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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1963.PDF
FLIGHT, 8 December 1949 -• HERE and THERE Auster AppointmentA USTER AIRCRAFT, LTD., announce that Lt.-Col. H. C. Bazeley, D.S.O. (ret.), has been appointed to the board of directors. Col. Bazeley has had wide experience oi military operation of Auster air observation posts. He formed and took into action the first Army A.O.P. Squadron of the war and—more recently —has commanded No. 661 A.O.P. Squadron, R.Aux.A.F. Price of a Jetliner A SSUMING an initial production order •**• for 50 aircraft, the selling price of the Avro Canada C-ro2 Jetliner has been estimated as 700,000 Canadian dol- lars (^220,000). This figure will be used as a basis for contract discussions. It is also announced that the second pro- totype of the Jetliner will shortly be under construction. The latter is to have a modified tail unit (without servo rud- der) which will also be fitted to the first prototype Faster -and Lower DURING a demonstration for Press-men at the U.S. Air Force experi- mental base at Muroc, California, last Friday, the Douglas Skyrocket Naval research aircraft (illustrated on page 741 of this issue) was reported to have flown faster than sound at 50ft above the ground. "Competent observers" esti- mated its speed as between 760 and 800 m.p.h. In the prevailing temperature condi- tions at Muroc, Mach 1 would have been reached at about 757 m.p.h. The Sky- rocket is known to have exceeded Mach 1 on previous occasions at altitude, and •729 QUALITY IN QUANTITY : The second prototype of the D.H. Comet seen ^ construction at Hatfield, together with a glimpse of one of the 14 machines ordered by B.O.A.C., are a reminder that the world's first jet airliner was ordered " off the drawing board." The recent announcement that de Havillands were in a position to discuss prices and delivery dates was an indicationof their outstanding progress with both flight- testing and quantity production ot the Comet. is, therefore, theoretically capable of the performance now credited to it at ground level. If estimates prove accurate, the achievement denotes exceptional confi- dence (to say the least) on the part of the pilot, based on intimate knowledge of the Skyrocket's control characteristics at sonic speed. R.A.F. Reserves Praised arriving at Northolt last Sunday, after flying from Washington, Mr. Harry Stuart (Assistant Secretary of the U.S.A.F.), expressed the opinion that the R.A.F. had the finest reserve air force in the world. The purpose of Mr. Stuart's visit is to confer with the R.A.F. and seek its assistance and advice in establishing the U.S. air reserve pro- gramme. Power That Appeals AS long foreshadowed in Flight, thegas turbine, which has revolution- ized aircraft propulsion, will find appli- cation in other spheres of transport and power generation. Illustrated on this AIR, SEA AND LAND : In articles in Flight and elsewhere between 1941 and 1944, ad- vocating concentration on the development of the gas turbine, G. Geoffrey Smith said that the order of its application would be for (I) aircraft, (2) marine work, (3) locomotives and (4) road transport. Now, in 1949, it is revolutionizing aircraft ; the Admiralty has for over two years been testing its possibilities at sea ; a new B.R. locomotive—shown above, and referred to in an adjacent paragraph—is powered with a gas turbine ; and two or three leading car firms are now conducting turbine experiments. page is the first gas-turbine locomotive for British Railways. Built by the Swiss firm of Brown Boveri, the power unit comprises an axial compressor deliver- ing air through a heat-exchanger to a single combustion chamber. Combus- tion gases drive a multi-stage gas tur- bine coupled to the compressor, from which in turn is driven an electric gen- erator. The turbine efflux passes through the heat exchanger and exhausts through the roof. About 2,500 h.p. is available to drive the generator, which supplies energy to the traction motors. A second locomotive, built by Metropolitan- Vickers, will have an axial compressor and multiple combustion chambers. Cierva Memorial Prize THE Council of the Helicopter Asso-ciation of Great Britain announces that the prize of £25 for the 1948-49 Cierva Memorial Essay Competition has been awarded to Ir. J. Meijer Drees, of the National Aeronautical Research Institute, Amsterdam. The subject of his essay was A Theory of Airflow through Rotors and its Application to Some Helicopter Problems. For the 1949-50 competition the scope of the paper has again been kept broad to allow the widest possible field of entry, and the prize will be awarded to the author of the best technical con- tribution on any subject connected with rotating-wing aircraft. Competition is not restricted to members of the Assor ciation. Entry conditions may be ob- tained from the assistant secretary of the Association at Londonderry House 19, Park Lane, London, W.i. Hawker Expansion , IT is announced that Hawker Aircraft,Ltd., have acquired from the Ministry of Supply the use of Blackpool Aerodrome and part of the Squires Gate factory at Blackpool. This move meets the need for extensions to working space and the acquisition of some airfield other than that at Langley. Extension of the Kingston-on-Thames factories would not be approved under town-planning policy, and further development at Langley ir> impracticable because it is so close to London Airport. Blackpool was decided upon after an
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