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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 2132.PDF
FLIGHT DECEMBER IITH, 1947 Correspondence .... approach include: BABS (for Rebecca fitted aircraft), S.B.A.,G.C.A. and—on the few occasions that it is serviceable— S.C.S.51 (modified to be equivalent to the C.A.A. I.L.S.). Alarge percentage of aircraft is at present dependent upon S.B.A. and it will not be possible to employ I.L.S. morewidely until British manufacture is well under way, thus any suggestion that the- S.B.A. be used as a rather vague quad-rantal indicator is quite out of the question. Consider now those aircraft using, when possible, the I.L.S. Many of theseare flying on the North Atlantic route and I am confident that no airline operator, certainly no American company, would beprepared to fit a difncult-to-procure S.B.A. airborne equip- ment for use at London Airport alone. The idea of using I.L.S. for 50ft-50yds minima is purefantasy, and no Master of aircraft familiar with the I.L.S. system limitations would ever risk his aircraft and passengersin such conditions. (The lowest I.L.S. minima contemplated by the C.A.A. is 200ft-1,000yds.) The most valuable existing aid for general orientation andholding purposes is, without a doubt, the radio compass or A.D.F. Intelligent use of this aid in conjunction with BABS,S.B.A. or I.L.S., the final stages of the approach being moni- tored by G.C.A., goes very far towards constituting a soundinterim plan for airfield control, approach and landing. '' CAMPANOLOGIST.'' PARACHUTES AND THE PERSONAL AUTOGIRO Some Ring way and A.F.E.E. Reminiscences BRUCE WILLIAMS, in his interesting article in the Novem-ber 20th issue, made some illuminating general remarks on parachutes and parachuting which I feel require some quali- fication. He was sceptical, to say the least, on the subject of spot-landings by parachute, and I judge from this, and from the context, that his association with Ringway arid what later became A.F.E.E. was in the very early days. Even Ringway and A.F.E.E. became reasonably proficient in spot-landings by parachute, although they did not develop this aspect to the extent that ,we developed it for dropping supplies and " bodies," male and female, to the various underground organizations known collectively as the "Maquis." This special development and production work was under my control for five years (I am not certain if I am allowed to mention its location, even yet—such is the influence of the "cloak-and-dagger"). The basic conception was to provide graded sizes of parachute for weight to give the mean rate of descent of a man on a 28ft-diameter parachute, so that reason- able spacing on alighting could be combined with accuracy of spot-landing when dropping "sticks" of a mixed character. This system worked excellently under the extremely difficult and hazardous conditions of operation, and, incidentally, the damage rate of stores and men was a small fraction of one per cent. Imagination boggles at the sight of similar sticks descending in the midst of individual whirling blades, although I admit that my only experience with blades was when we tried out the idea of a senior Army officer for dropping single pigeons in a container controlled by a rotor blade. The net result was that the container and pigeon spun around while the rotor remained stationary, although the pigeon was undamaged on landing, being merely somewhat shaken and distinctly sur- prised ! Of course^the shortage of silk did not limit parachute pro- duction for long, because nylon, rayon, Celanese, and several types of cotton (called Ramex to deceive the gullible (?) and conservative parachutist) were developed for all uses. In this connection, the work of the back-room, or more properly " back-field," boys should not, as it invariably is, be forgotten or ignored. New materials made up into parachutes, and new types of parachute, lor man-dropping were dropped with dummies for a minimum of 1,500 drop-tests at my unit before l>eirig passed on to A.F.E.E. for experimental live-dropping, plus initial and incidental practical and laboratory tests by R.A.E., with which (or should it be whom?) I and A.F.E.E. co-operated closely, and on the whole amicably. Then and not till then, was a batch of the new production passed on to Ringway for service trials, which had to meet the meticulous standards and conditions of the Ringway instructional staff— a member of which would promptly do his four-hundredth jump with one of the new type, and get his name and his photograph in the papers! Many of the basic designs and modifications originated with these " back-field " boys and the manufacturers, and only some from