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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1644.PDF
35° LIGHT SEPTEMBER 25TH, A Dynamic Static Show Review of Many of the Chief New Features Exhibited : High Standard of Display Attained : General Advances THERE was too much to see, too much to talk about,too much to absorb in the tent-extended hangar,which housed the static exhibition at Radlett, for one even to begin to give a detailed appraisal of the show. At best one can but pick out the highlights which are new. So we propose to take our readers on a mental stroll round the crowded, colourful, bright and shining stands, noting the names on the neat blue head-boards, and casting a rapid glance over the exhibits in a search for new items of interest. Passing through the cream-painted, pillared entrance— which might well have carried the legend Industria hie Regnat—one was met by a babel of languages that imme- diately established the international nature of this British event. It cannot be gainsaid that, in the aeronautical sphere, it now in few others, whatever Britain does is still the subject of intense interest to the world. All the exhibits were immaculate, although naturally a rough casting has not the eye- appeal possessed by a sectioned, motorized en- gine. Nevertheless, in every instance the range of work displayed by each manufacturer was laid out with skilful attention to the capture of interest, and the astonishing variety of items shown emphasized again and again the im- being complemented by a motorized large-scale model ofthe Gyrodyne itself. Another interesting Fairey exhibit was a four-blade I3ft-diameter metal airscrew intended fora 2,000 to 2,500 h.p. turbine, and employing electric eon- stant-speeding actuation in conjunction with mechanically 'actuated feathering and braking; the pitch-change rates quoted were respectively 8 deg/second for constant-speed-ing and 40 deg/second for feathering and braking. Freighter Components . W General Aircraft, Ltd. showed two chordal sections ofthe outer-wing panels to be used on their huge Universal Freighter, and it was interesting to see that these com-prised an integral thermal de-icing duct in the leading edge and pressed Warren-girder-braced contour ribs in •conjunction with Z-section stringers. Between these twu aerofoil sections was the lower part ofa fuselage frame incorporating the transverse floor beam which, illus-trating the very massive floor struc- ture, made it easy to appreciate how-such typical loads as the 5-ton agricul- tural tractor shown in an accompany-ing model' will be catered for. These components were actual units. (Above) n th^jO.ECj^in was a 1^-kW locdllbh 5eacon with automatic lamp-changer. (Left) The new directional-gyro and artificial horizon, were shown by Smiths Aircraft Instru- ments Ltd. (Right) Main under- carriage wheel by British Messier for the Meteor. mensely wide scope of activity embraced by the aviation industry. Meteorological instruments and tablecloths, cannon-loading devices and air-cooling units, plastics in profusion and lights of every type. It was all too easy to contract mental indigestion. Model Exhibits Naturally enough, the exhibits featured on the aircraft and engine companies' stands are dealt with in the other sections of Flight's review and there is thus not much point in repeating them here. Suffice to say that the stan- dard of display everywhere was up to that very high level which we have learnt to accept as a norm. In particular, the double stand jointly occupied by the de Havilland Aircraft and Engine Companies was strikingly bounded on two sides by a chronological line of scale models, starting with the DH 1 two-seat Pusher Scout of 1914 and ending with the DH 108 of to-day; this feature of the stand seemed to evoke as much interest as the prime exhibits. Fairey Aviation had a crowded stand, one of the more interesting features upon which was the motorized trans- mission system of the Fairey Gyro.dyne helicopter, this On the Avro stand were extremely attractive models ofthe company's Woodford airfield, Langar and Bracebridge Heath repair depots, and Chadderton main works. Alsoon show was a scale model of the Avro wind tunnel which, now being built at Chadderton, will finally be erectedflpWoodford. The model showed the tunnel to be of closed- circuit type with a 9ft by 7ft working section ; a 500 h.p-motor is to provide a maximum airspeed, tunnel empty. of 265 ft/second, and model reactions will be assessed bya six-component balance. Miles Aircraft, Ltd. had a very attractive stand witha highly decorative but apparently unsignificant central motif. Of chief interest among the items displayed wasthe control-surface trimming system by means of Miles electric actuators governed by a three-motion switch, andthe Miles Co-Pilot in main-component form. British Messier, Ltd. had on view a Meteor main under-carriage wheel incorporating their new triple-disc hydraulic brake, this exhibit being supplemented by a rangeof press-button hydraulic selector-switches, which introduce the company's novel system of operation by means 01hydraulic relays to obviate the necessity of carrying major
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