FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1491.PDF
FLIGHT, 13 November 1953 645 AIRCRAFT INTELLIGENCE Great Britain Gloster Meteor F.8. To meet widespread criticism of the rearward field of view from standard Mk 8s the hundreds of aircraft now in service are being retrospectively modified with a new canopy which is wholly transparent, It needs quite exten sive rebuilding, for the rails and sealing system are quite different; a photograph appears below. Hawker Hurricane. At the foot of this page is a photograph of LF 363, the last Hurricane still in a serviceable condition in the Royal Air Force. Lack of spares is making LF 363 increasingly non-standard; in the photograph it is fitted with Spitfire main wheels and an Oxford tailwheel, and we hear that other changes have been necessary inside the aircraft. signed by Michael Stroukoff, formerly of the Chase Aircraft company. The latter company is now owned by Kaiser Motors, with whom Stroukoff is no longer asso ciated, and the U.S.A.F. contract for 160 C-123Bs has long been the subject of controversy, Now it is learned that the award has been made to Fairchild, who have been affected by a "stretch-out" in C-119G production at their plant at Hagers- town, Md. Production of the C-123B will begin at that plant next summer. Only one C-123B is yet flying. Convair XB-58. This supersonic delta- wing bomber is to be powered by four very large General Electric turbojets. The bogie landing gear will retract into the wing. Termed "Hustler" by Convair, it is one of the first aircraft to be built under a new The Douglas JD-1 and the Convair Lb-30 Liberator are both basking in the sun at Nice. The Liberator is the personal transport of Emperor Boo Dai of Viet Nam; the final two letters of the registration no doubt signify the distinguished ownership of the aircraft. system whereby the primary contractors (Convair, in this case) can sub-contract most of the aircraft systems to other firms of their own choice. Previously, all the armament, electronics, and similar equip ment was either Government-furnished or allocated to firms by the U.S.A.F. Convair have put out development of the autopilot to Bendix-Eclipse, and the navigation equipment to Sperry. But, following failure of talks with General Electric, the armament—originally to be a G.E.C. responsibility—is likely to go either to Emerson or to Sylvania. The XB-58 prototype is to be built at Fort Worth; it will resemble a greatly-enlarged F-102. Douglas A3D. Still unnamed, this twin turbojet carrier-based bomber is now in full production at El Segundo. The first machine off the line flew from Los Angeles International Airport to Edwards A.F.B. last month. A special variant of the U.S.A.F. version (the B-66) is to be built in large numbers at Tulsa, Oklahoma, where B-47s are now made. Douglas JD-l. It is not widely known that a considerable number of Douglas B-26 (then A-26) Invaders was supplied to the U.S. Navy in 1944-6. Many are still in use on duties which include testing of experi mental gear and missiles, calibration of radio and radar installations and develop ment of air sea and air ground techniques. The JD-1 above has an uncommon trans parent nose, behind which can be seen a centimetric radar scanner. It was photo graphed this summer at Nice. Netherlands Fokker 5-14. The S-14 Machtrainer (one word, apparently) is steadily progressing, although it has no NATO backing. A batch of 20 for the R.N.A.F. is under con struction and 50 others are to be built at Fokker's new Brazilian plant. The first prototype is now flying with a Nene installed and with a new Dowry under carriage and revised air brakes. With the Nene, weight is 12,250 lb and top speed 516 m.p.h. Canada Avro Canada CF-105. Reports have been current concerning a number of unorthodox fighter designs emanating from Avro Canada including, as Flight readers know, persistent rumours of a "flying saucer." The latest, quoted by Aviation Week, concerns a delta-wing machine, designated CF-105. The project is stated to have been financed by the Canadian Government, who have "not decided when to go ahead." The Hawker Siddeley Group are not yet prepared to confirm, or deny, the report. United States Chase C-123B Avitruc. This twin- Double Wasp assault transport was de- The Meteor F.8 is of the latest pattern, the final batches of which are now being delivered from the Gloster factory. The Hurricane was originally built as a Mk 2c, but is now a "one- off" type. Both machines are referred to above.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
