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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1712.PDF
FLIGHT, 14 September 1950 g AIRCRAFT AT THE SHOW Notes on Hew Developments : Brilliant Demon strati on-flying In the following pages is a first-hand description of the Farnborough flying demonstrations and noteson aircraft in the static park, written by members of the staff and illustrated mainly with "Flight" photo- graphs and drawings. In general, the demonstrations described were those given on the first two days, butin nearly all instances the pilots' repertoires were repeated exactly throughout the duration of the Show. For the reason that the 2(D-odd aircraft flown were handled by between 50 and 60 pilots during the five days,it has not been possible to give their names in ?11 cases. Without exception, the piloting was brilliant, and all those concerned deserve the greatest credit for their performance of an always exacting duty. , MILITARY AIRCRAFT Armstrong Whitworth Meteor H.F.ll. In the air, this two-seater, radar-equipped night fighter showed speed and manoeuvrability of a very high order. These qualities can be attributed to the essentially sound Meteor airframe as designed and developed by the Closter Company, and to the man- ner in which the Armstrong Whitworth technical team have achieved the necessary alterations with- out detracting from the aerodynamic characteristic It is not unreasonable to suppose, in fact, that speed has actually benefited. The increased wing area, resulting from the extended span (48ft 6in), confers an added advantage in certain manoeuvres, and if rate of roll is seriously affected this was certainly not apparent at Farnborough. Avro Athena T.2. The ample power-reserve affor- ded by the 1,280-h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin 35 engine and the inherent handling qualities of this advan- ced trainer contributed equally to Mr. Nelson's engaging displays. Avro Shackleton G.B.I. With its l?O-ft wing span and abundant urge from the four contrapropped Rolls- Royce Griffon engines, this far-ranging submarine hunter (pilot, J.D. Baker) took off smartly and climbed vigorously before its impressive low runs. Blackburn and General Aircraft Y.B.I. Credit for altogether admirable flying demonstrations must be shared by Mr. Peter Lawrence and this amazingly handy carrier-borne anti-submarine aircraft. From the short, fast unstick run and steep initial climb to the slow, short, landing, the performance was a liberal education. The outstandingly high rate of roll won enthusiastic approval from pilots and tech- nicians alike. Its formidable capacity notwith- standing, the three-seater Y.B.I appears much super- ior in general performance to specialized naval single-seat fighters of a few years ago. Regret- tably, technical information is still severely restricted, but it can be said that the role of the Y.B.I (and, for that matter, its piston-engined precursor, the Y.A.5) can be varied from solely search and tracking at one extreme to solely attack at the other, with various combinations of roles in between. Blackburn and General Aircraft G.A.I.60. All praise to F/I. "Timber" Wood and to this ultra- capacious freighter for proving - insofar as the demonstration allowed - that Britain now possesses an easily loaded military transport capable of operating from small airfields. Like the elephant (with which it has much in common), the G.A.I.60 seems useful and docile. Especially satisfactory is the knowledge that it should prove equally effi- cient in military and commercial operation. Boulton Paul Balliol T.2. Having regard to S/L. "Ben" Gunn's getaway in~the Balliol, the makers' claim of a take-off run to 50ft of 450 yd can read- ily be believed. The performance specification of this advanced trainer, now in quantity production for the R.A.F., further shows a climb to 10,000ft in 6 min. The Balliol'3 reputation for manoeuvra- bility, of course, is already a byword among pilots and its Farnborough demonstrations brought out all its best points in this respect. de Havilland Vampire Trainer (D.H.115). The object behind the design of this "all-purpose" trainer is that of providing the widest variation of training duties while retaining the essential simplicity and good characteristics of the Vampire. Instructor and pupil are seated side by side on adjustable 25/40g seats with ample room at shoulder level; the width at this level is, in fact, 44in - one inch more than in the Airspeed Oxford. The prescribed duties are jet conversion and operational training in gun-, rocket- and bomb-sighting and fighter navigation, and each occupant has complete dual control and an individual blind-flying panel, with the engine instruments placed centrally. The upper section of the central panel also carries a Machmeter and the flying-instrument panels have pro- vision for two I.I.S. indicators, in addition to a Sperry G.IVB Gyrosyn compass dial. Normal radio equipment is two five-channel V.H.F. sets. The cockpit is pressurized to a differential of about 3 lb/sq in. Standard Vampire 5 fighter/bomber arma- ment is specified and wing tanks may be carried. At a Mach number of 0.7 at 40,000ft the radius of steauy turn is quoted as 1.95 nautical miles. Without external equipment the limiting Mach number at high altitude is slightly under 0.8. de Havilland Vampire F.B.5. A standard fighter/ bomber of this type was parked with representative war loads appropriately disposed. de Havilland Vampire Night Fighter. This dark- visaged two-seater, which first flew some twelve months ago, has new - almost pointed - vertical tail surfaces (as on the Vampire Trainer) and, not- able among a heterogenous collection of types in the static park, had an appearance of almost sinister efriciency. de Havilland Venom N.F.2. An all-round performance much superior to that of the Vampire has already been demonstrated by this new and logical Venom night- fighter development, although it has flown only a few hours. In his initial presentation John Derry proved that not only is this welcome newcomer very fast indeed (possibly faster than any previous D.H. fighter), but that the climb is what might be expec- ted of a combination of a moderate wing loading and a Ghost turbojet. de Havilland Chipmunk T.10. Both intimate and sparkling was the aerobatic offering of this ever- fascinating elementary trainer, supplied not only to the R.A.F.V.R., but to Denmark, Thailand, Egypt, South Africa, Australia and India. English Electric Canberra B.2. This mark of Canberra carries a crew of three in its pressur- ized cabin, and differs externally from the Mk.l in having a transparent plastic nose and a v.indow on the port side. Performance, however, does not appear to be inferior to that of the astonishing B.I prototype; in fact, W/C. Beamont's perfor- mance was, if possible, more stylish and convincing than ever. Certainly there was general agreement that his low runs were faster. » Fairey 17. On Wednesday the "17" was put through its paces entirely on one unit of the Double Mamba turboprop; but whether on half or full power,
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