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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 1730.PDF
754 PLIGHT CIVIL AVIATION BREVITIES NEXT month B.O.A.C. will send a Comet I on a 9,000-mile proving flight to Tokyo. The flight will be commanded by Capt. A. M. Majendie, captain of the Comet fleet. From Singapore, the farthest point yet reached by the Comet, the aircraft will fly to Tokyo via Manila. * * * Airwork, Ltd., and Hunting Air Transport, Ltd., launched their new "Safari" service between London and Nairobi with a reception at Londonderry House on Friday, June 13th. Vikings of both companies took off the following day to inaugurate the service. * * • The first of four Bristol 170 Wayfarers ordered by Aer Lingus was flown to Dublin from Filton on June nth by Capt. I. B. Hammond. Delivery of the remaining three should be completed by the autumn. The first Type 170 delivered to Aer Lingus for crew training is now in service—as a freighter. * * * A contract has been placed by B.O.A.C. with Redifon, Ltd., London, S.W.18, for the design and development of a flight simu lator for the Bristol 175 Britannia. With the Stratocruiser flight simulator installed at B.O.A.C. Central Training Unit, and the Comet flight simulator nearing completion, the Bristol 175 unit will be the third device of this type to be built for the Corporation by Redifon. * * * Representatives of Aer Lingus recently visited the United States for ten days to explore the possibility of opening an Irish transatlantic service. On return, it is reported, they expressed hope that "the Irish flag will, within one year, fly the Atlantic ... in conjunction with one of the largest internal airlines in the U.S.A." The aircraft, it was added, would be American-owned but Irish- registered. After the war Aer Lingus planned to operate North Atlantic services with five Constellations, but these aircraft were sold to B.O.A.C. early in 1948. * * * The Shell Petroleum Co. have ordered a Short Sealand amp*hi- bian for coastal duties, ambulance work and ferrying of personnel and stores in Borneo. Last week Vestlandske Luftfartselskap, the Norwegian company operating between Bergen and Trondheim, took delivery of its second Sealand. * * * Hunting Air Transport, Ltd., announce the appointment of Mr. Brian Greensted as technical manager controlling the company's operations and technical services. Mr. Greensted was trained as a pilot by A.S.T., which company he later joined as a flying instructor. Throughout the war he was chief test pilot for Rotol, Ltd., and for his services was made M.B.E. in 1945. After the war he joined Skyways, Ltd., becoming chief pilot in 1948 and receiving the King's Commendation for his work on the Berlin Airlift. His flying hours total 12,000. * * * Mr. A. H. Milward, O.B.E., B.A., has recently been appointed controller of operations B.E.A., with direct responsibility to the chief executive for all aspects of the operation of the Corpora tion's services. This new post is intended to control and co ordinate the work of the commercial, traffic and flight operations departments. Mr. Milward, who served in the R.N.V.R. as a pilot with the rank of lieutenant-commander, joined B.E.A. in 1946 and was appointed general manager Continental services. In November, 1951, he became director of aircraft movements. A.R.B. ANNUAL REPORT PROGRESS in the introduction of new aircraft, and the de velopment of standards—both British and international— under which they are operated, are reflected in the 15th annual report of the Air Registration Board. The report was to be read yesterday at the annual luncheon of the A.R.B. by its chairman, Lord Brabazon of Tara. In his introduction, Lord Brabazon referred to two features of the Board, which, he felt, enabled it to face and solve its problems without causing undue delay or inconvenience to manufacturers or operators. These were, first, the comparative youthfulness of its members and staff, and, second, the amount of time ungrudgingly given by his col leagues on the council in the cause of air safety. Lord Brabazon then reviewed the activities of the A.R.B. for the year ended March 31st. Following the introduction of new materials and the greatly increased utilization of aircraft during the last few years, a need had arisen for more positive steps to avoid fatigue troubles. The result of test pro grammes would be both expensive and lengthy, but the importance of the matter justified pursuing them with the utmost vigour. On the subject of crash-injury research, it was stressed that all safety measures have to be balanced according to their effect on air transport as a whole. The most important source of information regarding the crash problem was the first-hand investigation of accidents; it had thus been arranged with the M.C.A. that the Board would immediately attend any accident likely to provide new data, and it was hoped that information on military accidents would also be made available to A.R.B. Recent trends' towards coach-type travel had emphasized the need for careful considera tion of interior layouts to minimize crash injuries. The Board believed that backward-facing seats were fundamentally capable of offering better protection and welcomed the steps being taken by some operators to put such seats to practical tests. Nevertheless, it