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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0779.PDF
FLIGHT, 20 April 1950 the pocket. Until that is done, gliding will be confined to theselect few, and can never gain the popular appeal necessary to support more advanced soaring and competitions.* • • One of the drawbacks of the A.T.C. scheme has been that on joining the R.A.F. the cadet's gliding days are virtually over unless he is lucky enough to be posted to one of the stations at which gliding is officially organized. The newly-formed R.A.F. Soaring and Gliding Association hopes to overcome this problem. It is already operating at Detling, and is plan- ning to start clubs at Mildenhall, St. Athan, Boscombe Down and Warton. It is hoped that eventually any member of the R.A.F. who wishes to do so, will be able to glide at or near his home station. The Association itself will also provide more advanced facilities. F/L. R. C. Forbes (Gold " C ") will fly the Association's Weihe for the B.G.A. team in the forth- coming International Contests. The first pilots to Channel since icjyt ire b. Mr. Lome Welch. • achieve the feat of gliding across the Mr. Lome Welch (chief flying instructoi ie Surrey Gliding Club) and Miller of the R.A.F. Gliding Club at Detling, who, on April 12th, flew to Brussels and Coxyde (Ostend) respectively. Mr. Welch, in a Weihe sailplane, was towed to 1,5oolt at Redhill and flew thr 203 miles to Brussels in o£ hi. WF/L. Miller left Detling in the mormng and reached Coxyde t about 5 o'clock. The only previous cross-Channel flight was made by Mr. G. H. Stephehson, w4io Hew from Dunstable to Boulogne (125 miles) in 1939. VCORRESPONDENCE The Editor of " Flight " does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. 1 he names and Jet-Airliner Markets AS a regular reader of Flight and a great believer in futureBritish aircraft, I have been very interested to hear of the recent flights of the prototype Viscount and Comet to various places abroad with a view to interesting other than British markets. Now, South African Airways are looking for a modern, last, 36-40-seater machine to replace their Vikings and Lodestars. They are not likely to buy in America because of the present shortage of dollars. The Viscount is, in every respect, the aircraft to meet their requirements and I feel certain that a demonstration flight to this country (Africa) could not fail to obtain a very substantial order and establish British aircraft Here once and for all. Can you not use your influence to bring pressure to bear in the right quarter to arrange such a flight? I am quite sure the Vickers Company would not regret the effort. MEYRICK JAMES. Elgin, Cape Province. [We think our correspondent may rest assured that such possibilities as he suggests are already under consideration by the manufacturers and others concerned.—ED.] Airmail Rates '"THE subject of airmail postage is seldom mentioned in your i- columns but I do feel that it should be accorded more attention. Prior to the second world war, when the "all-up" Empire airmail scheme was in operation, the postage-rate was i|d per half ounce. Since that time there has been a tremen- dous increase in aerial transport and yet the charge is is per half-ounce. This is not the fault of the airlines, of course, but vet another example of the unwillingness of the Govern- ment to accept a reduction in revenue. P. W. CROSSLEY. Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika. Which Way Up? MAY 1 make a few observations in the controversy on thehorizon-to-aircraft relation arising from the brilliant photographs of the Meteor 8 ? As an unwilling but experi- enced traveller on British Railways (Southern Region), I do not consider that, in the course of a journey, the carriage is swaying but stationary, and that the landscape to port is turn- iug clockwise, whilst the scenery to starboard is moving anti- clockwise. As a willing but inexperienced air traveller I was once under the impression that the aircraft was fairly steady, horizontal and motionless, while the ground, not so very far below, was moving very slowly aft, ,-md occasionally swooped up at a hideous angle to the accompaniment of unpleasant sensations from my inside (though the latter is somewhat irrelevant to the case in point). As a still more willing, but less inexperienced glider-pilot/ instructor, I found that, with practice, it was the aircraft which was upside-down at the highest point of a loop, and not the earth. I also discovered that, in time, it became more easy to recognize that the Tiger Moth was diving and rotating during a spin—not that the machine was flying straight and level towards the hub of a vertical and spinning disc of toy-town trees, roads, fields and houses. I regard it as mere quibbling to suppose that the photo- grapher decided that the floor of the universe was parallel with the chord of the segment ol the globe within his vision Bearing in mind some of the "'pro" correspondence, as well . as the fact that Flight is of the most use to those who fly I he most, I am inclined to conclude from these first principles that the photographer was correct in his decision to show the ground as a pilot might see it. I wonder if the professional pilot sees this in a similar way. MICHAEL ERDMAN. London, N.W.3. Maintenance and SafetyT HE interesting and intormative article by " A Service Engineer" which appeared under the above title in your issue of March 30th contained two statements which might mis- lead the layman. It was stated that "an operator wishing to dispense with the necessity of using licensed engineers is given the alternative of working an approved inspection organiza- tion." In actual fact, although the overhaul and servicing operations may be performed by unlicensed personnel, the final certification of fitness for flight must be carried out«bv a licensed engineer. Further on, the article states : " the approv- ing authority must be satisfied that the number and qualifica- tions of the inspectors under the control of the chief inspector are adequate." The usual practice appears to be that the chief inspector has to be approved, but thereafter he alone is respon- sible for appointing his staff. I agree with the author's remark that it is advisable from the standpoint of efficiency to have as many licensed engineers as possible on the inspection staff, but the way is open for the operator, on the apparent grounds of economv, to employ the minimum number essential for the purpose of certification for flight. i The figures quoted in the article, relating to maintenance costs, probably came as a shock to many of your readers, and many operators facing the problem of reducing costs naturally think in terms of reducing maintenance staffs and so risking an increase in the turn-round time and putting the costs up to a greater extent. The solution to the problem of economical maintenance rests with the designer of the aircraft. An aircraft is an asset only when it is flying and earning money; on the ground it is a liability. High speed and payload are important considera- tions, but the revenue obtained can he considerably reduced by long periods spent on the ground in carrying out'adjustments and replacements where the components are inaccessible. These points are quite obvious, yet the fact remains that high maintenance costs indicate that design staffs have not given sufficient consideration to the problems of the mainten- ance engineer. One of the first steps in the interests of both economy and safety should be to call a halt to the present craze for unnecessary complication and duplication and to return to simplicity in design as far as possible. There appears to be a reluctance on the part of some design stafis to seek the advice of the maintenance engineer, and where advice is sought any proposals can be vetoed if they do not happen to suit the fancy of the designer. If we are really to get down to the problem, such proposals should be given the same serious consideration as those from the production staff who are going to make the aircraft. In other words, it should be a team job, perhaps under the chairmanship—but not dictatorship—of the designer. These remarks should not
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