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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1110.PDF
FLIGHT, 8 June 1950' CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himselj responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. The ntunes and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. Aircrew Ejection 'T'HOUGH in no way wishing to decry laudable efforts of -»- the engineers seeking to lengthen the life of aircrew attempt- ing to escape from disabled aircraft (vide Stanley H. Evans's article, "Dropping the Pilot," in Flight of May 25th), I do feel that they have not fully faced up to the problem and that they have only concerned themselves with aircraft flying in a high-speed, level attitude. Having seen many aircraft "go down" in combat, I have felt that the reason many aircrew were unable to escape was not due to their injuries (if any), nor the speed of the aircraft, but to the impossible attitude the aircraft assumed. The Douglas Skynight has been equipped with a "gravity chute" for the aircrew's use, but what chances have J;hey if the air- craft is spinning inverted ? The ejector seat is a very credit- able piece of engineering, but would not the pilot feel some ill effects were he ejected head downwards? Again, sudden ejection at 45,000ft from a pressurized cockpit, even if it were decompressed first, is not likely to have* beneficial results upon the pilot's survival. The safest means of escape would appear to lie in the '' cock- pit capsule," but there are, unfortunately, many problems here for the engineers to overcome. The increased weight, larger fuselage diameter, and increased servicing due to the control linkages from the '' capsule'' to the fuselage proper, will all involve difficulties. I would still remind the boffins that air- craft do not always follow the " straight and level path " and that aircrew's survival is of prime importance. ._ .,:... , ROGER F. POLLARD Airmet I HAVE noted with interest the powerful arguments in Flightrecently concerning aid for club flying and also about the case for the passenger-carrying flying-boat. I am spurred on by Flight's championing of these two causes to ask whether your excellent journal could use its influence to bring back on the air the Airmet broadcasts which ceased abruptly with the reshuffle of wavelengths according to the Copenhagen agree- ment. Several 'phone calls to the Air Ministry's Meteorological Office have produced the story that at the moment there is no spare frequency to carry Airinet, but that the position is under review. The following suggestions should, I think, be noted: — (1) The two Third Programme wavelengths on the medium band are idle most of the day, and one of the two—either 194 metres or 464 metres—could be used up to, say, 5 p.m. (2) The Copenhagen plan did not apply to the short-wave band, and there is no reason why a frequency should not be used, possibly in the 4ometre band, as a temporary measure. (3) To move the Airmet wavelength to a slightly lower fre- quency than its previous one of 1,224 metres would not, I think, cause any interference with the Scandinavian systems which operate at that section of the radio dial. I expect that Airmet was of considerable value to private pilots and farmers. I know, for certain, that it was of vast importance to me, because weather-watching is my hobby. By listening to Airmet I knew what to expect in the way of weather and it was then only necessary to make corrections for local conditions, after which, voild—a weather forecast which was 90 per cent perfect! Flight has often been champion to apparently hopeless causes Perhaps it could help the case of Airmet, too ? London, S.E.24. G. A. CASEY [We do not think anybody is in doubt about the desirability of restoring this valuable service. The P.M.G. has been under heavy fire from questioners in the House and, though he has said that there is no possibility of obtaining new long or medium wavelengths, he has indicated that "various depart- ments and the B.B.C. are going over the whole ground " to see what can be done about using Third Programme frequencies up to 6 p.m.—ED.] Plastic Sailplanes UNDER the heading "Gliding News" in your issue ofJune 1st you refer to the construction of a "sailplane made entirely of plastic mouldings," and go on to say that the Ministry of Supply and the Ministry of Civil Aviation have both agreed to make grants towards the cost of two prototypes. I think I should point out that it is not intended that the sailplane should be built entirely of plastics, and that three, not two, machines are proposed. The negotiations for the support of the Ministry of Supply were conducted by this Trust, which is to join equally with the Ministry in the cost of development and construction; beyond giving its blessing, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has no other interest. Manchester, 4. BASIL MEADS, Secretary, Kemsley Flying Trust. [We understand additionally from Mr. Meads that while in the prototype sailplane only the wings will be of all-plastic construction, the general practicability of the method will decide whether the material will be used throughout for the subsequent aircraft The specification, incidentally, was drawn up by the B.G.A. and Mr. Hugh Kendall, and the work of moulding the plastic structural components is being put out to tender.—ED.] FOR PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY [Concluded from page 697) (10) The solution of materials handling problems is not an exact science and it is the practice for a larger number of persons in U.S industry to visit other manufacturing units to observe mechanized handling methods. The interchange of knowledge results in a wider application of the best methods. (11) Many U.S. companies employ full-time engineers to plan and apply handling methods and to help workshop supervision make the greatest use of these relatively new techniques. They consider it necessary to have a defined and organized approach to a problem which concerns so large a proportion of produc- tion costs. (12) The technical Press in America appears to receive more effective co-operation from users and manufacturers of handling equipment than in Britain and is able to publish cost data. This helps to obtain the widest degree of utilization of proved methods and equipment for materials handling. (13) Industrial taxation being less in the United States than in Britain, additional capital is available for mechanization and for modernization of industrial buildings. This fact, to- gether with the much greater freedom to carry out building operations, results in more ready application of modern tech- niques. (14) Factory layout is constantly under review and modifi- cations are frequent. Light- and medium-weight machinery is so installed that quick and effective re-arrangement can be made at low cost. The ability to modify the layout by re- grouping production machines promotes better work flow and is of great benefit to jobbing factories as well as mass-produc- tion units Scale models of factory buildings, machine tools, process plant and materials handling equipment, etc., are used to plan layouts. It has been found that visual aids are more satisfactory for the purpose than drawings and provide effec- tive means for discussing new arrangements with all levels of the factory staff and for reaching agreement. We stress this point, for it is evident that a good team spirit prevailed and helped to obtain full appreciation of the requirements for a good layout and greatly aided its successful operation. (15) Factory building design, plant layout and handling have a great influence on each other and receive careful study before new building is undertaken. Comprehensive plans are made of the total handling systems before the final decision on building, design and layout, but modern materials handling technique is by no means confined to new layouts or new buildings. We visited older-type factories of multi-storey and single-storey construction in which management had reduced production costs by using better handling methods. The change may have involved the movement of machines, the spending of money on new equipment and have given rise to a labour displacement problem. Nevertheless, in no case did jwe see an installation that did not fully justify itself.
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