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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0571.PDF
23 March 1951 CIVIL AVIATION . . . 353 CLUB AND GLIDING NEWS T TLTRA-LIGHT-AIRCRAFT enthusiasts will be glad to hear v> of the good progress being made in converting the Coventry Victor Neptune ij-litre flat-four engine for U.L.A.A. purposes. Undertaken purely as a private venture, which has involved the expenditure of several thousand pounds, the new unit is actually a re-design of the standard Neptune, which has been well proven in various industrial applications, such as the driving of compressors and generators. The basic specification to which Major A. W. Weaver, head of the Coventry Victor Motor Co., Ltd., was asked to produce this power unit required that it should develop about 40 b.h.p., be cheap, simple, robust and easy to service, weigh as little as possible and, at the same time, be capable of making use of standard Neptune components. On investigation it was found that neither the standard crankcase nor crankshaft could be used, and, to carry the airscrew thrust and journal bearings efficiently, a completely new crankcase had to be designed. Major Weaver hopes to have the new engine assembled towards the end of this month. It is expected that subsequent versions may be developed to give 50 b.h.p. for a weight of about 140 lb. DURING February total flying recorded by the WiltshireSchool of Flying, which operates from Thruxton airfield, near Andover, amounted to 86 hr, bringing the total sinceJanuary 1st to 276 hr. Over the corresponding period in 1950 the total was 246 hr, so that, in spite of the wettest February onrecord, the club actually increased its average for this time of year. All the W.S.C.'s Austers, together with those of the RoyalArtillery Flying Club, have now undergone their annual over- hauls, and two additional Tigers are in commission. These lattermachines, incidentally, are being fitted with landing lights, to comply with new night-flying regulations and, having carried outa considerable amount of research into the problem of providing the necessary modifications at minimum cost, the W.S.C. will beglad to assist any other interested clubs. The target of five C.s of A. a month on privately owned aircraftis still being kept up and the workshops are also rebuilding a batch of 12 Tiger Moths; a further 14 are to follow. Alterations and additions to the club-house and kitchen havenow been completed. The annual race for the Thruxton Cup, which will be flownover the same course as last year (from Thruxton to Totland Bay, Isle of Wight, and back), will be held this year on August 19th. A FTER a particularly trying winter the Derby Aero Club is**• now looking forward to the return of better flying weather and a number of plans have been made for visits to the Continent.The club expects to be well represented at meetings during the coming season. D.A.C.'s chief flying instructor, F/L. M. Mallorie, has of latebeen kept busy with the training of six A.T.C. cadets, two of whom, by taking every advantage of the few available flying days,have already qualified for their Private Pilots' Licences. One of the club's private pilots has now, with the^ecent NEWCOMER: Built on conventional but pleasing lines, this three-seater A1.B.IOO, which recently flew for the first time, is the tenth prototype produced by the French firm of Aviohs Maurice Brochet. Its design is intended to fulfil the three primary requirements of safety, comfort "nd economy. Powered by a 90 h.p. Hirth, the aircraft cruises at 140 km/hr and has a radius of action of 600 km. acquisition of an Autocrat, graduated to the rank of private owner.During the slack flying months the Engineering Section has been busy on overhauls and Cs. of A., 15 aircraft having actuallygone through the shops. The club was recently pleased to welcome a party from theLeicestershire Aero Club, and a return visit by a contingent from Derby was paid on their official opening night. It is hoped thatthese events represent the beginnings of many more inter-club visits and should help to foster the popularity of the private flyingmovement in the Midlands. A fancy-dress dance is being held in the club-house onMarch 31st; in the programme, it is rumoured, a "rather startling" cabaret item is likely to be included. IN looking back on the year 1950, the members of the RochesterFlying Club, based at the airfield of the same name, can congratulate themselves on several notable successes. Onemember, E. Day, won the King's Cup and another, F/L. P. Raymond, attained third place in the Daily Express race. In all,the club's aircraft logged over 2,000 hours' flying. Five Indian students gained their Commercial Licences—onewas only 19J years old and had started to fly in June of 1950. Twenty-five Private Pilots' Licences were awarded during theyear and a similar number were renewed. A number of A.T.C. cadets were also trained to the same standard. Aircraft now used by the Rochester club are Austers, TigerMoths, Magisters, a Proctor and a Consul. The club's secretary, Mr. D. S. Robbins, may be contactedat Bluebell Hill 212-3. SOME preliminary details are now available of the intendedgliding expedition which is being planned by the R.A.F. Gliding and Soaring Association to St. Auban, France. One of the primary objects is to obtain as much information aspossible on the standing wave which is known to exist at St. Auban and, on returning to the United Kingdom, to apply thatknowledge to a subsequent exploration of similar phenomena in the United Kingdom, notably the Helm Wave. The R.A.F.G.S.A.is of the opinion that there may be some connection between high-altitude standing waves and high-altitude gusts, and it isthought that the sailplane is a suitable instrument for investigating such phenomena. The expedition will use its own machine and has been loanedsuitable recording instruments for the task. The personnel are all members of the Association and include G/C. G. J. C. Paul,D.F.C. (chairman), W/C. W. H. Ingle, A.F.C., and F/L. H. Neubroch (both holders of the Silver "C" certificate) and S/L.A. R. Williams. When the expedition is under way other members of the Association will join it for shorter periods. In order to keep expenditure to a minimum the party is makinguse of tents and a towing vehicle for accommodation, and the whole expedition is, in fact, a completely self-contained mobileunit. The party was due to leave the United Kingdom on March 19th. GLIDING news comes this week from Poland, where the year1950 is reported to have been outstandingly successful. In addition to mee'ing in the spring and summer, a winter campwas held at Jesow during the first half of December, at which several notable flights resulted in the breaking of national records.A number of pilots also completed the test for their Gold "C" certificates. Some creditable flights of approximately 6,000 metres weremade, while one pilot, Jozef Jacek Figwer, eventually reached an absolute height of 7,950 m, thus qualifying for a diamond badgeand breaking the Polish national record for gain of height and for absolute altitude in single-seat gliders; his gain was actually5,700 m. Later, however, even this record was beaten by Adam Niznik, who gained 6,800 m and attained an absolute height of8,500 m. (For this performance Niznik was awarded a diamond badge.) Even this record did not stand for long, however, beingbeaten by Andrzej Brzuska, who gained 7,500 m and reached an absolute height of 8,750 m. Two other flights for which the pilots were awarded "diamonds"were 7,940 and 7,200 m respectively; neither of them used oxygen. The Polish results are all the more remarkable in that they wereachieved in what is normally regarded as the closed season for gliding.
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