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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1560.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2221 Vol. LX. FRIDAY, 17 AUGUST 1951 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. TECHNICAL EDITOR C. B. BAILEY-WATSON, B.A. MT EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I. Telegrams, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgate. Telegrams, Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansfate 3595 (2 finer). GLASGOW, C.2. 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams. Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £3 3s. Od. U.S.A. and Canada, $10.00 BY AIR: To Canada and U.S.A., six months, $16. THIS ISSUE : Refreshing Experience - ;quipmentofthe R.A.F. een at Shoreham - - his is Utilization - - lore about the D.H. Heron - - - - upermarine Swift - - delta's Day Out - - - Canada's Arctic Air Services he Design-study - - • 184 185 190 191 193 195 196 198 201 Worthy DescendantsI N the period immediately preceding the Hitler war, and even more during its opening stages, the names of the Spitfire and Hurricane could be depended upon to give encouragement to the people on these islands and to call forth profound respect from the enemy. During recent months, air battles in Korea have indicated that there is probably but a single Allied fighter in service that can match the speed and climb of the Russian adversaries. Admittedly these are not the only qualities which make up a fighter's operational efficiency, but they are of prime importance. What of today ? We were happy to be able to comment last week on the promise of several new fighter types, and now we can announce the first flight of another superlative example—the Supermarine F.I Swift with Rolls-Royce Avon axial turbojet. Thus once again we have a Hawker and a Supermarine fighter, each one of which is as far in advance of anything the enemy may put up as, in their time, were their illustrious forebears. This pair have in common another most important feature concerned with their breed- ing. Both are the outcome of a line of post-war prototypes in which steady progression has been apparent. Most important among the stages in development was the adoption of swept-back wings. The significance of this progressive method is that although both the Swift and the P. 1067 are newly fledged prototypes, so much has been learned about them in advance of their first flights that production orders can be placed with confidence without waiting for a demonstration of the performance capabilities of these aircraft. Thus, in order, Venoms, Swifts, and 1067s will soon pass into squadron service, and there are indications that more new types are following close behind. Astronomical expenditure in pounds or dollars cannot buy back lost time; but at last, it seems, we are at the beginning of the end of an uncomfortable period of inadequate air defences. Tax on Progress WHEN bad weather caused abandonment of the King's Cup and other NationalRaces at Hatfield on June 23rd everyone fully expected that a way would be foundto run them later in the year. It was officially hoped that Saturday, September 15th, the first public day of the Farnborough Display and Exhibition, would offer the ideal opportunity, the whole of the public arrangements being ready-made as it were. But no : the Commissioners of Customs and Excise indicated that they would want a cut of the gate money, and such a cut that the whole idea suddenly lost its sparkle. Although the programme would still have been given over primarily to an exhibition of new British civil and military aircraft for the public who pay for them, the inclusion of a single race would entail an entertainment tax levy of no less than 42 per cent on that day's gate money. As the principal organizer of air races in this country, the Royal Aero Club has, of course, run into this sort of thing before. Even if a loss is made on an air race meeting— and this is by no means infrequent—the tax must still be paid. To be fair, the Customs and Excise people have little choice in the application of the law and, in general, they have not been unco-operative in the past. It is believed that the M.C.A. is also sympathetic. Our reason for mentioning again the taxation of air racing is to lead up to a plea— voicing the opinion of every air-minded man and woman in the country—for a change in the law. Of the four main reasons given by the Royal Aero Club (see page 175 of last week s issue) for regarding the law as unfair, we single out but one for emphasis : "Air races are primarily organized for the encouragement of airmindedness and aviation development." No one can doubt the truth of this assertion, for prize money is seldom sufficient to cover expenses, while the organizers are lucky to break even on costs and takings, even though nearly all the work is done on an honorary basis. On aviation development we would draw attention to the remarkable improvement of some of the regularly competing aircraft as indicated by their pre-war speeds compared with those achieved recently. The experience, know-how and enthusiasm behind such development are national assets.
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