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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1137.PDF
505 Provosts on the sunny side of a cloud street. •Flight" photographs Last but not least of the advantages is that the instructor has as good a view forwards as does the pupil. At Ternhill this was greatly appreciated during night circuits and bumps: no longer are the blind leading the blind in a Harvard. One quality of the Provost which may at first seem sur prising was particularly stressed at Ternhill—namely, the similarity of its cockpit layout to that of the Vampire T.ll. This association, moreover, was supported by some similarity in the behaviour of the aircraft. The control column of the Provost, for instance, is virtually the same as that of the Vampire Trainer and Meteor 8. Stick-mounted pneumatic brake lever with rudder-bar-controlled differential braking make the problem of taxying in all three aircraft essentially the same. In the Provost the gun trigger has been suppressed and the buttons normally allocated to rocket-firing and gun- sight camera operation have been adapted as V.H.F. R/T. and T.B.A. muting switches. The use of pneumatic brake and flap systems might at first seem extravagant in a basic trainer, but they contribute considerably to the "grown-up" feel of the aircraft. Other good points for a trainer are excel lent all-round visibility, even while taxying and landing, adjustable seat-height and rudder pedals, and efficient cock pit ventilation. We spoke to some of the pupils who had visited the de Havilland factory at Chester where Vampire T.lls are being built. They remarked particularly on the similarity in cock pit layout between the Provost and the T.ll. As for the behaviour of the Provost, we noticed that it does not bounce or balloon wildly if dropped on the main wheels on landing. Throughout our stay at Ternhill, we saw none of those sickening, kangaroo-like progressions down the runway which were so familiar on the very light basic trainers, and even on Harvards. The Provost lands like a large aircraft. Another quality was throttle response on final approach. At 2,600 r.p.m. and approximately —6 lb boost, power returns slowly as the throttle is opened, and there is some of the lag charac teristic of the jet engine. We cannot help feeling that the transition from Provost to Vampire T.ll will be less of a step than, for instance, from Chipmunk to Harvard, or from Harvard to Meteor 7. The introduction of the Provost has brought no radical changes in the flying-training syllabus. The average time to first solo is about 12 hours. Instrument flying accounts for 13 hours, mostly simulated with two-stage amber, plus a final test. The standard of this test is slightly below that (Concluded on page 510) The remainder of the photographic formation returns to base.
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