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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0068.PDF
30 FLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS Aircraft Exports—£64m T HOUGH detailed figures were not available, the S.B.A.C. was able to announce on December 30th that British aircraft exports for 1953 had reached a record total of some £64 million; in 1952 the figure was £44m. Since 1950 such exports have been nearly doubled in annual value, and at the present rate of progress it will not be long before the £100m mark is reached. The rising trend was also reflected in the growth of the industry's labour force, which increased during 1953 from just over 200,000 to about 225,000. By a coincidence, £64m is also the value of orders received by British manufacturers of turbojet and turboprop airliners; of this total, some £16m worth have already been delivered. Negotiations now in progress may ultimately bring another £100m, almost all in respect of export orders. Altogether, 15 airline operators abroad have British equipment on order. Bedfordshire Wind Tunnels THE announcement, in a daily newspaper on Monday last, that work has started on the outskirts of Bedford on the A.R.A. transonic wind tunnel has caused enquiries concerning the possible connection between this tunnel and the National Aeronautical Establishment, Bedford. The two units are, of course, completely separate, although the site for the industry-owned Aircraft Research Association tunnel (described in Flight of January 2nd, 1953) is situated only a few miles from the Government's establishment. Jointly owned by 14 British aircraft firms, the A.R.A. tunnel (work on which in fact started in September of last year) is scheduled for completion in 1955. It is situated on the north side of Bedford, just inside the borough boundary, and adjacent to the reservoir, from which water will be drawn in large quantities for cooling purposes during the operation of the tunnel. Little more than die foundations have been completed to date, but a small staff of engineering and aerodynamic experts under Mr. Ronald Hills are working in Bedford. We hope to be able to give further technical details of the runnel at an early date. Impressive runway extensions are being carried out at Thurleigh, the N.A.E. airfield, as any pilot who has flown over Bedford during the last year will have realized. The main entrance to N.A.E. is at Clapham, some four miles north-west of Bedford; as the runway extension is to the east, the eventual joining of Thurleigh and Little Staughton airfields—by a six-mile runway—remains a possibility. At present, Twin wood Farm air field, between Thurleigh and Bedford itself, is used by M.o.S. and odier officials travelling by air to visit the N.A.E. For the New Lufthansa FOUR German pilots, destined to fly on their country's revived national airline, landed at London Airport last Monday night. They were on their way to Air Service Training, Ltd., Hamble, where they are taking refresher courses. The pilots were accompanied by ground instructors specializing in, respectively, air-traffic control, meteorology and engineering. A Flight representative who met the party found that all four pilots were veteran Lufthansa captains but that none had flown since 1945—since 1940 in one case. The A.S.T. course at Hamble is intended to provide them with commercial pilots' licences, instru ment ratings, R/T. licences and Dakota ratings, and to acquaint them fully with modern aids and traffic procedures. Dr. Plesman. Dr. Albert Plesman "/"MVIL aviation has lost its Grand Old Man." This tribute by ^-/ B.O.A.C.'s chairman is expressive of the deep and world-wide regret evoked in air-transport circles by the sudden death—on December 31st, at the age of 63—of Dr. Albert Plesman, president of K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines. It is doubtful if any other man played so important a part in the creation and development of a major national airline. To the Dutch people Dr. Plesman was a national figure second only to their Royal Family in popular esteem. As a lieutenant pilot in the Dutch Army Air Force, Plesman was responsible for organizing the first aviation exhibition held in Holland—in August 1919. The formation of K.L.M. on October 7th, 1919, was a direct result of this exhibition and Plesman was appointed administrator from the outset. His organizing abilities and tech nical knowledge ensured a lead ing place for K.L.M. throughout the inter-war period; one of the company's staff writes that his intuition in choosing the right type of aircraft became almost proverbial. The German occu pation temporarily put a stop to his work and from May 1941 until April 1942 he was im prisoned at Scheveningen. He spent the remainder of the war working out plans for the recon struction of K.L.M. and immedi ately after the liberation of eastern Holland he set off to the United States. Even before the war ended he had succeeded in buying 14 Skymasters, which were in service within a year. Today K.L.M. has over 13,500 employees and its network extends to 102 cities in 67 countries, served by a fleet of nearly 90 aircraft. The company's status as a leader in air transport is out of pro portion to Holland's population, area and industrial output—a fact which is largely attributable to the president's vision and ability. In recognition of his work the University of Delft con ferred upon him in 1947 the honorary degree of Doctor of Techni cal Science, when it was remarked that his thesis consisted of three letters—K.L.M. Dr. Plesman's life was dedicated to the belief that—in his own words—"The air ocean unites all peoples," and his counsel was always sought and valued at international conferences. This devo tion was not weakened by the loss of two of his three sons in flying accidents—one a Dutch Air Force pilot, the other a Constellation captain. Deep sympathy will be extended to Dr. Plesman's widow, his inseparable companion since 1915, and to K.L.M. employees. Heating Problems Discussed A N important modern design problem is that aircraft travelling ** at high speeds are subjected to heating effects from the air through which they fly. This aerodynamic or kinetic heating is caused by two closely related phenomena; first, the adiabatic compression of the air as it is brought up to the speed of the leading edges and, second, friction heating which takes place in the boundary layer as the air adjacent to the surface tends to accelerate to the flying speed the air through which the aircraft is passing. To discuss some of the complex problems which arise from thermal conditions, the Stress Analysis group of the Institute of Physics convened a conference on Thermal Stress, due to take place at Bristol yesterday and today, January 7th and 8th. Foremost among the problems to be discussed are those due to differential temperatures causing unequal expansions, and the deterioration of material properties at elevated temperatures. Fourteen papers are being presented at the conference, and the subject is being discussed in all aspects from design to research. Many of the papers are specifically concerned with aircraft struc tures and materials, gas turbine engines and high-speed flight, and we expect to publish an account of the meeting in a future issue. AIR MARSHAL SIR JOHN BAKER, Controller of Aircraft, Ministry of Supply, recently inspected production of the Victor and other aircraft at the Hand/ey Page factories. With him in this group are (/eft to right), Sir Frederick Handley Page, Mr. D. C. Robinson (works super intendent) and CjC. R. C. M. Collard (sales manager). Sir John Baker is appointed G.B.E. in the New Year Honours (see page 55).
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