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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0026.PDF
TGHT, 5 f^ Specially posed for our contributor, this view shows off the handsome, but practical supersonic lines of the Skyrocket. It now has a raised V-type wind- shield and increased surface to the vertical fin. Just above the nosewheel is the flush-type air Intake for the turbojet, which exhausts below the U.S. star. TONIC SONICS Reflections on American Research, with Special Reference to the Douglas Skyrocket i By STANLEY H.. EVANS, F.R.Ae.S., A.F.LAe.S. TO anyone familiar with the background pattern ofaeronautical research and design, the Douglas D-558-2Skyrocket research aircraft may be clearly seen as yet one more exemplar of the American flair for ad hoc research on a royal scale. It is notable as showing how the co- operative team of U.S. Navy, N.A.C.A. and Douglas (El Segundo) is beginning to pay dividends in practical super- sonics. These dividends are being ploughed back into the military side of the American aircraft industry and will return like the bread cast upon the waters. But whereas the idiosyncrasies of the wandering Nile taught the Egyptians to wait for their returns, the American research seed of to-day is sprouting under the forced military draught of jet, rocket and nuclear fission. (If not so edible, modern results are certainly more uplifting!) RESEARCH NEEDLING This loyalty in research treatment is demonstrated by the fact that as many as three Skystreak and three Skyrocket research aircraft have been built, while furthej evidence that the royalties therefrom will benefit the American aircraft designer may be gleaned from the state- ment that this part of the research haystack has already In plan view the Skyrocket lives up to its name, having the appear-ance of a winged missile. Note the boundary-layer fences on the wing at the inboard ends of the leading-edge slats ; also the slightlygreater sweepback angle of the tail for longitudinal stability. produced over 5,000 scientific reports for dissemination throughout the Military Services and the industry. This, again, is no surprise to anyone who knows the systematic and eminently sensible way in which the Americans go about searching for the needles in the haystack. As briefly reported in Flight of December 8th (and as officially acknowledged by the U.S. Navy), the Skyrocket has for some months past been breasting the transonic divide in the region of Mach unity (M=i.o). Douglas test pilots go further and say they are'now riding the hump as a matter of routine technique, with no more sensation than just a slight turbulence which smooths out again. Much of this information, we might add, has been known for some time in aeronautical circles within a 3,000-mile radius of Muroc. But, in keeping with salt-water traditions, the Navy prefers the strong and silent r61e in public relations, in contrast to the Air Force, which has learnt to whistle in a higher key. And since the taxpayer likes to hear a tune or two for his money, it is not surprising that the light blues collar more of the cash and most of the kudos. Theoretically, of course, both Services are now supposed to be operating within the framework of a unified Defence Command and, presumably, under the same security and publicity directives, but, in practice, the difference between their respective philosophies in the sphere of public rela- tions is very noticeable to the foreign observer. This difference is sharply marked whenever a new prototype is ready for the air. The Air Force is quick to publicize its latest offspring with all the verve and vanity of a proud and youthful parent, while the Navy, on the contrary, Wraps its infant deeply in the bulrushes, seemingly in fear of some predatory Russian Herod on the prowl. In all fairness to the Navy , though, we have been told they are only faithfully carrying out the official policy laid down by the late Defence Secretary Forrestal—himself an ex-Navy man. The Air Force, on the other hand, has never played strictly to the Forrestal rules, believing that it is impossible to erect a Brass Curtain much higher than the airport fence. Undoubtedly this more realistic inter- pretation of peace-time policy operates to the benefit of the light blue team; so much so that the Navy is now beginning to draw aside its end of the curtain a bit more. This was clearly shown during the recent B-36 Con- gressional investigation, when the Navy claimed to have developed a batch of jet fighters in advance of current Air Force types. A look under, the haystack at the
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