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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0147.PDF
FLIGHT, 30 January 1953 145 SABRE . . . true reading is given regardless of the type of fuel used, or fuel expansion or contraction. Other Services and Equipment.—The heating, ventilating and pressurizing systems utilize air tapped from the final stage of the turbojet compressor and provide cockpit air-conditioning, pressur izing, windscreen anti-icing and ammunition-bay heating. Below 12,000ft the cockpit is not pressurized, but at greater heights pressurizing air is delivered from the compressor through condi tioning valves and circulates and increases in pressure until the differential reaches 2.75 lb/sq in or 5 lb/sq in, depending on the setting chosen by the pilot and the altitude of the aircraft. Pressure in excess of these differentials is relieved through a regulator. If additional heat is required this is automatically supplied by an electric cockpit heater. Warming of the ammunition bay is thermostatically controlled and a cockpit light gives warning of unsafe heat. The oxygen system is of low-pressure type, capable of supplying oxygen for about 4 hr at a height of 25,000ft. The windscreen is defrosted by heated cockpit air which is led through three outlets. Perforated tubes along the windscreen and canopy tracks direct engine-compressor air for supplementary canopy defrosting. De-icing of the windscreen is achieved by circulating engine-compressor air between the outer screen and the armour glass. There is an air heater which provides additional warmth automatically when necessary. A 28-volt system, powered by a 400 amp hr generator, provides electric current, and a 24 volt, 34 amp hr storage battery serves as a standby. The Sabre is the first fighter fully described in this journal in which anti-g-suit equipment is standard. This equipment consists of a pressure-regulating valve, a suit-attachment fitting, connecting hose, a quick-disconnector block on the pilot's seat (a safety measure in the event of emergency ejection), and tubing to the turbojet compressor. Compressed air is delivered to the anti-g bladders through the pressure-regulating valve, which starts to function at a predetermined g loading, depending on the setting of a special valve marked "Hi" and "Lo." At accelerations above i.75g (with the valve set to Hi or Lo) this valve opens, causing inflation of the suit. For every increment of g a corresponding pressure of 1 lb/sq in (Lo) or 1.5 lb/sq in (Hi) is exerted in the suit. Momentary inflation—which can lessen fatigue on a long flight— is possible by means of a button on the valve. The cockpit instruments are classified in three groups—"flight," "engine" and "miscellaneous"—and their dispositions are seen in one of our drawings. The pilot's ejection seat has fixed armrests and footrests, and an adjustable headrest. Just forward of the armrests are two hand grips which are hinged to pull up to a vertical position prior to ejection. The trigger lever is located beneath the right handgrip and is normally protected by a guard and safety wire. When the grip is pulled up preparatory to ejection, the safety wire is broken The fuel tanks of the Sabre are "tailor-made," filling every available cubic inch. The cut-outs in the wing tanks are for the slat guides. VENTS FUEL-LEVEL TRANSMITTER TO ENGINE FUEL- INJECTOR SYSTEM SHUT-OFF VALVE AND FILTER <* VENT FUEL-LEVEL TRANSMITTER TRANSFER PUMP (AFT CELL ONLY) _ . FUEL-LEVEL NTERCONNECTORS TRANSMITTER and the trigger projects from its guard. On ejection the anti-g-suit connection, oxygen hose, microphone and headset leads are auto matically disconnected at a junction box fixed to the seat beneath the footrests. When the trigger is operated the shoulder harness, locks, the canopy seal deflates, the canopy ejector fires, and, finally, the ejection-seat catapult fires. On the back of the seat is an "inertia-reel" for the shoulder harness, which automatically locks the harness at accelerations of over 2.2g. Armament.—The standard built-in armament of the F-86E is six guns of o.sin calibre, disposed in two banks of three guns each in the sides of the forward fuselage, with the ammunition magazines below. The belts are assisted from the magazines by booster motors. As is well known, the remarkable success of the Sabre in Korea is largely attributable to the fire-control system which, although details are still secret, is known to embody an automatic range-determining device which tells the pilot when he is "on target" and is used in conjunction with an "all-purpose" sight, developed for use with guns, bombs and rockets. Built in to the under-surfaces of each wing are fittings for carriers suitable for bombs ranging from 100 lb to 1,000 lb in weight or anti-personnel bomb clusters. Alternatively, eight zero-length rocket attachments, providing mounting for sixteen 5in projectiles, can be installed. The electronic equipment consists of a V.H.F. transmitter; receiver, radio compass, I.F.F., and the fire-control gear. So much for the Sabre in detail. Canadair's Part.—We have already acknowledged the design and constructional skill of North American Aviation, Inc., the parent company responsible, and it remains to place on record the part played by Canadian and British companies in the vast Sabre programme. Finally—and we take special pleasure in this —we print some flying impressions from the pen of one of the North Luffenham Sabre pilots. We begin with the Canadair story. Having decided in 1949 that the Sabre was the logical choice for its first-line fighter force, the R.C.A.F. called upon Canadair, Ltd., of Montreal, as the one Canadian manufacturer capable of turning out these machines in a hurry. The original contract— for a hundred F-86s—was signed in August, 1949, and specified that the first aircraft should be delivered twelve months later. Canadair's history of meeting contract dates merely repeated itself when the first F-86 rolled off the assembly line on schedule. A leader in civil-aircraft construction at that time, Canadair took readily to its new and vital task of building the swept-wing supersonic fighters, and the original order of 100 was soon increased substantially. The first Canadair-built F-86 was of the A series as specified in the contract; but almost as soon as this model went into production the R.C.A.F. decided to adopt the later series E. Thus, only one F-86A way, completed in Canada. Soon after the Sabre had gone into production, a call came from the United States Air Force for sixty machines to bolster its fighter strength for the Korean war. These have all been delivered and it is known that a number of them have seen action in Korea. Then, when Canada decided to equip and send a 12-squadron air division to Europe as one of its contributions to NATO, the F-86 was chosen as the standard fighter. The six R.C.A.F. squadrons overseas—three at North Luffen ham and three at Gros Tenquin, France—are, with the exception of a few American units, the only NATO forces equipped with fighters of this calibre. This situation will soon be rectified, however, for the Royal Air Force is receiving between 300 and 400 Canadair-built Sabres, the engines and other equipment for which are supplied by America under Mutual Aid arrangements. All Sabres manufactured by Canadair have conformed to the North American design and have been kept up to date on all modifications. At a particular point in the programme the air frame will be adapted to take the Orenda turbojet, soon to be delivered in quantity by A. V. Roe Canada, Ltd. Canadair engineers are still busy making the necessary adaptations to fit the Orencla into the production airframe, for the Canadian engine is considerably larger than the General Electric J-47, and pro duction of Orenda-Sabres will not be under way for some months. By Spring, the Canadair plant at Cartierville, outside Montreal, will contain more than 2,500,000 sq ft of covered factory space —almost 60 acres—and surrounding it there will remain approxi mately 40 acres available for expansion. In addition, there is a three-strip airfield operated by the Department of Transport. The main portion of the present Plant No. 1 was built in 1942 after a survey of the latest production layouts in North America. Since that time, Canadair has added considerably to the original space and is today augmenting it with another 200,000 sq ft. Plant No. 2 was operated during the war by the Noorduyn Company for the manufacture of Harvards, and is leased from the Crown by Canadair. Plant No. 3 is a repair depot at nearby Dorval Airport, while Plant No. 4 is the recently acquired space (165,000 sq ft) formerly occupied by the aircraft division of Canadian Car and Foundry. Additions to the already immense
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