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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0544.PDF
FLIGHT, 16 March 1950 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of " Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for pubhcatio-n, must in all cases accompany letters. Thunderstorm Flying MAY I define the limits of my accord with Mr. Gardner(Correspondence, March 2nd) on the dangers of tropical cu-nim flying by night over the sea? I consciously used his own words (that 500ft is an unsuitable height for airliners under such conditions) to emphasize my agreement with him on this undeniable fact; I did not, however, say anything to v suggest that I am '' convinced that there is no haven to be found much below 30,000ft." If "haven" is to mean tranquil air, then there will be none, but there is an abstract "haven" of safety to be found when one is greeted with the inescapable fact of having strayed into this sort of flight booby-trap. This consists in carrying out the right action, and pilots of aircraft with ceil- ings of 15,000 to 20,000ft (whatever their uniform) now mostly advise slowing-down and staying-put in a level altitude, no matter at what height the cloud has been entered. This is in accordance with the recommendations of '' Cu-Nim Gusts, the excellent commentary which provoked this discussion. Any other alteration of the power and elevator settings, either in a hopeless attempt to counteract the up or down draughts or else whilst searching for the cloud-base with such a fickle instrument as the pressure altimeter, ought in time, if stubbornly pursued, to end with a big splash. 1 do not believe that any wartime '' Coastal'' shibboleth can do much to improve the information originally conveyed through your contributor, Capt. Brice. R. C. O. LOVELOCK. Fleet, Hants. R.A.F.V.R. Aircrew Recruiting THE Air Ministry are always complaining of the shortageof recruits for the Volunteer Reserve, and yet, in spite of this, the requirements would appear to be unnecessarily strict: I refer to the qualifications required for service as a pilot cadet. A minimum of no solo Hying hours is called for, with no reservations as to type of machine flown or how the hours have been spent. This arbitrary means of selection is unfair, as whilst it does not debar those who have " stooged around " for no hours in a Tiger Moth, it does debar those partly- trained, ex-wartime cadets, like myself, who have, say, 80 hours to their credit—in spite of the fact that such men are Service-trained and their experience covers navigation and solo cross-country flights. A flying test should be instituted and these men be given the opportunity of taking this test. Gidea Park, Essex. R. A. PASCALL. Giants of the Past I NOTE in the March 2nd issue of Flight a letter from Mr.J. M. Houlding, and Editorial comment, concerning the IM series and some Tupolev designs. Mr. Houlding is correct in querying the designation, ANT-15; I have never met it yet and feel that it is unlikely that it ever referred to the Maksim Gorkii. This eight-motor aircraft, which crashed in 1935, vvas definitely the ANT-20. Sixteen six-motor replacements were planned, but it is not correct that no machines materialized. As far as is gener- ally known, only one was built; it went into service in 1940 and was registered. SSSR L-760. Mr. John Stroud once sug- gested that it might have the type number ANT-20 bis, but I have seen no other mention of a designation. A point on which more data would be desirable is a report some time in 1945 (I have not my records with me and can- not quote the exact date) to the effect that members of L'Escadrille Norman die Niemen flew to Konigsberg (Kalinin- grad) in " a number of six-motor Russian aircraft/1' No more details have been forthcoming. This may be a reference to further examples like the L-760, but it has just struck me that the aircraft could have been Messerschmitt Me323s Laptured and used by the U.S.S.R. DENYS J. VOADEN. Oxford. [When the prototype appeared it was quoted as the ANT-15 by a usually reliable source of reference, but it now appears, on further research, that ANT-20 may well have been the correct designation. We must apologize to Mr. Moulding for having challenged his statement.—ED.1 Aid for the Clubs I AM indeed gratified, though somewhat amazed, to learnthat at long last the clubs are to be given the opportunity to teach selected A.T.C. cadets to fly, but, at the same time, I feel that the clubs should be subsidized to enable ex-pilots of the flying Services, who are unable to spare the time to join the Reserve or Auxiliary services, or the cash to join the local flying club, to keep in practice. Like many others I was taught to fly during the war, at great expense, and, until being shot down in 1944, managed to accumulate about 1,200 flying hours and a valuable experi- ence of flying under all weather conditions in many parts of the world. At the end of the war, part of my gratuity was spent in securing an " A " Licence, hoping thai ere long facili- ties would be granted to assist ex-pilots to keep in flying practice. Nothing, however, has been forthcoming, and I have now reached the point where, by reason of expense, I am unable to renew my Private Pilot's Licence unless I (illegally) take up a passenger who is willing to share the cost. New regulations, admittedly for the sake of increased safety, only increase the cost of flying and make it more difficult for club organization to continue. I snggest that a subsidj- to flying clubs to enable ex-pilots to continue flying would be a great service to this country and a cheap and effective method of ensuring readiness on the part of ex-members of a vital military force to assist in any future emergency. I further suggest that the minimum sub- sidy should be sufficient to cover the cost of renewal of the Private Pilot's Licence, that is to say, five hours in two years Leicester. PHILIP R. GOODWIN, Ex-Squadron Leader, R.A.F.V.R. Passenger Handling IN connection with the extracts from the M.C.A. publication" Ground Handling of Aircraft at London Airport," which appeared in the January 12th and 19th issue* of Flight, I should be interested to know if the possibility of using caravans for handling passengers through quarantine, immigration and customs formalities has been considered, particularly witn regard to the medium / short-stage services. Caravans, housing units for the three main controls, would be able to draw up to an aircraft as soon as it was " chocked " on the tarmac, and the passengers could be passed through, cleared and despatched direct to the town office of the airline concerned by their own bus (with a call, if necessary, at the terminal building to set down passengers who so wished). The control units (quarantine, immigration, customs) could either be boused under one root in one sizeable vehicle, or in two or three separate vans—preferably two, t n*> for customs and one for quarantine/immigration. It is felt that this mobility would serve coasitlerabry to ease the load on the main airport disembarkation facilities and, of course, the idea could equally apply to the embarkation side, but with less telling results. There is no reason why urgent cargo and mails could not be cleared in a similar manner. M. S. PLATT, A.M.Inst.T. Cairo. Brazilian Enthusiast * AS a constant rtadtr ot your journal (which first cameinto my hands through the courtesy of the local manager of British South American Airways), I write to say how I appreciate your articles about the new types and improve- ments that have been produced by the British aeronantical industry. As you may know, there aie practically no British aircraft here in Brazil, almost every private and commercial type coming from the TJnited States. Through your journal I have been particularly interested in the Proctor and Gemini, which are, in my opinion, the best four-place British aircraft. 1 am now the owner of a Proctor, which is the only British machine in the whole northern part of this country. I want to let you know how deeply I have been impressed by British aircraft through reading Flight. Natal, Brazil. GKACO M. ALVES.
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