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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 2296.PDF
IJ November 1951 629 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. On Tow I WAS interested to see Mr. Donald Sutton's reference (Novem-ber 2nd) to the towing of a Hurricane by a Wellington aircraft. The project was carried out by Flight Refuelling, Ltd., fromStaverton. A Hurricane IIC aircraft was fitted with hydraulically operatedMalcolm towing hooks on the outer mainplanes and a Wellington iC was modified by the removal of the tail turret and the installa-tion of a towing frame. The aircraft were flown to Defford, where they were connectedtogether on the runway. They took off in close formation and, on attaining operational height, the Hurricane dropped back on tow.The tow consisted of a hemp rope varying from 200 to 500ft, connected to a 200ft steel cable which in turn was shackled to atowing bridle through an apex plate some 15ft in front of the Hurricane's airscrew. Many flights were carried out during 1942, with varying success.In 1943 a Wellington III with a glider-towing yoke was used to tow a Spitfire IX by means of hooks on the cannon mountings,and several endurance tests were flown over the West Country. A Rotol fully-feathering airscrew was later fitted to the Spitfire,but the project was abandoned in favour of long-range fuel systems that had by then become reliable. London, S.W.3. M. J. S. INSKIP. WITH reference to the query as to information on the Welling-ton towing a Hurricane, the following may be of interest. > Flight Refuelling, Ltd., carried out the initial installation and tests, towing both Hurricanes and Spitfires behind Wellingtons. The idea at the time was not for long-range patrols, but as a scheme for reinforcing the Middle East and Malta with fighters. It suffered from the fact that the engine, oil and coolant system of the aircraft were liable to freezing up. It needed an airfield with a long run- way for the two aircraft to fly in formation, the Spitfire waiting hopefully for the Wellington to gather sufficient air speed. After- wards the engine on the fighter was stopped and the fighter was towed. Much out-of-position flying entailed cutting of the towing bridle. Charles Barnard, as the pilot of the fighter, would be able, if he reads this letter, to shed some interesting information on his experiences during this testing. It seems unfortunate that the probe-and-drogue method of flight refuelling had not been thought of in those days, otherwise Malta could have been easily reinforced by new fighters and the problem of icing would never have occurred. Tarrant Rushton, Dorset. P. G. PROCTER, Flight Refuelling, Ltd. An "Imperial" Route? correspondent "Imperialist," who, in your issue of October 26th, pleads for the creation of a British Empire Airways in addition to B.O.A.C., surely ignores the most important lesson gained in airline operations since the war. The proposal would completely negative most of the operational and administra- tive economies achieved by B.O.A.C. through the integration of its world-wide routes, and of the effective employment of its aircraft. B.O.A.C.'s Argonauts operate from Tokio, thence along a long section of the Empire route; and they are equally appropriate on the route to South America. The units of its fleets of Comets and Bristol 175s will be fitted into a comprehensive pattern of world- wide operations which, in order to gain (among other things) maximum aircraft utilization, will pay no regard whatever to whether or not any particular journey or destination happens to be in the Empire. The main object will be to keep each aircraft in the air for the maximum number of hours per day. That is only one consideration which arises in connection with the proposal to create a third Corporation; there would be many others, such as uneconomic duplication of maintenance and supplies organiza- tions, operational and commercial activities, staffs, and so on. It is difficult to discern exactly what "Imperialist" expects to realise from utilization of British Honduras "because it has access by air to the U.S. and Spanish America." As regtrds his projected route to the Antipodes via Bermuda, Honduras and the South Pacific, will he give us the operational and commercial data on which his proposal is based ? The fact that a route looks well on the map is only the beginning; what airlines have to study are such things as climatic conditions, wind components, fuel reserves and resulting payload, and the commercial attractions of the route from the passengers' point of view. Before it is possible even to "iscuss "Imperialist's" proposed route he must give us the requisite data on these points. But the main thing which arises in connection with his letter is that it is surely past the time to suggest a new set-up in our national airlines. They are now, we all hope, nearing the point of making an annual profit. The future success that undoubtedly awaits them will have been largely due to the fact that their operations, under continuous management, will have been planned for years ahead. To split up B.O.A.C. and interfere with B.E.A.'s routes to Empire points would be an act of supreme folly which would undo most of what has been achieved since the end of the war. London, W.i. F. N. HILLIER, Secretary-General, Air League of the British Empire. On Losing Eindhoven PLEASE allow me to protest at the untimely demise of one ofEurope's international civil airports. For some time now, Flight Guide information has ceased and met. reports have become difficult as a prelude to the final closing, in March, of the civil airport of Eindhoven. It seems that as a link in the defence of Western Europe the airfield is to be improved and enlarged for purely military use. As a persistent non-scheduled operator, I have found Eindhoven one of the most efficient and best-run secondary airports in Europe. The formalities are always discharged with the least possible delay, no one seems surprised at a request for immediate refuelling, and air-traffic control has the idea that its job is to help aviation. The extremely low landing fees (6s for a Proctor) exemplify the view that it is normally the worst-run airfields which charge the highest rates, a point which might well be noted by our newly formed Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. It is easy to understand that air defence may require the use of this particular airfield, but why should the civilians be kicked out ? If anyone wants an example of how smoothly a military airfield with joint-user rights can be run, he should have a look at Bucker- burg in the British Zone of Germany. Of course, allowing civilians in imposes more work on the R.A.F., but this is done cheerfully and with the understanding that civil aviation does contribute to the backing of Service aviation. In the present dearth of good civil airfields in Western Europe, is it too much to hope that the military commanders will think again before they bar entirely the use of Eindhoven to civil aircraft ? Royal Aero Club, London, W.i. JOHN GRIERSON. No Reaction MAY I point out an error in the paragraph entitled "Rotating-winged Pilots" (page 531, October 26th)? It is suggested therein that the function of the "weather vane" is to take care of torque reaction. There is, of course, no torque reaction with the rotor-tip-rocket method of propulsion. In this case there would be, instead, a tendency for the operator to rotate "with" the rotor, due to bearing friction. No doubt the purpose of the "weather vane" is to prevent this. The effect of a considerable increase of bearing friction would, however, be interesting. Cheltenham, Glos. G. ODGERS. Backward-facing SeatsT HERE has already been far too much talk and far too little action over this vexed question of backward-facing seats, but since Mr. B. J. L. Haimes (November 2nd) has unrepentently returned to the attack with yet more objections I feel justified in doing the same-^-there is enough resistance to new ideas without letting opportunities to substantiate them go by the board. I will, however, be as brief as possible. (1) What can happen to passengers in a crash when facing forwards has been established beyond doubt: they slide under or over their safety belts and pile up in a heap forward in the aircraft, or swing over the belt and strike their skulls on whatever is in front of them, probably rupturing internal organs in the process. It requires nothing else but common sense to realize that all these possibilities tend to be prevented in backward-facing seats. (2) Mr. Haimes says one cannot generalize from particular cases (such as the somersaulting Hastings in which all passengers escaped); but what can one generalize from, if not from the particular? All scientific advances are based on theories which in turn are based on particular incidents—there is no proof, for example, that an apple thrown into the air will always come down again; but since, in man's experience, it always has done (unless someone has put out a hand to catch it), this "fact" has come to be accepted. (3) Mr. Haimes says backward-facing seats would have no value
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