Ringway. I wrote a long (perhaps over-long) and comprehensive technical book on the Theory and Practice of Parachuting, based on the work done by the various associated units and departments, which was initially accepted by two publishers (at different times), and subsequently, after some eighteen months' delay and three re-writings, returned to me with deep regrets. The manuscript now lies, probably mould- ering and mouse-nibbled, in my basement—perhaps if I resur- rected it and titled it "A Prelude to the Prelude," some pub- lisher would snap it up. H. R. BUNN, M.B.E., A.R.Ae.S. VEHICLES AT AIRPORTS Stricter Discipline Needed ''THE question of controlling vehicular traffic on airfield -L perimeter and taxi tracks is not always accorded the atten- tion it warrants. Vehicles obstructing the perimeter tracks have been respon- * sible for damage to aircraft, and aircraft have, at otheT times been forced to leave the perimeter track and become bogged for hours in the mud. Any casual visitor to the public enclosure at Northolt would have seen .vehicles sandwiched between aircraft awaiting take- off, and pilots are no doubt distracted during the take-off or landing when an occasional truck dashes across the end of the runway. Some interesting correspondence has appeared in your columns recently on this subject, and no doubt the problem will ultimately resolve itself when the projected modern air- ports are completed, but meanwhile surely the answer lies in (a) prohibiting unnecessary traffic; and in a far more imagina- tive use of (b) the .runway controller, (c) the airfield police, (d) diversion boards to direct vehicles along appropriate taxi tracks. All drivers should require a pass to use the airfield, and such a pass should not be issued to anyone who is not thoroughly acquainted with airfield procedure. A change of the runway in use would, as one of your Carres'' pondents pointed out. involve moving or replacing diversion and "No Entry " boards, but the staff of 24 men, for instance, on the flarepath crew at Northolt should have no difficulty in coping with this. One has only to recall the pre-electric flare- path days when a few men coped with a night runway change involving far more work than this. Nevertheless, "No Entry" boards will be quite useless if the instructions contained thereon are not strictly enforced. This should be the task of the airfield police. The present tendency is to employ large numbers of police- men who have, for the most part, been quite ineffective in this particular field because (1) they themselves,are not acquainted with airfield procedure; (2) they are immobile; (;) they have but a very limited authority. A small, intelligent, alert, mobile police force should have the authority to summon to a civil court drivers who ignore the runway controller's red light, or the "No Entry" boards. One of your correspondents, C. C. Allinson, is apparently not aware that runway controllers are employees (if they will excuse the word) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and have as such always been an integral part of Air Traffic Control. They can play a very valuable part in controlling vehicular traffic, and I cannot agree with your correspondent, "Air Minded," ex-Army, that such control should be done from the Control Tower. ^ Your correspondent R.B.S., who applied for the post of Air Traffic Control Officer, might take note that the M.C.A. never have, to my knowledge, been short of applicants for these posts, and his discovery of two A.T.C.O.s on duty at one of London's airports is hardly surprising. The last census at London Airport revealed the presence of no fewer than 31. The new air traffic control scheme was delayed because the M.C.A. could not recruit 70 clerks for control duties—precisely the type of minor but important grade which R.B.S. " dis- gustedly declined, without, thanks." "VENTILATOR." FORTHCOMING EVENTS Dee. 12th.—R^Ae.S. Graduate and Student) : "Aircraft Design from the Airline Point of View." Christopher Dykes, A.F.R.Ae.J. Dec. 17th.—Aircraft Recognition Society : Competition for the Society Trophy and " Christmas Quiz," compered by Mr. E. A. Wren. Dec. 18th.—Royal Aeronautical Society : "The work of the High-Speed Tunnel." Prof. A. Thorn, M.A., D.Sc, and W. G. A. Perring, F.R.Ae.S. Jan. 5th.—R.Ae.S. (Derby) : " Aircraft Photography." John Yoxall. Jan. 6th.—R.Ae.S. (Belfast) : " Some Experiences in Experimental Glidinf." Prof. Hill, M.C., M.Sc, M.I.Mech.E., F.R.Ae.S. Jan. 7th.—R.Ae.S. (Southampton): "Rotating Wing Aircraft." <-. C. Pullin. Jan. 7th.—British Interplanetary Society : " The Man-Carrying Rocket R. A. Smith, F.B.I.S.
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