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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1403.PDF
622 FLIGHT IN DIVERSE FIELDS DOOKS of value to people interested in a wide variety of professions and pastimes are published by Iliffe and Sons, Ltd., mainly in connection with their technical and other periodicals. The following are suggestions from the current list of well over 100 books obtainable through booksellers or direct from the publishers, at Dorset House, Stamford Street, London, S.E.I; postage cost is given in parenthesis after each price figure. Fellowship of the Air (Jubilee Book of the Royal Aero Club), by B. J. Hurren; 30s (Is 2d). Development of the Guided Missile, by Kenneth W. Gatland; 10s 6d (Sd). Photogrammetric Mapping from Air Photographs, by the technical staff of Hunting Aerosurveys, Ltd.; 7s 6d (3d). The First Fifty Years of Powered Flight ("Flight" reprint); 2s (3d). Production Engineering (Practical Methods of Production Planning and Control), by J. S. Murphy, A.I.I.A.; 12s 6d (6d). Metals and Alloys (Specifications of over 4,500 non-ferrous alloys; fifth edition); 15s (3d). The Autocar Road Tests, 1951, by "The Autocar" Technical Staff; 5s (4d). Town-to-Town Mileages (Specially prepared by the R.A.C.); Is (2d). Basic Mathematics for Radio Students, by F. M. Colebrook, B.Sc, D.I.C., A.C.G.I., 10s 6d (4d). Wireless Direction Finding, by R. Keen, B.Eng.(Hons), A.M.I.E.E.; 43« <1S 3d). Goods Vehicle Operation (Principles and Practice for Students and Executives), by C. S. Dunbar, M.Inst.T.; 12s 6d (Sd). Yachting World Annual, 1954; 30s (Is 2d). THE AERONAUTICAL BOOKSHELF . . . books have been concerned mainly with such subjects as base ball, football and the Kentucky Derby. Seen through British eyes, it is a rather odd history. There are, for example, seven photographs of the U.S. Navy flying- boats and crews which made the first Atlantic crossing via the Azores, but none of Alcock and Brown or their Vimy; no pictures of British or German warplanes of the 1914-18 War; and a solitary Spitfire represents the R.A.F. in World War II. There are photographs of the Bell Airacomet jet, but no mention of Whittle, the E28/39 or Heinkel Hel78. Post-war airliners are represented by the DC-6, DC-7, Convair-liner, Stratocruiser and Constellation, with no mention of the Comet, Viscount or any thing else British. In short, this is not, by any stretch of imagination, a history of flying; but regarded simply as a picture-book of American aviation it has much to commend it. "Complete Book of Outer Space." Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., 44 Museum Street, London W.C.I. Illustrated. Price 10s 6d. T HE title of this slim volume is no great exaggeration, for its authors, many of whom are world-famous scientists or interplanetary enthusiasts, have covered an incredible variety of subjects in a concise, informative manner. Beginning with "Development of the Space Ship," by Willy Ley, and "Station in Space," by Dr. Wernher von Braun, de- gliding angle 1 :21 at 35 m.pJi. with a sink of 2.4ft/sec. Its stalling speed was 21 m.p.h., and the pilot used his legs as an undercarriage, retracting them in flight. Recently, Dr. Reimar Horten, together with some amateur constructors in the Argentine, produced a 24.5ft-span delta sail plane in which the pilot's legs act as the undercarriage, being retracted in flight. The pilot lies in a prone position. All over the world there is a growing demand for a really cheap midget sailplane of medium performance. Unless the midget-enthusiasts realize that low initial cost, however desirable, is not the prime factor, and that even here utilization, ease of launching and transport are more important, they will construct only 25ft midgets with higher and higher performances at the cost of increased stalling speeds, which in the end will make them nearly as helpless and dependent on expensive launching systems as the owners of 60ft competition sailplanes. The present writer thoroughly endorses the views of Platz except that the price will unavoidably rise from the cost of a pedal cycle to between £100 and £200. He would like to own and fly a further development of the Tondokuro or Horten, or possibly a miniaturized and lightened adaptation of the Fauvel 36, but with a stalling speed of not more than 20 m.p.h. The pilot of such an ideal midget will be able to launch himself by running over the edge of a cliff or down a slope and then retract his legs and close the "bomb doors." A light skid could be lowered and the pilot's feet placed on it as on a ski to avoid stumbling when landing in a dead calm. With a performance similar to that claimed for the Tondokuro, he would be able to launch, soar over and land on his