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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1723.PDF
• 300 AIRCRAFT AT THE SHOW... Bristol Brabazon 1_. This huge prototype comfort- ably took off""from, and landed on, the south runway at Farnborough - on one occasion, at least, with a moderate cross-wind. Complementary to this re- assuring spectacle were the unhurried, confident tones of Mr. Pegg, whose R/T instructions to his crew were relayed to the ground. Appearing decep- tively slow throughout its performance, the "Brab" sailed majestically overhead at 160 m.p.h., bank- ing to show the airscrew-shafts of the eight coup- led Centaurus engines projecting from the distinc- tive plan-form of the 230-ft-span wing. - Bristol Freighter. Two Mk. 31s, latest versions of the Freighter, were statically displayed (with Hercules 759 engines, this type has an increased all-up weight of 42,000 lb and is distinguished by the addition of a dorsal fin.; One model was fitted for aerial fertilizing and carried three internal hoppers of six-ton capacity while the second had a fuselage compartmented to illustrate typical Freighter arrangements. A complete Her- cules reposed inside the clamshell doors; stret- chers were fixed in the second compartment; the third featured rearward-facing, high-backed "util- ity" seats; and well-upholstered seats for four occupied the tail section. G-AGVC, the phosphate- carrying Freighter, gave a successful demonstration of top-dressing at Plynlimon, S.Wales, the previous week. On a basis of £40 per flying hour, distri- bution costs are estimated by Bristol's as 6s 8d per acre or £J 3s 8d per ton of phosphate. de Havilland Dove. A colourful patch of paint- work on "the nose of the "static" Dove proved to be the flags of 29 nations, foreign and Commonwealth, in which over 500 of these excellent feederliners are giving service. The example shown had an ex- ceptionally luxurious cabin for eight passengers and an external finish of white and silver with maroon nose and sides. de Havilland Heron. The basic family similarity to the Dove of this new feederliner, powered by four Gipsy Queen 50s of 250 h.p., was heightened by the use of the same white, maroon and silver finish. With or without headwind (display con- ditions varied dally; Mr. Pike coaxed the Heron rapidly into the air for a quiet, fairly fast fly- past. The landing-run was seen to be well within the 450-yd limit quoted by the makers. Carrying 14-17 passengers for 400 miles, the Heron has a cruising speed of 160 ni.p.h. with fixed under- carriage; a retractable undercarriage is optional. de Havilland Comet. Although a second prototype is now flying, the first Comet, G-ALVG, was again displayed by John Cunningham. Since its memorable debut 12 months ago the Comet has been fitted with boundary-layer fences midway along the leading- edge of the swept wings, but the smooth profile is otherwise undisturbed. In fact, its appearance is made even more attractive by the new B.O.A.C. finish of white upper and silver lower surfaces with dividing blue flash. Long-distance flights by this aircraft, with its unrivalled cruising speed of 490 m.p.h. at 35-42,000ft, are the only true indications of its commercial capabilities; consequently, at Farnborough the spectators' ap- preciation was necessarily confined to admiring the magnificent combination of speed and beauty as it swept across the airfield, and to taking note of the obviously docile handling characteristics. Handley Page Hermes V. As the Hercules-engined Kernes IV has now begun its working career on B.O.A.C.'s Commonwealth routes, only the Theseus- powered Mk. V was demonstrated. Some improve- ments have been made to this splendid-looking air- craft, the world1 s largest turboprop transport, since its first appearance a year ago. The all- up weight has been increased to 90,000 lb (17,000 lb payload) and larger-area flaps (to be embodied in production Hermes IVs; give better take-off and landing performance. Capable of carrying 74 pas- PUGHT, 14 September 1950 sengers, the Hermes V cruises at 330 m.p.h. for 2,000 miles. New airscrews have been fitted to absorb more efficiently the power (over 11,000 h.p; offered by the four Theseus. At Farnborough, the Mk. V was flown by Mr. Hazelden with No. 2 Theseus feathered throughout the performance. This in- i eluded some remarkably steep turns and was gener- . ally considered to be one of the most dashing demonstrations of a large airliner ever witnessed." Handley Page (Reading) Marathon II. The static : park offered an opportunity to inspect cne of the •? fastest entries in next Saturday's South Coast Race - the Mamba-powered Marathon II. With its two 1,128-h.p. turboprops, this neat feederliner has a maximum cruising speed of 290 m.p.h. and a range of just ov^r 800 miles. Passenger capacity is 18-22, bu^t - as befits a prototype - the Mara- thon II has only a few temporary seats and much of the spacious cabin is filled with test equipment. The Mambas give an initial climb of over 1,700ft/ min and a take-off run (to 50ft; of 850 yd. The Marathon I, 16 of which are on order for B.E.A., was displayed in model form only. Perclval Prince. Twelve months ago the Prince had only just received its C. of A.; the degree of pro- gress since achieved is truly remarkable. A Sur- vey Prince has been operating in the Persian Gulf for Hunting Aerosurveys since last February, and .; the Shell Group has taken delivery of Princes for communications work in overseas countries, includ- ing Venezuela. A Brazilian airline and the Royal ' Navy are other operators. Not only the airframe ;• but the Alvis Leonides engines and much of the an- -„- ciliary equipment were new - almost untried; never- theless, very few operational troubles have cropped, up. The display aircraft was a P.54 Survey Prime III with transparent, extended photographic nose, " autopilot, mountings for all types of cameras, and an eight-hour endurance. Features of its demon- '•• stration (pilot, J. Arnold; were a very steep pull- up from a fast, low-level run and the exceptionally short landing-distance made possible by the three- bladed D.H. reversing airscrews. Scottish Aviation Prestwick Pioneer II. On the Wednesday, the new Leonides-powered Pioneer per- formed with a stiff headwind - which appeared to halve the take-off and landing distances of 80 and" 66 yards respectively, claimed by the makers of this sturdy flve-seater. The admirable slow-fly- ing qualities were equally accentuated. With its new 550-h.p. engine, the Pioneer cruises at about 150 m.p.h. The demonstration pilot was Mr. Capper. *5 Short Sealand I. Flown alternately by Messrs. Brooke-Smith and Crossley, the blue Sealand was the only amphibian in the flying display. Although restricted to a "circus" appearance, it flew by f healthily with the port Gipsy Queen 70 out of ac- tion. Remarkably versatile, the Sealand carries five to eight passengers in comfort at a cruising speed of 170 m.p.h. • Vlckers Viscount 700. "Mutt" Summers' great con- " fidence in the new production-type Viscount (he made the first flight from the small grass airfield at Brooklajids; was further demonstrated by a very sharp climbing turn as he left Farnborough. The ensuing display included a fly-over with only one of the four 1,400-h.p. Dart turboprops working. The "700's" longer fuselage in no way affects the distinctive, distinguished appearance of the Vis- count, and the white, scarlet and silver add a r magnificent finishing touch. New performance fig-• ures of 558 m.p.h. cruising speed on 80 per cent • power at 18,000ft were quoted for the Viscount, which enters regular B.E.A. service in 1952. "**'. Westland-Sikorsky S-51. Military versions of this ~: Leonides-powered helicopter (Dragonflies; have been- delivered to the R.A.F. and R.N., while Egypt, Thai-:7 land and Portugal are overseas buyers. A civil- '•" registered, red-and-cream S-51, in the hands of Mr. Reed, gave a spirited performance.
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