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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1569.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER ,: First Aeronautical Weekly in the World " ; Founded 1909 No. 2125. Vol. LVI. THURSDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER, 1949. EDITORtAL D/«£CTOR G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL . '•: . Editorial, Advertising an<) Publishing Offices : DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I. Telegrams : Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices : COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry. Telephone: Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2. . King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams : Autopress, Birmingham- Telephone : Midland 7191 (7/ines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgate. Telegrams : Hiffe, Manchester. Telephone : btackfriors 4412 (3 lm?s) Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams : Iliffe, Gfosgonr. Telephone : Central 4S57. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home : Twelve months, £3 Is. Od Six months, £1 10s. 6d. Overseas : Twelve months, £2 18s. 6d BY AIR : To any country in Europe (except Poland). Twelve months, £5 Is. Od. Six months. £2 10s. 6d Canada and U.S.A. Six months, $16 1» fhiw issue: A Sho# to Remember - 334 Apollo Appraisal - - 336 Battle of Britain Week 34J The Farnborough Story - 343 Personalities at the Show 362 Exhaust Reheat - - - 363 E 1 Portents of Farnborough ^ AND so the sunniest and altogether the most memorable of S.B.A.C. Displaysis over: the tents are folded and the smartly furbished fighters, bombers,transports and trainers have been cleared for departure^by the Farnborough control staff, whose skill and good nature, be it said, were a real contribution to an unparalleled success. In tens of thousands of British homes, enthusiasm for British skill runs at the highest level since the war; and overseas guests of the Society, home- ward bound, are stocked with material for reflection concerning some truly modern, yet practical, aircraft, power plants, techniques and equipment. A few of these visitors remain with us to learn more about the qualities which place Britain's best so far ahead of anything " back home." When they are possessed of the knowledge they desire they will buy, and, we believe, buy heavily, for in air fighting and air commerce alike, the second-best brings quick disaster. The reasons underlying the present somewhat unbalanced character of the industry in respect of aircraft categories are, we believe, sufficiently understood not to need reiteration. We can, however, contemplate the future with a confidence im- measurably fortified by "Farnborough," or, more precisely, by a single perform- ance there. We refer to the exhilarating presentation of the English Electric Canberra, the first of a series of jet bombers which will bring about a rebirth of R.A.F. Bomber Command. In predicting that Britain's new family of bombers will not only match the quality of her new transport aircraft, but will utterly transcend present-day standards of performance, we are not unmindful of the exceptionally arduous research necessary for the fulfilment of our ambitious bomber programme. Here again, the Display provided a sign (admittedly in the form of a single aircraft —the Avro 707), that the pattern of research which has already brought forth the D.H. 108 and A.W. 52 is being imaginatively worked out. But more than one S.B.A.C. Display will pass by (and may each be as encourag- ing as that just ended) before large aircraft of revolutionary delta or crescent-wing design perform for the Society's guests. What of the Future? What is the next step? The answer is one that should be made widely known, or many people may find themselves disappointed. For, in spite of the magnificent achievements of the industry, the latest British aircraft which have recently been the talk of the world have done no more than reach first base. Not one new civil or military type with gas-turbine power units has gone into service during the last twelve months, and none is likely to do so in the next year. The Comet, Viscount, Ambassador and others will not be ready for service until 1951 at the very earliest, and the Brabazon not until later still. On the military side we can expect new types of naval aircraft, designed with anti-submarine warfare uppermost in mind, and high- speed fighters capable of all-weather utilization to be in service at much the same time. The answer to our question is, then, that the months to come must and will be spent in intensive development preparatory to the introduction of gas-turbine- powered aircraft into airline service. Fuel consumptions will be reduced, life of components increased and, in particular, every effort made to solve the problem of anti-icing protection. We must also learn more about traffic handling and about con- ditions when flying at high speed and high altitude in large aircraft over the Atlantic and Empire routes. S/L. Waterton—Meteor pilot—has rightly sounded the warn- ing against unthinking optimism which would tend to blind one to these shortcomings in present-day knowledge. The de Havilland Company have also made it clear that they have done no more to date than make an exceptionally good beginning to a long period of development. Given the time, however, everyone has absolute con- fidence in the ability of our technicians and pilots to complete quickly and success- fully the work in hand, thus maintaining and even increasing the lead the - have wrested in the face of world competition.
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