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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1164.PDF
6o FLIGHT JULY 17TH, 1947 Rendezvous for Fuel .... way to land at Kindley Field, Bermuda, at 0428 G.M.T. after 17 hours, 54 minutes flying. The Homeward Flight For the return journey, it was thought desirable to fly as far north of an anticyclone as possible to take advantage of the westerlies. This would also prove the tanker's powers of interception. The direct rhumb line track was, therefore, our choice, with the rendezvous at 43 30N 30 00W, 450 miles NNW of Santa Maria, just after dawn. Flight plan time worked out as 14 hours 02 minutes with a required uplift at the rendezvous of only 700 gallons. A possible complication was forecast, however, in the form of a cold front over the rendezvous. Efforts to remain right on track were prevented by a series of weak fronts obscuring the stars, and at 024750 G.M.T. our first astro fix put us in position 37 36N 47 39W. 30 minutes later we altered course for the rendezvous, and followed this by two 3-star fixes at 035420 and 043640 G.M.T. right on our new track. The sky then became obscured again by the forecast cold front and we considered the advisability of changing the rendezvous, but 20 minutes before E.T.I, the cloud became stratified and the rendez- vous was made at 0637 G.M.T. between two layers of cloud. Eureka/Rebecca was used for the last 10 minutes to complete the interception. The Pilot's Reaction The refuelling went perfectly as before, but took only 22 minutes from "contact made" to "contact broken" and we were again on our way, to land at London Airpor' 13 hours, 34 minutes after leaving Bermuda. Our first reaction after landing, both ways, was to fin 1 that we did not feel nearly as tired as we have done in tli- past over shorter nights which involved an intermedia! landing. This was obviously because whilst in the a< we were not being molested by the many officials wh• > require one's signature on numerous documents, clearance.- flight plans, load sheets, etc., during the short time allows for a refuelling stop. Moreover, there is no landing (whicii may mean an instrument descent and approach through, cloud or poor visibility) or take-off. No extra flying skill on the part of the airline pilot i. demanded fdr refuelling in the air, and "George" can rlv during the transfer. (I had one hand on the clutch lever- just in case !) and the tanker should never come close; than 150 feet. Extra navigating skill is required, however to rendezvous at a position outside the range of navigations aids. With Eureka/ Rebecca or some such system, the twv aircraft must navigate to within about 40 miles of each other to ensure meeting. Finally, it would appear that greater reliability 01 schedules for the operator is possible, since all those tire- some delays " waiting for the weather to clear " at an in- termediate stop ca«n be borne by the tanker, provided it: can take-off and have sufficient fuel to delay landing until the weather improves. Thus only the long, heavy '' clamp'' at an intermediate station can delay the scheduled airline. If we leave the financial side of flight refuelling to the economists, and consider only how it affects us, we find there is much to be said for it We enjoyed our experience of refuelling in the air. GOOD ATTENDANCE AT THE DEAUVILLE RALLY A USTERS, Proctors, Whitney Straights, Hornet Moths,-£*• Messengers and Consuls were amongst the wide variety of light aircraft which left Britain last week-end to participate'in the private air rally organized by the town of Deauville, France. Over seventy aircraft made up what was probablvthe largest contingent of British civil aircraft to attend an air rally abroad since the war. The British visitors were enter-tained by the Municipality of Deauville and accommodated in the Royal Hotel. Principal host at the rally was Monsieur F.Andre, President of the .Societe des Hotels et Casino de Deau- ville. The Shell and Intava companies, in collaboration withthe Royal Aero Club, simplified fuelling arrangements for the rally by issuing petrol carnets to all members and associatemembers of the Royal Aero Club flying to Deauville. A report by our representative, together with Flight photo-graphs of the Deauville Rally, will-be published next week. GALA DAY AT LANGLEY NEXT Sunday, July 20th, is the great day for the NorthernHeights Model Flying Club. As was the case last year, the directors of Hawker Aircraft have placed Langley airfield,near Slough, at the disposal of the club, and model flying com- petitions will go on throughout the day from 10.30 a.m. to7 p.m. Many prominent people have signified their intention of being present, including the Minister of Civil Aviation, LordNathan. The Hawker company will have on view an interest- ing range of their full-size aircraft types. In addition to the usual contests there will be demonstra-tions of a form of model flying which is new to this country. The models are controlled from the ground by the manipula-tion of wires and are made to perform various evolutions. Members of clubs, associations and societies will be particu-larly welcomed, and should write to the Hon. Sec. of the Northern Heights Model Flying Club, Mr. H. R. Turner, 61,Avenell Road, Highbury, London, N.5. LUCAS JOINS DE HAVILLANDS MR. PHILIP G. LUCAS, G.M., F.R.Ae.S., R.A.F.O., i-joining the de Havilland Aircraft Co., Ltd., as technical sales manager, taking up his duties at Hatfield early in AugustIt is of interest that he learned to fly at the original de*Havil- land School of Flying at Stag Lane. MORE THAN ITS OWN WEIGHT "DECENTLY a Miles Aero van carried as disposable load 1.32-Lv times its own weight. The weight empty was 2,683 Hi and the disposable load 3.545 lb, giving a loaded weight of6,228 lb. With a payload of 3.188 lb there was enough fuel for a flight of 150 miles. The payload was, of course, in thrform of lead ballast, and few commercial loads would have that density. m "SLICK" (Concluded from page 57) and resourceful. In heavy swells the aircraft cannot remain hooked to the towing net, and direct contact must be made with the crane hook. This means that the pilot must maintain course and station within a few feet of the ship's side and at the same time manipulate his aircraft so as to engage the crane hook which is describing wild parabolas above his head. In the end success attends the patient efforts of those engaged in the operation, and the ship's crew heave a sigh of another disappointment and retire in the hope that next time they will see Johnny-Head-in-Air fished from the drink. Mr. George Miles and Mr. Ken Waller superintend the loading ofthe Aerovon with 3,188 Ib of lead ballast. .V.lr
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