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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0332.PDF
330 FLIGHT, 13 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. Fog Dispersal T HE present method of airfield fog-dispersal, Fido, is very inefficient. Experiments to reduce the cost of operation may have some degree of success, but the statistics of war-time use give about 6,000 gallons per landing. This may be somewhat reduced, and cheaper oils used, but the cost will always be high. When the system is switched off the fog usually closes in again. Substitution of turbojets for the present pipe burners, as sug gested in the letter from Mr. Patrick Johnson (Flight, Decem ber 19th, 1952), might be a step in the right direction, for, although convection currents are set up with Fido, greater turbulence should occur with this method. Sufficient turbulence, if it could be induced, would by itself prevent formation of fog. Three or four years ago the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Silsoe, Beds., was experi menting with a helicopter rotor, revolving slowly on a vertical shaft driven, I believe, by a 10-h.p. engine. The intention was to prevent damage to fruit blossom, by producing too much turbulence for frost formation in the vicinity of an orchard. Fog, of course, is a much larger problem, but is basically similar in that sufficient turbulence will overcome the inversion which causes the fog to persist, and will therefore disperse it. A combination of the turbojet and rotor methods to give large "windmills" with engines at the blade tips, similar to the rotors of Westland projects W.85 an<^ W.90, would produce both heat and turbulence. Whether vertical or horizontal mounting would pro duce the best results is interesting and might depend upon the thickness of the fog layer, but we are aiming at a vertical deplace- ment, and a suitable combination of both might produce the desired result. The amount of equipment needed to prevent formation— not merely to disperse the fog when formed—would probably be quite prohibitive. But London has over fifty foggy days per year; and although that number includes, by definition, days when the visibility falls below a range of one kilometre, considerable incon venience is caused, and a great deal of money and a number of lives lost j intensive and even expensive preventive measures, therefore, are fully justified. If we have a supercooled fog (which, admittedly, is not common) the simplest method of dispersal is, of course, to swing a piece of "dry ice" on the end of a string (this is similar to the technique of seeding supercooled clouds to produce rain). The possibilities of a winter occupation for ice-cream peddlers must be obvious; and under suitable conditions even the police might be issued with dry ice and string. M. J. CATHERWOOD. Cambridge. Aircrew Training I READ, with more than academic interest, the article on "Aircrew Training," by F. A. Chapman (February 13th) and I would like to put forward a few ideas I have on the subject. The scheme I have in mind is that a fund be set up by the Treasury, the operating companies and/or the aircraft industry, from which the prospective commercial pilot could borrow the money to enable him to get his "ticket." First he must have obtained his Private Pilots' Licence; how he gets it is his own worry. The fund should be controlled by G.A.P.A.N. and B.A.L.P.A. as they are in the best position to know the right recruits. The money in each case should be limited to £600, i.e. 200 hours at £3 per hour, but the flying clubs would probably give a reduced rate for a "block of hours," and also help out with the technical subjects, as at this stage the main idea is not to get a Flight Navigator's Licence, but to obtain a Commercial Licence and maybe even an Instrument Rating. Now the pilot has become the proud holder of a brand new Commercial Pilots' Licence and is faced with the problem of getting a job and to pay back the loan, within, say, six years. There are a few jobs going which should be reserved for pilots with a limited amount of hours, and I think the only way to reserve such jobs would be to limit the salary to say, £500 p.a. I refer, of course, to joy-riding and army-co-operation flying. After a few hours' more experience the pilot could do simple charter work in V.F.R. conditions, then I.F.R. and so on. He can then graduate to the larger aircraft as a first officer with a Group II rating and then a Group I rating, and so progress gradually up the scale, till he is flying as a senior captain on world routes on the latest types of