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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1617.PDF
AUGUST 22ND, 1946 FLIGHT 185 obstruction, taxying and traffic lights are, of course, com-mon to both systems. A final point worth mention is that the circuits makingup the approach and contact lights are grouped as '' flare- path services'' and are interlocked and co-ordinated in theswitching system by the runway selection knob, thus mak- ing certain that only those lights which are required for agiven approach path can be illuminated at one time. The rest can be operated individually and irrespective of therunway selected. The taxying lights are used to mark the route of the aircraft turning off the runway to its un-loading bay. This unit control system will ultimately be installed onother British airfields, and is to become the standard equipment. It is also hoped to get it accepted internation-ally—even by Russia! Turbine-Airscrew Trainer Boulton Paul P.108 with Rolls*Royce Dart or Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba I N recent years Boulton Paul Aircraft, Ltd. have pro-duced comparatively few types of aircraft but these,without exception, b^ve been of outstanding interest and significance. Many years before the war the Side- strand, and even earlier types, showed how fast and manoeuvrable a twin-engine bomber could be made. The Overstrand, successor to the well-loved Sidestrand, demon- strated the potentialities of defensive gun turrets on large bombers, and the Defiant was the first fighter in which the entire armament was concentrated in a turret. In Flight of June 20th this year some details were given of a projected twin-engine turret fighter of ingenious design and high performance, and it has now become possible to refer to the latest Boulton Paul design concerning which enthusiastic whispers have circulated for some months in privileged circles. Bearing the Boulton Paul type number P. 108 the new machine is the first trainer to be powered by a gas turbine unit. It is suitable for flying instruction by day or night, for navigation, gunnery and bombing training and for glider towing. Folding wings and good vision from the cockpit render it eminently suitable for carrier operation. Service personnel will be interested to learn that a' third seat, behind the side-by-side positions for the instructor and pupil, is provided for a navigator or passenger. Thus it may safely be predicted that, apart from providing AMERICA'S types of multi-jet bomber are being developed forthe U.S. Army Air Forces: the North American XB-45, Consolidated-Vultee XB-46, Boeing XB-47, MartinXB-48 and Northrop XB-49. Of all but the Northrop little or nothing has been disclosed, but the XB-49 is officiallystated to be a jet-propelled development of the XB-35 "flying-wing," now flying with piston engines. The fivenew bombers are additional to the Douglas XB-43, already referred to in Flight, which is powered by two of the newGeneral Electric TG-180 axial-flow turbine-jets of unspeci- fied thrust. New single-jet fighters include the Curtiss-Wright XP-87,North American XP-86 and the Northrop XP-79B. A photograph of the latter appeared in Flight of August 1st, Although conventional in appearance, the Boulton Paul P. 108trainer marks an important new step in the development of military training aircraft. It has side-by-side seats forinstructor and pupil and a third seat behind them. facilities for instructing air-crew destined to operatemilitary types now projected, the P. 108 will be the means of introducing many prospective '' passengers'' to thevibrationless flight made possible by the gas turbine. The power unit may be either a Rolls-Royce Dart or anArmstrong-Siddeley Mamba, driving a constant-speed air- screw, the thrust of which will be augmented by jetexhaust. The jet outlet is not visible in the accompanying drawing but is located beneath the fuselage, offset from thecentre line. It is to be hoped that preliminary details of the newRolls-Royce and Armstrong-Siddeley power plants, both of which will obviously be suitable not only for trainerslike the P. 108 but for the smaller sizes of transport aircraft, will soon be released. Of all-metal construction the P. 108 is fully aerobatic andis claimed to have manoeuvrability "of single-seat fighter standard." The span is 39ft 4m (21ft iin folded), length34ft 4in and height lift ioin. NEWEST "JETS" 1946. The pilot lies prone and the power units are twoWestinghouse 19-B Yankees; these, like the TG180, are of axial-flow type.The U.S. Army has also permitted reference to the Bell XS-i supersonic research aircraft which has already beenflown without its rocket power unit. A special pressure suit has been developed for the pilot because the machineis expected to attain 80,000ft. The pilot's ejector seat is fired by a yj mm shell, which accelerates pilot and seatto 40 m.p.h. in a distance of 5ft. A second automatic charge releases the shoulder andseat straps, and the parachute—of special "ribbon" design—is opened at a prescribed altitude by an aneroiddevice.
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