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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0074.PDF
72 FLIGHT, 16 January 1953 CONSTRUCTOR AND OPERATOR . . . type will be invaluable, and to this end a regular liaison has already been established between B.E.A., Air France and Aer Lingus. This is being extended to include Trans-Canada Air Lines and Trans-Australia Airlines. Thus, the experience of B.E.A. as first user will be available to the other operators as their aircraft are delivered. With the powerful link already established with the manufacturer, the pooling of experience will enable the Viscount to become one of the leading transport aircraft in the world. Retrospect,—Six years is a long time, and in a brief account such as this it is difficult to do justice to the interchange of knowledge, experience and ideas which has taken place between Vickers design-staff and the B.E.A. development engineers. Starting right at the outset in 1945, this liaison had by late 1947 resulted in the development of the aircraft from the early 24-seatei specifica tion to the 40-47 seater now being delivered; and, although the B.E.A. order was not placed until 1950, the liaison continued throughout this period. Perhaps the lesson which can be drawn from all this is that a sound working liaison with the engineering staff of an airline is essential, because the manufacturer's design team cannot be ex pected to possess detailed operating experience, particularly if it TPHE Admiralty has recently released some details of gas- •* turbine power units being experimentally installed in high speed naval craft. Shore trials of the new Rolls-Royce R.M. 60 are nearing com pletion, and the two prototype units are shortly to be installed in the motor gunboat Grey Goose (205 tons displacement, 146 ft overall length). Describing the R.M. 60 engine, the Admiralty says that the necessity for economical low-power cruising demands a high compression-ratio. This is achieved by the employment of multi stage compression, a heat-exchanger, and intercooling between each compressor. A low-pressure compressor delivers air through a sea-water- cooled intercooler to a two-stage centrifugal compressor, and intercooling is again employed between each stage of the centri fugal compressor. Air at maximum cycle pressure is then passed through a heat-exchanger, where it is heated by the exhaust gases before being delivered to the combustion chambers. Fuel is injected and burned in each combustion chamber and the resulting high-temperature gas is expanded through three mechanically independent turbines. The high-pressure turbine drives the H.P. compressors, the power turbine drives the propeller through a two-stage reduction gear, and the L.P. turbine drives the L.P. compressor. By reason of the mechanical independence of the power turbine, this cycle has the advantage of economy at low powers and also provides improved flexibility. The engine will drive a three-bladed Rotol screw having variable and reversible pitch, which will provide a convenient IN his report to the President on the progress made in rearma ment during the first half of 1952, Mr. Lovett, the American Defence Secretary, gave figures indicating the expansion achieved in the various Services and at the same time called attention to the tremendously increased complexity of modern weapons. During the two years since the Korean war started, the Army's strength has increased from 600,000 to about 1,600,000, the Navy's from less than 400,000 to about 800,000, and that of the Marine Corps from 75,000 to 230,000 organized in three divisions and three air wings. The Air Force has developed from 48 groups to 95 wings, and from a strength of about 400,000 to one of 980,000, but is still considerably short of its scheduled 143 wings. The cost of the aircraft required for such a force, says the report, can be judged from the fact that the construction of a wartime fighter required the employment of about 42,000 man-hours, whereas no fewer than 1,132,000—27 times as many—are required for a modern replacement. The report goes on to say that the high cost of the rearmament programme lies also in the conflicting aims which military depart ments are being asked to pursue simultaneously. "We are," it says, "at one and the same time fighting a war in a distant land, mobilizing and training our man-power, returning experienced personnel from combat in accordance with our rotation policy, happens that the constructor has previously been engaged only on military aircraft. A successful new civil aircraft design cannot, as it were, be produced by a manufacturer in vacuo. The first operator, therefore, plays a very fundamental pan in the develop ment of a new aircraft. Of course, the airline development staff is limited and cannot do too many things at once. This must inevitably mean a small number of new aircraft designs, which, in view of the expense, is reasonable enough. In the early days of B.E.A. it was laid down that the development staff could tackle only one new aircraft at a time and had to refuse to advise more than one manufacturer. This has proved to be sound policy, for in any case the sort of results described here can be obtained only when the development engineers know that they are going to get the aircraft and are to be held responsible for putting right eve-ything which doesn't work or which proves unsuitable for airline use. It is one thing to give advice when you hold no responsibility; it is quite another when you know that the advice you give will result in expensive iron mongery for the success of which in service you will share respon sibility with the manufacturer. The historical fact, and one whose importance cannot be over emphasized, is that the Viscount is the first aeroplane B.E.A. has had which has been the subject of operator-manufacturer liaison from the very first day. means of reversing and will also allow variation of engine speed with ship speed in order to obtain the best results at a given power. Rolls-Royce aero-engine practice has been adopted for many components, giving a light and compact power unit which offers a considerable increase in total power, and a reduction of 50 per cent in total machinery weight, as compared with the lightest com parable steam plant yet produced for naval purposes. In addition, a saving in installation space has been made possible. In connec tion with these figures, it is worthy of note that the steam turbines originally installed in Grey Goose had an output of 8,000 h.p. and gave her a speed of over 35 knots. Other Admiralty experiments concern Metrovick gas turbines. Following the successful trials of the Metrovick Gatric engine— the name is an Admiralty designation—in M.T.B. 5559 (formerly M.G.B. 2009, which, in 1947, was the first vessel in the world to be propelled by a gas turbine), a contract was placed with Metro politan Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., for the design and manufac ture of four larger gas turbines of improved performance. The new units, known as G2S, are of 4,800 h.p. each and follow a design based on that of the Beryl aircraft axial-flow gas turbine originally developed by the same company. After a series of trials at the Metrovick works, the G2s have been installed in two coastal craft in order to gain operating experience at sea. As in M.T.B. 5559, they are used only for high-speed running; diesel engines are fitted for manoeuvring and cruising at low power. American interest in the installation is apparent from the fact that the U.S. Navy have ordered two G2 units, which will be used for test and evaluation purposes. and demobilizing trained troops who have completed their tour of duty. "Similarly, in the production field we are developing the ex pandable mobilization base of our allies, producing proven equip ment for today and improved weapons for tomorrow, providing assistance for our allies by supplying them with initial and training equipment, and maintaining the level of civilian economy to keep this country healthy, so that our efforts to prevent war do not do permanent damage to the system which supports our way of life." Mr. Fowler, the Director of Defence Mobilization, in a report published the day before that of the Defence Secretary, said that rearmament was in mid-passage, and that much had yet to be done : none the less, production of the new and complicated weapons that were now so essential had been increased seven times since mid-1950. Both Mr. Fowler and Mr. Lovett stressed the ever-growing imponance of maintaining America's lead in research and technology and applying the result to improving the equipment of the Forces. Mr. Pace, Army Secretary, confirmed this by saying that "amazing" new armaments were being developed, including "a whole family" of atomic weapons; and Mr. Kimball, Navy Secretary, claimed that a minimum of 12 "super-carriers" of the Forrestal class should be ordered to accommodate large jet aircraft. ROLLS-ROYCE MARINE GAS-TURBINE EXPANDING AMERICAS ARMED FORCES
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