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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1662.PDF
816 FLIGHT, 18 December 1953 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. Prestwick v. Renfrew I WAS much interested in your report (December 4th) of what has now become the annual slanging match on the respective merits of Prestwick and Renfrew as the centre for aviation in Scotland. According to those who favour Prestwick, it would appear that they have only one opponent in Scotland, and that all members of the travelling public would welcome a move to Prestwick. I can assure you that this is not the case. Indeed, many would prefer to see Renfrew developed to the status of an international airport, and Prestwick put on a reserve basis for diversions, etc. Of course, the reply will be that (1) Renfrew's runways are inadequate for the larger aircraft it would have to accept; (2) the fog question; and (3) the built-up area around Renfrew. As far as the runways are concerned, they could be improved and a third could be constructed. It is true that a road diversion might be necessary but as this has been done at Prestwick it surely is not impossible at Renfrew. The question of fog is always one that arises when the case for Prestwick is being pushed. However, it is a fact that they do have fog, and there have been occasions when Renfrew has been open and Prestwick has been clamped down. The record of Renfrew as regards fog is not nearly so bad as we have been led to believe and, with the nation becoming "smog"- conscious, it is likely that the future trend will be for even less than at present. As for the last question, one need only point to the main airport for Berlin. The fact that it is built-up did not prevent its preference to Gatow as the international terminal for that city. Finally, no one would wish to add a rail journey of at least one hour to their flying time, merely for the honour of using ". . . the safest and finest and most natural airport on this side of the Atlantic." Glasgow, W.l. THOMAS KAY BLACK. Air Whaling FURTHER to John Grierson's letter in your issue of December 4th concerning the figure of 15,500 blue whales which it was hoped would be taken by the floating factory Norhval this coming season in the Antarctic, it would seem that there was a misinterpretation in the original quotation of this number. The total catch for the 1953-54 season, for all expeditions, is limited by the international whaling commission to 15,500 blue- whale units, a unit being equivalent to one blue whale, two fin whales, or three sei or humpback whales. This limitation, which is rigidly enforced, has the same aim in view as the restriction on the killing of undersized and lactating whales mentioned by Mr. Grierson, namely, the preservation of balean whale stocks in the Antarctic. Camberley, Surrey. ALAN GREEN. Pilots—Service and Civil IF I may be allowed to refer to the correspondence and articles published in your Journal some weeks ago on the subject of careers for civil pilots, I would like to join John Bishop in deploring attempts to belittle the ability of Royal Air Force pilots to fly civil aircraft. My argument, however, is based on rather different grounds from his. Wars are not won only by heroes. They are won by ordinary men who in their normal lives would never be expected to show any high degree of courage, but who, under the right leadership, produce this quality when required from the latent source within them. That the Royal Air Force was able to contribute so vitally to the winning of World War II was due to many years devoted to cultivating just this kind of leadership. Courage has many facers, the most important of which is self- control in the face of danger. In spite of the ceaseless efforts to make civil flying 100 per cent safe, dangerous situations can and do arise; and unless the pilot is able to exert the necessary self-control in such circumstances he may do the wrong thing and cause disaster. It is not, after all, a pilot's instinct for self- preservation which counts, but his aptitude for it; and however high his technical qualifications, if he cannot keep his head when confronted with danger, he and those who fly with him are unlikely to survive. It will not be enough to guarantee a civil pilot a satisfactory career, though this, by giving him freedom from domestic anxiety, will help enormously in making him efficient at his job. He must be provided with inspiring leadership by men who know how to draw from him such courage