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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1533.PDF
AIR O.P. CAMP . . . selected flight on behalf of a whole squadron) is given full operationorders and a section is then sent off to a map reference to find and prepare a landing ground for the remainder of the flight. Therecce of the 'field is carried out from the air by the section pilot and he will direct his vehicles to it by dropping a message on themat a pre-arranged rendezvous. Remaining vehicles in the flight are also sent off to a rendezvous while the recce is being carried out,and they are usually directed on by wireless. During the whole of the exercise a member of the Regular Armydirecting staff flies above to note such points as convoy discipline and the hiding of vehicles and aircraft, while others travel on theground and listen-in to the wireless net. Various diversions are usually arranged such as the sending off of an aircraft on a recce inthe opposite direction to the remainder of the flight to test wireless operators' ability to relay messages over long distances quicklyand accurately. i€6 FLIGHT, IO August 1951 Truly rural: Air O.P. Austers on a typical advanced landing ground. In the live shooting each pilot normally flies two sorties, andvarious types of target are allotted to each squadron. The shooting is watched by a directing staff team from a ground O.P. which hasthe target, aircraft and guns in view. Occasionally a pilot is told that he must assume that there areenemy A.A. guns well forward and that the enemy has a measure of air superiority. This means that the pilot must fly low until thegun position tells him the shot is about to fall and must then climb to observe the shot, and dive down into cover again immediatelyhe has seen it. When enemy aircraft are known to be in the ares, rear observers—either Army or R.A.F. other ranks—are carriedto give the pilot warning of impending attack. Marks awarded for "Algy" and for shooting are added to othersawarded for recruiting, attendances, and hours flown during the year, and the result of the competition will be made known in theautumn; 1951 Flight, based at Ringway, Manchester, which represented 663 Squadron at camp this year, has high hopes ofpulling off the cup following the complimentary remarks of the directing staff after "Algy." Although this unit (of which the writerof these notes is a member) has been formed only just over a year, and has had only one previous summer camp, it was told that it"exhibited all the signs of being well and thoroughly trained," and that its wireless procedure in particular was better than any thathad been heard by the directing staff in other Regular or Territorial flights. Maj. J. R. Bandy commands 663 Squadron and 1951'sflight commander is Capt. C. A. T. Wright. Perfect weather for the whole fortnight made training a pleasantbusiness for ground crews and pilots alike. The Austers were seldom on the ground during the hours of daylight and there wasa heavy run on face cream (normally kept by the Netheravon Naafi for W.R.A.F. personnel), which was pressed into service assun-tan lotion. A number of officers and men from the Z Reserve have beentraining with the squadrons at Netheravon. Pilots, many of whom have not flown for five or six years, have been given refreshers onAuster 7s, the dual control version of the 6, and then attached to flights for a few days' tactical training. WING-CONSTRUCTION: A SWEDISH EXAMPLE Details of the Saab-29 wing and centre-section. Inset are the two contrast- ing types of stringer and method of top-stringerj rib attachment. WITH the ever-increasing speeds attained by militaryaircraft, and the associated requirement for a lew thicknesschord wing section, it has beccme accepted practice to transfer to the fuselage items which hitherto have influenced the aerodynamic form of the wing. An excellent exsmple is found in the Saab-29, in which the main undercarriage, armzment and fuel tanks have been housed within the fuselage, giving a clean and fairly simple wing structure. This wing has a sjrrmetrical section with a 25-deg sweep-back at quarter chord, and a thickness- ratio of 10 and 12 per cent at the centre and tip respectively. Automatic leading-edge slots are fitted, and the aileron-flap system is boosted hydraulically. The centre-section, with its continuation of sweep-back, calls for only one change of stringer direction, which, although adding considerably to simplicity and cleanliness, demands a heavy rib en the aircraft centre-line. One design point worthy of mention is that whereas the top panel has closely spaced top-hat-secticn stringers (machined to height and riveted to the skin with one rcw of flush rivets), the stringers in the bottom panel are rectangular in cross-section; of constant thickness, they vary in width spanwise. The material used throughout the wing is 75S (D.T.D. 687) except for components requiring appreciable cold working. In conformity with current practice, thick skin-panels have been employed (o. 12m between the spars), and a smooth surface is, it is claimed, maintained in manoeuvres producing up to 4-5 g-
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