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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0211.PDF
FEBRUARY 6TH, 1947 FLIGHT 147 vities, communication services absorbedno fewer than 21,000 men, running a world-wide network of W/T and R/Tcommunications, navigation beacons and D/F stations. Much could be done toeconomise, but if regularity was to be achieved a first-rate communicationssystem was essential, and this would cost money. The history of No. 147 Squad-ron was quoted as an example of what could be achieved in the way of regu-larity. An even better indication of whatcould be done when full aids were avail- able was afforded by the results of theexperimental "all-weather" service started on September 15th, 1945, be-tween Blackbushe and Prestwick. It ran for one year. The route of 400 mileswas chosen because it passed through areas notorious for bad weather and poorvisibility. The total number of flights planned was 668 and of these 666 werecompleted and, of equal importance, the start of a flight was never delayed onaccount of weather either at the point of departure or forecast for the destination. The total number of flights planned was 658 and of these 666vyere completed The " Fido" at Blackbushe was usedon five occasions. Concerning landing rate, the lecturersaid that a great deal had been learnt from trials with four Dakotas, a Halifaxand a Mosquito, utilizing equipment de- signed by the T.R.E. Trials wouldshortly retart with improved equipment, but a landing rate of one a minute wasstill some distance off. The Air Marshal went on to refer tothe possibilities of dropping loads by parachute and by dropping newspapersin mail bags from about 500 feet, the dropping points having been found withthe assistance of Eureka radar beacons. Of one series of 176 free drops 160 weremade on instruments and averaged 308 yards from the beacon. The remaining16 were visual drops and averaged 250 yards. Contrary to general opinion, economywas as vital in the Service as in civil air transport. In the Service the cur-rency was man-power and the problem was to get the maximum output of use-ful transport work from the resources allocated. In the last war the demandson transport were never satisfied, so that every unnecessary inspection, orevery delay caused by replacement of a part, was at the expense of load wait-^ng to be carried. 4 Having had to use, of necessity, whatwas available, it was at any rate pos- sible to have views on the old argumentof reliability versus weight. Was it better to make components robust forreliability, or must payload be the first consideration? The Air Marshal's ownview was that reliability must come first, and that pavload would then look afteritself, for not only would the total ton/ mileage be higher because the aircraftwould do more flying, but it would be tound that reliability could be achievedwithout increase of weight. As a first stage towards economicaltransport flying, an engine which would run without trouble for at least1,000 hours was desirable; but if that could not yet be achieved, it was essen-tial that within that figure the engine AIR TRANSPORT DURING THE WAR should be free of defects. This was atleast as important as length of life, be- cause nothing was more wasteful thanthe need to replace engines or major components at some point along theroute. At one stage of the trooping programme with 130 aircraft in dailyflight along the India route there were 26 aircraft held up for engine changes.Later this number was reduced to seven, but even seven aircraft static on theroute was far too high a price to pay. Apart from the failure of major com-ponents necessitating an engine change, much work was entailed in maintainingthe great number of engine-driven com- ponents. The ideal was that the powerplant should consist only of the engine and the associated equipment necessaryto its functioning, all items being capable of running 1,000 hours without atten-tion. Examination of the maintenance costs for ij millions of power plant run-ning hours showed thatfor every run- ning hour approximately one man-hourwas requited for maintenance in the field. Airframes, in general, did not giveover-much trouble, but there were a number of minor defects which couldprobably be cured. As an example, rivets failed, with consequential skinpanting, on mainplanes and control surfaces. This led to minor structuralfailures. The difficulty of making joints, especially cabin canopies, watertight,brings endless trouble. It caused elec= trical shorts and instrument failureswhich, apart from the inconvenience to crews, might endanger the aircraft'ssafety through failure at a critical time of the radio and radar services. Therewas also trie fire risk. Corrosion was another problem, particularly operatingin extremes of climate, a secondary effect being, of course, rivet failure. Materialswhich were proof against corrosion were urgently required. Tyres were another prolific source oftrouble. In spite of improved methods of tyre inspection which have raised theaverage landings per tyre for the York and Halifax from 20 to 70, the aim of200 landings per tyre was still far in the distance. Cuts, beyond unit capa-city to repair, accounted for 70 per cent of all the tyres discarded. The root cause of troubles with elec-trics and instruments was the lowering of standards occasioned by the war. So long as failure of components hasto be accepted an adequate and properly distributed supply of spares was essen-tial, yet in spite of all the thought given to this problem, we did not seem to haveachieved a satisfactory and economical solution. Turning to the value of long range andhigh speed Air Marshal Cochrane said that we were fortunate in being able tomake a direct comparison between the capacity of the Dakota and the York,since both were used on the trooping route to India. Any complete costingwould have to include capital expendi- ture and a host of other items whichare not available. Therefore he re- stricted the comparison to the numberof pilots required, and the man-powe; employed along the route, the latter depending primarily on the number utrefuelling stops required. The shorter range and slower speedof the Dakota necessitated nine refuel- ling and rest points on the round tripas against five for the York. At each station, in addition to the men requiredfor servicing, others were required to man signals communications and airfieldservices, to attend to the needs of the personnel in transit, to run motor trans-port, and to perform other duties. The numbers employed at each refuellingbase varied between 600 and 1,000 and the cost was high, especially in suchplaces as Bahrein and Sharjah in the Persian Gulf. The longest stage on theDakota route was 880 nautical miles in a scheduled flying time of seven hours.For the York it was 1,300 nautical miles in a flying time of seven and a halfhours, an increase of almost 50 per cent for only an extra half-hour's flying. Discounting the York's greater carry-ing capacity, 35 per cent more troops were moved for each crew employed be-cause of its increased speed and 65 per cent more troops were moved per person As a first stage towards economical transport flying an engine is needed which will run without trouble for at least 1,000 hours. manning the mute because ot the greaterrange. Considering the cost of training aircrew to the transport standard, anincrease of 35 per cent in the numbers carried pei crew was an important con-tribution to economy, while the saving in man-power along the route was evengreater—all this for an increase in speed and range by no means unspectacular. CYRIL UWINS ASST. M.D. HIS many friends in the aircraft in-dustry and R.A.F. will be gratifiedto learn that, on his retirement from the post of chiet test pilot at Bristols, Capt.C. F. Uwins has been appointed assistantmanaging director of the company's air-craft division. Capt. Uwins hashad a long innings as test pilot, having beenwith the firm since 1918, when he wasseconded from the R.A.F. to the Bristolcompany. On de mobilization in 1919he joined the firm, and ever since he has Capt. C. F. Uwinsmade the first flights O.B.E., A.F.C. on all the Bristol F.R.Ae.S.types produced, as well as doing a great deal of other flying,including the setting-up of a world's alti- tude record oi 43,976ft in a Vickt-rsVespa powered by a Bristol Pegasus engine. His flying career was describedat length in our Britain's Test 1'ilut* series in our issue of March 21st, 194(1. In his new post of assistant managingdirector of the aircraft division, Capt. Uwins will be in a position to bring al1his vast experiences to bear upon (uture designs, and the actual testing responsi-bility will be literally in the good hands of Mr. A. J. Pegg, whose career is out-lined in our test pilots series in (his issue.
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