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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 1201.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2258 Vol. LXI. FRIDAY, 2 MAY 1952 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. TECHNICAL EDITOR C. B. BAILEY-WATSON, B.A. ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Telephone, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Woter/ool3333 (60 fines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Rirmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgate. Telegrams, lliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Rlackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2. 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £3 3s. Od. U.S.A. and Canada, $10.00. BY AIR: To Canada and U.S.A.. six months, $16. IN THIS ISSUE: - 520 A West-Country Call From Our American Correspondent - - - Avions Fairey Comes of Age Modern Fuel Systems - The Writing in the Sky - Varsity in the R.A.F. - - Faster, Farther, Fairer— Comet II 535 Elizabethans in Service - 536 Canada's Aircraft Indus try 538 526 527 531 533 534 Thrusting Upwards B RIEF but significant are the official announcements in this issue of higher ratings for British turbojets, and most significant of them all is the latest figure for the Sapphire. The disclosure that this unit, which completed a 150-hr Service type-test during 1950 at a rating of 7,220 lb, has now been cleared for an output of 8,300 lb is a matter for congratulations not only to Armstrong Siddeley, who developed the origin al Metropolitan-Vickers design, but also to the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, who secured the American licence during 1950. Already two applications of the first impor tance have been announced by the U.S.A.F.—one in the advanced swept-wing version of the Republic Thunderjet fighter/bomber, and the second (of special interest to us in Britain) in the Glenn Martin-built English Electric Canberra intruder. Meanwhile, the only installations announced in this, the country of the unit's origin, are solely of an experimental nature. That fact, however, does not appear to be one of vital importance, for the Sapphire is certainly being built in quantity in British factories and could obviously be applied to a number of existing airframes, quite apart from the Canberra series, as an alternative to the Rolls-Royce Avon, and possibly to the Bristol Olympus. And here it may be remarked that, although the highest rating so far declared for the Avon is 6,500 lb, much greater thrusts have been forthcoming from experimental versions, which now range up from the early RA.i to the RA.14 of undisclosed, perhaps undetermined, but no doubt impressive, output. The successively increasing ratings established by the British type-tests are the signs that our big axial jets are developing healthily; and we are especially pleased to publish the mounting poundage of our offspring for the advice of our American neighbours (speaking in terms of Comet flight). Their own—and we cannot forebear to add, adopted—young hopefuls are shaping well, and no one outside America is better pleased than are we ourselves. Room For The Turboprop W HAT of British turboprops ? It has frequently been said in the past that the turboprop more than merits its place in the hierarchy of prime movement, and that to disregard the type in favour of concentration wholly on the turbojet is wrong. Let us repeat at once that we whole-heartedly support this contention: there is room for the turboprop, room which cannot as effectively be filled by any other means. It does seem, however, that British turboprops have been unfortunate, to say the least, in their struggle for recognition and success. Some of the misfortune is an "engine" matter, some of it is an "airframe" result, and yet another proportion is the outcome of official decisions. Whatever the cause, the effect is distressing when viewed from the standpoint of those who have championed the turboprop in the face of apathy. The Rolls-Royce Dart is a fine little engine, and will power the Viscounts, but produc tion of these aircraft seems slow in starting. It is foreseen that an ultimate Ambassador development might be an enlarged-fuselage, four-Dart version, but this is years away. The Armstrong Siddeley Mamba, in double form, is to power the Gannet, but here again production is still some way off: a four-Mamba (or two Double Mamba) variant of the Ambassador has also been mentioned as a possibility, but only for the distant future. No new plans have been announced for the similarly powered Apollo. The A.S. Python is scheduled only for the Wyvern but, although a fine engine, it has been dogged by control problems for too long; the Navy needs Wyverns and has been waiting for them quite long enough. Finally, the Bristol Proteus: the Proteus 2 (in coupled and single units) will power the Princess boats and, more particularly, will also be fitted to the first prototype Britannia. Subsequent Britannias will have the more compact and higher-powered Proteus 3s. In that sum, therefore, Britain has a family of promising turboprops which, although they have been in existence for years now, have not yet been put into service. We look forward hopefully to next year, when Viscounts, Britannias and Gannets may be rolling off the lines. B
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