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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1124.PDF
f LIGHT, 15 June 1951 699 THE ROYAL TOURNAMENT R.A.F. and Naval Aviation Represented in a Full and Varied Programme IT would be invidious to single out any one event from anexcellent and varied programme—a worthy presentation of theRoyal Tournament for the Festival .year. Certainly there ismuch to delight and thrill visitors of all ages, and ever-popular perennials include the naval field gun competition—as exciting asever, and this year between Naval Aviation and Chatham—and the musical drive by the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. Thedashing displays by motor cyclists of the Royal Signals, Catterick, on their immaculate machines are clearly becoming favourites withmany spectators, and it is not only dog-lovers who appreciate the obedience of the R.A.F. Police Alsatians which, it was learned,were not specially trained for their parade, but had this year been drawn from regular patrol work less than four weeks before theTournament opened, and in 50 per cent of the cases were controlled by National Service airmen. The Animal Transport Company of the R.A.S.C. provide a trulyremarkable display of trick riding, which demands clean and fearless jumping by man and horse alike. The colour of the massedpipes and drums of Scottish regiments and the massed bands of the Royal Military School of Music is quite breathtaking, evenwithout the charming Highland dancing by young boys of the Queen Victoria School of Dunblane. The young men taking part in the less spectacular Royal AirForce display of physical fitness and in the precision drill display by recruits of the King's squad of Royal Marines, are neverthelessto be congratulated on the high standard of their performance. Fortunately no such ghastly mix-up as that depicted on theTournament poster and programme cover occurs even in the maze marching.With no special intention of being gallant, it may be remarked that the absence of women from any of the three Services wasa matter for regret this year. This Royal Tournament—the event is now in its 61st year—opened at Earls Court on June 6th, when Her Majesty the Queen, Princess Margaret, and King Haakon of Norway were present. Itcontinues until June 23rd, performances being at 2.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. daily. Before evening performances, cadet bands playin the arena. No. 61 (Eastern) Group Trumpet and Pipe Band of the Air Training Corps play on June 8th, 12th and 21st, while theApprentices' Pipe Band of No. 1 School of Technical Training, R.A.F., Halton, play on June 16th. This band, incidentally, wasformed in 1922, and besides its duties at Halton and on ceremonial parades, performs regularly at charity and other functions.Its well-known mascot, a Welsh mountain goat, is named Lewis II. Outside the imposing arena in the Earls Court exhibition hallare a number of stands and sideshows concerned with Service activities and recruiting. THE PLACE OF PLASTICS IN AIRCRAFT SPEAKING on "The Place of Plastics in Industry" at theopening of the British Plastics Exhibition and Convention, Sir Ben Lockspeiser, K.C.B., F.R.S., secretary of the D.S.I.R.,remarked at some length on the value of plastics in aircraft con- struction. Early in the war, he said, the continued uncertainties of theAtlantic crossing led to concern for the future supplies of balsa wood—needed, on account of its low density, as supportingpieces for the wooden sandwich construction of the Mosquito. The necessity to find a lightweight substitute for balsa eventuallyled to the adoption of foamed calcium alginate as the supporting material, but the investigation into the theory and the practicalproblems of sandwich construction also led to the more exact specification of core material. As a result, increasing use wasnow being made of this method of construction, and there was little doubt that wider application could in some instances save upto 50 per cent of timber; at the present level of world prices for timber, the production of synthetic hard foams already being used asinsulation panels might prove economic for more general usage. Reference to the Mosquito, continued Sir Ben, brought tomind other interesting developments in the production of air- craft. The waterproof properties of laminated wood and thestrength and wear-resistant properties of densified wood bonded with synthetic resin were by now well known. We were notlikely to return to the use of animal glue in this field. The great success of plastic bonding, wood-to-wood, led quite early in thewar to experimental work on the bonding, of metal to wood for certain parts of the Hornet, and later to the bonding of metal tometal in the Dove. Finally, in the Comet, the elimination of drilling and of rivet-ing in the construction of the shell by bonding metal to metal has been carried to its maximum by the Redux process. Thesaving in time, labour and cost in the assembly of metal plates and shapes to each other and to the stringers was estimated toapproach 50 per cent, and the task of inspecting each of the thousands of rivets formerly used is avoided. Moreover, thearea of contact extended over the whole surface concerned, and the joint was thereby the stronger. The importance of the saving inweight of up to about 20 per cent on the whole shell needed no emphasis. All these advantages, concluded Sir Ben Lockspeiser,outweighed the high capital costs incurred in providing presses, steam generators, tools, foundry and cleaning equipment. The British Plastics Exhibition and Convention, now in pro-gress at Olympia, London, ends tomorrow, June 16th. It is organized annually by British Plastics, an Associated Iliffe Presspublication. NEW AUSTERS OUR account of the Auster Flying Club Festival Year Display* in the preceding issue referred to two new Auster types—the military Model S and the Aiglet Trainer. A few additional par-ticulars are now available. The Model S originated as a private venture and is Auster'sinterpretation of the Army's requirements as laid down in the appropriate specification. The Cirrus Bombardier engine appearsto give abundant power and so far, it is reported, results of per- formance and handling tests amply justify the estimates putforward by the firm. The Aiglet Trainer, a direct development of the standardAiglet, is claimed to be the only British elementary trainer embodying the following features : side-by-side seating for pupiland instructor; provision for full instrumentation and two-stage umber or blue instrument-flying equipment; and sufficient per-• jrtnance to enable it to do all aerobatics without losing height. The first machine of the type has been on test for • some timeand its performance promises a successful career in many parts of the world. Reference has already been made to the AigletTrainer's clipped wings and cleaned-up strut arrangements. Unmistakably an Auster, the Model S (Cirrus Bombardier) is our newest A.O.P. prototype.
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