feet in the most inhospitable terrain. He would be able to explore the wildest sea-cliffs and signer of the V.2, it includes sections on space physiology by Dr. Heinz Haber of the U.S.A.F.'s Department of Space Medicine; space suits, by Dr. Donald Menzel of Harvard Observatory; high-altitude rocket research, by Robert P. Haviland, who was in charge of America's Project Hermes; a history of the rocket engine, by James Wyld of Reaction Motors Inc.; legal aspects of space travel; exploitation of the moon; life beyond the earth; interstellar flight, by Dr. Leslie Shepherd of the British Inter planetary Society; science fiction; flying saucers; and a space- travel dictionary. The whole thing is lavishly illustrated with superb photographs and drawings, many of them new and very interesting. There are one or two errors—such as a Bell X-l identified as the Skyrocket; and one wonders if the latter aircraft is really "featherweight." But they are of little moment in a book that contains such a comprehensive account of what has already been achieved towards space flight, and such a factual analysis of future possibilities. OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED Continental Military Aircraft, by John W. R. Taylor. Ian Allen, Ltd., Craven House, Hampton Court, Surrey. Price 2s 6d. The Book of Flight* by Kenneth M. King. Frederick Warne and Co., Ltd., Chandos House, Bedford Court, Bedford Street, London, W.C.2. Price 5s. First Through the Clouds, by F. Warren Merriam. B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 4 Fitzhardinge Street, Portman Square, London, W.l. Price 21s. L'Aeroport de Paris, by C. Postel. Librairie Armand Colin, 103, Boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris 5e. Price 650fr. "The Engineer" Buyer's Guide, 1954. "The Engineer," 28 Essex Street, Strand, London, W.C.2. Price 5s. X-Ray Diffraction Patterns of Lead Compounds. The Shell Petroleum Co., Ltd., Thornton Research Centre, Chester. (Private circulation.) Rescue Below Zero, by Ian Mackersey. Robert Hale, Ltd., 63 Old Brompton Road, London, S.W.7. Price 15s. Mathematics in Action, by O. G. Sutton. G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., York House, Portugal Street, London, W.C.2. Price 16s. The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, by Quentin Reynolds. Cassell and Co., Ltd., 37/38 St. Andrew's Hill, London, E.C.4. Price 18s. More Humorous Tales, from "Blackwood", Wm. Blackwood and Sons, Ltd., 45 George Street, Edinburgh. Price 10s. 6d. Jet Engines and Gas Turbines, by Dr. E. C. Roberson. Frederick Muller, Ltd., Ludgate House, 110 Fleet Street, London, E.C.4. Price 6s. Fifty Years of Flight: A Chronicle of the Aviation Industry in America 1903-1953, by Welman A. Shrader. Eaton Manufactur ing Co., Cleveland 10, Ohio. Price $5.00. the most difficult alpine country. He would be able to outclimb all high-performance sailplanes in thermals and in cloud. Increased high-speed performance without raising the stalling speed would be possible by raising the trailing edge (as in the Yugoslav Kosava, where negative flap-incidence is used on a Gottingen 549 section). Whether he is on a rock-climbing holiday in Skye, ski-ing in the Alps, or exiled to Tristan da Cunha, he will be able to take his sailplane with him—and use it! If he is stationed in the Sahara, cheap piano wire and a galloping camel will suffice to launch him to 1,500ft. When the sailplane is de-rigged, he will be able to carry it and store it anywhere, and will even be able to transport it economically by air freight if he is posted to one of the remoter and less civilized corners of this world. Eventu ally his sailplane might incorporate pneumatic inflatable struc tural parts in the manner of an aircraft dinghy. In conclusion, it is appropriate to summarize the main points raised. Pilots at present are not getting sufficient soaring, and the annual utilization of sailplanes is pathetic. This situation can to put right by the four lines of development mentioned pre viously. Money devoted to any other line of development will serve only to ground us more effectively by pressing us farther into our present cul-de-sac. The greatest possible reduction in the price of an auxiliary-powered two-seater and a midget sail plane can be attained by firm advance orders for 30 to 50 of each type. This could be organized and financed by the gliding movement. The development costs of prototypes, amounting to about £10,000 and £3,000 respectively, should be raised by an appeal to the airminded British public. The only alternative is to build Nelson, or future Hirth, Fauvel and Horten designs under licence. THE FUTURE OF SOARING (Continued from page 610)
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