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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0928.PDF
84 FLIGHT, 17 July 1953 PARISIAN ROUND-UP . lights, one light appearing in each column of "units," "tens," "hun dreds," and so on. Sadir Carpenter.—Under Ferranti licence this firm makes the R.A.F. gyro gunsight, principally for the Vampire and Mistral. A later version, equipped with a radar-ranging device developed by Sadir Carpenter, is to be standard on the Mystere. Like many other com panies, Sadir have developed an I.C.A.O.-standard V.O.R. system, and the ground station was shown as a model; the operating frequency was the usual 108-112 mc. Sciaky.—The Paris office of this firm of welding-machine makers showed two large items, one a seam welder and the other for high- pressure spot welding. Both were 3-phase machines, the seam welder being a 150 kVA speci men (400 max.), the short-circuit current being 80,000 amperes. The electrode pressure—on standard copper discs—was given as 4,400 lb. Examples of Sciaky production welding were provided by the Fokker company, who showed a Meteor 8 fuselage tank, and Dassault, who use Sciaky welding around the tip tanks of the Ouragan and Mystere. Other applications were the flame tubes of the Atar and Hispano Nene. S.E.C.A.N.—Light-alloy welded pressings—no doubt joined by Sciaky—included an Ouragan tip tank, while a complex job in steel, stabilized at 800 deg C, was the "bullet" fairing cone for the jet-pipe of an early Atar. An unusual light-alloy sheet assembly was the blade for a "centri fugal-induced flow" windmill, and a box in one corner of the stand housed ten complete Mystere underwing tanks, stacked in nesting halves, which can be assembled in the field. S.E.C.A.N, hold world rights to the Lockheed "Speedpak" and the first of 12 for Air France has now been made. S.F.E.N.A.—A novel exhibit was a model missile, which, mounted vertically on its tail, was designed to be stabilized by two photocells mounted along two axes round its nose. The idea was that, if the missile fell to one side, it cut the light to one cell which promptly moved the tail of the model in the same direction—but it failed to work. S.N.C.A.N.—In addition to their models of complete aircraft, the Nord group of the Nationalized industry snowed a number of plastic parts, such as are fitted to the Nord 2501 transport. In particular, there were polyester-resin access doors, junction box and radio-compass dome, and phenol-cellulose doors and panels. Sopos.—A wide variety of military aircrew helmets was on this stand, including some hard helmets which appeared to be an improvement on the classic U.S.A.F. P.i or Lombard. Worn over a thin cloth skull cap, with flat headphones, these crash helmets were of a fibreglass-type substance, and one could jump on them safely. Another range of helmets had a similar foundation, but a leather finish and, if required, could incorporate telephone ear-pieces, which could be accurately adjusted to the wearer's head to cut out extraneous noise. All helmets utilized a carbon microphone mounted on a cantilever boom, of the type long standardized by the U.S. Navy. AUTOMATIC SEAT-BELT RELEASE A YEAR ago Flight, June 27th, 1952) we described a device patented by Mr. J. R. Sturge Whiting, of 7a West Street, Reading, Berks, for providing automatic release of a passenger-seat lap-strap after the initial impact resulting from a crash, so that the passenger could be quickly got out by rescuers, or, even if only partially conscious, could make his escape without being troubled to release the belt fastening. The invention, we have since learned, aroused considerable interest among operators both here and abroad. Now Mr. Sturge Whiting has produced another fitting (likewise the subject of a patent application), this time designed to release automatically the belt fitted to a rearward-facing seat. It is shown in the accompanying drawing, which is intended to illustrate the general principle rather than to detail the exact construction that would be dictated by development considerations. Each side of the seat-back is hinged by a small fitting consisting of an inner barrel welded to the lower section of the tubular structure and, rotatable over a short travel about it, an outer barrel welded to the upper section. Normally, a rigid assembly is maintained by a suitably stressed shear-pin passing through both barrels. In the event of an accident imposing a heavy g-load on the seat-back the pin will shear, allowing the seat-back to tilt an inch or so backwards (i.e. in the direction of flight, since the seat is rearward-facing). A stop-pin in a suitably shaped slot limits the movement to the small travel necessary to effect the next phase of operation. This second phase depends on the fact that the belt anchorage at each end is by a ball-ended member which passes through a pair of triangular slots cut in the two barrels, and normally retained by the apexes of the slots, as shown in the illustration. When the pin shears, and the outer barrel moves, the two slots come into full register, and the ball-end is thereby freed, so that the belt is immediately released. We have raised with the inventor the question of safety during any violent movements of the aircraft which might occur (e.g. after a belly landing or a "glancing" crash) subsequent to the initial impact. His argument on this aspect is: "After the first General arrangement and details of the seat-belt release described above. SHEAR PIN shock of a crash in which there may be more than one impact (by no means typical), the safety-belt has no further duty to perform and has instantly become a danger to the passenger. With a backward-facing seat the only factor calling for belt support after impact would be renewed acceleration during the split seconds between the first and subsequent shocks, and this could take place only if the machine again became airborne under power long enough to bring the passenger forward from his position pressed against the seat-back—an impossible hypothesis in the infinitesimal time available." Mr. Sturge Whiting adds that, following American comments on his original belt-release device, the new project is also intended to be used, if required, on forward-facing seats and in conjunction with that invention. This, he says, would afford "a release action in all directions of g-load except the directly lateral, which would be a most rare occurrence in a forward-moving vehicle out of control." SOME RUSSIAN HISTORY (concluded from page 80) afterwards in his little book The Rocket into Interplanetary Space without even having heard of Ziolkovski! Chapter nine, the last, is headed, "Jukovski and Soviet Science." This claims that many of Jukovski's theories have been wholly or "in part plagiarised" by foreign scientists. Jukovski, it is claimed, "had pointed out that a helicopter rotor had both crosswise and lengthwise forces and movements and gave formula for calcu lating these." These early works of Jukovski were developed by "Glauert in 1926" and "Locke in 1928," with the result that "abroad many aerodynamic engineers now ascribe theories of the helicopter rotor to Glauert and Locke." Whilst "highly prizing the work of the world's great discoverers Galileo, Copernica and Darwin, it is the duty of all Soviet scien tists, as they study the classical heritage of the past, to strengthen the authority and the individuality of the science of the Socialist Soviet Fatherland." Commenting on the war, the book states: "During the war the aircraft of Stalin's Air Force were faster and more manoeuvrable and had much heavier and more reliable armament in comparison with the aircraft of the enemy in the West and Far East." "This superiority was due to the sound foundation laid by Jukovski and the high quality of the ensuing scientific discoveries." The upper crust of contemporary Russian aircraft designers are given as "Ilyushin, Mikoyan, Lavochkin, Yakolev, Kleenov and Schetzvov." "These and other followers of Jukovski create new types of fast jets which carry on their wings the undying glory to the father of Russian aviation, Professor N. Jukovski." Owing to the Russian method of phrasing sentences, it is diffi cult to comment on the general style of the book. Much of it reads smoothly, but occasionally the clumsy wording spoils the rhythm. The paragraphs dealing with the various claims of Russian "firsts" in aeronautics lack the spontaneity of much of the rest of the book and one suspects that these have been carefully vetted and re-written by a higher authority than the author. A feature boring to the Western reader is the continued repeti tion of idolatrous phrases. One cannot imagine French or British National Servicemen settling down and reading a book of this nature. But perhaps this is just one of the many things contribut ing to the great Russian enigma.
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