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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0664.PDF
FLIGHT APRIL 4TH, 1946 IN THE AIR—XII Whitley and Albemarle Two Very Different Armstrong -Whitworth Types : First and Last Impressions ; Structural Compromise SUPERFICIALLY, no two successive designs of a singlefirm could be as unlike as the Whitley, in variousforms, and the Albemarle. Yet, to the air crew con- cerned, the family resemblance was quite marked. Prob-ably the effect was purely psychological, and the result merely of a certain internal resemblance in the matter ofwindow shapes and controls rather than in any specific handling characteristics. Yet one supposes that even inthese last there must have been some slight similarity, though the direct paternity of the two types was doubt-fully legitimate, and the initial de- velopment completed by a very different series of firms. The Whitley, after all, was origin-ally produced in the comparatively quiet and easy days of peace whilethere was ample time for development, and while standards of relative handleability were high in proportion. When Iwas first faced vrith the job of flying the Whitley it was already well on in middle-age, and was no longer used ex-tensively on operations; when I flew it last the poor old warhorse concerned, after a period of final struggle as atugger of Horsa gliders, was being taken to the knacker's yard. During the intervening years I had put in a fewodd hours on the type at varying intervals, floating around the sky in different versions—from the old original Tiger-engined affair to that laid out for Coastal Command with the wealth of Christmas trees which reduced its forwardspeed and ability to fly manfully on one engine. Yet my first and last impressions were identical; that ofan aircraft which was never quite under my full personal control, but which, at all times, was so very docile (ifnot ductile) that it could happily be left largely to its own devices. While the Whitley never at any time did quitewhat it was told to do, the things it did were usually reasonable and comfortable. Its arrival on the ground,for instance, was uniquely an affair of its own. One By "INDICATOR" motored gently in with the two Merlins singing theircustomarily varying song and proceeded to attempt a hold- off. That part was all right, but when one tried to getthe tail fully down nothing very much happened. The thing just wheeled itself quietly and softly on to the groundand seemed to take no notice whatever of the driver, By the most carefully timed and violently rapid windingof the tail trimmer it was, in fact, possible to get the tail down, but even so the Whitley still appeared very largelyto be making its own arrangements—and very good ar- rangements they usually were. While one rarely saw the sort of landingwhich would have pleased a C.F.S. in- structor of the good old school, one equally rarely saw anything in the way of a heavy or " bouncy " arrival. Evenwhen it appeared as if everything were about to be dropped remorselessly, that fat wing, so near the ground, took overand cushioned the drop during its last few inches, while the ground angle was such that, whatever happened,no serious kind of '' aerodynamic'' bounce seemed to be possible. The Whitley just stayed quietly on the groundwhile a series of intermittent hissings told the inactive members of the crew just how much differential brakingand over-correction was being applied by their pilot. Directionally, the Merlin Whitley could, at times, besomething of a handful. For some good reason the natural swing to port on take-off could not be satisfactorily heldon the rudders, so that the outfit had often floated crab- wise into the air long before the starboard throttle had beenbrought up to take-off boost. However, one very soon learnt to open the throttles in a vee-formation of the cor- The Albemarle specification was originally drafted in the dayswhen it was thought that there might be a serious shortage of light alloys. It was, consequently, of mixed wood andsteel construction.
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