FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1947
1947 - 0885.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER Editorial Director G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Editor - -CM. POULSEN Assistant Editor - MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. (WING COR., R.A.F.V.R.) Art Editor • - JOHN YOXALL FIPST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY W THE W6RLD •• FOUNDED IOOQ Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams : Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (SO lines.) COVENTRY : 8-10, CORPORATION ST. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry. Telephone : Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2: KING EDWARD HOUSE, NEW STREET. Telegrams : Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone : Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : 260, DEANSGATE. Telegrams : Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone : Blackfriars 4412. GLASGOW, C.I: 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4037 No. 2006. Vol. LI. SUBSCRIPTION RATES : Home and Abroad : Year, £3 10. 6 months, £1 10 6. Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper t ^ _.' • ^ June 5th, 1947 Thursdays, One Shilling. Outlook Towards an Ideal MANY have been the distinguished Americanswho have, in alternate years, delivered the Wil-bur Wright Memorial Lecture before the Royal Aeronautical Society. Two years ago this lecture was delivered by Mr. T. P. Wright, who gave an inspiring talk on aviation's place in civilization. In 1943 Dr. Edward Warner treated us to his views on post-war transport aircraft. That lecture has become a classic, largely because it laid down certain parameters which had hitherto been missing. This year Mr. John K. Northrop takes us farther along the road to the ultimate ideal: the all-wing air- craft which has no drag-producing excrescences. Mr. Northrop has had very long experience in this par- ticular field, and the company which bears his name has accumulated a vast store of knowledge, some of which he now places at the disposal of the world in general through his Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture, the first part of which is summarized in this issue. Of very great interest is Mr. Northrop's comparison between the all-wing and the orthodox types of air- jffi/tk There are many who have Vondered whether fiebenefits to be derived are really worth the trouble of finding solutions to the many problems with which the all-wing is beset. With so many years of experi- ence behind him, Mr. Northrop has no doubt in the matter. His figures indicate that the reduction in drag is capable of greatly increasing the range and payload. Even if some of the results which he foresees should take several years to achieve, there is sufficient advantage in those already attained to justify continuation—and indeed an intensification—of the development work. This should encourage British designers in general, and Mr. John Lloyd of Armstrong Whitworths in particular, whose machine is shortly to begin its test flights. One of the drawbacks to the all-wing type, and indeed to all tailless machines, is the difficulty of obtaining a high maximum lift coefficient. Doubtless many will be shocked by Mr. Northrop's suggestion that it may be achieved by deliberately arranging the centre of gravity behind the aerodynamic centre of the wing, thus making the machine unstable longitudinally. This goes against everything we have been brought up to accept, but as Mr. Northrop points out, large aircraft will in any case require power assistance for operating the flying controls, and if the power system can be made completely reliable, with duplication, etc., such a scheme might work. . Pioneering AgainR EFUELLING in the air is no novelty, but the series of trials just started may well set the official seal of approbation on the results of the develop- ment work which Sir Alan Cobham and his associates have been doing so patiently and persistently for the last 18 years or so. The early beginnings were crude, as pioneering attempts are apt to be, but improvement has followed upon improvement until there is now, from the technical aspect, every reason to consider the system really practical. We have followed the work closely through the years, and have from time to time published articles on the pro- cedure and equipment. A full illustrated description was given in our issue of August 23rd, 1945, and this was followed by a series of articles by Mr. Latimer- Needham, Sir Alan's chief engineer, who is accompany- ing Sir Alan on the present tests. It will, therefore, suffice if we recall that to make contact the airliner lets out a weighted cable into the bight of which the crew of the tanker fires a harpoon carrying a heaving line. The latter is hauled into the airliner and brings with it the fuel hose from the tanker. When the nozzle has been locked to the receiving cone, fuel is transferred by gravity, and when the tanks are full, contact is broken, the airliner goes on while the tanker returns to base. s
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
