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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0265.PDF
FEBRUARY 13TH, 1947 FLIGHT 177 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 cas.-s accompany letters. TRAINING COMMAND Not the Place for Quick Promotion I SEE from the papers that the R.A.F. says it is short ofinstructors. This is not surprising, for Training Command is rightly considered a "dead-end." On my station alone there are cor- porals, sergeants, and flight-sergeants who have held their present rank for live, six or even seven years despite highest recommendations for promotion. This fact is aggravated by their own A/C.2 or Cadet trainees returning after a few years in the squadrons, equal or senior ko them in rank. Many Servicemen prefer instructing to squadron life, and would have remained in (or would return to) the Service if the chances of promotion were brighter. AN INSTRUCTOR. I FLYING JOBS The Fighter-pilot's Air Sense SHOULD like to endorse "Ex-Fighter Boy's" remarks in Flight, January 23rd. I remember how after many hun- dreds of hours on Spitfires and Hurricanes, entailing pilot navigation under all conditions, I transferred to "twins" and was provided with a brand new navigator. Preparing for our first practice cross-country, a simple journey of about 200 miles, I observed with wonder this gentleman enter the "Beau" equipped with a large green bag containing maps, rulers, protractors, course calculators and wind-finding gadgets. Faced with this imposing demonstration of knowledge and skill, I realized that my only duty was to sit back and hold the stick whilst he told me what course to steer and when to turn. After half an hour he announced that he was completely lost. Then, whatever qualities are developed in the pilot of a. " single" came to my aid and we got back to base, with my faith in green bags and their contents slightly diminished. I am surprised that it is not more appreciated that the most important qualities of a pilot, which are surely airman- ship and "air sense," are best developed as the captain of a single-seater. The technical aspects of flying a " multi" are easily learned in comparison with these qualities, which can only be acquired by a lot of flying hours, preferably by yourself. I'm afraid there is a considerable prejudice against "fighter boys," arising from the suspicion that they are addicted to throwing their machines about and " aerobatting" at the slightest provocation. This notion, if it does exist, is certainly unsound. It is merely a question of flying an aircraft in the manner for which it was designed, and an experienced pilot will do that whether it be a Spitfire or a York. I hope " Ex- Fighter Boy " will find an airline that appreciates the par- ticular qualities of airmanship and self-reliance that flying "Spits" taught him. R. H. TURLINGTON. IS THE DAKOTA DANGEROUS ? The R.A.F. Says "No " THE succession of fatal accidents recently on civil air lineshas focused the spotlight of publicity on the Dakota, and t is interesting to look at this aircraft's p^t-fermance in the K.A.F. Everyone will be familiar with its wartime achieve- ments; it flew regularly over the " Hump," it dropped supplies to our troops in Burma, it ferried troops expeditiously and acted generally as an efficient and reliable maid-of-all-work. The aircraft built a high reputation in all respects, but the current tendency in some quarters is to belittle its efficiency, with the result that the man in the street now regards it as a death-trap. Some facts about its recent accident record may help to dispel this illusion. It must be understood that they refer only to R.A.F., and not to civil aircraft. However, Trans- port Command's airline services are of much the same nature <is, and are in fact widely compared with, civil airlines. In such airline operations (in which two-thirds of the aircraft engaged are Dakotas) there was only one fatal accident on the type, in which three people were killed, for an effort ot B 15 • 96,500,000 passenger-miles on the aircraft. This, we consider, is an outstanding achievement. At the present time, Transport Command's Dakotas operate exclusively on Continental routes. Then' were, it is true, other fatal accidents on supply and support sorties (rice-dropping, for example) but they involved hazards o! an operational and emergency nature net normally encountered in peacetime con- ditions. Even so, taking into account all Dakota accidents 111 Transport Command in 1946, the accident rate per 10,000 flying hours* is surprisingly low. There is no other twin-engined aircraft engaged in a similar flying role which could be used for accurate comparison with the Dakota. It is interesting to note, however, that, for the period January to July, 1946 (the latest for which complete figures are available) the Dakota accident rate is lower than that for the Lancaster, Mosquito, Wellington, Anson, Oxford, and Spitfire, and in fact all the types in general use. Indeed, it is as good as that of the York, which, one would imagine, had a greater safety rating by virtue of its four engines. It is the practice to classify accidents by stages of flight, e.g., take-off, in flight, landing, etc., and to express these divisions as a percentage of the total number of accidents. Sufficient accident data are now available to enable us to affirm that the incidence of accidents, expressed in such ratios, is now reasonably stabilized from year to year. A breakdown of Dakota accidents on these lines shows that, contrary to the widely voiced opinion that the safety factor is reduced on take-off by over-loading, the take-off percentage is, in fact, lower by one-third than the average figure for all types. This is an excellent record, assuming that R.A.F\ loads approximate to those carried by British civil airlines. The percentages for taxying and stationary accidents are higher than the average, but, generally speaking, these types of accident are caused more by carelessness or inefficiency on the part of personnel rather than by any defect or inherent weakness in the aircraft. In any case, accidents of this nature are not killers. Such facts enable us to conclude without hesitation that the Dakota is not a dangerous aircraft to fly. On the con- trary, it would seem to be one of the safest aircraft in the Service. . F. C. A. CANDER, S/L. r-V-:. •'•""'•' R A- JEFFERY, F/L. '"• --rr AIR ACCIDENTS Exploring Every AvenueI N view of the alarming number of aircraft accidents in the past few weeks, may I beg a little space to request those in authority to pursue a line of enquiry that—so far as the public knows—has not once been touched upon? It is this. Commercial pilots are some of the most highly trained, and experienced, men that can be found in any industry, and I do not think there will be found one dissentient to that view. If that is the fact, can we be sure the administrative staff appreciate it? Is it certain that they bring no pressure to bear on their pilots which might give rise to worry, which wight cause slight confusion of thought, and which—if true— almost certainly would bring about an accident? I put that question to the authorities as a possible cause of some of the accidents, for I have been in a pilot's position and feel that there is more in this than meets the public eye, and no avenue of enquiry should be left untouched if it could save a few lives. T S. SYMONDSON. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Feb. 15th.—Pathfinder Association : Grand Ball, Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London, W.I. 8 p.m. Feb. 15th.—Soc. of Licensed Aircraft Engineers: "Aviation Fuel—A Review," A.Cdre. F. Banks. Feb. 18th.—R.Ae.S. Bristol : " Radar—Its Uses and Possibilities in Civi Aviation," F. R. Wills (B.O.A.C). Feb. 19th.—R.Ae.S. Birmingham : Debate with Coventry branch. 7 p.mFeb. 19th.—R.Ae.S. Southampton : " Problems in Fighter Design," R. L. Lirkley.Feb. 20th.—" Aerotech " Flying Club, No. I. " Pathfinding," W/C. M. A. Smith, D.F.C. Feb. 21st.—Inst. of Physics : " The Organisation of Aircraft Radiology During the War," W. L. Harper (M. of %.), at Burlington House. Piccadilly, 6.30 p.m. Feb. 22nd.—Helicopter Assoc. ol Gt. Britain ; " Limitations in Helicopter Design," J. A. j. Bennett. Manson House. Portland Place, W. 1. 2.30 p.m
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