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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1241.PDF
18 September 1953 397 AT THE HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION A Lecture and Dinner : The Winter Discussion Season Begins TOWARDS the end of Farnborough week, with its elo quent flying displays including those of several British A i°'°r Pianes' f™e the first kcture of the 1953-54 season, and the 7th annual dinner of the Helicopter Association of Great Britain. Given in the library of the Royal Aeronautical Society, on September 11th, the lecture was entitled Problems Associated with Small Helicopter Development, and was de livered by Commandant H. Boris, M.B.E., of the French company Helicop-Air. Chairman of the meeting was Mr E. Mensforth, C.B.E., MA., F.R.Ae.S., president of the Association. Commandant Boris first gave details of his own company's experience in the operation of fight helicopters, on many different types of work. After analysing tfie costs associated with the operation of these machines, he went on to suggest that an ideal small helicopter would consist of a basic "chassis" on which could be built different "bodies" for different roles. The advan tages to be gained from this arrangement were then described from the maintenance aspect and various other operating view points. We hope to print a complete summary of the lecture and subsequent discussion in next week's issue. Later the same evening the Association's 7th annual dinner was held in the Dorchester Hotel. The truly international assembly (it included many eminent helicopter names from Continental Europe and the U.S.A.) was the largest of any such occasion, and the guests of honour were Sir William Farren, C.B., M.B.E., M.A., F.R.S., F.R.Ae.S., president of the Roval Aeronautical Society, Rear-Admiral Caspar John, C.B., Deputy Controller of Supplies (Air), Ministry of Supply, A.V-M. T. M. McEvoy, C.B., C.B.E., who becomes Commandant of the Imperial Defence College on Monday next, Major-General G. S. Thompson, D.S.O., M.B.E., Director of Land/Air Warfare, and Commandant Boris. Proposing the health of the guests, Mr. Mensforth first pointed out that the dinner came between two important aviation occa sions, the S.B.A.C. show and the Anglo-American Conference. The numbers present, he went on, showed that it was fully realized that the Association ("this small bunch of fanatics") had a job to do and was continuing to do it. Education of the public to the use of the helicopter was an important part of this job. Progress during the year had been considerable, the chairman continued. The value of helicopters in an emergency had been clearly shown by their rescue work during the Dutch floods, and the Association hoped that this knowledge would precede the extension of the helicopter's use to similar functions, such as police work, civil defence and ambulance duties. For the British helicopter manufacturers the year had been mainly one of consolidation in design, while, on the operating side, the activities of the pioneering airlines had emphasized the exciting developments ahead. The Association's guests that evening came from all parts of the world and included M. Anselm Verniewe (who gave the season's opening lecture one year ago), and this international aspect was next mentioned by the President. In many countries, he said, other helicopter associations had been founded. In Britain, the support of the Services and of industry remained a valuable and important factor, but he believed that "people who issued specifications for 90-seat (and larger) machines should get some operating experience in with eight-seat machines first." In conclusion, Mr. Mensforth thanked Sir William Farren for the help given to the Association by the Royal Aeronautical Society. Replying on behalf of the guests, Sir William Farren praised the independence of this country's helicopter enthusiasts ("you are even more independent than the aircraft industry") and went on to give details of his own helicopter experience. This experience began in the 1920s but it was only two years ago on a much diverted pilgrimage to Boscombe Down, begun by road and completed by helicopter, that the speaker had fully appreciated the utility of the rotary-wing machine. His interest in helicopters, therefore, was not merely academic. Relations between the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Helicopter Association continued to be very cordial, Sir William went on, and to a great extent the two organizations shared members. The existence of groups such as the Helicopter Asso ciation the speaker believed to be a thoroughly healthy sign, for a specialist interest was not necessarily a narrow interest. How helicopter people managed to deal with this most complicated of all machines and still remain happy, however, he did not know. After mentioning helicopter topics to be discussed at the Anglo-American Conference, the speaker concluded by announc ing that, in March next year the