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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0013.PDF
1 January 1954 5 Each takes up a particular line of development and relates his experiences of the past. And, personally, we found that the best part of the film was the insight which it affords into the character and personality of each of these great men who have helped to make American aviation what it is. Of the material itself, we are unhesitant in recording that it does not quite match the Shell film in its properly related cover age of development. Rather too much time appeared to be taken up with setting the scene; and the whole film lacks any under current of cohesion which, in the British film, traces the steady path of progress. And, of course, there are no Comets. In spite of its reduced appeal to British audiences We Saw It Happen is a fine achievement, and we are glad to meet, so to speak, famous men who had previously been no more than a name, in most cases. No arrangements have yet been made for showing the film publicly, but a copy is in this country. Societies desirous of borrowing the film should communicate with Major J. R. Patterson, assistant to the president, United Aircraft Export Corporation, 3-5, Warwick House Street, London, S.W.I. Captain Majendie Resigns THE resignation from B.O.A.C. of Captain A. M. Majendie, flight captain of the Corporation's Comet fleet, was announced last week. He is to leave the Corporation in March, to become liaison officer in the research department of Smith's Aircraft Instruments Ltd. Sir Miles Thomas, chairman of B.O.A.C., is reported as saying: "Captain Majendie is leaving with our best wishes. Future aircraft will reflect the experience he has gained with us." Captain Majendie has been with B.O.A.C. since 1946, before which he served with the R.A.F. Last January he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air. Patrick Johnson Leaves Power Jets LAST week we made brief reference to the retirement of Mr. W. E. P. Johnson from the Board of Power Jets (Research and Development), Ltd., and it is now possible to give further details. The Board state that they have reluctantly agreed to his relinquishing the joint managing directorship; he leaves at his own request, in order that he may be able to devote more time to his work as a technical con sultant. Power Jets will continue to have his assistance in a con sultative capacity. Mr. T. G. Hicks, who has been joint man aging director with Mr. Johnson since May 1st, 1953, becomes managing director with effect from January 1st. Patrick John son was associated with Sir Frank Whittle from 1929 on wards in the patenting, and later in the development, of gas tur bines. Having qualified as a patent agent in 1925, whilst serv ing in the R.A.F., he then became an instructor at the Central Flying School, and was con spicuous both for aerobatic flying and his pioneer work in blind flying. On leaving the Service, he practised as a patent agent but was called up again in 1939. He was seconded to Power Jets, Ltd., in 1940 and in one capacity or another has remained with that company and its successor ever since, being appointed managing director in 1948 and joint man aging director in May 1953. He is also a member of the National Research and Development Corporation. Mr. Hicks qualified as a patent agent in 1935 and was engaged in private practice until 1939. During the war, he served in the technical branch of the R.A.F.V.R., first as an armament officer in Bomber Command and then from 1943 onwards in Burma, where he became Deputy Command Armament Officer. In 1946 he joined the patents Branch of the Ministry of Supply, working at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, where he was responsible for the consideration, for purposes of patent protec tion, of all R.A.E. inventions other than those connected with electrical, radio and navigational instruments. Mr. Hicks joined Power Jets in May 1950 as assistant manager and was appointed joint managing director in 1953. Handley Page Staff Celebrate PHE annual staff dinner of Handley Page, Ltd., took place at x the Cafe Royal, London, on December 22nd. Good food, good company and good entertainment were enjoyed by a large gathering of staff, their ladies and guests. Mr. R. E. Hardingham (chief executive and secretary of the A.R.B.) who proposed the health of the Company, praised its achievements, saying it had Mr. Johnson. "DEFENDER OF THE PEACE" is the caption to this fine study of a Hunter as presented on the Hawker Christmas card. never gone in for only one side of aircraft production: it had always had military and civil interests and its contributions on the problems of fatigue were second to none. He recalled that the company was approaching its own jubilee [it falls in 1959.] He did not agree with those who described it as a one-man show; but again, there was no argument as to who was the boss! The response was by Sir Frederick Handley Page who, accom panied by Lady Handley Page, presided. He talked mainly of domestic matters, in particular of the impending staff moves to Radlett, where it was planned to build 150 or 200 houses in addi tion to those already arranged. He remarked that the fine equip ment at Radlett could be no good without equally good human equipment to use it, and in this connection spoke of the com prehensive technical training schemes for apprentices which had been arranged in conjunction with Northampton Polytechnic and Hendon Technical College. Sir Frederick also referred to the short courses which had been arranged at Cranfield and elsewhere for staff who wished to further their knowledge and position. He went on to say that exchange of information within the organization was important; within the limits of security, every one should know of the company's achievements and progress. Visits were being arranged from Cricklewood to enable employees to see the Victor fly. A long-service presentation was made to the retiring machine-shop foreman, Mr. Wheeler. New British Sailplanes NOW at an advanced stage of construction are three new types of British sailplane, two of original design, and the third based on an existing high-performance machine. They should all be flying within the next few months and, if their performances are sufficiently impressive, may appear in the British entry for the world gliding championships in July and August. Elliotts of Newbury are responsible for two. One is the development of Hugh Kendall's Crabpot 1 side-by-side two- seater which (as described in our issue of May 15th last) was to have been fitted with Durestos wings, but which is now to have wooden wings—of unconventional construction, it is believed. The Newbury firm have constructed these wings and have also made minor alterations to the wooden fuselage previously built by Miles, and the machine is now known as the K.l. The second Elliott design is a modified version of the single-seat Olympia. The original fuselage and tail have been retained, but a new "laminar-flow" wing is being fitted. By retaining all of the original machine except the wings a clear indication of the relative qualities of old and new wing designs is expected. The wings of the new Olympia and the K.I are based on different aerofoil sections, and it is hoped to begin flight tests of the sail planes and evaluate their respective characteristics by the beginning of February. For the two-seater in particular there are high hopes for the international contest. Slingsby Sailplanes are at present working on the T.42, a new tandem two-seater of just under 60ft span. Its construction incorporates a certain amount of plastics, and the totally enclosed cockpit has a full blind-flying panel and provision for oxygen. Scheduled to fly by the end of April, the T.42 was designed as a general-purpose two-seater for cross-country instruction. Although not specifically intended for competition flying, it would probably do better than existing types in the two-seater class of the international competitions. When put into production, ir should certainly have a useful future with gliding clubs.
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