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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0519.PDF
29 February 1952 233 was the introduction, in June 1951, of a new four-year engagement. An important change in the method of meeting requirements for junior officers has been made by the introduction of a new class of officer somewhat similar to the Branch Officers of the Royal Navy. Warrant Officers and Chief Technicians are being given an oppor tunity to obtain permanent commissions as Branch Officers, serving until age 55 with limited prospects of promotion, but on a wide range of ground duties suited to their experience in the ranks. They will receive special rates of pay and enchanced pensions. To supplement the supply of directly entered University graduates to the Technical Branch, a new Technical Cadet Scheme will be inaugurated this year. Under this scheme young men with appropriate educational qualifications will be granted permanent commissions for technical employment after a course of training which includes a three-year honours degree course at a university. During 1952, 1,062 apprentices joined the Service, 66 per cent more than in 1950. The intake of boy entrants in 1951 was 1,814, more than double the number in 1950. Over 40 per cent of young men registering for National Service asked to serve in the R.A.F. In addition, between April and December, 1951, 2,486 national servicemen transferred to regular engagements. Although women have new rates of pay and improved condi tions of advancement, recruiting for the Women's Royal Au Force remains disappointing. ON Wednesday, February 20th, a meeting was held under the aegis of the Royal Meteorological Society, at which five papers dealing with diverse aspects of meteorology and the operation of jet aircraft were presented. Following the reading of the papers, the meeting was thrown open to discussion. The first paper was read by A. Cdre. G. Silyn Roberts (Ministry of Supply), who said there were seven main factors which influenced aircraft design from the meteorological viewpoint. These were :—- (i) Cloud and fog.—These introduced serious problems in air-traffic control, and meant the carrying of a heavy fuel reserve. (ii) Turbulent air.—At the higher altitudes, the problem of stalling arose. Gusts were of less importance in relation to fighters than they were to bombers, but in any case designing for gusts meant carrying extra weight. (iii) Jet stream.—On this factor more information was wanted. (iv) Ice.—An alleviating factor was the temperature rise resulting from kinetic heating; at 600 m.p.h. the rise was 36 deg C, and at 1,000 m.p.h. it was 100 deg C. The icing problem was also relieved somewhat by the high rate of climb and the greater proportion of flight time spent above the weather. It was likely that thermal de-icing would be satisfactory, but it all meant more power being taken from the engine. Icing of air intakes meant loss of thrust. The importance of forecasting needed re-emphasis. (v) Hail.—Experience to date showed that turbojet aircraft were not as susceptible to damage by hail as would perhaps be expected. There was, however, a risk to axial-flow engines. (vi) Temperature.—This had a bearing on the mass flow through the engine. (vii) Precipitation static.—Considerable interference in radio reception could be caused by static, although it could be reduced by the use of suppressed aerials. A. Cdre. Roberts concluded by saying that he thought turbu lence the most important of the seven factors he had mentioned. He had been told by one expert that a black cu-nim cloud was a "reasonable hazard," a white one "dangerous," and a yellow one "fatal." Captain A. M. A. Majendie (Flight Captain, B.O.A.C. Comet Fleet) emphasized the need for accurate meteorological forecasts. In particular there had to be :— (a) Good communications between the aircraft and point of destination. The communications should not be relayed by any intermediate means. Contact with the destination should be established as soon as possible after take-off. (b) Accurate forecast of upper winds was needed. (c) One hour before take-off it was necessary to know ground temperature—6ft above the runway for the Comet air intakes; pressure altitude; wind and humidity (to date, however, this last- named did not seem to have much effect). An accurate forecast ensured that there could be the correct balance between fuel and payload. With the Comet, clouds had been experienced at over 40,000ft. Turbulence had also been registered from o to 2| g (although this high reading might have been due to the position of the recorder Of Auxiliary and Reserve Forces it is stated that three new trans port squadrons and more Fighter Control and Radar Reporting Units are being added to the R.Aux.A.F. Eleven flights in the R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve were formed at Fighter Command control and reporting stations last year, and three will be formed during 1952. Three reserve flights have also been set up for Movements (Embarkation) duties. A start has been made by certain University Air Squadrons in the provision of training for navigators and fighter controllers. Under the heading of "Works" it is learned that high priority will continue to be given to the rehabilitation and extension of the radar chain. At home, some 4,500 married quarters are under construction and about 2,000 will have been completed during 1951-2. During 1952, four new types of training aircraft will be intro duced into squadrons : the Vampire T.n, the Canberra T.4, the Provost and the Balliol. In addition, re-equipment of certain schools with the Varsity for crew training will be completed. Set-backs in production are being experienced. The analysis of upper-air charts and the forecasting of upper winds are being extended as a matter of routine to the great heights required for the operation of jet aircraft. The series of charts of the upper winds over the globe to a height of 40,000ft, published in 1950, is being revised, and a detailed investigation of upper wind and temperature to some 55,000ft in the region between Middle Europe and the Equator has been started. in the aircraft). At this height ice crystals had formed on wind screens and had persisted for five minutes. G/C. C. G. Lott (Fighter Command) said that from the Service viewpoint the attainment of the aim was the prime consideration, and the risk was secondary. The Service dealt in large numbers of aircraft, and there was always the risk of having rapidly to land a lot of fighters because of their limited endurance. He thought there was nothing like the human eye for inter ception and identification; but this raised the question of trails above the tropopause, and the forecasting of conditions under which they would be formed. There was also a need for a scientific study of vision at high altitude. Forecasting of accurate winds and temperatures was important, for they both affected range, and aircraft would be operating to the limit of their range. Accurate wind forecasting was also necessary for indentification. The advent of the jet fighter meant a more exacting demand on the meteorological forecaster. The matter was aggravated in regard to bombers, as an abortive sortie was extremely expensive. Mr. G.J. W. Oddie (Meteorological Office) said that in fore casting temperature an accuracy of 2 deg C for runway tempera tures could be obtained. In the case of the Comet, however, a temperature forecast at a height of 6ft above the runway was required. In upper air temperatures, forecasts to an accuracy of plus or minus 5 deg C could be given. The best source of factual weather data were the aircraft themselves, but few flew higher than 25,000ft. As a result of the higher speed of jet aircraft, virtually twice as much weather was sampled in unit time, and it could therefore be argued that there should really be twice as many weather reports issued from the aircraft. The real problem, nevertheless, was to obtain adequate data and thereafter to know how to use the information to best advantage. • Mr. C. S. Durst (Meteorological Office) spoke on the methods of forecasting winds. The meeting was then thrown open to discussion, in which the following points arose: the need for accurate forecasts at sea where aircraft carriers were concerned, and the small staff and space which were available in such cases. It was then emphasized that the United Kingdom had no responsibility for meteorological forecasting outside a certain area. The forecasts from the Atlantic area could be considered to be reasonably satisfactory. It was stated that no one knew what caused clear air turbulence, although it could be forecast with some degree of accuracy. It seemed there was a real need for a practical investigation into meteorological problems. For example, jet engines should be flown through icing conditions—simulated conditions were not good enough. The problem of canopy icing was touched upon, and this was especially important in connection with Service aircraft. A strong plea was made for the interchange of meteorological information. For example, some years ago, clouds at unusually high altitudes were reported, but this fact was seemingly not well known throughout the meteorological services. The present trend seemed to be to design aircraft to fly through normal icing risks, but to avoid catastrophic icing. Doubt was expressed as to whether kinetic heating would prevent ice formation. WEATHER and JETS Topical Problems Discussed at Royal Meteorological Society Symposium
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