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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1125.PDF
FLIGHT, 4 September 1953 277 BRITISH AIRCRAFT WITH competition at its keenest ever it is small wonder that Farnborough observers will include some of the shrewdest technicians and hardest-headed business men in the world. People of this sort are not accustomed to jump to conclusions on superficial evidence, and they are not to be swayed by facile sales talk or flashy demon strations. They are seekers after hard facts, and upon their ability to amass and analyse these facts may depend the expenditure of millions of pounds, world prestige and even, in the ultimate, the military security or commercial solvency of a nation. For such men even the assiduously planned arrangements which are so characteristic of Farnborough are still not wholly adequate. For one thing, it is not possible to demon strate visually all the essential qualities of an aircraft; nor can the bulkiest and most graphic sales brochure supply the entire balance of the information sought. Only personal discus sion and enquiry, for which the marquees, caravans and enclosures of Farnborough are convenient and pleasant settings, will satisfy such questing minds—pending (we may hope) final business with contract and cheque-book. There can be few Farnborough visitors, of course, who will be following only a solitary line of enquiry—who will not at least take a lively interest, even if it is not of the strictly business kind, in the remarkable variety of aircraft displayed. Thus, we may hope that the annual review which follows—of 60-odd types of aircraft this year—will prove as companionable as ever as a show-guide and, as in former years, a pointer to British progress. The small number of wholly new types of aircraft is not a sign that our designers have proved dilatory in their efforts. True, the Hawker Hunter and Supermarine Swift inter- cepters will be remembered, in their earlier forms, from previous years; but, as now demonstrated, each is an even better flying machine and a more formidable weapon. The same is true of the all-weather Gloster Javelin and D.H.I 10—indisputably in a class by themselves. Among the jet bombers—the Avro Vulcan, Handley Page Victor, Vickers Valiant and English Electric Canberra—the Victor is the only newcomer; but so little information has been disclosed concerning the capabilities of these four types that each one remains something of a dark horse. It is, of course, no secret that the de Havilland Comet and Vickers Viscount airliners have set entirely new standards for commercial air craft; nor, happily, is it treasonable to suggest that the Bristol Britannia bids fair to parallel their achievements. Within the purlieus of the Static Exhibition will be found models of things to come; and here—in response to particular lines of enquiry—spokesmen will doubtless display those curious, clam-like proclivities which are evidence of even more intriguing projects ahead. Described hereafter are machines for most types of civil or military work. It will be seen that helicopters have not been segregated, for they are now an established class of aircraft, capable of challenging the fixed-wing species in many fields of activity—and even of surpassing them in efficiency. The research and development machines by no means represent the total, for many other flying^test-beds continue to play less spectacular, but none the less essential, roles. The Commonwealth has its own sub-section, but we have not seen fit to include special versions of British aircraft built abroad, such as the Martin B-57A development of the Canberra, for night interdiction. By the same token we make no mention of foreign airframes adapted to take British or Commonwealth power plants, the leading examples of which are the Australian-built Avon-Sabre and Canadair-built Orenda-Sabre. It will, we think, be agreed that the ranks of British aircraft, 1953, stand in no need of such recruits as these, admirable in quality though they are.
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