect. Items (1) and (2) begin at the drawing board and do notnecessarily aid B.H.P. This was proved at Brooklands many years ago. "Country life," lived among airports, test houses andtrainers, becomes more and more like a certain famous " tea party '' ! Two engines with which I was personally familiar had thissame " beat " and had free exhaust systems: (a) the 1913 Hill- man track racer of 1,100 c.c. and (b) the 1,496 c.c. Anzani,circa 1920. In both these cases (as in the engine fitted to the Airspeed Oxford—indeed, all A./Siddeley engines) there wasextreme timing, as follows:— Hillman (3,700 r.p.m. max.):— Inlet opens 5 degrees before T.D.C.,, closes 0 sec. after B.D.C. Exhaust opens 52 sec. B./B.D.C. ,, closes 20 sec. A./T.D.C.Anzani (4,500 r.p.m. max.):— I.O : 3 degrees B./T.D.C. I.C 46 sec. A./B.D.C. E.0 70 sec. B./B.D.C. E.C 16 sec. A./T.D.C.TIM HALEY. * [It should be pointed out that the Airspeed Oxford V, whichhas similar sound characteristics to the Harvard, is fitted with Pratt and Whitney "Wasp junior" engines. Other versionspowered by Armstrong Siddeley "Cheetah" engines are no more guilty of this '' tearing calico '' noise than is the similarlyequipped Anson.—Erj.] BRITISH AND BEST Publicity for Home Products NOW that British aviation is at last showing signs of realadvance, I feel I must congratulate Flight on the wide publicity given to recent British aeronautical achievements.The quality of, the articles is, I consider, unsurpassed by that of any -similar paper. Some of the recently reviewed developments must lead theworld in their class. Can anybody name a radial engine superior to the Centaurus; a transport aircraft, nearly readyfor full production, superior to the Tudor; or a reaction- propelled machine superior to the Vampire ? The Lincoln will probably achieve speeds and ranges witha heavy load at least equal to the Superfortress, and the Spiteful and Hornet seem supreme in their categories. That remark-able aircraft, the Mosquito, is still unequalled; I refuse to believe that the Invader is better. The Brabazon I shows greatpossibilities of being superior to the Consolidated Super Clipper. which the Americans claim will revolutionise trans-oceanictravel. Only in the flying-boat class is Britain still lagging behind.The Shetland marks little (if any) advance over the Mars. As was stated in Flight in the article on the Blackburn project,this class must not be neglected. If this Blackburn machine is swiftly put into production, Britain may yet secure a lead. Congratulations, again, to Flight on the publicity given torecent British developments. Keep up the good work. R. E. GREGORY. A CIVIL AVIATION PROBLEM Airfield Fire Prevention and Crash Rescue Services ONE of the most important problems inseparably associatedwith the operaticfn of aircraft is the arrangements intended to secure the safety of life and the protection of aircraft and equipment from the ravages of uncontrolled fire. This par-
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