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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0278.PDF
276 FLIGHT, 6 March 1953 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers,, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. i Aircrew Training T HE excellent article by F. A. Chapman, entitled "Aircrew Training" Flight, February 13th), has unwittingly followed exactly the same line of reasoning as that contained in letters which I addressed to my M.P. and to the Minister of Civil Aviation on January 20th. To qualify for even the lowest-category civilian professional licence (Commercial Pilot's Licence) the applicant must have an absolute minimum of 150 hours' flying to his credit. In future, being unable to obtain this training as a National Serviceman, his only alternative will be to attend a civilian flying training school at a cost of at least £500. Precious few civilians in their mid- twenties can afford this £500, hence there will be an acute shortage of civil aircrew in the very near future. The only solution is the formation of a National School of Aviation, from which the civil airlines could "purchase" aircrew, and the School could also be subsidized by the pupils themselves agreeing to repay part of the cost of their training by contributing 5 per cent of their first five years' salary. Both the staff and the equipment are already available in the "axed" schools, hence the initial cost will be negligible providing the scheme is put into operation immediately. If, however, the scheme is delayed, the equipment will deteriorate and the redundant instructors will return to civilian jobs, where their attitude will become "once bitten, twice shy." They will never be tempted back into flying again. I know, for I am one of them ! R.A.F., Kirton-in-Lindsey. H. G. DAVIES. The " Saint Kevin " Accident IN Flight for February 6th Capt. R. N. White of Aer Lingus criticized several of the points made in my article "Airflow over mountains" in the issue of January 2nd. May I reply, firstly on four points of detail? (1) Capt. White suggests that I jumped to several conclusions and stated "without qualification, that the probable cause of the accident was 'the encountering of a powerful downcurrent of air on the leeside of Snowdon which forced the aircraft down into an area of very great turbulence.' " It should be made clear that I was quoting the Court of Inquiry in answer to the Attorney- General's question "What was the probable cause of the loss of the aircraft?" The answer, too, was without qualification. (2) "An aftercast of the track made good by the Saint Kevin, produced by M.C.A. and reproduced as Fig. 2 in Mr. Yates's article ..." I assure Capt. White I had seen no M.C.A. map and drew this myself to show the wherabouts of the places mentioned. (3) Capt. White asks if "Mr. Yates is being accurate or fair in talking about 'unexplained errors in navigation.'" I quote the Attorney-General's question No. 7 and the Court's answer. "7. ON February 24th, H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh visited both the Brentford and the Feltham factories of the Sperry Gyroscope Co., Ltd., where he saw in production the latest instruments in the company's range of aeronautical and marine equipment. Throughout the tour—to which we hope to make further reference next week—the Duke showed a deep knowledge and understanding of technical matters. * * * Trading results of the English Electric companies, announced last week, showed a group profit of £4,359,034, as against £3,642,141 in 1951; taxation absorbs £2,909,516. Profit of D. Napier and Son, Ltd., rose from £318,561 to £322,436 and that of Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co., Ltd., from £331,381 to £576,704 (of which £384,527 goes for taxation). * * * The 1953 Ignition Conference is to be held at the Savoy Hotel, London, on April 22nd-23rd, with A. Cdre. F. R. Banks as chair man. Lodge Plugs, Ltd., Rugby, are the organizers. * * * An exclusive licence for the manufacture and sale of Napier toggle- and stud-type cowling fasteners has been granted to Aero Controls, Ltd. These fasteners, which conform to Soec. D.T.D.(R.D.i)q,oo6 and Provisional Spec. D.T.D.(R.D.i)3/)07 respectively, will, in future, be known as the Aero Controls "N" type toggle fastener and "N" type stud fastener; enquiries In what respects, if any, was the navigation of the aircraft unsatis factory?—The navigation of the aircraft was unsatisfactory in that it took the aircraft to a position close u.ider the lee of Snowdon at a time when the Captain believed that he was coming out over the Irish Sea." (4) Capt. White feels "obliged to repudiate the suggestion that the Saint Kevin commenced a descent from 6,500ft to 4,500ft before receiving clearance." I had not intended to suggest that Capt. Keohane did so. He requested a descent clearance and it was given by Dublin. I agree that the fact that no acknowledg ment was given by the Saint Kevin may mean that disaster had already occurred at 6,500ft. The purpose of my article was to draw the attention of pilots who have to fly regularly over mountains to the characteristics of the lee waves which those of us who fly gliders in these districts have discovered. I had no reason to disagree with the findings of the Court that the accident was caused by "a powerful down- current of air on the leeside of Snowdon"; I sought to explain the conditions under which these downcurrents are known to exist. (A few days after the article was published, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a notice to pilots with the same intention.) My explanation did not differ from that outlined by the Court in para. 53(a) and assumed, in accordance with the Court's findings, that the pilot was in the lee of Snowdon when he thought he was over the sea. Capt. White "finds it easier and more logical to accept all the R/T. reports received from the Saint Kevin than to doubt them— even if they conflict with meteorological theory." Well—none of us really knows what happened to the Saint Kevin, but let nobody imagine that these standing waves are just meteorological theory. They are very real indeed, as dozens of pilots who have flown in them and measured them can testify. Let us learn our lessons the easy way! College of Aeronautics, Cranfield. A. H. YATES. IN search of information about airflow over mountains, I was reading the article by A. H. Yates in your issue of January 2nd. The following point occurs to me concerning the theory of standing waves. For "aerodynamic" flow the results seem to indicate that there would be a drop in static pressure at the wave- crest, such as to cause a pressure altimeter to over-read for any given height. What would be the results for various types of stable air, at various speeds, and with speed varying against height? I am unable to discover any experimental results relating to this problem, and as it is one affecting air safety I think something should be done. If anyone has a suitably equipped aircraft, I will give as much time, and do as much flying as may be needed, to solve at least part of the problem. London, S.W.18. GORDON H. LONGWORTH. regarding them should be addressed to Aero Controls, Ltd., Industrial Estate, Weedon Road, Northampton. * * * The head office of the Associated Ethyl Co., Ltd., is now at 20 Berkeley Square, London, W.i (Grosvenor 6030). * * * The first National Factory Equipment Exhibition is to be opened at the Royal Horticultural Hall, London, on March 23rd. Exhibits will include mechanical handling equipment, costing and accounting systems, safety equipment, protective clothing, automatic tools, dust-removal systems, and welfare equipment. * * * Bakelite, Ltd., announce that their travelling exhibition of plastics is now on view at Portsmouth (Chamber of Commerce Hall, Swan Street), until March 7th. It will be at Bristol (Royal Hotel) from March 17th to 21st. The "shell mould" casting process is among the exhibits. * * * Hall and Hall, Ltd., Oldfield Works, Hampton, Middlesex, state that they can now supply their "Phiberoid' jointing material to Spec. D.T.D. 776. In addition, they are manufacturing a very complete range of "Hallprene" "O" rings to Spec. B.S.S. 1806/1951; these moulded rings are described, and their action under pressure illustrated, in a leaflet issued by the company. THE INDUSTRY IN BRIEF
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