FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1842.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2225 Vol. LX. FRIDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 1951 ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASS/5TANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. TECHNICAL EDITOR C. B. BAILEY-WATSON, B.A. ART ED/TOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. 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). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). 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. IN THIS ISSUE: Farnborough Opens - - 344 Brighton Concourse - - 349 Percival Provost In the Air - - - 353 Sllngsby Sky - - - - 356 Pilots at Farnborough - 360 Canberra in Australia - 362 Far-North Rendezvous - 363 '•A.T.A. Meets in London 365 Th'! Well-tempered Aircraft 371 Strength to Strength A CARDINAL precept among leader-writers is that statistics must be shunned;but some pre-Farnborough figures issued by the S.B.A.C. are too significant to. be passed over without editorial comment. Especially gratifying is the way in which they bear out our long-held view that year by year the affair grows, and will continue to grow, bigger and better than ever. Remarkably enough, this view is not universally shared, for one is invariably assured at each successive display that there will be no gathering the following year, either because of the international situation or because the industry has shot its bolt. And so we give the figures to date. In the first display, at Hendon in 1932, there were 34 aircraft; in 1937, thirty-eight, in 1946, fifty, and in the present year of grace, the readily memorized total of 51. For the same years the average weight in pounds of participating aircraft has increased as 7,180, 8,200, 22,000 and (this year's figure is approximate, due to the presence of secret types) "over 35,500." The last statistical sequence—for speed in m.p.h.—is perhaps even more remarkable, progressing as it does from 140 up to 192, 275, and, this year, to "over 400." It may be that by the time this appears in print Messrs. Lithgow, Duke and Co. will have shown this last figure to have been over-cautiously calculated. We shall see. More Haste, More SpeedI N voicing regret that progress with helicopter construction is not more rapid, we know that our view is shared by many, and particularly by top executives of B.E.A. The industry has not been slow in understanding what is wanted and, in fact, has at times been designing in advance of demand; but the rotating-wing art, old in theory, is young in practice, and the way of development still means hard going and few rewards. A big change, however, now seems imminent. In the past the Services have accorded little more than token support to the faith of a few far-seeing officers; today they have proof positive of the capabilities of existing general-purpose helicopters as demonstrated in Korea. Firm military requirements are at last being formulated which will give the necessary lead and enable the British industry to move forward with greater speed. In the commercial field, also, theory is giving way slowly to practical experience. Already helicopters may be accurately described as self-supporting in certain specialized spheres such as that of agriculture. Important though this is, it is of limited consequence in comparison with the possibilities clearly foreseen by certain airline operators. Here again, requirements are crystallizing out and the aircraft industry is getting something tangible to work on. Of the many factors which at present hold helicopter operating costs at a non-competi- tive level, two call for immediate consideration: the first is the high initial cost, the second the low utilization which a limited air speed imposes. Both these problems invite a bold approach. The British Isles and Western Europe are most suitable areas for helicopter operations, many of the present city-to-city stages being near-ideal in length. In a year or two a reasonably large market would be assured for a commercial 20/40-seater helicopter in accord with Lord Douglas' "Green Line coach" analogy. Britain should take advantage of her strategic position in good time and design for, build for, and secure that Home and European market. In this way, and with reasonable assistance from Mr. Peter Masefield's "military camel," the first economic necessity—sizeable orders—should be met. As to block speed, the present small helicopter offers only about half what is required. Indications are that something on the lines of the so-called convertiplane will find increasing favour as one answer. By transferring some of the load from the rotor disc to small wings, and perhaps some of the propulsive effort to airscrews as well, 200 m.p.h. may be attainable. That constructors are working along such lines is apparent from models and drawings at Farnborough. Transformation of these projects into full-scale 20-, 30- and 40-seater rotorliners should—and must—be tackled with all haste.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
