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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1223.PDF
FLIGHT, 29 June 1950 THE RAF. DISPLAY . * . honour on the second day. Admission to the ordinary public enclosures is 3s, and to the special enclosure (seen on the map to the rear of boxes 1 to 464) it is 10s, children being admitted at half-price in each case. Six-seat boxes (open) along the fronts of the enclosures are priced as follows: Nos. 1 to 617, £6 (single seats available at £1); 618 to 917, £4 10s" (15s); 918 to 1217, £3 15s 12s 6dj. Car-park admission (by label) is 10s; coach labels are £1. Motor cycles will be admitted at 2s 6d (payable only at the gates) and pedal cycles at 6d. Admission tickets are obtainable in advance as, of course, are seat bookings. The controlling ticket agents are Alfred Hays, Ltd., 26, Old Bond Street, London, W.i (Regent 4040), and tickets may be obtained from them or from the usual ticket agencies in any part of the country. Applicants should re- member to specify clearly whether they require their tickets for the Friday or the Saturday. The Display begins at 10.30 a.m. on each of the two days, the main events taking place in the afternoons. The ground exhibitions and aircraft parks are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Holders of car labels are advised to arrive by 12.30 p.m. 7<>9 Also shown on our map is the ground-exhibition area. This"static show," some details of which appeared in Flight last week (p. 747), will be on an ambitious scale. Spectators who arrive early enough to have any choice inthe matter of the enclosures they occupy should remember that, if the day is bright, watching the display from thenorthern side of the airfield will involve staring into the sun. It is understood that very complete catering arrangementshave been made; refreshment marquees are indicated on our map. Visitors by road will find the approaches signposted, and controlled by the police, and the use of car-park labels should facilitate movement. British Railways (Southern Area) will be running a num- ber of extra trains from Waterloo to Aldershot, Farnborough and North Camp stations, and there will be connecting bus services where necessary. Cheap fares will also be available from certain stations: details are obtainable from local rail- way enquiry offices. Regulations for visitors by air arriving at neighbouring airfields will form the subject of a Notam which, we under- stand, is being issued by the M.C.A. A full dress-rehearsal of the Display, to be held on Wednes- day of next week, will be attended by organized parties of school-childien. CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himselj responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. The names an addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. Boeing and Douglas Pioneering HAVING read with very great interest the first part of SirRichard Fairey's Wilbur Wright lecture, "Some Aspects of Expenditure on Aviation" (June 1st issue, pages 673-675), I hope Sir Richard will forgive me if I take the liberty of point- ing out two small errors in his references (para. 13, page 674) to the classical examples of the Boeing 247 and the Douglas DC-2 in the field of all-metal monoplane transports, followed by the DC-3 in 1935 and the Short Empire Boat a year later. The Boeing 247 made its appearance in r932—not 1933. By the end of 1933 some 50 machines of this type were in service with three leading American companies—United, P.C.A. and Western Air Express. Actually the prototype 247 was fitted originally with a non-retractable undercarriage. Several months of testing went by before a successful partly retract- able undercarriage unit was fitted and approved by C.A.A. for the greatly improved Boeing, which, in full-scale produc- tion, was known as the Model 247D. Regarding the Douglas DC-2, whilst I do not dispute that the first production model appeared in 1934, m actual fact the first 14 DC-2S built all went to T.W.A., since it was that company's far-sighted president, Mr. Jack Frye (a pilot of manv years' commercial experience) who, in company with Donald Douglas and Arthur E. Raymond (Douglas' chief engi- neer and one of the best brains in the business) were the prin- cipal planners and sponsors of the DC-2. However, it was the one and only prototype DC-i which had been test flying for almost a year beforehand, having made its historic first flight on July 1st, 1933, m the hands of Carl Cover (then vice-president of the Douglas company). The same prototype was later tested for five months in the hands of T.W.A.'s senior pilots; also, Frye and Rickenbacker flew it on a number of long-distance endurance tests. Prestwick, Ayrshire. DENNIS M. POWELL. Nautical Digression HPHOUGH realizing perfectly well that the idea has a good, -*• solid scientific purpose, I was delighted to read that a 62- year-old paddle steamer is to be powered witn not just one, but four, Rolls-Royce Derwent 5 turbojets and sent out into the Gareloch, Firth of Clyde, to run trials. (It seems that the sea-boffins investigating hull-resistance are apt to have their slide-rules upset by the presence of a whirling screw, and that merely to tow a hull is equally unsatisfying.) Until I read on, and discovered that the four mighty power- units are to be anchored on deck, and blow the venerable Lucy Ashton along, I conjured up glorious visions of the efflux being directed on to the paddles (these, it appears, will be dispensed with, unless they have already been completely eaten away by teredo-worms). But to be serious: though it is emphasized that these ex- periments have no direct bearing on jet propulsion for marine craft, this subject is an interesting one. A lot of work has, we know, already been done, though I am aware of only one case in which direct jet propulsion has been tried—by the late Sir Malcolm Campbell, who experimented with a Goblin. I believe his attempts were not altogether successful, the boat being unstable—perhaps owing to the high thrust-line and to the fact that the thrust was being produced in one element and the steering (by a normal under-water rudder) in another. In this connection it occurs to me that the ideal power unit for a water-speed record attempt would be a powerful turbo- prop such as the Proteus, driving forward to a gear box coupled to an orthodox marine propeller-shaft; the tailpipe would dis- charge over the stern, thus adding to the thrust. I trust the Editor will forgive me for trespassing on his space with a subject that really has very little direct bearing on aviation. " GRANNY KNOT. Portsmouth, Hants. . . ... . ^ Tearing Off a Strip THE expression " tearing off a strip " goes back to the originof the Royal Air Force in No. 1 Balloon Squadron of the Royal Engineers. Pulling the rip cord on a gas bag (which had the effect of tearing off a strip of fabric) was the quickest way of deflating it. The phrase soon came to be used to describe the deflated feeling one got when interviewed by the CO. Wembley, Middlesex. C. L. WILLS, ex-R.F.C. [Of all the explanations advanced since the query was origin- ally posed in these columns, this is unquestionably the most convincing.—ED.] July July July July July 1-3. 2. 2-9. 3-16. JulyJuly JulyJuly July JulyJuly July July July Jul/ 7-9.8. 8-10.10-15. 14-16. 15.16. 18. 22. 22-24. 22-23. FORTHCOMING EVENTS De Haviiland Technical School : Parents' Day, Pamhanger Airfield. R.Ae.C. : Members' Deauville Rally. Northern Heights Model Flying Club : Gala Day, Langle/ Airfieid., Aero Club of Italy : International Air Week. Aero Club of Sweden : nternational Gliding Con:e>'.•, Orebro. Royal Air Force Display, Farnborough. Wiltshire Flying Club : " At Home." R.Ae.C. : Members' La Baule Rally. Fourth World Power Conference. London, to include prpe • on gas turbines, by M. Roy ; Dr. D. M. Smith ; F. Owne with Dr. S. G. Hooker : W. Karrer ; L. N. Rowley wi.h B. G A. Skrotski ; and J- S. Alford. Cognac international Rally. Redhil! Flying Club : " At Hjme " Auster Rally, Rearsby Aerodrome. Aero Golfing Society : Second Summer Meeting, Beacon - field. Yorkshire Aeroplane Club ; International S.B.A.C. and AT League CUD Races, Sherburn-in-Elmet. Leeds. R.Ae.C. Members' Nice Rally. Aero Club de Touraine : Fours R:lly.
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