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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0568.PDF
FLIGHT MARCH 2IST, 1946 IN THE AIR—XI THE WESTLAND LYSANDER Flaps and Slots in Excelsis : 1m* pressions of a Flying Observation Car of the Early War Years IN the days immediately before the war the WestlandLysander had been developing quite a reputation asa trick aircraft for flying displays. Pilots who knew it well could produce the most extraordinary results in the way of helicopter take-offs and dead-stop arrivals. But, as the more casual pilot was later to discover, this sort of flying could only be carried out safely by people who knew what it could and couldn't do. It was necessary, in fact, to live in the aircraft, ignor- ing all others, for the best results to be obtained and for it to be fully appreciated, The casual driver found that, while the take-off was phenomenally short, the arrival could only be properly completed at a more or less con- ventional speed unless the fullest possible use was made of the throttle. By " INDICATOR " Speaking as one of those who flew the Lizzie "casu- ally '' and interspersed with other types—so being with- out expert knowledge—the trick of a slow arrival seemed to be that of knowing exactly how much power to use, and of adjusting the rate of sink accurately so that the undercarriage, with its internally sprung wheels, would take it comfortably. More than once, too-clever pilots have attempted over-autogyroptic landings and have found, at the .very last moment, that more power was needed than could possibly be offered. The result was that the whole outfit disintegrated noisily around them while they sat, looking more than silly, in what was left of the fuselage. The undercarriage and centre-section generally seemed to be extraordinarily tough and, on the few occasions when such unhappy incidents occurred, Curious, perhaps, to moderneyes, the Lysander was a maid- of-all-work in the hard days ofthe "phoney war "—and later. Bombs and guns were carriedon spat stub-wings when these were fitted.
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