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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1126.PDF
IOO In the absence of air transportation, supplies must' reT in this .picturesque but slow manner in the far north of Sweden and in Lapland. Sweden's Air Defences ' practically useless but with plenty of room provided, there have been no accidents through overshooting or hitting the snow banks edging the runways. Sanding and chipping (scarifying) of the runways improves the surface from the safety point of view. Forced landings on Vampires have been a subject of particular interest to Swedish pilots. Fortunately Goblin engine failures are virtually unknown, so discussions have been chiefly academic. While ice and snow remain on the innumerable lakes in Sweden, wheel-up landings on these natural flats could be made with little danger or damage, but in the summer an engine failure would be a most serious thing. There are relatively few airfields, and clear level spaces hardly exist at all. The fields that do exist in the south are nearly all small, uneven and usually contain several huge rock boulders. A belly-landing would thus be very hazardous indeed. Baling Out and Ditching There are no known reports of a pilot getting out of the Vampire. To fit an ejector seat now would be a major operation, n possible at all, and to get clear without one would be ticklish to say the least. A quick jab forward on the stick, having jettisoned the canopy and turned on to one's back, would seem to be the most promising method. Another question that is asked is whether or not a Vampire ditches well, and again no information seems to be available. If, in fact, a safe ditching is possible, the lakes would once more provide the forced- landing areas. On the whole, Vampires have been operated very successfully by the Royal Swedish Air Force, and the few small troubles which have been experienced have been, or are being, rectified by the de Havilland company. Principal among them are the cracking "of cockpit canopies and undue wear in certain nose-wheel oleo leg components. In all, four canopies have failed at heights between 25,000 and 35,000 ft—all, fortunately, without injury to the pilots. A later design of canopy is now available. A Swedish engineer officer expressed the hope that the time between combustion chamber inspections for the Goblins would soon be lengthened from 30 to, saj*v«5?J^hours. It is a compliment to both aircraft and pilots to /eojj^^hafTaitert maftyAapths of operation of their first jet fighters, boJSEtnm&^fut Mwp original 70 are still The problem of canopies^m&fwg-up—exgprienced on many types of aircraft—is being tacklejCfan^at^resent ^Cnomist'' glycerine-base anti- FLIGHT July 22nd, 1948 mist transparent sheets are applied to the inside surfaces of the-^anopies, as they have been and still are in this country. Close collaboration between the British and Scandinavian Air Forces is of the greatest importance to each one. The pre- sence of many Service pilots, particularly in Norway and Sweden, who received their training in, or who have operated with, the Royal Air Force during the late war, assures ties of friendship and understanding, and has effectively removed language difficulties. ^Exchaage visits by squadrons, such as ha recently been taking place (No. 16 Mustar squadron was welcomed at West Ma and R.A.F. Hornets from No. 65 St visited Sweden) are to be ^ncouragtTd, will ensure continued co-operatS? A compact new mobile petrol heater with fan circula- tion, for aid in starting engines in sub-zero climates. June 1947 May 1948 . May 1949 May I9S0 Currant Training Scheme. 110 hr Best man ~\ 50 hr Harvard I Pupil pilot—no rank. 160 hr I 40 hr Harvard ^ 80 hr J22 (O.T.U. fighter) I 120 hr Corporal 40 hr Harvard "\ 80 hr operational fighter I Cadet—equiv. to ——— I Corporal plus 120 hr J 300 hr total to Vampire standard. New Scheme for Vampires. 1st Year 100 hr Best man ^ (approx. same 60 hr Harvard months as above) 5s 2nd year 160 hr hrffiarvard (with Vampire Sqn.) l to Vampire standard. tral Ljungdahl C. Swedish Fighter Command wi Phillips on the recent squadi .^Normplng,
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