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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1033.PDF
JUNE 26TH, 1947 FLIGHT 595 " Flight " photographs.(Top left) At R.N.A.S. Bramcote (H.M.S. Gamecock) Lord and Lady Nathan are seen with Captain G. N. Brewer, R.N , commanding officer, and Mr. Philip Wills. (Top right) Mr. Wills brings in his Wiehe, No. 27. (Lower left) One of the largest aircraft present andnot a competitor in the contests, the enclosed side-by-side two-seater Gull II just airborne on the wire. Lord Nathan is a passenger. (Lower right) A new Slingsby design, the 21 is intended for A.T.C. training. Flight's representative flew in this promising aircraft. are at the rate of one per 100ft from 1,500 to 3,000ft abovethe point of release, two per 100ft for 3,000 to 7,500ft above release, and four per 100ft above 7,500ft. Bonus marks aregiven for landing within 1,000 yards of a declared point (331 per cent of distance marks gained), for declared out and returnflights (100 per cent of distance marks), etc. Despite not-too-favourable conditions, Mr. Philip Wills,British distance and height record holder (209 miles and 15,247ft respectively), completed an excellent goal flight toDunstable, 56 miles away, in barely three hours, much of which was blind flying, and during which time he rose in cloudto 9,900ft. He was flying No. 27, a dark blue Weihe. No. 11, a light blue Olympia of the Surrey Gliding Club, was flownby Mr. W. Morison to Croughton airfield which is south of Brackley, and a height of 8,000ft was attained. Capt. R. E.Claudi from 84 Group Gliding Club, B.A.F.O., was the only other pilot to score. His mount was No. 12, a cream Weihe. Two arrivals by air from Yeovil, more than 100 miles away,were Cdr. C. Nicholson and Lt. Cdr. (E.) P. Blake, who flew No. 7, a light blue Kranich II. They were entered, by theRoyal Naval Air Command Soaring Association. During the afternoon Lord Nathan, who was returning fromhis Derby week-end, visited Bramcote and flew in a new Slingsby side-by-side two-seater known as the 21. The machineis designed for A.T.C training and this second prototype has shown itself to have excellent characteristics. After flyingin this glider with Slingsby's test pilot, Mr. J. W. Leach, Lord Nathan, who found the flight enhilarating but all tooshort, made a further trip in the enclosed two-seater Gull II with S/L Furlogh, A.T.C. instructor, as his pilot. An examination of the results of this year's B.G.A. nationalgliding contests will enable the selection committee to decide who shall represent this country in next year's week of inter-national gliding contests. CAR ENGINES SIX INCHES IN DIAMETER? ARE we likely to have gas-turbine-driven cars? " is aquestion many motorists are asking, and in The Autocarfor June 20th G. Geoffrey Smith, Editorial director of Flight and The Autocar, examines this subject. Jet propulsion, as such, he dismisses as impracticable forroad vehicles. On paper the gas turbine possesses many ad- vantages ; power is produced continuously by rotary motionso that there is perfect balance, light weight is. achieved— possibly one-third that of a piston engine. Very high operat-ing speeds imply turbines of extremely small dimensions, per- haps only 6 inches in diameter for a car! Turbines artself-cooled by air flow and so eliminate the need for radiators, and their kerosene or diesel oil fuel reduces fire risk. There are, however, disadvantages and many problems, saysThe Autocar article. Air must be perfectly clean, the con- sumption of fuel will be high, and the diminutive unit for acar, which might run at over 50,000 r.p.m., creates a real problem in gear box design. Aircraft turbines are built toextremely fine limits and, therefore, are costly to produce. Perhaps, writes G. Geoffrey Smith, the first practical use ofa gas turbine delivering shaft power to a road vehicle might be on long-distance coaches or commercial vehicles: light air-craft and high-speed marine craft may lead the way with the first use of small gas turbines. -" And then gentlemen, if Captain Oakehampton fails to keep her straight, I think we may assume the gas turbine to be superior."
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