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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0276.PDF
FLIGHT AIRFIELD OWNERS FOREGATHER THE annual dinner of the Aerodrome Owners' Association was held on Thursday of last week at the Hyde Park Hotel, London. Alderman Colonel R. Mould-Graham, Q.B.E., M.C., T.D., the chairman, presided. In proposing the toast of the Association, Mr. J. D. Profumo, O.B.E., M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the M.C.A., disclosed that his Ministry was to be combined with that of Transport, but that the Government was, nevertheless, determined to do all it could to foster civil aviation. Furthermore, he said, they appre ciated full well the past services of the A.O.A. It was clear that —with rotorstations likely to spring up in towns all over the country—the future well-being of the Association was assured. Mr. Profumo went on to say that he was sad at the necessity for closing the Reserve flying schools (though he could add that B.I.A.T.A. was doing all it could for the instructors who found themselves without jobs); he was also very disappointed at the response to the Firms' Flying Clubs scheme. Colonel Mould-Graham, in replying, said that A.O.A. member ship now stood at 70, and that municipalities had already been asked to locate sites for rotorstations. Mr. Whitney Straight, C.B.E., M.C., D.F.C., next proposed the toast of Civil Aviation. Running an airline with converted bombers, he said, had been like trying to operate a bus company with tanks; but now the Comet was here, and the Britannia visible on the horizon. He paid tribute to the Brabazon Committee and to that of Lord Knollvs, whose foresight had made the present situation possible. B.O.A.C., he said, was in favour of charter companies operating—with efficient aircraft—provided uneconomic overlap with the Corporations was avoided. A REVISED SHAPE O N Februarv 27th, General Ridgeway's headquarters announced that the NATO Standing Group in Washington was con sidering a recommendation for a unified command in Central Europe and "an enlargement of the functions of Air Demity at Suoreme Headquarters." It is expected that, under the new arrangement, General Norstad will succeed Air Chief Marshal Sir Hueh Saunders as Air Deouty. Sir Hugh, who completes his two-year term at SHAPE this spring, has been somewhat handicapped by having incomplete access to American atomic data; General Norstad, being an Ameri can, would not be similarlv restricted and would probably have wider terms of reference. (Incidentally, the post of Chief of Staff of the U.S.A.F. falls vacant when Gen. Arnold retires this summer; Gen. Norstad is a likelv candidate.) Gen. Norstad's present post mav be filled by a British officer, and Sir Basil Embry's name has been mentioned in this connection. NEW MISSILE RANGE IN AUSTRALIA SALISBURY, a village near Adelaide, South Australia, has been selected as the site for a field trials centre for the testing of rockets and guided missiles developed bv the Hawker Siddeley Group. The principal Group partner in this work is Armstrong Whitworth, at whose Coventry factory rocket and missile work has progressed steadily since 1045. On Friday last, February 27th, a joint British/Australian team, led by Mr. R. J. Woodhams, A.F.R.Ae.S., M.I.A.S., left for the new establishment, where launching ramps, electronic gear and calibration and test equipment is now being installed. Comment ing on their departure, Mr. H. M. Woodhams, managing director of Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, said : "Rockets and guided missiles obviouslv require large open snaces for testing. There is no place in the British Isles that has the necessary climatic con ditions and open range requirements. "It is a great pity, in some wavs, that the public must for security reasons remain unaware of the immense and magnificent facilities placed by the Australian Government at the disposal of the Commonwealth rocket project. Our own British Government, too, has poured time, monev and effort into securing for Britain and the Commonwealth a lead in this new science." H.D.A.'s 12,000-TON PRESS TT is generally recognized that there is a great need for presses A capable of turning out light-alloy forgings much larger than any now made. Germany led the way, during the war years, in the "heavy-press technique" with machines in various sizes up to 50,000 tons capacity. Since the war, the United States has relied mainly upon German tools while her own $397 million programme of heaw-press construction gets under way. In this country, plans for the manufacture of such tools are less ambitious, but the capacity of our industry to deliver large forgings is nevertheless, gradually increasing. The biggest single increase Responding, The Hon. B. L. Bathurst, Q.C., chairman of A.B.A.C., remarked that his association was concerned with the operation of the Reserve Schools and the industrial scheme as well as the flying clubs; the latter were just getting on their feet again after the war. Nothing could be done, however, without airfields, and if (as seemed likely) many of them had to close as a consequence of the recent decision over the Reserve Schools, a very serious situation would arise. Once an airfield was closed, it was likely to be lost to flying for ever. The toast of the Guests was then proposed by Mr. C. M. New ton, a past chairman of the Association. He further underlined the importance of non-State-owned airfields by reminding his audience of the part which they had played, when requisitioned, during the last war. A scheme had been devised at Ringway whereby the operating expenses of the airport would be shared between Manchester Corporation (the owners) and the M.C.A., and he would like to see more of this sort of thing. The last speech of the evening was the reply by Mr. G. R. Ward, M.P., Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Air. He said that the Air Ministry had taken the decision to close the flying schools with extreme reluctance and because of two main considerations, one economic, the other practical. Economically, the means available were sufficient only to develop the most essential defence needs; from the practical point of view, it was not possible to train the pilots of a modern air force on light air craft operated from grass airfields. He would like to emphasize, however, that the Ministry felt real concern for the instructors deprived of their livelihood, and was doing all it could to find them alternative employment. Many had already been suited. will come from High Duty Alloys' foundry at Redditch, where output from a 12,000-ton press was inaugurated on February 24th by Sir Frank Spriggs, chairman of the company and managing director of the parent Hawker Siddeley Group. The newly commissioned press, shown in the photograph on this page, is unusual in that, by selecting any of three hydraulic pres sures, a forging force of 4,000, 8,000 or 12,000 tons can be chosen. The latter figure makes it the most powerful press on light-alloy work in Great Britain. The crosshead is moved by three rams, of 4ft 3m bore by 15ft stroke, to which water is supplied by four pumps, each driven by a 550-h.p. electric motor. The press itself—neglecting the con siderable electric and hydraulic ancillary equipment—weighs 800 tons and stands 56ft 4in high (this is, incidentally, identical with the wing-span of an Anson). Some 13ft 7m lies below ground including the hydraulic system for operating the moving table. The press is fed with pre-heat billets from three gas-fired furnaces, each with a capacity of 10 tons. High Duty Alloys, Ltd., have reconstructed an entire bay of the Redditch forgings division to accommodate their 12,000-ton press.
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