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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 2139.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2272 Vol. LXII. FRIDAY, 8 AUGUST 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. Te'egrams, Flightprts, Sed/st, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 fines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10 Corporation, Street. 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, lliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW. C.2. 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 fines). 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 South Coast Race - - Battling Bantams - - Britannia Pre-flight Testing - Low-flying Academy - Turbo-Liner - - - March of the Rotorplanes - - - - 142 - 147 - 149 - 153 - 157 - 160 For Defence and Export T HE Prime Minister's speech in the recent debate on the economic position indi cated the dilemma with which the Government is faced and the compromise solu tion proposed. Several passages particularly concern the aircraft industry. The country's state of solvency has first been weighed against its military preparedness; next, the allocation of the available manpower, steel and other essential materials to defence or export production has been considered. Lastly, it has been necessary to plan for several years hence, taking into account that, as Mr. Churchill said, "in the two years that have passed since the original rearmament programme was launched, some weapons on which immense sums were to be spent have become obsolescent and new types and devices of a greatly improved character have come into view." Because modern weapons take two or three years to make, and modern aircraft four or five, "it would be wasteful to the highest degree to spend many months re-tooling factories for rearmament and moving labour for that purpose and then ... to break them up and disperse the labour. "It seems," said the Prime Minister, "that priority is given to exports over defence, but the sphere in which the transfer of resources will be fruitful is a limited one." He also remarked: "Armaments are in these uneasy days best sellers; they find a ready and profitable market." On the whole, the aircraft industry appears to have less to worry about than certain others. Good military aircraft are at once a vital contribution to home defence and to friendly export markets. Civil machines also help to build up our reserve air strength and are at the same time one of the most valuable and economical exports. Orders for both military and commercial aircraft assure the country of a strong and active industry. Polychromatics M UCH is heard of the efforts now being made to bring about international standardi zation—of units, procedures, regulations and, more particularly, of military training and equipment among the N.A.T.O. countries. Aircraft are one of the most widely shared major items of military supply, British Vampires and Meteors in the markings of many European and other countries being a familiar sight. Their provision for, and adoption by, friendly air forces has automatically brought about a considerable degree of standardization. Experienced pilots have little difficulty in flying foreign aircraft, but the job is made more difficult by imfarniliar instruments and units, and in an emergency their actions might be a little slower. Until, ideally, a more or less standardized cockpit can be worked out for each class of aircraft and standard units and presentations are agreed upon, it is our opinion that the adoption or extended use of colour quadrants on all instruments and the colour- coding of all services and controls is to be most strongly recommended. There is little real value in memorizing, the exact maximum and nnnimum operating figures for all the instruments in each individual aircraft; indeed, for the pilot who flies several types, it is almost impossible to do so. Moreover, so long as units differ to such a marked extent, there must be difficulty in remembering and visualizing readings and limits. The pilot may be faced with temperatures in degrees C or F; pressures in lb/sq in or kg/cm2; speed in km/hr, m.p.h. or knots; rate of climb in m/sec or ft/min; and so on. All this would be simplified if every dial carried a green quadrant for normal readings flanked by, say, amber for maxima and minima in emergency, and red for dangerously high or low indications. These colours are internationally understood and are independent of language and unit differences; they provide, moreover, a check at a glance, without the necessity for any memorizing or process of deduction or conversion. The question of colour-blindness hardly arises, for it is a bar to professional piloting. An extension of this scheme for colour indications on instruments is the colour-coding of services. For example, all controls concerned with fuel may be painted blue, and all emergency systems red. It is appreciated that these proposals have already been accepted by some manufacturers and applied quite widely. We cannot recall having heard a single adverse criticism of such schemes. Why not apply them universally?
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