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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 2138.PDF
529 A. Meteor 8, resplendent in the black and yellow chequerboards of t-3 Squadron, arrived in characteristic manner for an aerobaticfive minutes. F/L. Beeching seemed to specialize in prolonged yet steepening inverted climbs, and* we were suitably impressed by his ability to,^*e>-what^was obviously a large* amount of negative g. / ' ~A_' // •'' ^ '"- It is inevitable that these "at homes" bear a basic similarity, but the organizing committee did succeed in laying-on a number of unusual events. F/L J:"Steam, A.F.C., "won" the slow-flying race for the Varsity Flight, in which we witnessed the distressing spectacle 6F thre^ Chipmunks "hanging on their props" and dropping wings here and there—all this at about 200ft. Aerobatics-by-request Was enlivened by a young visitor demand- ing two climbing rolls. The C.F.I., F/L. G. Hubbard, complied; and, as the commentator rightly remarked, this was "no mean feat in a Chipmunk." A somewhat aged Vampire 1 was demonstrated by the chief instructor, S/L. L. V. E. Worsdell, D.F.C., who had earlier led F/L.s Hubbard and Steam in what was probably the first display by Chipmunks of tied-together aerobatics. These officers, incidentally, were all instructing at Marshall's before the war. The flying programme concluded with a traditional spot- landing competition—won in a deceptively lessening wind by the Reserve School. This set the seal to a clear win by No. 22 R.F.S. with 171 points. C.U.A.S. and the Varsity Flight scored 83 and 58 respectively. The awards were presented by Air Vice-Marshal W. J. Seward, C.B., C.B.E., A.O.C., no 6i(E) Group, R.A.F. Camouflage—Aural and Visual A FEATURE of Operation "Autumn Leaf," the largestSwedish manoeuvres since the war, was the use of low-flying attack aircraft to cover the sound of approaching tanks—a tech- nique, incidentally, once employed by the R.A.F. to blanket the sound of motor boats used in early Commando reconnaissances of the French Coast. Pilots reported that few vehicles were seen on the Swedish roads, while the masking of infantry and artillery positions by means of "transplanted" trees, grass and moss made exact obser- vation a highly difficult task. A new plastic uniform, with yellow spnts, was tried out and is said to have rendered the soldiers almost inv'.sible among the autumn colours of fields and trees. R.A.F. Reserves Club Premises Secured "THE third—and, in our opinion, the best yet—annual dinner of•* the R.A.F. Reserves Club took place at the Criterion Restau- rant, Piccadilly, last Friday. Without changing in any way theinformal atmosphere of the occasion, the much-appreciated presence of the Chief of the Air Staff and two other members ofthe Air Council added greatly to the occasion. The president, Air Chief Marshal Sir Guy Garrod, spoke of the rapidly maturingplans for Club premises. Sufficient money has now been raised to VIKING ENGINES: Pratt and Whitney's Mr. W. P. Gwinn greets Mr. W. T. Gill, Rolls-Royce director and S.B.A.C. president centre), and Mr. W. R. Verd6n Smith, Bristol joint managing director (second from right), on their arrival at the United Aircraft Corporation's Reutschler Airport, East Hartford, Connecticut, on October 11th. Another British visitor was A. Cdre. A. W. B. McDonald, C.B., C.B.E. (right), officer commanding the A. and A.E.E., Boscombe Down. The visit was part of the tour to which detailed reference was made on page 500 of the previous issue. Admiral De Witt C. Ramsay, president of the A.I.A. (left) was acting as "general" host. MARKING THE R.Ae.C. JUBILEE IN the leading article in this issue, referring to the jubileeof the Royal Aero Club, mention is made of the book published specially to commemorate the occasion. Forthe benefit of any readers who may not have seen previous announcements, the title is "Fellowship of the Air," theauthor is B. J. Hurren, and the book has been published for the R.Ae.C. by Iliffe and Sons, Ltd., proprietors of"Flight." Finely bound, and printed in large, clear type, the 230 pages tell in absorbing fashion the story of theBritish private and sporting flying movement from 1901 onwards; over 80 photographs are included. "Fellowship of the Air"—which, incidentally, wouldmake an ideal Christmas gift for anyone interested in aviation—is available to the public as well as to R.Ae.C.members; the price is 30s. now acquired their first Short permit the contract to be signed, although more money is still needed to add to the £7,500 gift approved by the Air Council from the central (non-public) fund; the £5,000 20-year loan from the same source; a sum of £1,200 in prize money; a very creditable total of £4,000 raised by the members; and the aircraft industry's contribution of £44 16s. No. 14, South Street, Park Lane, W.i, will open its doors as the R.A.F. Reserves Club early next year. At the dinner "The Club" was proposed by Mr. C. G. Grey, who pleased guests with his reminiscences and made spirited comments regarding the publicity (or lack of it) given to recruiting for the Services and Reserves. Sir Archibald Mclndoe replied, and afterwards the Chief of the Air Staff, Marshal of the R.A.F. Sir John Slessor, took the opportunity to express the thanks of the R.A.F. to all the Reserves who had unselfishly co-operated and done such good work during their special call-up periods. He mentioned the Auxiliaries, who had given three months of their time, and in particular those qualified flying instructors in the V.R. who had responded to the 18-month call-up. Pictures at the dinner appear on page 551. A New Car Ferry ; ; AFIVE-YEAR licence has been granted to Silver City Airwaysto operate a car ferry between Eastleigh Airport (South- ampton) and Maupertuis Airport (Cherbourg) on similar lines to the service which has plied with outstanding success between Lympne and Le Touquet during the past three years. The new ferry will start next month, and the company estimates that during next year's holiday season it should carry about 2,000 vehicles. Freight will constitute a large proportion of the traffic this winter. Solent for Aquila AQUILA AIRWAYS have i**• Solent, Sydney, a practically new 41-seater which has actually flown only one hour as a B.O.A.C. Solent and, previously, sixhours as an R.A.F. Seaford. It is powered by four Hercules 637 engines. The machine has been given a complete C. of A. byShorts and should be in service on the Southampton-Madeira run towards the middle of December. The company may purchaseadditional Solents to augment its present fleet of 12 Hythes. Ceramics in Gas-turbine Construction /CERTAIN companies in France, perhaps following the early ^ German lead, have continued to experiment with ceramics and what they describe as "mixed materials" for the replacement of alloys and steels in high-temperature sections of gas turbines. For example, S.N.E.C.M.A. have since 1947 maintained a ceramics section in their experimental laboratory, and among experiments carried out has been one with ceramic-lined exhaust pipes on a 12S piston engine. Prolonged tests, including operation in Equa- torial Africa, are said to have produced convincing results. A Generous Gesture IT will be remembered that Mr. B. N. Wallis, the Vickers,-Armstrongs aeronautical research and development chief who received £10,000 tax-free in recognition of his work on the Mohne dam weapon, generously passed on the award for use in educating the children of deceased, serving or former R.A.F. personnel. It has now been announced that, with a similar sum contributed by the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund, the money will be used to found the "R.A.F. Foundationers' Trust," which will give scholarships for 15 boys and girls to Christ's Hospital at Horsham and Here- ford. Mr. Wallis has stipulated that the scholarships will not be competitive, but will be based on the fathers' war records. These details were given by W/C. J. B. Tait, a former com- manderofNo. 617 Squadron of "dam-busting" fame, at a squadron reunion in London last week.
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