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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1504.PDF
27O FLIGHT. 8 September 1949 The Supermarine Seagull, seen at top left just before touch-down, now has dorsal and central fins. Likewise a Supermarine product, the Type 510 (top. right) is, in its newest form, needle-nosed. Below (left) is the D.H.I 13 Vampire two-seater night fighter and (right) the latest Gloster Meteor variant—F. Mk.8, on which a new tailplane shape facilitates recognition from below. AN ABUNDANT YIELD S.B.A.C. Display : First Glance at an Exceptional Crop of New and Improved Aircraft - r 7 -Si S ;- (Illustrated with " Flight" Photographs) -. ; J "L-?^ U f~- WHEN discussion of the Brabazcn's first flight beganto flag at Farnborough last Monday, during the fewminutes' stand-easy allowed by the pressing tasks inseparable from Britain's great air manifestation, there was no dearth of up-to-the-minute "shop." During Sun- day and Monday aircraft had been landing and assuming their allotted places; seen from the control cower, the park- ing space resembled a vast jigsaw, with startling new shapes intermingled with more familiar outlines. Already the pat- tern for the busy week begins to form. . . . Among the fighters the Supermarine 510 is seen to have discarded its leading-edge slots and tail-parachute housing, and to have sprouted a highly individual '"needle" nose, not unworthy of a supersonic missile. Although the D.H.i 12 Venom—Ghost-powered development of the Vam- pire—did not arrive to schedule, there were good reports of its behaviour; on the first flight John Derry did two rolls at low level. The D.H.113 Vampire night fighter shows itself to have a somewhat Mosquito-like nose, containing two occupants in staggered seats and representing a fine piece of D.H. development work. For a stable-mate it has a Vampire newly adapted for jet-pipe reheat; the area of the tailpipe is not adjustable as 011 the Derwent 5s of a Meteor, now similarly equipped for this power-boosting system. The Avon-powered Meteor recalls the Beryl version shown last year, and the Meteor 8's new canopy, nose and tail appear in harmony with the machine's charac- ter. Westland's latest Wyvern variant—the Python- poweied T.F.2—looks well able to utilize the immense power concentrated in its characteristically swept-down nose. The Supermarine Seagull sports a dorsal fin in addi- tion to its new central nn, and has the new "undercut" superstructure. Like all naval aircraft—especially the Hawker N.7/4G Short Sturgeon and the Ratog-equipped Fairey Firefly—it looks truly ship-shape. Of the military types the magnificent English Electric Canberra B.i is, perhaps, the biggest attraction. It has that indefinable air of a " right" design and many are the predictions for a brilliant career ahead of this twin-Avon bomber. Night fighting and reconnaissance should be easily within its scope. In fineness of form the bulky Shackleton could hardly rival the blue jet bomber, but its immense bomb bay, " depressable"- nose cannon and mysterious military fittings leave no doubt that Avros and M.o.S. are out to make things hot for hostile shipping. What the Canberra is among the military machines at Farnborough, so is the de Havilland Comet among its civil brethren. Awaiting landing clearance oh arrival, it orbited sedately like a Heracles. Its touch-down was likewise be- coming staid ; in fact, its general behaviour, especially in taxying among massed aircraft, was in every way re- assuring and exemplary. Though by far the fastest of the civil types, the Comet (Mach 0.8) is not without rivals in respect of appearance and passenger-appeal. The two Handley Page Hermes (Mk IV with Hercules piston engines and Mk V with Theseus turboprops), look magnificent, and the Airspeed Ambassador, luxuriously furnished this year, has evidently lost none of its admirers. There is satisfaction in noting that the Vickers-Armstrongs Viscount (displaying the B.E.A. "key"), Armstrong Whitworth Apollo and Handley Page Mamba-Marathon bear civil markings. To- gether with the Hermes V, these form a unique quartet of turboprop airliners. Of three Percival Princes one is of the new Survey type with nose lengthened to more agreeable proportions; the others are standard eight- and ten-seaters. Among the helicopters the tiny Mk II Cierva Skeeter makes an instant appeal and compared with the Mk I, scheduled for demonstration, it displays numerous struc- tural and aerodynamic advances. The towering Air Horse has acquired additional fin and rudder area and has other- wise been developed since its appearance last year. The single " static " hangar, expanded by the addition of marquee extensions, has produced a compact exhibition in which every square foot is used to good advantage. Many E 2
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