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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0607.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER Editorial Director Editor Assistant Editor - Art Editor • G. GEOFFREY SMITH. M.B.E. C. M. POULSEN MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C (W/NG COR., R.A.F.Y.R.) JOHN YOXAU FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD .• FOUNDED WO9 Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Flightpret, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines.) COVENTRY: BIRMINGHAM, 2: MANCHESTER.!: GLASGOW. C2i 8-10, CORPORATION ST. £'N G^ E D WAR DR "O^USE, 260, DEANSGATE. 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams : Autopfcss, Birminjhini! Telegrams: Iliffe, Manchester. Telegrams : Hiffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Coventry 5210. Telephone : Midland 7191 (7 lines). Telephone : Blackfriars 4412. Telephone: Central 4857 SUBSCRIPTION RATES t Home and Abroad ; Year. £3 I 0. Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper 6 months, £1 10 6. No. 2000. Vol. LI. April 24th, 1947 Thursdays, One Shilling. "The Outlook Swan Song? . ?E YEBROWS may be raised by some readers when they see the amount of space we give this week to the Rolls-Royce Eagle. A new piston-engine in 1947 ! And after studying the details and admiring the unquestionable skill that has gone into the design, they might quite possibly dismiss this engine as a waste of-fine effort. It has '' all modern conveniences '' : two- stage two-speed superchargers, direct fuel injection, sleeve valves, and contra-rotating four-bladed airscrews. In 1940, yes, but in 1947? This reaction would be very natural, but rt would be be quite wrong. That the Eagle may well be the last Rolls-Royce high-powered piston engine is undeniable, but that it may quite probably save an awkward situa- tion is equally true. For a beginning it* fitted in the new Westland Wyvern naval aircraft, but that is not likely to be the end of its usefulness. . In some ways it is, perhaps, not an unmixed blessing that progress with jets has been so rapid. The lines ot ^evebprnent, somewhat difficult to foresee in the early StagesPare now becoming fairly clear: plain jets for very high speeds; airscrew-turbines for high cruising spZds It considerable altitudes; and the compound eSgine, with its basic possibility for very low fuel con- . sumption, for very long-range reconnaissance or ^5^ the lines along which the utilization oi: the new power plants will probably evolve Unfortunately, however, each of these brings problems of its own apart from those related to the power units themselves^ High speed at great height is beset with Mach^Number difficulties. Pressurization of large cabins h^* own particular " headaches." Catering for the gust case at high speeds and great altitudes involves structural and aerodynamic considerations of no mean niagnitude Apart from these, there are still the Power umts them selves to be borne in mind. Recent vears have shown, with rather unpleasant distinctness, that even in fairly orthodox aircraft it is very easy to run into trouble after a new type has gone into service. It is not unlikely that something of the same sort may happen with the new types of power unit. Until they have been in actual use in the R.A.F., the Navy, and on the air routes for a considerable time, we cannot be certain that no troubles will develop which will call for modifications and cause delay. In the meantime there is a bread-and-butter job to be done, and that is why this journal welcomes the new Rolls-Royce Eagle piston engine. There is a lot of comfort in the thought that, should the need arise, we have here a power unit which can step into the breech and, if circumstances demand it, can be still further developed in the matter of power output, just as was the Merlin in its time. So let us lower those eyebrows again. The Other ExtremeR ECENT conferences and meetings have shown that at the other end of the power scale from the Rolls- Royce Eagle there is a great need for a light, cheap, simple engine of some 40 b.h.p. The Ultra Light Aircraft Association has been given encouraging hints from the authorities that the " Permits to Fly which were in force before the war are likely to be rein- stated ; financial assistance from the Kerasley Fund is assured" and the very welcome announcement that annual landing cards at £5 each for Government air- fields and those controlled by the Aerodrome Owners Association are available on application to the R.Ae.C. at Londonderry House, will be of great benefit to pros- pective owners of " ultra-lights." But more important, at least for a start, is the right engine at the right price. Counting chickens before they are hatched was ever a risky business. The Air Ministry recently cackled about such a chicken in the form of the new air traffic control service. It does not seem to have emerged
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