aircraft. Service flying and Civil flying are two different occupations, and should only combine in the event of war. The scheme suggested by Mr. Chapman would solve one prob lem, that of the flying training schools about to be closed down; but to my knowledge these schools were more on Service lines than Civil and I am sure die R.A.F. knows how to look after itself. A large number of the 300 redundant instructors do not hold Commercial licences; if they have, then they will have no diffi culty in getting a job, for there is a pilot-shortage .Or are they finding out there is not quite the shortage the daily Press would have us believe ? Some of these instructors also knew that to be a Civil pilot means invariably living in the London area (costlier), with irregular hours and meals (resulting in stomach trouble) and being away from their families for long or short periods. I know one or two who gave me that reason for not taking a proper Civil flying job. Wallington, Surrey. WILLIAM C. LOCKHART. H.P. History W ITH reference to the article on the o/roo and 0/400 by Mr. J. M. Bruce, the following notes may be of interest to your readers: (1) Most of the 0/7S used by H.P. Transport, Ltd., were allocated an H.P. number as well as the normal civil registration, i.e., G-EAAE was H.P. 16; the ist 0/7 was H.P.i and flew on July 5th, 1919. (2) The 0/7 used in China was H.P.6. (3) The 0/7 G-EAKE was used to visit Norway. (4) The aircraft used in South Africa, at Wynberg Aerodrome, were G-IAAA and G-IAAB (also H.P.9); H.P.7 and H.P.8 were also used to advertise "Commando Brandy." (5) Some of the American-produced 0/400S were assembled in this country, at Ford Junction in Sussex, and at Shaw and Oldham in Lancashire. Ten machines had been assembled in Lancashire by November 17th, 1918. London, N.12. DONALD C. CLAYTON. [We take this opportunity to correct three printing errors which occurred in Mr. Bruce's article: On p. 257 "No. 61 (Naval) Sqn." should have read "No. 16 (Naval) Sqn." and "No. 125 Sqn." should have been "No. 215 Sqn."; on p. 258 "No. 21 Sqn." should have read "No. 214 Sqn."—Ed.] T.V. Film Inaccuracies M AY I comment on the observations of Mr. J. Austen (Flight, February 27th) re the authenticity of the aircraft shown "strafing" lifeboats in the Victory at Sea series, Episode 9, "The Magnetic North." The aircraft were, in fact, Blenheims, and the shots taken of machines passing overhead afterwards were of Ansons. Here are some more instances of "fake" during the afore mentioned series, plus a few inaccuracies: Douglas Dauntless shooting up Pearl Harbour, Beaufighters attacking U.S. marines at Guadalcanal; Thunderbolts described as Mohawks, Thunder bolts shooting down Hellcats. "S.M.79 operating within the Arc tic circle" was, in fact, taken during a Mediterranean action, the same picture being shown later when the enemy were attacking a Malta convoy. There was a shot of a Wellington attacking our beach-head at Salerno, and so many more such "howlers" that it became impossible to keep check. However, press on regardless. Fleetwood, Lanes. J. ATKINSON, 29/Q.2, R.O.C. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Mar. 14. British Interplanetary Society (Birmingham): "Artificial Satellites," by H. E. Ross. Mar. 14. The Cranfield Society: A.G.M. and Dinner. Mar. 18. Aircraft Recognition Society: Meeting: Guest Speaker, Prof. A. A. Hall, M.A., F.R.Ae.S. Mar. 19. R.Ae.S.: Sixth Louis Bleriot Lecture: "Making Commercial Aircraft Pay," by General Guy du Merle. Mar. 20. Institute of Navigation: "Dead Reckoning in Space," by Dr. Samuel Herrick. Mar. 21. Air Britain: Annual General Meeting. Mar. 21. British Interplanetary Society (Manchester): "Establishment of a Lunar Base," by R. A. Smith. Mar. 25. R.Ae.S. Graduates' and Students' Section: "Convertible Air craft," by J. Shapiro, Dipl. Ing., A.F.R.Ae.S. Mar.24-26. Institute of Metals: Annual General Meeting and (Mar. 25) All-day Symposium on "Control of Quality in the Production of Wrought Non-ferrous Metals." Mar. 27. R.Ae.S.: Full-day Discussion on "Fatigue". Mar.27-31. ASLIB Aeronautical Information Group: 1953 Conference, Cran field. Mar. 31. R.Ae.S. Section Lecture: "Experimental Work on Boundary- layer Flow." by W. E. Gray. Mar. 31. R.Ae.C: Film Show. Apr. 11. British Interplanetary Society (Manchester): Conversazione and Film Show. Apr. 15. Aircraft Recognition Society: Annual General Meeting. Apr. 18. British Interplanetary Society: Film Show. Apr. 22. R.Ae.S. Graduates' and Students' Section: "Accident Investiga tion," by H. Caplan, D.C.Ae.. Crad.R.Ae.S.
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