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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1678.PDF
British Aircraft, 1950-Military Types Percival Prentice rTAHE Prentice basic trainer is available -I in three forms : the T.I has the 250 h.p.de Havilland Gipsy Queen 32 unsuper- charged engine; the T.2 has the super-charged 296 h.p. Gipsy Queen 51; and the T.3 the 344 h.p. Gipsy Queen 70-2. Seat-ing is provided for an instructor and two students. The two forward seats aremounted side by side over the front spar and have a four-inch vertical adjustmentfor height; the fuselage width at this point is 4 ft. 2in. The airframe is of stressed skin metalconstruction throughout. Each outer mainplane has two spars built up withextruded flanges and reinforced plate webs. Leading and trailing edges are made upas complete unit. The fixed undercarriage is of unusually wide track (12ft). Characteristics of the Prentice T.I are : Span, 46ft; gross weight, 4,2001b14S m.p.h. at sea level. max speed, Percival P.56 ' I *O a recent Air Ministry SpecificationA Percival Aircraft, Ltd., have con- structed this new basic trainer, prototypesof which are being delivered to the Ministry of Supply. The first exampleflew on February 23 this year, and the first 40 hours' flying, completed by mid-May, covered handling trials and all aero- batics, including spinning. The P.56 isreported to be extremely manoeuvrable and in particular to have a very high rateof roll. The engine is an Armstrong SiddeleyCheetah 17 of 420 h.p., and equipment is unusually complete for an aircraft of thisclass, including radio, two-stage amber, and night-flying installations. The Perci-val design staff have been at great pains to ensure that the airframe is essentiallysimple and that it may be maintained by semi-skilled personnel without the aid ofspecial tools and with the minimum of ground equipment. Normal day-to-dayservicing of engine and airframe is mostly achieved from outside the cockpit andfuselage. Short Sturgeori T.T.2 ORIGINALLY conceived as a high-speed carrier-borne reconnaissance bomber, the Sturgeon is now being sup-plied to the Royal Navy as a target-to-wing and target-simulating aircraft. The Stur-geon T.T.2, as this version is known, has a redesigned nose, a dorsal cupola and pro-vision for photographic plotting equip- ment. The crew comprises pilot, observerand W/T operator. Although not the first twin-enginedaircraft to operate from an aircraft carrier, the Sturgeon was the first twin-engined machine to be built expressly to a Naval specification for a ship-borne air-craft. Span, 59ft llin; gross weight, 21,7001b; maxspeed, 402 m.p.h. at 19.OO0ft. Saunders-Roe S.R.A/1 Saunciers-Roe S.R.A/1 HPHIS remarkably fast and manoeuvrableA flying-boat fighter is still unique. Two Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl axial-flowturbojets are fitted, and their small diameter allows them to be mounted side-by-side within the hull, giving approxi- mately the same width of hull as thatdemanded by hydromatic considerations. The makers' claim that the side-by-sideinstallation gives particularly good single- engine flying characteristics can well becredited. Cruising economy with increased endurance is obtained during single-engine operation. The hull of the S.R.A/1 has closelyspaced frames and relatively light string- ers; the main step is of faired vee form.A single main spar is used for the wing, which is provided with dive brakes anddive-recovery flaps. An ejector seat is installed in the pressurized cockpit, for-ward of which are four 20 mm. guns with a hinged covering for ease in rearming. Span, 46ft; gross weight, 16,2551b ; max speed, over 500 m.p.h. Valetta HPHE Valetta C.I is a military troop andA freight transport; the C.2 is a special version for carrying 9 to 15 "V.I.Ps" ingreat comfort and having additional fuel tankage. Both are in service with theR.A.F. In its standard C.I form the Valetta is suitable not only as a troop andfreight carrier but as a paratroop aircraft, glider tug, supply dropper, or ambulance.The main cabin has a total floor area of nearly 400 sq ft; the total volume of themain cabin is 1,565 cu ft. There is a large double door, measuring 5ft lOin in meanheight and 8ft 6in in width, to permit the loading of trucks, field guns, etc. Theengines are two Bristol Hercules 230s, each of 1,975 h.p. A crew of four—twopilots, navigator and radio operator—is normally carried. Span, 89ft 3in; gross weight, 36,5001b; maxspeed, 294 m.p.h. at 3,500ft. (Continued after advertisement pages) Vickers-Armstrongs Valetta C.i VV
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