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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0703.PDF
FLIGHT, 21 March 1952 HERE AND THERE . . . information, so far as it is available, per taining to pilots employed by independent operators, to flying instructors and to test pilots. Advice on civil-aviation pre-selec- tion (for Service personnel), on licences, and on sources of further information is also included. The booklet (M.C.A.P. 99) is obtainable free of charge from the Training Branch of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ariel House, Theobald's Road, London, W.Ci. Convair XF-102 ORDERED "off the board" by the U.S.A.F., the Convair XF-102 fighter will be a supersonic delta-wing single-seater with a Pratt and Whitney J-57 turbojet. According to Aviation Week, it will be equipped with a fully automatic electronic pilot, manufactured by Hughes Aircraft, and will carry a human pilot only as a monitor. It is understood that the principal armament will be a single guided missile. "Personally, I don't go a bundle on this prone-piloting business." That Overnight Atmosphere UNTIL humidification of airliner cabins becomes general practice, and with the now- imminent higher-density "tourist" seating, pressurized cabins are likely to be not only dry, but stumer also. In this connection, and so far as women passengers are con cerned, advice given by two experienced Atlantic air hostesses, and quoted the London Evening News, sounds practical. These passengers, they say, can counter the effects of the dry air by: (a) using light make-up; (b) choosing a make-up founda tion with an oily base; (c) spraying the hair with brilliantine to keep it soft; (d) avoid ing the use of heavy perfume. From our own experience of transatlantic cabin air we can heartily endorse item (d). 317 PICK-ME-UP: This new R.F.D. one-man life- raft, designed to an R.A.A.F. specification, includes an inflatable double-skin protective apron in addition to most of the usual equip ment (drogue, stabilizers, inflation cylinder, etc.) found in larger patterns. Its compactness and light weight should make it particularly suitable for ejector-seat use, while it will also serve as a warm sleeping-bag on land. Look, no hands! THE new automatic pilot developed by General Electric for the U.S. Navy can, according to a G.E.C. spokesman, "do anything a human pilot can do, except take-off and land." He added, "it controls the plane at near sonic speed and can be used in such manoeuvres as gunner runs on enemy aircraft." Claimed to free the pilot of 90 per cent of his stick-and-rudder work, the autopilot contains a compass and non-toppling gyros; accuracy quoted is plus or minus half a degree in bearing and to within 25 ft of altitude up to 10,000 ft. The device will, it is stated, restore a fighter to level flight from any position "up to 75 deg." IN BRIEF ALMOST every conceivable aspect of the production and use of petroleum fuels and lubricants is dealt with in the series of "factual memoranda" leaflets now available free of charge from the Petroleum Information Bureau, 29, Old Bond Street, London, W.i. + * * From Precision Components (Barnet), Ltd., 13 Byng Road, Barnet, Herts, comes a leaflet describing their interlocking bench assembly trays for small parts. Of Bakelite, the trays are available in both straight and (to form a semi-circle) curved types. * * * Mr. L. Bagrit, managing director of Elliott Bros. (London), Ltd., is at present in the United States on business. His visit is concerned with, among other things, the manufacture of certain types of Elliott electronic apparatus under licence. * * * Amal Ltd., have moved from their Perry Barr, Birmingham, address to new premises at Holdford Road, Witton, Birmingham 6. The telephone number (Birchfields 4571) remains unchanged; the telegraphic ad dress is "Amalcarb (phone) Birmingham." * * * Normalair, Ltd., announce that Mr. J. Fearn has resigned the chairmanship but retains his seat on the board. Mr. E. Mens-forth, C.B.E., has been appointed chairman and Mr. D. C. Collins a director. Messrs. Fearn and Mensforth are also directors of Westland Aircraft, Ltd. • Ransome and Maries Bearing Co., Ltd., announce the appointments to their board of Mr. Ernest Belcher (as director and sales manager) and Mr. J. B. Samson, M.I.Mech.E., Mem.A.S.M.E., M.I.P.E., A.R.Ae.S. (director and works manager). * * * The whole range of gyroscopic apparatus, from 180-ton stabilizers once built for ships to modern aircraft instruments, are des cribed and illustrated in an informative and entertaining 44-page booklet published by the Sperry Gyroscope Co., Ltd., Great West Road, Brentford, under the title The Gyroscope through the Ages. * * * The Glacier Metal Co., Ltd., has ac quired the capital of Scottish Precision Castings, Ltd., Hillington Estate, Glasgow, manufacturers of aluminium and brass die castings. The latter firm will retain its name and identity, but its products will be sold at home and overseas by Glacier. * * * Mr. F. W. Burnard, M.B.E., A.R.Ae.S., A.M.I.P.E., has been appointed works manager of Field Aircraft Services, Ltd., factory at Tollerton Airport, Nottingham. From 1924 onwards he was successively with Westlands (going to India on the Houston Everest Expedition, and eventually becoming the firm's chief service engineer); Scottish Aviation (becoming works man ager); and the de Havilland Propeller Co. as a member of the management production team at the Lostock, Lanes, factory. MORE FOR A.O.P.: The Auster Mk 6 was recently put into extended pro duction. In this photo graph, of three of the new series awaiting col lection, the leaf-spring tailwheel attachment— now a standard feature —COB be seen. D
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