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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 1777.PDF
OCTOBER 2IST, 1948 FLIGHT 499 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. SMALL AIRCRAFT AT LARGE AIRPORTS Why Not Patronize Private Airfields? I WAS amused to read in Flight of October 7th "PrivateOwner's" (D. K. Evans of Birmingham) letter about hisBumbledom experiences when he landed at Northolt. Why does he not support the private commercial airfields inthe London area, Broxbourne (east), Elstree (north), Denham (west), and Redhill (south) of London?At Denham we rarely charge a landing fee, and enquiries are " discreet." To take a private aircraft to Northolt or Heathrow seemsto be on a par with taking a sailing dinghy to tie up at the Southampton or Liverpool landing stage. We are looking for a " gentleman," modern variety, who hastwice asked us to order a taxi at a certain time, and then neither arrived nor phoned, and left us to pay the taxi.Denham Aerodrome. J. MYLES BICKERTON, F.R.C.S. THE VAMPIRE FIGHTER An Unfair Comparison ' THE statement which appeared in your editorial ofOctober 14th to the effect that the Vampire is much slower than the best fighters now flying and is retiring towards theoperational trainer category is untrue and gives a distorted impression of the real situation. A fighter which is in.full squadron service, ready for warto-day, ought not to be compared with later prototypes which still require considerable development and tooling before theycan be put into full production for home and overseas use. If we compare the Vampire with other fighters which arecontemporarily in service in Britain, America and elsewhere, there can be little doubt that the Vampire is unequalled infighting effectiveness. And by reason of its exceptionally docile qualities it is particularly suited for an urgent rearmamentprogramme. If a comparison is being made on the basis of the nextveneration of fighters, then it is not the present-day Vampire which should be compared. JOHN CUNNINGHAM. Hatfield, Herts.[Past history has shown that the first-line aircraft type of to-day becomes the trainer of to-morrow. It was that whichwe had in mind when we stated that the Vampire is retiring towards the operational trainer category. We certainly didnot intend to imply that such retirement is imminent. Our point was that by the time an enemy could capture andexamine a Vampire, the information would come too late to be of much value to him.—ED.] AUTOMATIC LANDINGS Pilots Should Not Object AS a member of the profession which is most directly con-cerned with the problems of automatic landings, I shouldlike to place on record at least one airline pilot's approval of this scheme. One is continually hearing of a latent objec-tion on the part of pilots to the idea of entrusting themselves and their aircraft to a mechanical landing device, but I doubtnow whether this objection is sustained by the majority, and even if it is, in some cases I suggest it is no longer valid. No one can deny the success of the ground-controlledapproach system, and there must be few pilots who can produce a real objection to changing the sound of " turn left 5 degrees "in their headphones to a series of " Ns " or some other radio signal te indicate an off-track position to the right. More reasonably, the merit is, 1 am sure, fully recognizedof a system which enables the pilot to concentrate entirely on the handling of his aircraft under instrument conditions, with-out having to concern himself with his orientation. From this point it is a logical step to the automatic controlof an aircraft from the orbiting position to the touch-down point. By this it is in no way suggested that the pilot shouldabandon his aircraft to the mercies of a robot, whilst sipping tea in the steward's galley, but rather that he should berelieved of the physical and mental strain involved in flying a large aircraft along a radio beam, in order that he may B 27 monitor a mechanical device which is guiding the aircraftdown to a safe landing. At all times his instruments, plus the signals being receivedby his radio equipment, should present a continuous picture of the aircraft's