was felt inappropriate to demand the use of backward-facing seats, as considerations beyond A.R.B.'s province were involved. During the year the Board undertook, on behalf of the Ministry of Supply, certain work on de-icing—in one case involving the loan of two surveyors to the A. and A.E.E., Boscombe Down, to assist in flight tests. On the subject of fuel for gas turbines, it was again underlined that the Board would strongly oppose the use of fuels having a lower flash-point than that of kerosine. As a result of the "rather disappointing" failure to reach agreement on performance standards at the last I.C.A.O. division meetings, a standing performance committee had been appointed to hold informal meetings, at which, it was hoped, there would be better prospects of resolving the difficult technical issues. This committee hoped to complete its task in 1953. On the power-plant side, the 1951 meeting was as successful as could be hoped. The Board felt that alterations in the form of the gas-turbine type test were inevitable, but that it was highly desirable to adhere to the existing schedules, in order to build up a satisfactory background. Proposals to this effect had been agreed upon, as had the British recommendations for power-plant installation requirements of turbine-powered aircraft. Much technical good had sprung from the international airworthiness discussions, but much more remained to be done; the report added that I.C.A.O. would do well to examine its whole outlook on the airworthiness question. Prototype aircraft receiving normal-category certificates of airworthi ness had included the Ambassador and Comet. It was pleasing to report that the latter had suffered from only minor teething troubles— rather less than were often encountered in more orthodox aircraft. Eight piston engines (three of them large units) had been type-tested in the period under review, and the Board had devoted considerable attention to the modifications of the previously approved versions. This was a healthy feature which, perversely enough, usually resulted in an engine attaining first-class reliability just as it became obsolete. Good progress had been made with gas-turbine engines, of which six had been type-tested. From an investigation of the new turbojet and turboprop prototypes, all the indications were of a marked decrease in the time spent on maintenance in the field and the workshop. No helicopters had been certificated, but much work had been in progress on helicopter power-plants. The A.R.B. had now approved nearly 2,600 types of instrument or equipment, 300 of which had been added during the past year—several after very extensive design surveys. The Board had also investigated installations of the American V.O.R. equipment and the latest type of Decca Flight Log; the latter system had been submitted to I.C.A.O. for adoption as an alternative standard. Murphy D.M.E. equipment in a Comet had also been investigated. The Board's work on flight-testing of prototypes had declined towards the end of the year, and the flight test section had been able to devote more time to the maintenance of flying qualities by revising the test schedule for a number of series aircraft and aircraft due for renewal of C. of A. A new procedure for performance checks had been evolved; this, it was anticipated, would provide more comprehensive information on the performance of individual aircraft, and would also yield a large amount of statistical data on such matters as "fleet performance." Overseas visits made last year by representatives of A.R.B. had included one to Australia and New Zealand, where no great problems had been found regarding the acceptance of British Cs. of A. Although no part of the official business, great interest had been observed in certain modern British aircraft. However, fears had been encountered that delay in British deliveries might force the operators to seek replace ments from other countries. Last autumn, I.C.A.O. had sought the assistance of the Board in establishing airworthiness procedures in Israel; consequently one of the senior surveyors had spent some months there and had been able to introduce a number of measures based on A.R.B. practice to improve airworthiness control. During the summer, members of the Board visited Switzerland, where agreement was reached on Swiss requirements for validation of U.K. Cs. of A. The initial contract with the Pakistan Government for advice and assistance in setting up airworthiness procedures which had expired last September had been extended for a further twelve months. Though not a commercial organization in the true sense associated with trading concern, the Board was governed by a very commercial outlook and made every endeavour to be financially self-supporting. Deficit during the year was well within the limit provided for. In conclusion, Lord Brabazon remarked that an organization such as the A.R.B., butting in as it did into so many autonomous enterprises, might well be looked uppn as a first-class nuisance. It was due to the staff, whose object was to be helpful and co-operative, that the A.R.B. found itself agreeably tolerated, perhaps on the basis of Hilaire Belloc's famous lines: Always keep ahold of Nurse, For fear of finding something worse.
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