FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0246.PDF
244 FLIGHT - * v '.—. *J %l €' i1 SAVAGE AND F/REBEE: Taking off on its first fight from Port Columbus, Ohio, is the first North American AJ-2 Savage to be built there. Largest carrier-based bomber at present in service, the Savage can carry an atomic bomb. On the right a U.S.A.F. sergeant is seen preparing a Ryan Q-2 Firebee for launching by a B-26 Invader operating from Holloman A.F.B., New Mexico. The Firebee is a "near-supersonic" pilotless target powered by a Fairchild J.44 turbojet; return to earth is facilitated by a two-stage parachute. FROM ALL QUARTERS . . . issue," said Mr. Nutting, "they are, in fact, repudiating the declarations into which they entered. We do not think that these sales will increase the tension in the Middle East." Israel would suffer if these supplies were stopped, as the Arab countries had received planes from the Socialist Government. The Israel Government had asked this country for jets before the Government took the decision last August to release aircraft to the Middle East states. To suggest that by allowing the Arab states to have these aircraft we were imposing a burden on Israel was a completely false point. Another Masefield Occasion F[ spite of his manifold executive responsibilities, Mr. Peter Masefield always contrives to find time to propound the air- faring outlook, vigorously and frequently. It was no surprise, therefore, to hear him speaking on air-transport affairs before the Aircraft Recognition Society on February i8th, only nine days after his lecture to the Institute of Transport: indeed, his address is an annual event for the Society, of which Mr. Masefield is president. The mainly youthful audience filled the Royal Aeronautical Society's library to hear Mr. Masefield's talk and to view his collec tion of slides. "I shall be quite interested to hear what I have to say about these slides," the lecturer himself commented, as he began to review air transport progress to date. During the last twelve months, aviation's almost mandatory craziness had been clearly demonstrated, for had not the airlines brought their fares down, instead of up ? Demonstrating the ever-moving developments in airline opera tion, Mr. Masefield showed pictures of contemporary B.E.A. machines, bearing in mind that particular evening's audience by pointing out here and there an added window, to assist in accurate identification. Experience gained with the Dart Dakotas would minimize any introductory difficulties with the Viscount; for example, there was now no fear of large blocks of ice "putting the fire out"; instead, the use of de-icing pads had given the prospect of increased power from the water-injection effect of the now- melted ice. Other aircraft types, and their economics, were then exhaustively discussed by the lecturer, together with the trend of air fares. Some interesting information on B.E.A.'s present and future fleets preceded an estimate of the potential sales value of British civil aircraft up to 1958, and the appearance of helicopters on the air transport scene was commented on. . A useful discussion followed, in which Mr. Masefield was asked BRITANNIA TROPHY FLASHBACK: Last Wednesday evening the Royal Aero Club was due to hold its Britannia Trophy Dinner, when plaques were to be presented to surviving winners of the Trophy. The award was originally presented by Horatio Barber, seen here with one of his two Valkyrie monoplanes. The photograph was taken on July 4th, 1911, when Mr. Barber carried the first commercial air cargo—0 consignment ofOsram lamps for G.E.C. He flew them from Shoreham to Hove Lawns, and he devoted the payment he received to the purchase of the Trophy. questions on the advisability of airlines racing at high speed to New Zealand, the possible need for a Rapide replacement, the possibility of speeding-up Customs formalities, the disadvantages of cabotage regulations, and the future of the London-Paris services. His answers, in brief, were that B.E.A.'s race entry could do a lot of good, and was not dangerous; there certainly was the need for a Rapide replacement; the Customs at Northolt had been "educated" and did not waste time; cabotage worked both ways; and competition on the London-Paris route should prove—well, interesting. After his talk, Mr. Masefield presented a number of the Society's awards to various members. New Construction Methods BEFORE the Royal Aeronautical Society last night (Feb ruary 26th), Mr. H. J. Pollard, Wh.Ex., F.R.Ae.S., divisional director (aircraft) of the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd., was due to present a paper entitled New Materials and Methods for Aircraft Construction. The intention of the paper was to indicate the potentialities of new materials for primary structure and other aircraft applications. Although basic structural design had varied considerably during the past few years, all construction still related chiefly to the use of aluminium. The lecturer believed that the time had come when its use might be challenged for certain ranges of aircraft structure, and that certain materials would come into use for primary structure as first did wood, then steel and then aluminium alloy. The older materials would continue to be used in the foreseeable future, particularly aluminium alloy, but the use of certain of the new materials, notably asbestos- and glass-reinforced plastics, in certain types of aircraft, should result in more efficiency and decidedly cheaper structure and other components. That the weight and cost saving possibilities of the "new" materials had not been fully realized hitherto was probably due to the fact that, for most projects, aluminium alloy had proved immediately adequate both from a technical and production standpoint. Concerning the new materials, the paper described in turn asbestos fibres, asbestos plastic moulding, glass-fibre
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