progress, and in the event of some deviationfrom the correct azimuth or approach path, due to some failure on the part of the equipment, he would still be at liberty tobreak off his approach, as would be his practice with present- day equipment. The final touch-down in zero-zero conditions Would certainlyprove somewhat of a strain in the early days, but here again the pilot retains the use of his altimeter, A.S.I, and rate-of-descent meter, to warn him of the impending contact with the runway ; and if the indications presented by these instru-ments were not conducive to a safe landing, he would still be able to take corrective action. It is common flying-boat technique to ignore a sight of thewater on glassy surface or night landing, but rather to rely on instruments to obtain a safe, flat approach path downto the water. So, provided runways are of reasonable dimen- sions, any landplane pilot's objections to such a landing wouldsoon be overcome as he gained confidence in the equipment. For my part, I say, " Bring on the automatic landing aid."Any device which alleviates the pilot's burden, which, as we scale the pinnacles of aviation progress becomes progres-sivelv heavier, will, I am sure, in time be fully approved by all. Effingham Common, Surrey. DAVID BRICE. FRUSTRATING THE TOWER OF BABEL Bring Foreign and British Air Writers Together ;'; A GREAT many foreign journalists come to the S.B.A.C.Show annually, but nothing is ever done to bring them together or get them to meet our own air writers. It doesnot seem to have occurred to the officers of the S.B.A.C., the Director of which was himself a journalist once. I suggest thatin future years a dinner or cocktail party be arranged by the S.B.A.C. at some such place as the Aviation Centre, and thatall British air writers of standing be invited to meet their foreign and overseas colleagues. Much good might befallBritish aviation in general from such a meeting. Or perhaps, if the S.B.A.C. think it is not their job, such a party couldbe arranged by the Circle of Aviation Writers. I know nothing of the constitution or aims of this young body, which cameinto existence after I had left aviation writing for a short while, and I have seen nothing of it since my return. London, S.W 3 GEOFFREY DORMAN. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Oct. 21st.—Royal Aeronautical Society: "Cold Weather Operation ot Aircraft," G. W. Wilson, A.F.R.Ae.S. and S/L E.P. Bridgland R.C.A.F., B.Sc, A.F.R.Ae.S. Oct. 22nd.—Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club: Aviation Ball, Grand Spa Hotel, Bristol. Oct. 23rd.—Helicopter Association of Gt. Britain: "Automatic Stabilization of Helicopters," Dr. G. J. Sissingh, Dr. Ing. Oct. 26th.—R.Ae.S. (Graduates and Students) : " Flight Refuelling," Sir Alan J. Cobharo, K.B.E., Hon. F.R.Ae.S. Oct. 27th.—R.Ae.S. (Preston) : " Design Problems of Large Flying Boats," H. Knowler, F.R.Ae.S. Oct. 30th.—S.L.A.E. (South Eastern Area) : " High Speed Flight," by W. A. Waterton, Manson House, 26, Portland Place, London, W.I. at 3 p.m. Nov. 1st.—R.Ae.S. (Derby) : " Fighter Aircraft of the World," Sqn. Ldr. H. F. Kins, H.3.E. Nov. 4th.—Sir John Cass Technical Institute : "The Aero Gas Turbine," W. Tipler M.A. Nov. 10th.—R.Ae.S. (Graduates and Students) : " Flying Experiences," Lt. Cdr. (A) E. M. Brown, O.B.E., D.S.C., A.F.C., M.A., A.R.Ae.S., R.N. Nov. 12th.—Redditch Society : " Aircraft Photography," John Yoxall. Nov. 17th.—R.Ae.S. (Hatfield) : " Design Problems of Large Flying Boats," H. Knowler, F.R.Ae.S. Nov. 17th.—R.Ae.S. (Preston) : " Investigation of Aircraft Accidents," A. Cdre. Vernon Brown, C.B., O.B.E., F.R.Ae.S. Nov. 17th.—Royal United Service Institution : " Jet Aircraft and their Possibilities," Dr. S. G. Hooker. Nov. 19th.—Institute of Navigation : " Magnetic Compass Problems—A Fresh Approach," Dr. G. N. Harvey, O.B.E. Nov. 20th.—Joint Meeting Royal Aeronautical Society and Helicopter Association of Gt. Britain. Full day Discussion on Heli- copters. Nov. 27th.—S.L.A.E. (South Eastern Area) : " Gas Turbine Power Plants," by D. H. Mallinson, B.Sc, Manson House, 26, Portland Place, London, W.I. at 3 p.m.
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