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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0831.PDF
APRIL 194C FLIGHT 429 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. CARRIER-BORNE TWINS France's Pre-war Interest THAT the Mosquito Mark VI fighter-bomber was the firsttwin-engine machine to land on an aircraft carrier is proudly, and no doubt justly, claimed by de Havillands. Itoccurs to me, however, that there is just the possibility that the research backing this claim may have overlooked someFrench activities a year or two before the war. Potez and Dewoitine both designed deck-landing twins for the FrenchNavy (the Potez was a development of the Type 56 light trans- port), but I have no definite information that either landedon the old Beam for which both were intended. Perhaps a French reader will supply the answer. STICKLER. THE MASTER CONTROL U;C Safety Stop in Front Cockpit "DEGARDING "Indicator's" article concerning Master air-"-»- craft. I have inspected some hundreds of these aircraft, and have yet to see one wherein the undercarriage could norm-aMy only be retracted from the front cockpit. This statement would, of course, be correct if the enginehydraulic pump failed, as the undercarriage hand pump is situated in the front cockpit. H. E. HALL.["Indicator" replies: "If Mr. Hall tries very hard he will remember that the two undercarriage selector levers in theMaster were mechanically inter-connected. Since the safety "stop" was in the front cockpit the lever in the rear cockpitcould not be raised without front seat co-operation."] COCKPIT COMFORT The Soporific Barracuda YOUR correspondent, " Pilot, F.A.A.," may be interested toknow that I once fell asleep in a Barracuda over North- umberland, thus demonstrating the value of the inherent in-stability which he mentions. The creature gave a gentle wallow, recalling me to my senses without loss of time or dig-nity, and far more tactfully than an alarm clock. If the machine had been inherently stable, I might have awakenedin Germany. Though short in the leg, I do not find the Barracuda un-comfortable. I think it is its very comfort, and the efficient heating and ventilation, that makes it.so soporific. Also, whatyour correspondent calls the "gentle purring of the engine," which always made me deaf for an hour or two, undoubtedlycontributed to the pleasant, dazed feeling which was so in- ducive to sleep. EX-PILOT, A.T.A. Patent Applied For ? HAVING for some time been interested in crew comfort,I was more than a little pleased to read the letter by "Pilot, F.A.A.," in Flight, April 4th, and I'm sure it wouldinterest your readers to know that a device for the Prevention of Airborne Slumber is rapidly taking shape. The enclosed sketch, drawn by Granville, my artisticallyminded companion, is almost self-explanatory, but as that virtue is practically non-existent I will explain it.A small engine is installed immediately behind the pilot's wstarboard rear trouser-button, and incorporates a gear box, which has something in common with a light wooden pistonof laminated matchsticks. To this is connected the actuating arm which is mounted on a cast-iron fulcrum. To the otherend is attached the sprung pin of light alloy. This pin is extremely sharp, and from this latter remark the reader willinstantly gather the general idea. Cockpit seats will, of course, be standardized with a hole in the appropriate position.The motor is running throughout the flight, and from time to time the whole business automatically nips gracefully intogear and administers a series of crafty stabs through the holes. The pins will, of course, be long enough to penetrate a para-chute pack, and thus we have the Airborne Awakening. The whole outht is simple to install and weighs only 490 lb(originally it weighed 590 lb until our Research Department developed the wooden piston).Incidentally, this device, winch we call the " Auto-Rouser for Dozy Drivers," may well prove to be the turning point inthe development of self-scaling pants. "GROUND-BOUND." AN N.A.A. MUSEUM A Permanent Record of Service History T THINK that the suggestion put forward by your corre--*- spondent "Nostalgic" (Flight, April nth), concerning the use of the Furious or Argus as an N.A.A. museum is an ex-cellent one. The interest shown both by enthusiasts and the general public in things of an aeronautical nature—when theyare given a chance to see them—is very great, and a museum of this kind would, I feel suie, be well patronized. Empire Air Day is an excellent thing, but it is only one dayout of 365; let us have something permanent so that we can see not only N.A.A., but also, I hope, R.A.F. history anddevelopment at any time we like. E. WATTS. POST-WAR R.A.F. PAY " Other Ranks " at a DisadvantageI WOULD be grateful if you will print the following- becauseso little is said of the airmen's point of view. When the post-war code of pay for "other ranks" of theRoyal Air Force was first published, the aeronautical Press and high officials of the Service took it upon themselves tosay how well the O.R.s had been treated and that they were all satisfied. The latter was obviously stated without proof. Amongst the O.R.s, however, were a considerable numberwho decided they were not satisfied and who waited for the complaints that would arise from the officers and others ifthe officer's new pay code was not better than the airmen's. There was, and still is, much criticism in the Press over theofficer's pay code. One point was that the airmen received better treatment than the officers. The airmen fail to see this.The greatest increase for the airmen was amongst the lower ranks, but can it be denied that it was imperative that a sub-stantial increase had to be made on the original figure of 2a or 33 per day that the new entrant received ? Para. 10 of the Airmen's Pay Code estimates that the fullyskilled fitter (L.A/C. Group I) receives pay that is, taking into account the different costs of living, equivalent to thecivilian pay of £5 10s. Arc the skilled fitters of Rootes and Rolls-Royce receiving ^5 10s per week ? Para. 28 of the Officer's Pay Code states that substantial in-creases are made to senior ranks over junior ranks. There is no comparative substantial increase made when an airmanbecomes a Senior N.C.O. Is the S.N.C.O. fitter receiving pay equivalent to his civilian counterpart, the factory foreman ? Officers are to receive time promotion up to the rank offlight lieutenant. Airmen will soon revert to the pre-war system of the Central Trade Test Board and vacancies, whenit was not unusual to go 12 to 16 years for promotion to sergeant. Finally (and most important), the officers are grumblingabout their retired pay. The airman is told that he receives a good pension. The facts are that a squadron leader receiv-ing between ^675 to ^748 per year, will receive retired pay of /475 Per >'e;u> which is roughly between 60 and 70 percent. A Sergeant receiving between 94s 6d and 105s per week will receive a pension of the pitiful sum of 36s per week,which is roughly between 34 and 38 per cent. Can anyone give a justifiable reason why those percentagesshould differ so greatly between officers and other ranks? The pension that an airman receives is no reward for serviceto his country. It barely compensates for the loss of earning power that the airman will suffer after his long absence fromcivilian life. There is no shortage of applicants lor permanent commis-sions. There is a shortage of airmen who are willing to re- engage in the regular R.A.F. The papers cannot understandwhv, but the airmen can! EX-AIRMAN.
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