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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 2094.PDF
October 1951 501 Long Beach; 25th, Consolidated-Vultee, San Diego; 26th, EdwardsA.F.B.; 29th, Boeing, Seattle; 30th, Vancouver; 31st, Calgary; Novem- ber 1st, Winnipeg; 2nd, Toronto; 3rd, Montreal; 4th, New York.Reference to a Press interview in Washington is made in the leading article in this issue. On that occasion Mr. Gill confirmedthat, short of a complete national emergency, production of civil airliners would continue in Britain. He had no doubt that Cometscould be delivered to foreign buyers', and Mr. Bowyer pointed out that U.S. orders for this type would probably receive specialtreatment because of Britain's need for dollars. Mr. Gill declined to answer a question as to whether he thoughtdirection of labour would be necessary to keep the British rearma- ment drive going, but he did say, "We are no more in favour ofcompulsory direction of labour than anybody else." Mr. Bowyer pointed out that in June 1950 the British Aircraft Industryemployed some 150,000 workers, and said he expected this total to be expanded to some 310,000 by 1953. Both Mr. Gill and Mr.Bowyer affirmed that the success of the expanding British aircraft programme depended to a considerable extent on obtaining ade-quate supplies of machine tools, of which the U.S.A. must supply part. In regard to labour supply and machine tools, they said, theindustry was coming increasingly to rely on sub-contracting and, in an effort to "take the job to the available labour supply ratherthan bring labour to the job," some of the work was already being done on the Continent. Mr. Gill added that European assistancehad been more in the direction of tool production and jigging rather than in actual production of fabricated parts. Mishap to a Short Glider THE existence of an experimental glider built by Short Brothersand Harland, Ltd., is revealed by the news that Tom Brooke- Smith, their chief test pilot, was involved in an accident whileflying it last Sunday. The glider was being towed-off from Alder- grove by one of the company's aircraft when the mishap occurred.Though the glider suffered considerable damage, Brooke-Smith's injuries were fortunately slight. Elizabethans—Further Postponement A B.E.A. announcement states that unfortunately it has not '*• been possible to carry out certain small but fairly important modifications found to be desirable during the period of trial operation with the Elizabethan class aircraft in time to introduce regular services on October 21st—the date provisionally planned. The trial London-Paris services were completed on the 15th, and it has now been decided that the ventilation system, originally designed for the 40-seat layout, requires modification to suit the 47-seat arrangement. The radio installation needs minor altera- tion, and the Centaurus engines, originally running on the hot side, are now over-cooled : a worth-while reduction in drag (and increase in performance) can be achieved by adjustments to the cowlings and scoops. In view of the seasonal drop in traffic, the present is considered a suitable time for attention to the new fleet. Jet Patents Settlement have„ , __„ (Research and Development), Ltd., will receive $4m (about £1,428,600) fromthe United States Government in full settlement of claims for American use of the Whittle gas-turbine patents. During the war America was allowed to exploit the patents freeof charge for the duration of hostilities; soon afterwards, a token payment of $800,000 was made, without prejudice to future Britishclaims. The new agreement brings this sum up to the $4111 mentioned above, and will cover the use of some 200 patents overthe next 20 years. An original claim for $iom was subsequently halved in view ofthe fact that a number of U.S. engine firms were making licence- payments to British gas-turbine manufacturers. In 1948 the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors grantedAir Cdre. Sir Frank Whittle £100,000 free of tax. He had previously refused to make any claim, on the grounds that he hadoeen a serving officer at the time. "Shep" Hands Over at Hucknall ^ TEST pilot who has flown for 35 years, logging some 8,000hours on 77 different types, is now about to exchange the pilot s seat for an office chair. He is Capt. R. T. Shepherd,U.B.E., who has been chief test pilot to Rolls-Royce, Ltd., for "> years and who was, in fact, the first test pilot to be employed"y them. 'Shep" was the first man to fly behind a Merlin—destined to hf™ SUcJl a famous power unit—and he has also been respon- se for the flight testing and development of the Buzzard, kestrel, and Griffon, as well as for the Rolls-Royce turbojets. ne Hew the Nene-Lancastrian at the S.B.A.C. Display in 1946 and th Wl*'1 .av:!at'on correspondents as passengers, he demonstrated e Possibilities of jet propulsion for civil aviation. His skill as "M~EGOTIATIONS which have lasted about three yearsi" culminated in an agreement by which Power Jets (Rest THE HUCKNALL TEAM : Though, as reported on this page, Capt. R. T. Shepherd (left) is now to act in a consultative capacity to the Rolls-Royce management, he will not be giving up active flying entirely. With him are seen (left to right), A. J. Heyworth, D.F.C., W/C. A. McDowell, D.S.O., A.F.C., D.F.M., F/L H. C. Rogers, D.F.C., and—succeeding "Shep" as chief test pilot—W/C. J. H. Heyworth, A.F.C.- a pilot was exceptional and his polished display with the reheatDerwent Meteor at the 1949 Display will long be remembered by those who saw it. Capt. Shepherd has now been appointed to the post of flyingconsultant to the management, and his long experience of engine flight-development will clearly be of great value. He will, however,continue to fly as and when occasion demands. W/C. J. H. Heyworth, A.F.C., will take over the position ofchief test pilot, with S/L. H. N. D. Bailey as assistant chief test pilot. A photograph of the "Hucknall team" appears above. Lord Ogmore in Holland SPEAKING at the Hague during his recent visit to Holland,Lord Ogmore, Minister of Civil Aviation, remarked that so young was the industry that some of the pioneers of aviation werestill with us. For example, Dr. Plesman, founder of K.L.M., was still its active president. To place this fact in full perspective, headded, we should remember that K.L.M. was the oldest continually operating air carrier in the world. After signifying his pleasure at all he had seen at SchipholAirport, and thanking Mr. Dellaert, SchiphoFs manager, for being a most useful delegate at the conferences of Western EuropeanAirport authorities, the Minister said that people now regarded the air as a natural means of travel. Recently, he continued, hehad crossed the English Channel in a Freighter aircraft on the service which is ferrying cars and their passengers between Englandand France. Throughout the summer these aircraft had been landing and taking off every 20 minutes in the daylight hours.The service, which was operated by a small privately-owned English company, was a great example of the use which enterpriseand imagination could make of the air. Citing a variety of air cargoes, the Minister said that themercantile marine of the air was bringing immeasurable benefits to mankind and helping people to know each other better. King Aircraft Celebration IAST week-end the King Aircraft Corporation, of Hillington,-1 Glasgow, celebrated its tenth birthday by giving a dinner and dance to all the employees. In addition, some 50 or more tech-nicians from the industry, Ministries and Corporations were present. Reviewing the work of the past year, Mr. James McEwan King,chairman and managing director, said that with 30 per cent fewer employees an output equal to the peak production of the war hadbeen reached. The company is at the moment engaged on machining a largenumber of vacuum valves for atomic plant, but the main work is the production of the well-known King toggle cowling-fastener.In addition to the standard fastener, with a tensile failing-load of 7,000 lb and weighing only six to eight ounces according to size,there is now a junior model with a failing-load of 2,000 lb and weighing only two and a half ounces. A new flush-fitting panelwhich requires no tools and can be opened with the gloved hand is under development and appears very promising. King cowling-fasteners, incidentally, are specified for theHawker P. 1067 and are already in use on such diverse types as the Percival Prince and Provost, Westland Wyvern, A.W. MeteorN.F.I 1, Auster Ambulance /Freighter, and the Short S.A./4.
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