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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0126.PDF
FLIGHT, ig January 1950 BRABAZOIH PROGRESS Successful Results of Initial Testing: A Rumour Denied: Reserve Crew Now Under Training IN contrast to the wide publicity aroused by the first flightof the Bristol Brabazon I 00 September 4th last year, itssubsequent embarkation on an involved and lengthy pro- gramme of flight-testing has been kept out of the limelight.Any anxiety which may have been evoked by the comparative shortage of information will at once be allayed, however, bya new report from the Bristol Aerop'ane Company on the huge airliner's satisfactory progress to date. In the course of 14 flights, it is stated, the Brabazon haslogged 29 hours' flying, during which tests have mainly been concerned with oil- and engine-cooling, airscrew strain-gauging,and checking stability and control. Much additional test equipment, necessary for successive stages of the programme,has been installed and further equipment will be installed as necessary. Cooling, of both engines and oil, has proved completelysatisfactory; in fact, it is considered that the Brabazon's engine installation, with the power units completely encased in thewings, gives better cooling than that experienced on any other type of layout. The aircraft's performance promises thatestimates of cruising and maximum speeds-—250 m.p.h. and 300 m.p.h. respectively—will prove accurate. A period offlying with one of the four pairs of twin Centaurus power units switched off had, it is stated, virtually no effect on flying andhandling characteristics. Weight, speed and operational altitudes are to be progres-sively increased. The Brabazon has flown at altitudes up to and including 10,000ft, and at a maximum weight of 98 tons,compared with 94 tons for the maiden flight. Weight will now be increased to no tons and will be gradually stepped upuntil the prescribed 130-tons maximum is attained. The normal flight-test crew numbers ten, although the aircraft hasflown On occasion with a total of 20 crew aboard, the additional personnel comprising technicians brought in to handle simul-taneous series of tests. Flying has been confined to the south-west of England, prin-cipally because it has provided weather suitable for the par- ticular tests being undertaken. Later on, as the weather maybe expected to improve, flights will be extended, and it is then hoped that it may be possible to advise provincial newspapersthat the aircraft will be flying in their locality to enable mem- bers of the public to be on the look-out for the machine.(Readers may remember that a suggestion on these lines was made in Flight oi December 22nd.) Some sections of the National Press have recently reportedthat the Brabazon may shortly undertake a transatlantic flight. The Bristol Co. describes these rumours as "purely conjec-tural," and emphasizes that a test of this kind plays no part in the immediate development programme. The official state-ment stresses that, while such a flight may ultimately take place, it can only be approached after further extensive testing. A complete reserve crew for the '' Brab'' is now beingtrained. Co-pilot W. Gibb, after making a series of take-ofis and landings under the supervision of Bristol's chief test pilot,A. J. Pegg, flew as captain on the latest flight, with E. H. Statham, a third Bristol pilot, as "second dicky." To ensurecontinuity of testing, the remaining members of the reserve crew will be trained as soon as possible. ACCURATE WING-SURFACES Advantages of a Structural Method Evolved by Westland Aircraft THE construction of wings and other surfaces sufficientlysmooth and free from waviness to meet laminar-flow re-quirements is a problem that inevitably accompanies the achievement of very high performance. In Flight forDecember 1st and 8th, pages 701 and 749, details were given of a system of construction used by the Fairey Aviation Co.,Ltd., and consisting briefly of building " from the outside in." It is based on a method of holding the external surfaces accur-ately to contour while the internal structure is being assembled. A variation of this routine, and one typical of the present-day trend, was that used in the Armstrong Whitworth tailless research aircraft, the A.W.52*. A more recent example is asystem developed by Westland Aircraft, Ltd., and adopted on the Wyvern. Here the laminar-flow surface is confined toapproximately the forward 40 per cent "of the chord and ter- minates at the spar. Forward of this station, the skin is con-tinuous except for a butt-joint on the extreme leading edge. Rib-booms, formed from angle-section, are riveted or spot- ' * A detailed description of the system used, for the A.W.52 wing was published in the March, 1947, issue of our associated journal "Aircraft Production." welded to the skins before assembly, and these skins are thenheld accurately to profile in suitable fixtures while the rib- webs are assembled to the booms. By virtue of the arrange-ment shown diagrammatically in the _ accompanying sketch, the anglesform, when assembled, very rigid triangular tubes. By drilling andriveting the webs to the booms with ^le s^"ls 'le^d accurately to contour,errors which would normally arise in assembling the complete ribs firstare entirely avoided. Access for riveting is gained from the rear.It is claimed for this system that it is possible to produce surfaces that conform to a tolerance band of o.oo5in or, in otherwords, that do not vary from the mean by more than 0.0025m, above or below. These figures are measured between gauge-points three inches apart. Another advantage of the system is the stability of the structure; an integral leading-edge tank,for example, has been tested to 81b/sq in, and this accuracy is still maintained. FOLLAND APPRENTICES' SUCCESSES HOW a lad was taken away from the company's apprentice-ship scheme after World War I because his parents said he would receive 2s a week more on the dole was recalled by Mr. H. P. Folland, M.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., M.I.Ae.E., F.R.S.A., F.I.Ae.S.. managing director of Folland Aircraft, Ltd., Hamble, on the occasion of the apprentices' annual prize-day. Today, said Mr. Folland, parents took a more commonsensf view. In a review of the year's progress the education officer, Mr.J. Dynan, spoke of the outstanding successes in the Ordinary and Higher National Certificates. Distinctions included theaward, for the second consecutive year, of two entrances to the College of Aeronautics. Mr. Dynan paid tribute to the co-operation of both the Southampton Technical School and Southampton University College.Speaking on behalf of the apprentices, Mr. K. j. Scott said they thought the scheme a grand one. If it was not the bestin the country, it \yas certainly one of the best. •,<£*•*• ^ . •.-,-.>;. UNDERCOVER :. ' QUCH B.B.C. plain-language code messages as "Six friends*-> arrive to-night" brought hope to many allied resistance groups during the war, for it meant that help"was on the way tothem by air. Sometimes it consisted of parachute containers of arms or food, sometimes of a team of Allied soldiers belongingto the Special Air Service. Lt. Kirschen has, therefore, chosen the title of his book *wisely. As a Belgian member of the S.A.S., he was often one of "six friends" parachuted into Europe to work with "theUnderground " on intelligence missions. The way in which Kirschen and his colleagues were able toradio back to London information on German troop movements and suggested targets, for R.A.F. bombers, right under thenoses of the enemy, makes an exciting, almost unbelievable story. It has already run to eleven editions on the Continent,and gained for its author the " Grand Prix Bibliothoque." * Six Friends Arrive. To-night." by Gilbert Sadi Kirschen. Nichol-son and Watson. Price &s ftd.. ' . •
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