as may be needed to cope both with sudden crises and the more persistent conditions of potential danger. , I feel, therefore, that it is wrong in principle to deprive civil aviation of a leavening of pilots versed in the quality of leader ship for which the Royal Air Force is renowned, and without which no flying undertaking, civil or military, can hope to succeed. Purley, Surrey. C. B. GAVIN-ROBINSON. Instruments and Vibration WE have read with interest the article on instrument design in your issue of November 27th, but feel that your con tributor's remarks regarding the jet-engine era resulting in favourable effects on instrument life give considerably less than the whole story. It is not only the vibration transmitted from the engines which the instruments have to withstand, and while it is true that in jet-engined aircraft the severity of the vibration at moderate cruising speeds in still air may well be less, under severe opera tional conditions it has been found to be considerably worse. This point is particularly referred to in both the R.A.E. publication Technical Memo No. Des. 1, and the corresponding British Standard Specification No. G.100. We do fully endorse the statement in your own introduction to the article that America's instrument industry has been responsible for some notable developments and would suggest that not the least of these has been in connection with improved anti-vibration mounts to protect instruments under these more severe conditions. London, S.W.I. Cementation (Muffelite), Ltd., A. S. BYTHWAY, Managing Director. [The relevant section of B.S.S. G.100, referred to by our correspondent, contains the following passage: "With the intro duction of jet-turbine and jet-turbine-propeller power units early subjective opinions led to the belief that some relaxation of vibration test requirements would be possible, particularly at the lower end of the frequency range. Subsequent vibration measurements, however, have shown that, although there may be considerable reduction in vibration level at moderate cruising speeds in still air, this is not the case during the more severe operational conditions (e.g., high speed flight and manoeuvres). In the more severe conditions, the amplitudes have reached, and in a few cases exceeded, the levels now quoted. Such high ampli tudes have not been confined to any particular pan of the frequency range and no relaxation of the test amplitude/ frequency curves has therefore been made for jet-powered air craft from the evidence at present available"—Ed.] FORTHCOMING EVENTS Dec. 18-19. Institution of Production Engineers: Conference: "Problems of Aircraft Production" (at Southampton University). Jan. 2. British Interplanetary Society: "Cosmic Radiation Hazards in Space Flight," by Dr. L. R. Shepherd, Ph.D. Jan. 6. Institute of Metals: Informal discussion, "Lubricants for Non- ferrous Metal Working." Jan. 7. R.Ae.S. Main Lecture: "The Fun of Finding Out in Flying," by Sir Leonard Bairstow, C.B.E., F.R.S., Hon.F.R.Ae.S. Jan. 9. British Interplanetary Society (North-west Branch): "Our First Goal—the Moon," by P. A. Moore, F.R.A.S. Jan. 15. Institute of Navigation: "Methods of Air and Surface Naviga tion," by W/C. E. W. Anderson, D. H. Sadler, Lt. Cdr. R. B. Michell, R.N., and G/C. E. Fennessy. Jan. 16. British Interplanetary Society (Midlands Branch): Brains Trust. Jan. 16. British Interplanetary Society (Provisional Yorkshire Branch): Short paper evening and Brains Trust. Jan. 18. Photogrammetric Society: "New Stereoscopic Plotting Instru ment for Aerial Photographs," by Professor E. H. Thompson. Jan. 21. R.Ae.S. Main Lecture: First Mitchell Memorial Lecture, by J, Smith, C.B.E., F.R.Ae.S. (at Southampton). Jan. 22. Helicopter Association: Brains Trust. Jan. 23. Aircraft Recognition Society: Seventh All-England Recog nition Contest. Jan. 23. British Interplanetary Society (Provisional Western Branch): "Development of Astronautics in the Next 25 Years," by E. Burgess, F.R.A.S. R.Ae.S. Branch Fixtures (to Jan. 11).—Dec. 18, Birmingham, films. Dec. 21, Brough, Wright Jubilee Dinner and film. Jan. 4, Bristol, "Review of Developments in Aircraft Equipment," by G, H. Dowty. Jan, 6, Belfast, joint meeting with Queen's University Film Society: Luton, Wilbur Wright Centenary film; Brough, "New Develop ments in Aircraft Production Engineering," by Professor J. V. Connolly; Chester, "Guided Weapons," by D. J. Lyons. Jan. 11, Birmingham, joint meeting with Institute of Rubber.
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