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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1965.PDF
and. AIRCRAFT ENGINEER Editorial Director G. GEOFFREY SMITH, MM. Editor - CM. POULSEN Assistant Editor - MAURICE A. SMITH. D.F.C. (WING CDR., R.A.F.V.R.) Art Editor - JOHN YOXALL FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE W)RLD .• FOUNDED 1909 Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams : Flightprei, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 line*.) COVENTRY: BIRMINGHAM,]: MANCHESTER, 3 : 8-10, CORPORATION ST. *'N Gw E D WA R DR HOUSE, 260, DEANSGATE. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams : Autopress, Birmingham; Telegrams : Iliffe. Manchester. Telephone: Coventry 5210. Telephone : Midland 7191 (7 lines). Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. GLASGOW, C2( 26B, RENFIELO ST. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone : Central 4857 No. 2029. Vol. Lll. SUBSCRIPTION RATES : Home and Abroad : Year, £3 10. 6 months, £1 10 6. Registered at the C.P.O. as a Newspaper November 13th, 1947 Hfie Outlook Thursdays, One Shilling. The Giants in a Fog UNEASINESS about the future of the two hugenew British aircraft types, the Bristol Brabazon Iand the Saunders-Roe S.R.45 flying boat, was increased rather than allayed by the reply given by the Minister of Civil Aviation in the House of Lords on November 5th. It would appear that the fog which pre- vailed outside was reflected in the Minister's statement, and it was not even illuminated by such verbal fire- works as would have been appropriate to the day. Lord Balfour of Inchrye asked the Government whether it had been decided that the construction of the Brabazon I civil airliners and the Saunders-Roe civil flying boats should be suspended in whole or part. Now that was a simple and straightforward question, and it could easily have been answered by an equally simple and straightforward reply, but Lord Nathan chose to cloud the issue by saying that he supposed Lord Balfour had in mind the reports that work on these machines might be stopped owing to the economic position. That f as not so, and the future of these airliners would beconsidered in the ordinary way entirely on theirmerits." In other words, Lord Nathan replied to a question which had not been asked, and Lord Balfour quite naturally pressed for a clearer statement. All he suc- ceeded in eliciting, however, was that the economic position is not a factor which has been taken into account in considering the future of these aircraft. We are still left in ignorance as to what plans the Govern- ment has (if any), and we could have wished that Lord Balfour had not been prevented by his august surround- ings from concluding with more telling fireworks than his "the reply does not answer my question. I am sorry." Last week we expressed sympathy with the Minister of Civil Aviation when he was put up to reply (in the defence debate) on behalf of the Government concern- ing the Royal Air Force. We pointed out that Lord Nathan could not after his long absence in the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, be expected to be in a position to give authoritative replies. That excuse cannot be advanced when the subject is one very inti- mately concerning the department of which Lord Nathan is the political head, and one is forced to the conclusion that the fate of these two aircraft types is still doubtful, even if " the economic situation is not a factor which has been taken into account." . v Engine-Off Landings A FAMOUS aircraft manufacturer once said, inapproximately these words, "The enthusiasts arealways telling us that the great advantage of the helicopter is that it can go straight up. Unfortunately, if the engine stops the helicopter comes straight down." That view has been fairly generally shared, at least to the extent of believing that a safe forced landing after engine failure is an extremely tricky and delicate manoeuvre which requires rather exceptional piloting skill. This journal has done its best to dispel the idea that an engine failure inevitably means a crash, and in our issue, of March 28th, 1946, we published an excellent article by Lt. Hosegood, R.N.V.R., in which he de- scribed the three main types of engine-off landing. The article was received by many with a certain amount of scepticism, the feeling being that Lt. Hosegood is very much of an expert and thai:, therefore, what appeared fairly simple to him might be found very difficult by a pilot of less skill. There the matter has pretty we^l rested until now.1 In this issue we publish the first instalment of an account of a lecture given recently by Mr. Fitzwilliams to the Helicopter Association on the subject of engine oft land- ings. Without resorting tx> involved mathematics, Mr. Fitzwilliams explains as simply as the subject allows
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