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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0747.PDF
12 June 1953 741 THOROUGHLY SOUND BARRIER: The net depicted in the act of arrest ing a U.S.A.F. Sabre has been developed to allow damaged jet fighters to use small emergency landing-strips. In the top view a Sabre's nose oleo has penetrated a "tennis net" barrier, thereby triggering an arresting cable which springs up to catch the main undercarriage legs (bottom view). The gear has been developed by the Far East Air Force's 6,400th Maintenance Group at a cost of $14,000, and has already saved ten Sabres, valued at $240,000 each—"and possibly," sagely adds a news agency caption, "the lives of ten pilots on which there is no price." Air Display being held at Salisbury Airport on the 13th and 14th' Military aircraft due to appear include 12 Venoms of 266 Squadron; a Canberra, a Meteor NF XI, two Hastings, two Valettas and a Lincoln of the R.A.F.; three Vampires of the S.A.A.F.; and aircraft from the Rhodesian Air Training Group. Over 600 flying club members and private owners have been invited to attend, and races and other competitions will be held between the visiting aircraft. Acceptances have already been received from Kenya and the Union of South Africa. Other items include a glider aerobatic display and a crop-dusting demonstration. In conclusion, the Aero-Club d'ltalia is holding its air tour of Sicily on the 13th and 14th, and the Aero-Club de Tangier is holding its annual rally on the latter day. Air Marshal Curtis for Avro Canada IT has been announced that Air Marshal W. A. Curtis, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.C. and bar, E.D., Ll.D., has been elected vice- chairman of Avro Canada, Ltd. Speaking of the appointment, Sir Roy Dobson (chairman) said that it was most appropriate that the new director, after an out standing military career, should be resuming business with Avro Canada because, if anyone could be said to have "fathered" the CF-100, which the company was now producing, it was the air marshal. Born in 1893, Air Marshal Curtis joined the Canadian Army in 1915, learned to fly at his own expense, and in 1916 transferred to the R.N.A.S., in which he had a distinguished career as a fighter pilot, winning the D.S.C. and Bar. He was invalided home in 1918, and thereafter served for eight years in the Army whilst retaining a place in the Canadian Air Force Reserve. Thus by this time he had already worn the uniforms of all three Services. Subsequently he became a founder of the Toronto Flying Club, and helped to organize No. no Auxiliary Squadron, R.C.A.F., later becoming its CO. In 1938 he was promoted to wing com mander in charge of the auxiliary squadrons at Toronto, Hamilton and London, and in 1939 was assigned to Regular duty. From November, 1941, to January, 1944, he served abroad as the Deputy C-in-C. of the R.C.A.F. overseas, and later was Air Member for Air Staff and for Air Plans at R.C.A.F. Headquarters in Ottawa, before succeeding Air Marshal Robert Leckie as C.A.S. in 1947. He retired on January 31st, 1953, having seen the R.C.A.F. through a critical period of planning and expansion during the cold war. More About The Jindivik THE Australian-designed Jindivik pilotless target aircraft, details of which were given in Flight on May 8th, 1953, and April 25th, 1952, is now known to carry remote-control equip ment developed mainly in the United Kingdom by the Royal Air craft Establishment, in conjunction with the General Electric Company; G.E.C. have also manufactured the equipment. The autopilot is an R.A.E. design, manufactured by Elliott Brothers (London), Ltd.; telemetering equipment is likewise R.A.E.- developed and is manufactured by McMichael Radio, Ltd. Take-off is effected from a tricycle trolley, the nosewheel of which is steered by a gyro-controlled system. The aircraft is mounted on three trolley arms in such a way that it has a limited degree of freedom in pitch about the two rear arms, which locate on fittings under each wing. The front arm, positioned in a fitting (under the fuselage) which permits about 3m relative vertical travel between stops, is restrained by a tension rod between a release hook on the arm and the main trolley structure. When the pre-set take-off speed is attained an electrical circuit is closed by a contacting A.S.I, in the aircraft. Up-elevator is automatically applied to adjust the aircraft to the unstick attitude demanded by the autopilot; and when the relative nose-up rotation between air- Air Marshal Curtis. craft and trolley is nearing its limit a further circuit is made between contacts on the front trolley arm and the fuselage fitting. The hook in the front arm is released and all three arms are then free to fall away, with bungee assistance. Simultaneously, brakes are applied on the rear wheels of the trolley. Should it be desired to arrest the take-off run, the brakes are applied by an actuator as soon as the "fuel off" signal is sent to the aircraft. A small amount of flap is applied for take-off by manually depressing the flaps until they lock in the required position against a spring-loaded strut. As soon as the hinge moment reaches a preset value, the lock is withdrawn and the flaps return to neutral. Release from the trolley takes place quite rapidly, and photo graphs from a high-speed cine record show that 0.8 sec after the contacting A.S.I, has operated the Jindivik is several feet above the trolley, which is already falling astern. The landing is made on a single central skid, which has an oleo- pneumatic shock-absorber capable of absorbing energy from a rate of descent of i4ft/sec. Prior to the aircraft being mounted on the trolley, air is exhausted from the strut and the skid is locked up. When the "undercarriage down" signal is received, air is passed from a ground-filled high-pressure bottle through a reduc ing valve to the up-lock and thence to the strut. This forces the skid down and leaves the strut set to act in its shock-absorbing role. At the same time, through a tension rod between the strut and a lever on the flap torque tube, the flaps are depressed fully. On touch-down the skid is depressed and the flap angle is reduced accordingly, thus reducing the tendency of the aircraft to bounce. Photographs show that, notwithstanding the full I4ft/sec rate of descent, the Jindivik remains firmly on the ground. Control for landing is handled by two men. One is located at the end of the overshoot area to control direction, and the other, who controls elevation, is adjacent to the desired touch-down point, about 300ft from the strip. For take-off the Jindivik is in the hands of this second operator, though, since the sequence is virtually automatic, he has only minor corrections to make. Tournament Cavalcade DIFFERING greatly from any R.A.F. representation in the past, the main item contributed by the Service to this year's Royal Tournament (in progress at Earls Court, London, until 'June 27th) is a "pageant of progress since 1911." Presented by Maintenance Command, it demonstrates advances in aircraft servicing methods since the days of the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. Personnel wearing the R.E. uniform are seen with a Bleriot monoplane and a Talbot touring car of the same period. The next phase, 1914-18, is represented by men in R.F.C. and R.N.A.S. uniforms working on a Sopwith Camel, with a Crossley tender and car, and a P. and M. motor-cycle combination in attendance; the inter-war years are illustrated by a Bristol Fighter, Leyland lorry, Trojan van and Hucks starter ; for World War II there is a Hurricane 2C drawn by a Fordson tractor, a typical "scramble" scene being staged; and the final episode, for today and the future, shows the servicing of a delta-wing F.D.i (in replica) by a Bedford 950-gallon pressure refueller, David Brown tractors and a Thornycroft Mk 5 fire tender. This display also demonstrates arming with air-to-air guided weapons.
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