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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1520.PDF
132 FLIGHT AUGUST 8TH, 1946 GLIDER TRA FIGHTER It had been brought to my notice that certain categories of German fighter pilots received their pre-operational flying training exclusively on glider aircraft and converted to jet and rocket aircraft withqut going through the con- ventional stage of training oii airscrew-driven machines. I thereupon interrogated a number of German pilots -who claimed knowledge of the training methods, under con- sideration. The accounts given by these Germans varied slightly in detail, but on the whole I formed the impression that the summary of the answers 1 received to previously prepared questions may be taken as fairly representing the framework of the training methods adopted for certain categories of Luftwaffe pilots. Enquiries with regard to training for the following air- craft types were made: Arado 234, Me 262, and He 162 turbine-jet aircraft, and the^le 163 rocket-propelled aircraft. The replies may be summarized as follows: The pilots chosen for operations on turbine-jet-propelled aircraft were almost exclusively men with considerable previous opera- tional experience on airscrew-driven types, while many of the operational pilots employed on rocket aircraft had been taken direct from gliding training schools to a course on rocket-propelled aircraft without passing through the in- termediate stage of training on airscrew-driven types. The Germans I interrogated emphasized that the flying characteristics of turbine and rocket-propelled aircraft, especially the latter, resembled those of a glider much more than those of an airscrew-driven type because of the small engine torque reaction of the turbine and the complete absence of torque effect on the rocket type. In broad outline, the flying-training syllabus for' Me 163 pilots was as follows: Gliding School.—(a) Pendelbock exercises. These are a form of synthetic training for which a primary S.G.38 trainer is freely suspended in a specially constructed frame- work, and headed into wind in order to learn the use of the controls, (b) Course up to A and B gliding certificate standard on the S.G.38 (c) Conversion course to Grunau Baby 11 and C certificate standard. Course in Towed Flight.—Such aircraft as the Kranich and Sperber, dual-control, high-performance sailplanes, and the Habicht fully aerobatic glider, were used. About 15 to 20 take-offs were made in tow, the most popular towing aircraft being the Me no. At this stage of the training, special stress was laid on low flying to accustom the trainees to higher speeds. The average height to which they were finally towed was between 2,000ft and 3,000ft in order to practise circuits and approaches as executed with rocket-propelled types. Short landing lanes A Grunau Baby landing at the A.D. Gliding Club at Barntrup, The airbrakes at the " half out " position permit a smoothertouch-down. were markedout with flags on the airfield to encourage accuracy of judgment on the approach and landing. Aerobatic Course.—Satisfactory trainees were next given an intensive course in aerobatics, using in the main the Habicht glider. The Habicht is a particularly sturdy and responsive aircraft, ideally suited to violent manoeuvres. However, it was found that the discrepancy in speed between the glider and the powered aircraft was too great for the average pupil during his conversion training to the rocket Mes. To overcome this, the Habicht was modified, and several versions were in- troduced with clipped wings. I N I N G FOR ^ne amount by which thewinj:yf- span was shortened decided PILOTS the increase in wind loading and thereby the minimum speed. Thus two or three ver- sions of the Habicht, with varying degrees of wing span reduction, became standard training types, the version with the highest wing loading having a cruising speed of the order of 100 m.p.h. Advanced Course in Towed Flight.—The next stage of the training consisted of more towed flight, but this time the towed aircraft was a rocket aircraft without any pro- pulsion unit. Again the tug aircrait most favoured, or most easily made available, was the Me no. The towed aircraft was released at about 1,500ft above the airfield, and between ten and fifteen such flights were considered sufficient for an average pupil to become accustomed to the handling qualities of a rocket aircraft Primary Course on Rocket Aircraft.—Aftei some theoretical instruction on the use of power, the first exer- Tiie S.G.38 primary glidei with nacelle fitted. This elementary trainer was favoured by the ^ N.S. Flieger Korps for instruction up t$ " B " . Certificate standard. cises were started with the use of %. small pro " • •' pulsive charge which was, however, insufficient to allow the machine to become airborne. The pupil, during several such ground runs, was op*- merely acquainted with the sensation of sharp • acceleration experienced on powered take-offs. Advanced Course on Rocket Aircraft.—For the next exercises, full sets of rockets were fitted which enabled the pupil to remain air- borne for three to five minutes. With about 30 such flights to his credit the pilot was con- sidered to have completed his flying-training course and to be ready to begin his opera tional training. Generally, the value of glider training, especi ally after attaining C certificate standard, was ronsidered by those interrogated to be very
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