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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 2090.PDF
FLIGHT NOVEMBER 2J CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himseij tesponsibte for the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers^ not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. SUBSIDIZED FLYING The " Over Thirties " IN your issue ot November 20th F. S. Symondson writes tosuggest that subsidized flying should only he enjoyed by those aged 30 or less. I must protest that this seems not only unfair to those of uswho are now keeping the clubs alive by paying the high rates at present necessary, but 1 would also contest his statementthat older pilots would be useless in the event of war. During the late war my instructor at E.F.T.S. was aged50, and he did good work in initiating many of us into the mysteries of flight. I, myself, am now aged 37, and shouldanother war break out. surely 1 could be of value either as an instructor, or in Transport Command, if my flying has, in themeanwhile, been kept up to scratch. D. W. N. CAETER. AB INITIO MEDICALS Statement of Health Should be Sufficient I HEAR that there is a plan to make prospective pilots takemedical examinations before starting their instruction. Surely this is unnecessary. Anything which is going to increasethe cost, time and complication of getting an A licence is bound to discourage would-be private pilots. If it is thought that there is a risk of people who are physic-ally unfit finding themselves in charge,of an aircraft, the answer, to say the least, is that this is most unlikely. Thereshould be plenty of opportunity before a solo licence is granted for such people to be weeded out. It should be sufficient inthe early stages for the pupil to fill in a form somewhat similar to that required for a driving licence for road vehicles.•Poor vision and hearing, and inability to move joirits or co- ordinate movements would quickly become apparent duringinstruction, and the pupil would have to be tarried down any- way. If an unfit pilot did manage to get past the elementarystages and considered becoming a professional, he would be immediately faced with medicals for his more advancedlicences. H. G. TUBE. WOMEN PILOTS Their Wonderful War Record Recalled MAY I be permitted to make comment on the letter fromL. Heather published in your issue of November Oth, re- garding the formation of a volunteei reserve of women pilots ? Whilst agreeing with the statement that there are more than enough male pilots available for this kind of work, I deplore and challenge the sentence: "As ior women's work in the A.T.A., it could have been more efficiently done by men unfit for operational duties." In the first winter of the war, the women pilots of A.T.A. ferried over 2,000 aircraft without a single accident; and during the Invasion period in the spring of 1944, they delivered from one base alone, more than 20 fighters a day: Typhoons, Tem- pests, Spitfires, etc.. straight to the forward airfields. Surely, this is a wonderful record, and one that merits the admiration and respect of every male pilot. I would remind your correspondent that women pilots constituted only about a fifth of the flying personnel of A.T.A. Incidentally, T am unfit for operational duties myself, but would be the first to join a volunteer reserve of pilots for ferrying and communication-duties. ALEC J. MATTHEWS. Ex-Ferry Pilot, A.T.A. HONOURING AN AMERICAN FRIEND Proposed Presentation to Leslie Irvin T ESLIE IRVIN has proved himself to be a very good -L< friend of the British, and his parachutes have saved many thousands of British lives.. As he is a citizen of the United States, and apparently it is not possible for him to be rewarded as undoubtedly he %vould have been had he been British, some of his British colleagues have conceived the idea of making him a presentation as a token of esteem and appreciation. The scope of the idea widened because many of his friends and admirers wished to be associated with, and contribute to, the presentation. Consequently, subscriptions, and support have now been received from, among others, members of the Royal Air Force, the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Royal Aero Club, the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators, the BritishAir Line Pilots Association and the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. Since there may be readers of your journal who have notheard about the presentation but would like to be associated with it, this letter will serve as an intimation that contribu-tions can be sent to the Hon. Sec, Major K. M. Beaumont D.S.O., 380, Gresham. House, Old Broad St., London, E.C.2! Large contributions are not required. The idea is that thepresentation should be associated with as many of Leslie Irvin's friends and admirers as possible. A. G. LAMPLUGH, Chairman, iK. M. BEAUMONT, Honorary Secretary. , Independent Committee on the Future of Civil AviatioJK ^ AUTOMATIC PILOTING The Designer of S.E.P.l RepliesM AY I as the designer of S.E.P.i be permitted to intervenein the discussion started by "B" Licence Pilot? Your correspondent seeks to convey the impression thatthere is complacency m official quarters in this country about the problems of all-weather flying schedules. He brings thischarge against the very able team of Government research workers who are engaged on this problem (and who are de-barred from defending themselves) without apparently being aware of the very substantial progress which they have alreadymade and details of which, I hop*:, will soon be publicized. As I see it, the problem which we all have to. solve is to beable to operate the aircraft on schedule in conditions of low visibility. I can see no logic in suggesting that to do this theintelligent crew has to be replaced by tailor's dummies! What, then, is the significance of "B" Licence Pilot's trap phrase" without human control in the air or on the ground"? In his second numbered comment on Mr. Morgan's letter,he again implies that S.E.P.i is unsuitable for the purpose because it does not provide automatic pitch trim and altitudemonitoring. This is surely special pleading. It is an open question whether automatic pitch trim is really required.With the advent of full power-operated controls, it becomes meaningless. With conventional controls and good aero-dynamic design, e.g., the Liberator on which the A. 12 has been demonstrated, it is unnecessary since the A.12 trimmotor does not, in fact, move ••hen the flaps and undercarriage are lowered and, at the worst, the responsibility for adjustingtrim on the indications of a trim gauge is not arduous. Nevertheless, because the question is an open one and because the design problem is not severe, we are making pro- vision for tbe supply of an automatic trim motor as anoptional addition, and this will be available before it is actually required. The altitude monitor is not required, or even applic-able to the problem of taking-off and landing. It may be desirable if the aircraft is required to "stand-off" waiting itsturn to land, but »ig an essential part of the problem that the traffic should be so organized that these delays are elimi-nated. However, since the.demand may become apparent we are making provision for tHfs Jeature as well. Finally, in answer, to your correspondent's question "s^iixis a safe automatic'pilot? " I. would state .that it is one which will not/'either due to foreseeable internal failure or due toweather conditions^ apply sudden dangerous ritovernents of the controls. It is ftot true to say that to keep the ajAraft onthe beam it has to make coarse control movements; this is wrapped up with the stability of the control. The provisionof auxiliary safeguards which will detect when the autopilot lias applied dangerous control movements and cut it out afterthe event is not equivalent to "failure-to-safety" design which prevents the dangerous movements even in the event ofcircuit failure. • F. W. MEREDITH. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Nov. 29th.—Pathfinder Ball, Dorchester Hotel. Park Lane, London. Dec. 4th.—Royal Aeronautical Society : " Problems racing Civil Airline Operators." N. E. Rowe, C.B.E., B.Sc, D.I.C., F.R.Ae.S. Dec. 6th.—Helicopter Association of Great Britain : " Some Aerodynamic Problems of the Helicopter." H. B. Squire. Dec. 7th.—Royal Institution of Gt. Britain : " The Advent of the Aircraft Gas Turbine." A. Cdre. F. Whittle, C.B.E., M.A., F.R.Ae.S.. Hon. M.I.Mech.E. Dec. 12th.—R.Ae.S. (Graduate and Sti dent). "Aircraft Design from tbe Airline Point of View." Christopher Dykes, A.F.R.Ae.S.
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