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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0193.PDF
JANUARY 31ST, 1946 FLIGHT Latest Singh'seat Hawker Fighter : Ingenious Hydraulic Wing Folding : Outstanding Rate of Climb IT is, perhaps, something of a good omen that in releas-ing details of the Hawker Sea Fury X it can be acceptedthat the Fleet Air Arm is finally getting a deserved priority of types, for this high-performance single-seater Fleet fighter is more advanced than its R.A.F. counter- parts. The plural is used intentionally since there are two versions of the "land" Fury, one powered with a Bristol Centaurus XV and the other—the Fury I—powered with a Napier Sabre VII, both aircraft being types distinct from the Sea Fury," which employs a Centaurus XVIII to drive its Rotol five-blade metal airscrew. Aside from indi- viduality in power unit, the major difference of the Sea Fury as compared with the two " land " Furies lies in the provision of folding wings and an arrester hook; other than this the three aircraft are pretty well alike. We do not wish in any way to detract from the quality of the Fury, but it is difficult not to regard it as some- thing of a wasted effort, for although there are, no doubt, many aspects of the problem worthy of considerable atten- tion, it would nevertheless appear that the day of the piston-engine/ airscrew fighter has now gone in a welter of jet effluent. From personal inspection and from all we can gather on the flying side* the Sea Fury is a magnificent, air- craft per se—-but it cannot be gain- said that, as a fighter judged on These curves ofclimb, time to height and levelspeeds show the Sea Fury'squality. TIME ID HEIK3-TT (MIN) present stan- dards, it is eclipsed on every count except that of range by jet types. How- ever, it is probably a good thing that fighter pilots, both of the R.A.F. and F.A.A., should in future be given the opportunity of flying a high-quality '' ortho- dox " machine such as the Fury as a supplement to their experience on jet-propelled fighters. Although the Furies bear a very distinct resemblance to their forerunneivfhe Tempest, they are all entirely new aircraft and should certainly not be regarded as modifications of their immediate forerunner. The most noteworthy difference lies in the break-away from the established Hawker practice of employing a tubular braced structure in the fuse- lage ; the Fury fuselage is mono- coque throughout. Further, the Span 38ft. 5in Height, tail up 12ft. 3Jin
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