FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1951
1951 - 0856.PDF
FLIGHT, 4 May 1951 Evolution of the Guided Missile . . . At Princeton, this work is part of Project Squid, a programme initiated in 1946 to advance the design of jet and rocket power units. Research is currently being directed into what is known as a "ducted rocket" which utilizes a liquid-fuel rocket as the primary stage, its hot exhaust gases being mixed with a secondary stream of air. It is thought that this type of propulsion unit may be particularly effective in an anti-aircraft missile. What of Britain's progress in this important field? Are any ground- launched missiles in a comparable state of development in this country? Are prototypes of bi-fuel air-to-air guided missiles coming forward for service evaluation ? What of the ramjet ? On all these points, the Ministry of Supply prefers to remain silent on the familiar ground that comment "would not be in the public interest." And yet it is five years since serious work began— which seems a very long time for the public to be kept uninformed on so vital an aspect of the nation's defences. One missile only can be mentioned, and although this was shown in a cut-away form for all and sundry to inspect at the 1949 S.B.A.C. show, for no obvious reason the Ministry still refuses to release an official photograph. The project clearly represents an early stage in the current British programme. With a length of 20ft, the device uses methyl alcohol and water as fuel in the proportion of 60 and 40 per cent, with liquid oxygen. The fuel and oxidant are displaced to the motor by the action of a slow- burning powder cartridge which is placed between two pistons in the cylindrical tanks. For cooling purposes, the fuel is first circu- lated through a jacket surrounding the combustion chamber. A thrust of nearly 1,000 lb is exerted for 25 seconds, sufficient to maintain a flight Mach number of 1.4. A solid-fuel booster— actually a cluster of seven standard R.A.T.O. units—imparts a velocity of i,7ooft/sec after four seconds; then, as thrust falls off, 537 Fig. 9. Using a re-built V.2 as a primary vehicle, the WAC Corporal was discharged from the V.2 at a height of about 20 miles and then continued to a record height of 242 miles. air drag causes it to jettison. Four fixed fins and four movable control surfaces are provided on the main rocket. At present used for aerodynamic, stability and control test purposes, this two-stage missile carries the usual telemetering equipment which enables data to be transmitted to the ground. (To be continued) FROM 1 TO 27,000 TEADING personalities in Service, commercial and private *-J flying attended the presentation at Londonderry House, on April 25th, of the 27,000th Aviator's Certificate to be issued by the Royal Aero Club. The recipient was Cdt. F/S. Alan Smith of •No. 131 (Newcastle) Squadron, the 100th member of the A.T.C. to qualify for his Private Pilot's Licence under the Air Ministry Flying Scholarships Scheme. Lord Brabazon of Tara made the presentation—most appropri- ately, in view of the fact that he himself had received the very first of the 27,000 certificates. That event, he said, took place "hundreds of years ago, when Big Ben was a watch." Modestly he told the gathering, that gaining one's licence today was a more difficult business : "You have to fly 30 hours, navigate like Captain Cook and know the law like a Lord Chancellor." Lord Brabazon con- cluded with a serious reminder that learning to fly had become very expensive; young people needed all the help and encourage- ment that could be offered. As a direct result of the help and encouragement given him by the A.T.C., 18-year-old F/S Smith became Cadet Pilot Smith last At Londonderry House last week. Lord Brabazon J>resente<T / Smith wfth the 27,000th Aviator's Certificate issued by the Royal Aero Club. Lord Brabazon is famed as holder of Certificate No. I. Monday, when he reported to Cardington to begin his careeer in the R.A.F. He has been accepted for pilot-training, and will later be commissioned on an eight-year engagement. Smith joined the A.T.C. in February, 1948 and gained his "B" Certificate for glid- ing at Ouston. In November last year he reported to the New- castle Aero Club at Woolsington. He soloed in a Tiger Moth after 6hr 55min of tuition and has now 20 hours' solo and 18 hours' dual flying to his credit. The ceremony was probably the most impressive send-off to a Service career received by any prospective R.A.F. pilot. Among those who, by their presence, helped to make it so were Air Chief Marshal Sir William Dickson, Air Marshals Sir Robert Foster and J. N. Boothman and Air Vice-Marshals G. S. Hodson, A. C. Sanderson and T. N. McEvoy. FESTIVAL BEACON A RECENT M.C.A. Notcan mentioned an unusual type ofbeacon that pilots approaching London might soon expect to see, namely, the 3,000,000 candle-power light at the summit of that famous London landmark the Shot Tower, which has been incorporated in the South Bank Exhibition. The beacon, now operating nightly, was tested on April 24th. Flight was privileged to be present at the tests, not by reason of any concern with lighthouses as such, but because the installation is the work of a firm well-known in the aircraft industry—Chance Brothers, Ltd., of Smethwick, Birmingham. (The Chance "Square Beam" beacon is familiar to most people who have had anything to do with night flying.) What particularly interested us about the Shot Tower light is its remote-control system. At the makers' London office in St. James's Square, about i£ miles distant, is a Marconi H.ni V.H.F. transmitter operating on 150-185 mc/s—the "Headquarters" type of local installation as used by B.E.A. A time-switch energizes the transmitter for a period of 30 sec, sending a coded signal via a four-element Yagi aerial mounted on the roof of the building and directed towards the Shot Tower. Received by a complementary aerial on the tower, the signal energizes a relay which switches on the Lighting current and also starts the motor that rotates the optical element. A second signal transmitted at the appropriate time closes the beacon down. The light is visible in clear weather at 45 to 50 miles. It rotates three times a minute, giving a double-flashing white beamr ery ten seconds. A stand-by lamp comes into action in the ent of a lamp failure, and the driving motor is similarly luplicated. Remote-control systems of this kind are likely to be developed for unmanned marine lighthouses. Incidentally, it was Chance Brothers who displayed the very first British lighthouse optic—at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
