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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1276.PDF
192 FLIGHT AUGUST 12TH, 1943 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. R.A.F. CRANWELL Material Wanted for a Book I AM collecting material for what I hope may be a book ofexperiences in the R.A.F., with particular reference to the period January, 1920, to December, 1924, at R.A.F., Cranwell. There must be still in the Service a considerable number of the early entrants to No. 2 S. of T.T. (Boys) which formed at Cranwell in 1920, .and of ex-cadets from the earlier terms of the R.A.F. College. 1 should be grateful for the loan of magazines, photographs, caricatures and cartoons relative to this period and for any material which might supplement my own personal recollection of five years of very enjoyable service at Cranwell. As I am at present stationed in the United States, I shall be glad if material could be addressed to me c /o 69, Manchester Road, Swindon, Wilts., and I will undertake to return it if so requested. " H. E. NO WELL, B.J.S.M., Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Group Captain (1C160). RUNWAYS AND LOADINGS Improved Flaps Neglected WE may congratulate ourselves on having learned a costlylesson if the tragedy ot the Tudor II is to result in an appreciation of the need for something better than the split or plain flap to enable aircraft to operate under international safety requirements at present-day loadings from runways of finite length. The present deplorable deficiency of civil aircraft in meeting take-off requirements is not due to any lack of knowledge or experience in high-lift flaps. The Fairey civil transport, pro- jected no less than ten years ago and abandoned at the out- break of war, incorporated flaps not inferior to those now used on the Constellation. It seems incredible that this air- craft was not included in the Brabazon types. If, as appears to be the case, other post-war types designed in the light of the I.C.A.O. requirements will ultimately share the fate of the Tudor, who were the experts responsible for issuing and accepting the design tenders, and furthermore, are we to rely on these same experts in the future? Wooburn Green, Bucks. R. T. YOUNGMAN. EMERGENCY CONTROLS IN AIRCRAFT Another Theory Concerning Their Purpose ' -"•'—-* AFTER reading J. Westhead's letter in your issue of 15.7.48concerning the rudimentary control system of the Boston, and A. S. Bolton's confirmation of their existence in your issue of 22.7.48. I would like to put forward another theory for the provision of such controls. Although I have not seen the Boston's controls, I am sure similar equipment was provided on the Baltimore and the Avenger. If my memory is correct, the Baltimore had a wheel for elevator and aileron control, operated by the occupant of the nose position, and stowed at the side of the cockpit when not in use. The Avenger had a second -control column in the radio-man's position, mid-way between the pilot's seat and the turret. In each case I was given to understand that these controls were provided to allow another member of the crew to keep the aircraft straight and level whilst the pilot was otherwise engaged. I believe that pilots of American two and three-seater aircraft were expected to act as their own naviga- tors, and certainly some of their naval aircraft had chart-boards built in below the pilot's dashboard. When in use these chart- boards extended right across the pilot's knees, and I have no doubt that on such occasions, whilst keeping his plot up to date, the pilot was very pleased to hand over to another member of the crew. On one occasion, shortly after their squadron had been equipped with Avengers, I heard some British Naval Observers discussing this novel item of equipment which they had dis- covered in their part of the aircraft. Apparently their pilots had been allowing them to take over for short periods, and one pilot, obviously having experienced some unusual evolu- tions at the hands of an over-zealous observer, was muttering something about "Back-seat drivers."- It would seem, therefore, that other American aircraft possessed these rudimentary controls, and that their use was primarily to help the pilot carry out his normal, if somewhat onerous, duties. Their use in emergency, as suggested by Mr. Bolton, was an additional function, probably not envisaged by the designer. N. H. PROWT1NG. Wimbledon, S.W.19. Practical Experience of those in the Boston T WAS interested to read the letter in your issue of July 15th -*- about Boston auxiliary controls. In actual fact they did work and were useful in emergencies. The gunner's seat swivelled and could be locked facing for'ard or aft (as well as being adjustable for height). The control column was normally secured in clips on the side of the fuselage and when required was slid into a socket and locked in position, while pedals, placed rather far apart, f- worked the rudder. Throttle controls were fitted on the left (facing for'ard) and some of the early marks of Boston and Havoc (the Night Fighter version) had also an A.S.I., and an altimeter, though later marks omitted these aids to "semi- blind flying." The forward view was just about non-existent but it was possible to keep the aircraft on an even keel and right side up with a bit of practice. I used the system in dead earnest once to give my pilot a break when we had been flying in small circles round an air- borne lifeboat in the middle of the North Sea and he began to go cross-eyed ! A gallant gunner of the French "Lorraine" Squadron flew an aircraft back from Belgium to Manston when his pilot was hit in the head and temporarily blinded by blood on a low- level operation. The bottom gunner in this crew, who normally lay on his tummy and squirted '' peas" at the countryside through the open bottom hatch, on this occasion climbed up and used the upper guns to some purpose on the odd inter- fering "190." The navigator gave corrections "Left" or '' Right'' to keep the party roughly on course, and the pilot continued to mop himself up enough to land successfully at Manston. I remember we all thought it was a very gallant effort, and I was pleased because it showed certain doubting Thomases that the auxiliary controls were not there just because of some whim of the Douglas design staff. As one could not get from one compartment to another in the Boston, I always regarded '' one with stick and pedals" as a very sound plot—crude, but they worked. PETER COLEBY, D.F.C., F/L. R.A.F., Middleton St. George. I " V~ • FIGHTER FLYING BOATS The SR-A1 Should Become Operational I HAVE just finished reading your excellent detailed descrip-tion of the Sannders-Roe SR/Ai entitled "Fighter Flying Boat" Flight, July 29th), and before coming to the real point of this letter 1 would like to offer my hearty congratula- tions on an article which was clear, concise, arid, to coin a phrase if I may—"typically Flight." Now to the point in question, and I quote here from one of your closing jaragraphs of the article: "This country is fortunate not to need the SR/Ai's operational services at the present time, but it will nevertheless profit greatly from experience gained with it." It is true that we do not need the fully operational services of the SR/Ai at present, but these are modern times, where events happen swiftly, and to be absolutely prepared for any emergency is the oniy safeguard against finding ourselves in the same pitiful straits as in T939 in the event of us being plunged suddenly into another international conflict. In view of this, then, surely it would be a wise decision to form, say, three squadrons of SR/Ais in the appropriate Command of the R.A.F., be it Coastal or Fighter. In this way, adequate operational experience would be on hand, if it was ever needed. and also a sizeable number of these aircraft would be already operational with pilots and ground crew fully equipped to operate them at once. Surely it is not the intention of the authorities virtually to shelve this design until the actual time of need, necessitating a complete tooling and jigging of factories for production, with the resultant months of waiting before the first production models reach the squadrons. There again, there would be a further lapse of time whilst pilots and maintenance crews were
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