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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0002.PDF
FLIGHT JANUARY 2ND, 1947 attention to In 10 problems at the other end of the s- !y. They appear to be neglected. We would much rather see a handsome reward offered \i n who succeeds in bringing stalling speeds of fast aircraft down to 60 m.p.h. than to the first one to penetrate the compressibility wall. The former would be a very unspectacular achievement, but how much more useful to mankind. High speed is not, of course, the only cause of acci- dents. Bad weather is a fruitful source of trouble and, at the best causes long delays. But high cruising speeds presuppose high wing loadings which, in turn necessi- tate long take-off and landing runs and require run- ways of fantastic lengths. By demanding more and more of the aircraft crews we manage to operate with these wing loadings, and so long as all goes well we de- lude ourselves that we are "getting away with it." The cold hard fact is that we are not. We are merely taking bigger and bigger chances. Given full use of available navigational aids—and their adoption is delayed by political rather than by tech- nical considerations—t]ie dangers of flying are confined almost entirely to the start and finish of a flight. Engines are so reliable nowadays that forced landings from this cause are rare occunences. If, therefore, we could man- age to improve conditions at the low end of the speed scale, we should have gone a long way towards making commercial flying safe. Aviation circles of the world would do well to make it a New Year resolution that improvement of slow- flying characteristics be given priority in the year's pro- grammes. Progress in that direction would do more towards establishing confidence than any other single item of the many needing attention. CONTENTS Outlook Duplex Airscrews . - ... Naval Aircraft - The Old Year Another Amphibian Metrovick F5 Here and There ------ Civil Aviation News Correspondence - - Service Aviation 1 3 8 II 17 13 19 20 - 23 24 The B-licence SituationA 1 DIFFERENT aspect of safe flying, but obviou. Iclosely related to it, is the question of overhauling the present B-licence qualifications. We published on December 5th last year a very serious and thought- provoking article entitled "Airline Pilot." From this it is obvious that existing regulations are badly in need of revision, having been rendered obsolete' by technical developments that have taken place since the regulations were drafted. That there ought to be more than one category of licence has become obvious. A correspondent calls attention, in this issue, to the case of taxi and charter operation, and pleads for differentiation in the qualities demanded in this field and in that of airline operation. But even in air transport there is so great a variety in the various routes that special qualifications are essential to some which would be superfluous on others. It is not necessarily a case of one grade being "higher" than the other—merely different. ANOTHER POWER CUT : Aerobatic exhibitions by the D.H. Hornet with one airscrew feathered have served to show thaton b&U' power this amazing machine remains a formidable fighter. This view, showing both airscrews feathered, proves nothing more than the pilot's faith in bakis able to restart his Merlins at a low altitude.
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