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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0753.PDF
f. MAY 27TH, 1948 FLIGHT 571 A.R.B. Report I.C.A.O. Standards Attained : Improved Examination Results IN his report for the year ended March 31st, 1948, LordBrabazon, the chairman of the Air Registration Board, referred to the year 1947-1948 as the first of normal activityin civil aviation since the end of the war. Development work of the first year had borne fruit to such an extent as to makepossible the completion of U.K. airworthiness requirements embracing the proposed standards of I.C.A.O.—a feat whichhad not yet been equalled by any other of the contracting States. Requirements for helicopters and for ultra-light air-craft were in the course of preparation. Nine prototype aircraft were investigated during the yearresulting in recommendations to the M.C.A. for Certificates ot Airworthiness in either the special or normal categories,and at the present time a further twenty prototype aircraft and six conversions of military types were undergoing investi-gations in relation to applications for Cs. of A. The Board tjwas building up a team of pilots and technicians, the chair-man said, specializing in flight testing, and Over twenty types of aircraft and five types of gliders had been flown. Thenumber of Cs. of A issued and validated as a result of the Board's recommendations amounted to 1,056, as comparedwith 1,250 during the previous year. The number of Cs. of A. renewed and re-validated totalled 905 as compared with 321previously. Reports on 150 surveys had been rendered during the year to various authorities and organizations involving atotal of 196 aircraft. They had been undertaken in the U.K., Argentine, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, the Sudan, Lagos, Free-town, the Belgian Congo, Zanzibar and Nairobi, and there had been no diminution in the work on behalf of foreign govern-ments and countries within the Dominions. A number of aircraft registered abroad had been returned to the U.K. foroverhaul with the request that the Board should supervise and report on the work. Some governments had also requiredan A.R.B. certificate as to the construction of new aircraft exported from the U.K. Surveyors resident overseas had alsogiven considerable assistance in reporting on aircraft to authorities in Palestine, the Sudan, and the East and WestAfrican colonies. Lord Brabazon revealed that routine examinations for theissue and extension of pilots' " B " licences showed an increase which amounted to some 46 per cent above the previousyear's figure. Results had shown some improvement in the standard, and the percentage of candidates which had failedat the first attempt had fallen lower in respect of examina- tions for an extension of licences compared with those for theissuing of new licences. A new technical syllabus had been prepared at the request of the M.C.A., and in accordance withI.C.A.O. requirements, for the issue and variation of the new series of pilots' licences, and in addition advice and assistancehad been given to the Ministry in connection with helicopter licences. Following representations from the West Africancolonies, an office had been established at Lagos, where the surveyor, in addition to fulfilling the Board's normal functionsin respect of aircraft and personnel licensed in the U.K., was acting on behalf of the Director-General of Civil Aviation, West Africa, in respect of airworthiness matters in Nigeria,Sierra Leone, Gambia, and the Gold Coast. The resignation of Lord Knollys from the council of theBoard had been accepted with considerable regret, but the vacancy had been filled by Mr. Whitney Straight. The rota-tional retirement of members at the end of last year had affected Captain G. P. Olley, Mr. C. C. Walker, Mr. E. R. H.Hill, and Major R. H. Thornton. Both Captain Olley and Mr. Hill were nominated for a further period and were accord-ingly reappointed. Mr. Walker had not found it possible to accept office any longer, and the S.B.A.C. had nominatedMr. F. E. N. St. Barbe to fill the vacancy. Major Thornton had indicated his willingness to continue to serve on theBoard. Lord Brabazon concluded by paying tribute to Mr. R. E.Hardingham, who had succeeded the late Mr. T. R. Thomas as secretary and chief executive to the Board in May, 1947, andalso expressed the Council's appreciation of the staff's work, Statistics for the twelve months ended 31st March Recommendations to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for : Certificates of Airworthiness : Issue of Prototype Issue of Prototype (reduced fee) Issue of Series Validation of Foreign Certificates of Airworthiness ... Renewals and Revalidations Renewals and Revalidations (Abroad) Approval of Prototype (Modified) ... ... " B " Pilots' Licences (Technical Examination) : Issue Extension Aircraft Engineers' Operational Licences : Issue Variation Renewal Aircraft Engineers' Maintenance Licences : Issue Variation and Extension Renewal r Firms' Organizations approved under Air Navigation Acts : For Design For Inspection Surveys for Underwriters and others British Gliding Association Certificates of Airworthiness:* Issue of Prototype Issue of Series ... Renewals Total number of Aircraft on Register Total number of Aircraft having valid Certificates of Air- worthiness Total number of Gliders and Sailplanes having valid Certifi- cates of Airworthiness Total number of Maintenance Schedules approved Total number of Current Aircraft Engineers' Operational Licences Total number of Current Aircraft Engineers' Maintenance Licences Total number of Firms'Organizations approved IM7 13 34 1,195 21 285 36 5 1,555 1,196 165 I I 1,619 851 2,055 31 250 126 Nil 36 10 1,219 1,138 Nil 173 98 2,685 999 1948 9 29 949 78 866 37 Nil 1,735 2,302 236 98 14 1.742 1,041 2,557 31 128 150 4 85 21 1,811 1,380 440 236 3,452 1,098 * Certificates of Airworthiness for Gliders and Sailplanes are issued by the Board on behalf of the British Gliding Association. BOOK REVIEW "Jet Propulsion Progress." By L. E. NevilU and N. F. Silsbee. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, $3.50. THE purpose of this book is to present simply the basicfeatures of the aircraft gas turbine and to survey develop-ments in Germany, Britain and the U.S.A. The authors have been in positions, with the Institute of the AeronauticalSciences and the U.S.A.F., to follow these developments, and have outlined them clearly and accurately. As a result thebook fulfils its aim of being of interest and value not only to students, but also to business and professional men who, per-force, must become acquainted with the problems of the present air age. As J. C. Hunsaker, of the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology, says in a, foreword, "Man is learning to live in a world shrunk by air-transportation speeds in the 200-300mp.h. range—now he finds himself in a revolutionary phase of transportation made possible by the new and more effectivepower unit." No attempt is made in the book to give a complete history ofaircraft gas turbines, experimental projects or the engineering principles involved. Indeed, for such a survey, the authorsrefer the reader to G. Geoffrey Smith's book Gas Turbines and Jet Propulsion, and pay generous tribute to his pioneeringarticles in Flight. Naturally, American developments are most intimately de-tailed, but at least half of the text is devoted to German and British activities. Together it makes an absorbing account ofthe most intensive effort by the three countries for the high stake of air supremacy. It is, with some justification, sug-gested that the successful development of the gas turbine ranks in importance second only to the discovery of atomic fission. Useful appendices to the text are a glossary of technicalterms, a chronology of developments from 1917 to 1946, and a bibliography of material published from 1941 to 1946. THE JAMESON ENGINEW HEN commenting editorially, on April 29th, on the pro-gress being made with British helicopters, we referred to a small two-seater intended to be powered by the Jamesonengine and stated that this engine has passed its type tests. Actually that is not the case, the misunderstanding beingdue to the fact that although the Jameson engine has run for well over the period required for type tests, not all of therunning was done under observed conditions.
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