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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1412.PDF
176 FLIGHT AUGUST IITH, 1949 American Notebook Rugged, Reliable and Roomy Luggage-van : The Northrop C-I2S Raider assault transport for tht U.S. Air Force it designed for the three "Rs" of civil and military trans- portation. This rear view shows the large ramp door and cargo hold, which can accommodate vehicles up to bhft high, 9ft wide and 24ft long. Note the long-span double-slotted wing flaps and retractable ailerons, also the high location of the horizontal tail. designed for soporific dreaming, for we found the chairs hard-feeling and the rest of the furnishings hard-looking. Doubtless, this is a clever dodge to keep the audience mentally alert—on the old familiar thesis that a tight shoe can make one forget a throbbing toothache. According to the architectural moderns responsible for all this discomfort engineer- ing, we must suffer in silence and genuflect before the throne of functional beauty! * L Because no technical meeting in America is con- sidered an unqualified success without considerable gastro- nomies dinner facilities can be provided for meeting of 400 people. Strangely enough, although we have been attending these mass-production feasts off and on for many years, we cannot recollect ever having had a really tasty meal at any of them. We must cheerfuDy admit, however, that our American friends appear to enjoy the assembly line tech- nique applied to the human stomach—certainly we have not yet' seen any of them rise in revolt against such '' take it or leave it" culinary tactics. , Our own personal viewpoint—just in case someone may call down our dyspeptic dialectics—is that Americans have plenty of good food, but some very odd ways of mal- treating it. Frankly, we think they could learn a trick or two from Cunard cuisine and service which, oddly enough, happens to be British. Similarly, in the field of comfort engineering, we strongly recommend our I.Ae.S. colleagues to send over a delegation to study the interior decor of the Institution of Civil Engineers' building in Westminster. Here is physical comfort plus true engi- neering atmosphere. It is the difference, in fact, between a surgical operating theatre and a London club-room. But to get back to aeronautical science—before, if not behind, the Brass Curtain. The building dedication was followed by a three-day symposium ranging from struc- tural, aerodynamic and navigational problems to guided missiles and atomic-reactor development—such is the strange company in which the aeronautical engineer now finds himself. The guided-missile session was held in camera behind the curtain of military security, which left this observer the pleasant alternative of returning home to meditate with Beethoven instead of Mach. But the re- marks on atomic energy could be had for the price of a $6 dinner. They were delivered by Dr. Lawrence Hafstad, Director of Reactor Development for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. We suspect that some of our American friends were a bit shocked to hear Dr. Hafstad say that no really new or greatly improved versions of atomic reactors have been built in the U.S.A. since the end of the war ; also that the reactor of most advanced design and performance was the joint product of British and Canadian research. Located at the Chalk River, Ontario, plant of the Canadian Atomic Energy Control Board, this reactor (we gathered) uses heavy water for controlling the release of nuclear energy. Apparently, progress is slower than it might be among the atomic scientists. As is so often the case, the experts are greatly divided. The pessimists, usually the best in- formed, are staggered by the maintenance and operations problems which would be involved if actual aircraft pro- pulsion devices were to be based on present knowledge, whilst the optimists either are not aware of the difficulties or they are betting heavily on new ideas and new develop- ments. Probably the answer is roughly in the middle. Observing this witch's cauldron from afar off, one gets the impression that the Canadians have developed a re- markably fine research tool and are actually doing the fundamental and basic research in nuclear fission, while the Americans have concentrated more on the industrial know- how of A-bomb production and stock-piling. (The assembly line again!) If this fleeting impression is any- where close to the mark, the situation bears a striking resemblance to the civil and military application of the gas turbine in aviation, where the Americans have pro- duced the jet bombers and the British and Canadians are developing the civil transports. Our closing thought on aeronautical science in the U.S.A. is a plea for free and open discussion in the best traditions of the past. No scientific body can flourish for long if it makes a practice of holding secret court in the furtive atmosphere of the Klu Klux Klan. That sort of thing is not only a negation of the truly scientific spirit in a free world, but is oddly at variance with the cherished American principle of "no taxation without representa- tion." All members supporting a scientific body by dues are entitled to equal treatment and as one of the initiate members of the I.Ae.S., we strongly urge that the light be left burning brightly in the window for all to see. There can be no real cause for black-out curtains in peace time. H.M.S. "CONDOR" ENTERTAINS WHEN Royal Naval Air Station, Arbroath (H.M.S.Condor), held its recent open day other stations co- operated by providing flying items, since Condor is at presentfully occupied with the training of maintenance ratings, par- ticularly aircraft artificer apprentices. After a pre-lunch curtain-raiser by Sea Hornets and Fire-brands of a Carrier Air Group led by Lt. Cdr. Law, the crowd of 5,000-odd (whose admission money went to Naval charities)were treated to a thoroughly well-varied programme. Items included formation aerobatics by Lt. Cdr. Law, Lt. Welch andLt. Bell; some grass-cutting by Lt. Lowder (Hornet); and aerobatics by Lt. Brown from Anthorn, whose Sea Hornet pro-duced wing-tip vortices which startled the uninitiated. Lt. Cdr. Sproule gave his now well-known yet still unsur-passed gliding demonstration in the Olympia sailplane, Lt. Battison displayed the performance of a Firefly "before" and" after" fitting R.A.T.O., and Lt. Kilburn (Sea Vampire) flew past at lower and yet lower altitudes. Fire-fighting, P.T.displays by the apprentices, joy riding in a Rapide of Air Enter- prises, Ltd"!, a static show—all these and many other itemsgave the crowd excellent value for their money. B 26
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