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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 1433.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2261 Vol. LXI. FRIDAY, 23 MAY 1952 ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT ED/TOR 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, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Strest. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgate. Telegrams, l/iffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). • Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C2 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 C.F.S. Celebrates - Plastics in Aircraft Canada's Aircraft Industry - - - T.C.A. Crosses Over "Heavenly-Harness'd Team" - - - - Service Gliding Seen at the B.I.F. 620 626 629 631 632 634 636 Everything Under Control WHEN aircraft gas turbines were first introduced, a great point was made of their simplicity—only one moving assembly, no pistons or valves, and so on. But after ten years of development the new axial-compressor designs, while retaining a certain basic simplicity, are from all other points of view intricate. So far as the levers and instruments in the cockpit are concerned it has been possible to keep gas turbine controls relatively simple, the absence of mixture and pitch levers and supercharger switches being very apparent. Nevertheless, the pilot of a modern aircraft, jet or piston- powered, is. still confronted with a large number of dials and controls for power, flying and equipment. Much has been done in recent years to standardize layouts, improve presentation and make all control levers move in the natural sense; but there is still room for simplification, and on occasions at least (and probably the most important occasions) improvement in this direction will lead to greater efficiency in operation and safety for the aircraft and its occupants. If only because gas turbines have doubled the range required of aircraft instruments concerned with speed, altitude and rate of climb, methods of presentation and scale- design require reconsideration, as do other characteristics beyond the scope of this article. One profitable line to follow in this connection is that of colour sectors on dials and colour coding of controls and services, for not nearly enough has been done in this respect. Provided that safe operational limits and emergency maxima and minima are clearly indicated on the faces of instruments, it would frequently be unnecessary further to complicate the reading with detailed figures and units, although these would still be provided for test and occasional reference. The practice of using multi-needle dials is satisfactory to a point, but it can very easily be overdone. On a closely allied subject, we may remark that master switches can be a special source of danger in cases where their operation would deprive an aircraft of, for example, its fuel supply or vital electrical services. Provision must always be made for the human error, particularly in the event of a pilot finding himself in a tight corner. A word must be added on the subject of helicopter-controls. Obviously stan dardization should be the aim, and the position is still sufficiently flexible for definite decisions to be taken without any great inconvenience to individual designers. At present, it is not clear whether the starboard seat is to become recognized as that for the first pilot. (Among other considerations, such placing would be inconvenient if helicopters are to make normal airfield circuits in cortformity with the almost universal left-hand rule.) Nor is there complete uniformity in the motion of the twist-grip throttle fine-control carried on the collective-pitch lever. On some existing machines, flying from the dual position entails a change of hands between stick and collective-pitch lever, and the opposite rotation of the twist-grip to increase power. The additional control of the helicopter necessarily gives a pilot more to think about; and as most helicopters are at best neutrally stable, they need flying all the time. Hovering and landing calls for considerable concentration from even the most experienced pilot; thus, while a change of hands when moving from one cockpit seat to the other should be within his capacity, a reversal of control motions places an unnecessary and undesirable strain upon him and, incidentally, may call for an unnatural movement of his wrist. Although of point in this particular discussion only so far as method of presentation is concerned, the Decca Flight Log deserves mention because the advantage it offers to the pilot is pictorial presentation. It is so much easier—even for one practised in the art of reading instrument dials—to comprehend a picture display instantaneously, for the mental processes involved are a great deal more direct than are those inseparable from the translation of instrument readings. We are not suggesting that pictorial presentation is generally applicable to the normal instruments to be found in a modern cockpit, but the above reference to coloured sectors implies a step in the right direction. It is, of course, a complex subject about which many people strongly hold divergent views, but few will gainsay the wisdom of keeping everything as (apparently) simple as possible. B
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