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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 2211.PDF
DECEMBER 30TH, 1948 FLIGHT 769 organization, maintenance and servicing, and the ground handling aspects of this stupendous operation, all must have an extremely valuable effect on the operation of trans- port aircraft, whether military or civil. The maintenance of flights during QBI conditions, and the high number of aircraft movements per hour, augur very favourably for the time when the fast turboprop and turbojet aircraft will have to be handled at our Metropolitan airports. After some delays waiting for propitious weather, the six Vampires of No. 54 Squadron made their successful flight from Odiham to Montreal in the early part of July. The logical but unorthodox Planet Satellite aircraft was described, as was the work of the B.E.A. Gust Research Unit at Cranfield. The Daily Express Air Pageant at Gatwick excited considerable public interest, s* whilst Vickers Armstrongs gave the debuts of two extremely in- teresting aircraft, the Dart tur- boprop-Viscount and the Nene turbojet-Viking, the latter air- craft commemorating the 39th anniversary of Bleriot's cross- Channel flight, with a flight to Paris and back at an average speed of 394 m.p.h. British gas turbines re-emphasized then- quality with the successful com- pletion of a 500-hour endurance test by the Bristol Thessus turboprop, and the full A.R.B. approval for civil operation by the D.H. Ghost turbojet. The S.R/Ai twin-jet fighter flying boat was described at the end of the month, and a review was also given of activities at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell. In August we published detail descriptions of the Naiad turboprop, the Prince feeder-class airliner and the Apollo medium-range airliner. Mention was also made of the use by Transport Command of two Avro Lincolns powered with Theseus outboard and Merlin inboard engines, and the month wound up with the Lympne meeting, in which the women's 100-km closed-circuit international record was broken by Miss Lettice Curtis, with the speed of 313.2 m.p.h. in a Spitfire II. Undoubtedly the most important event in September was the S.B.A.C. exhibition at Farnborough, but, aside from the limelight attendant upon this universally interesting concours, there were many other aeronautical highlights. The Mamba turboprop successfully completed 500 hours' sealed running for the A.R.B., and the Goblin also com- pleted more than 500 hours' running in 234 test cycles. Important air exercises between Bomber and Fighter Com- mands were held, and the new enlistment programme for R.A.F. aircrew was announced. On September 6th, John Much-needed supplies were delivered to the Wolf Rock Lighthouse in February by a Westland-Sikorsky S-51 helicopter. Derry flew the D.H. 108 at above the speed of sound— a magnificent achievement. Among the interesting aircraft which were dealt with in September were the Hermes IV and the Youngman-Baynes, the latter being specifically designed for research into high-lift problems. Mr. Peter Masefield gave his now-famous 16-point (1948 British Com- monwealth and Empire) lecture, Some Economic Factors in Civil Aviation, before the Royal Aeronautical Society. Then, on the last day of the month, a message from the Lord Mayor of London was delivered to the Mayor of Paris in a lapsed time of 46 minutes 29 seconds by means of a Gloster Meteor and Bristol and Sikorsky helicopters. One of the first events of October and, although unspec- • » tacular, of tremendous ultimate 1 significance, was the announce- ment of the acceptance of a re- commendation to standardize "U.S. and British screw threads. The inauguration of R.A.F. parachute medical teams was also made public. An announce- ment of considerable interest was that by the Royal Aero- nautical Society deciding that divisions of the Society should be initiated in Australia and New Zealand. The smallest British helicopter, the Cierva Skeeter, first flew in October, and a new electrically actuated gyro hori- zon was announced by the Sperry Company. Of the new range of Blackburn Cirrus en- gines, the Bombardier was des- cribed in detail and was first flown. On October 18th the original Wright biplane, which had reposed since 1928 at the Science Museum, South Ken- sington, was handed over to the American Civil Air Attache for return to the Smithsonian Institution. Our first issue in November reported the highly success- ful R.Ae.S. Conversazione at the Science Museum, and also included first details of a new Smiths instrument to show actual and maximum safe air speeds. An interesting de- velopment applicable to the field of marine aviation, the Hook Hydrofin, was also divulged during November, and the joys of ballooning were revived at Cardington, on the occasion of a visit by M. Charles Dollfuss. This last month, December, has seen the first flight of the Cierva Air Horse, the largest helicopter in the world, and also experimentation with equipment for landing heli- copters at night. Some revealing details on the servicing organization behind Transport Command's Berlin air lift effort were also given in the earlier part of the month, in addition to some of the principal features of the Rolls- Royce Dart turboprop unit. A lecture of more than ordi- nary interest on the development of a new aircraft On June 29th the delivery of supplies by air to beleagured Berlin was started, since when, the momentum has steadily increased to its present extraordinary cabacity. R.A.F. Transport Command, the U.S.A.A.F., B.E.A., and several charter companies are all taking part.
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