Louis Bleriot lecture would be given in Paris by Mr. Raoul Hafner on a subject associated with helicopters. This would be a very good occasion to let others know what this country was doing in the helicopter field. AIR SAFETY SEMINAR THE fifth air safety seminar organized by Flight Safety Foundation, Inc., took place at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, from September llth-13th. These seminars are held annually (the last was in Bermuda in 1952) and this, the first to be held outside North America, attracted some eighty delegates, of whom nearly half came from the U.S.A. For three days experts in various aspects of air safety discussed informally recent developments in their subjects. Organizations repre sented included the main world airlines, the armed forces of several countries, the civil aeronautics authorities and the manufacturers of aircraft and accessories contributing to safety. Although the scope of "air safety" could well include consideration of the aircraft structural design and of meteorological factors the fifth seminar concentrated on: (i) the avoidance of mid-air collisions by improved lighting and by radar warnings; (ii) the protection of the passenger during a crash or ditching and his survival afterwards; and (iii) the study of the physical and psychological problems of crew and passengers. Mid-air collisions.—Reports on thirty-four mid-air collisions in America have shown that nearly all took place under Visual Flight Rules so that improved visibility of aircraft should be a helpful factor. The limited view from certain civil aeroplanes was criticized and the use of brighter, flashing lights and of surfaces polished or painted with glow paints was recommended. The identification of helicopters, per haps bv rotor blade tip lights, was a special problem. Anti-collision radar is being developed and adopted, delegates were told, while improved air traffic control should reduce the chance of air collisions. It was inevitable that those concerned primarily with safety should welcome increased control and extra airborne apparatus if these lessened the chance of accident, but the prospect of radio for all would not be popular with the pilots of light aircraft, while the sacrifice of the weight of even one passenger for more radar would not appeal to the costs departments of the air lines. Take-off and landing speeds.—Lt. Col. McCann (U.S.A.fr.) described a standardized card supplied to pilots listing certain important speeds computed before take-off for the particular aircraft, runway, air temperature and humidity, weight, etc. Besides listing the opumum speeds for unstick, three- and four-engined climb and emergency approach at various weights, a "line speed" was listed. This was the speed which should be reached before the aeroplane crosses a yellow line painted across the runway, say one-third of the way along. A pilot failing to achieve this speed should stop for investigation. Accidents which had occurred due to engine power loss and wrong wind informa tion could have been avoided by the use of this "line speed." Rescue.—The film produced by Ultra Electric entided Sarah (Search and rescue and homer)—reviewed in Flight some weeks ago—showed the functioning of a lightweight radio beacon carried by a passenger upon which an aircraft or a boat can home. The civil version, weighing only 20 ounces, is fitted to the life-jacket and, being powered by a sea- water cell, comes into action automatically when the passenger finds himself in the water. The Service type can be used for rescue from either land or water. Another film, Evacuation, made for United Air Lines by Mr. Carl Christiansen, showed volunteers abandoning a DC-4 after a simulated emergency landing with the aid of a canvas chute from the rear door. It was found that practice by the crew in their special r61es greatly speeded evacuation, while tests in darkness showed the importance of emergsncy cabin lighting. Mr. Jerome Lederer, director of the Flight Safety Foundation, described the accounts of crashes collected from survivors. These showed the very different human reactions to emergency and prompted a discussion on the advisability of briefing passengers about safety equipment. If passengers know how to use escape windows and life- jackets they can help the stewardess, but, for some, instruction would only cause alarm. Mr. Walter Tye (A.R.B.) described tests in which uninstructed pas sengers attempted with varying degrees of success to fit life-jackets. It was observed that men attempted to wear them so that they buttoned down the front, but women preferred buttoning down the back! Dr. Ross A. McFarland, of the Harvard School of Public Health, introduced a discussion on human factors in air transportation, the subject of his recent book. The need was demonstrated for thorough knowledge of the human senses of hearing, sight and smell and the effects on them of age and various distractions. A. H. Y.
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