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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1698.PDF
FLIGHT, 11 June 1954 753 In this view one of the fat exhaust chimneys is visible, as are a pair of external fuel tanks which have been added at the foot of the rotor pylons. TWIN-TURBINE HELICOPTER Kaman HTK-ljBoeing 502-2 Conversion ALTHOUGH they are but junior partners in I the huge American helicopter industry, the L Kaman Aircraft Corporation (the name is |f pronounced like the American rendering of "com mand" less the "d"), of Bloomfield, Connecticut, can claim to have been responsible for several notable "firsts" in this field. Right from the outset they have concentrated upon the shaft-drive type of helicopter with two intermeshing rotors side-by-side. Control is effected by servo-operated "ailerons" on the world is claimed by Kaman, the date being 1947. Two years the blades, and stability is assisted by fixed fins and a variable- later a C.A.A. certificate was gained, and the first developed incidence tailplane. version was in production for the U.S. Navy the following year, The first fully servo-controlled helicopter to fly anywhere in 1950. This aircraft, styled HTK, is a 2,500 lb training and utility machine used in fair numbers by the Navy and Marine Corps. It has since been joined in production by the larger HOK-1 liaison type, of generally similar layout. Back in 1951, Kaman adapted a K-225 development helicopter (a machine with a rotor system similar to that of the HTK series) to take a Boeing Model 502 shaft-drive gas turbine in place of the Lycoming flat-six piston engine originally fitted. This experi mental turbine-powered helicopter (the first in the world) was illustrated and commented upon on p. 320 of our issue of March 12th of this year. Kaman have now effected a similar conversion of a production HTK-1, although the new turbine-driven machine is more ambitious and has two Boeing 502-2 turboprops, which are shown in some detail in the photograph on the left. The engines themselves are not new in conception, but they have a great deal of development behind them and are highly reliable; no other engine in their class is available. The power output is at present rated at 190 s.h.p. on a continuous basis, and flexibility in operation is enhanced by the fact that the engine is of the free-turbine layout. The Lycoming piston-engine originally fitted gave 240 h.p. yet weighed at least as much as the pair of side-by-side gas turbines giving 380 h.p.; fuel consumption, how ever, is very much in the piston engine's favour. The two turbines are both geared into a common box, from which a single drive is taken up to the rotors. Both engines are employed for take-off and full-load hovering, while forward flight is possible with one engine shut down, Gannet fashion. The new aircraft is a joint Army/Navy project. The first flight took place at Bloomfield on March 26th, although the photo graphs on this page have only now been released by the Depart ment of Defense. This close-up shows the pair of Boeing gas turbines, together with their supporting structure. The rearward-facing intakes are completely unprotected; low airspeeds necessitate a large oil cooler, seen below. NEXT MONTH'S BIG EXERCISE THIS year's major United Kingdom air defence exercise, to be held next month, has been given the code-name "Dividend." It will be in two phases—from 2000 hr on Friday, July 16th to 1800 hr on Sunday, the 18th, and from 1500 hr on Thursday, the 22nd, to 1800 hr on Sunday, the 25th. The object of "Dividend" is to exercise the overall air defence system of the United Kingdom—under the command of Air Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle, A.O.C-in-C. Fighter Command— against all forms of air attack. SUPPORT FOR THE BEVERLEY ARGUMENTS for the use of the Blackburn Beverley for the k transport of North Australian cattle were recently put for ward in an article appearing in Queensland Country Life. "It would be unfortunate for the welfare of Australia in peace and war," the article begins, "if Sir Arthur Fadden's reported interest in Blackburn Beverley air freighters as a means of flying cattle from North Australia to railhead is thwarted because of the clamour for a more costly but less efficient railway extension from Dajarra." It should be mentioned that the aircraft versus railway con troversy in this case is inevitably influenced by political, as well as national, motives. Many points made in the article, however, are undoubtedly valid. "Reports indicate," the paper continues, "that the Beverley is mechanically capable of transporting 100 yearling catde 200 miles in an hour from a 300-yard runway." Ouier advantages of the aircraft are stated to be its greater suitability for seasonal work, its ability to yield a large return on outlay in a very short time, and its greater value and decreased vulnerability as a potential wartime supply line on the continent's northern front. "ARK ROYAL" SEA TRIALS T^HE aircraft carrier Ark Royal, now being completed for the -*• Royal Navy by Cammell Laird and Co., at Birkenhead, was expected to begin her contractors' sea trials last Friday. These trials will last several weeks. Sister ship to H.M.S. Eagle, and of 36,800 tons displacement, the vessel is one of the largest ever built for the Royal Navy. She is fitted with the latest equipment for operating high-speed and comparatively heavy aircraft, including the angled deck, side aircraft-lift and steam catapult. She will be the first British carrier to be fitted with the steam catapult—a British invention— and a side lift. For her contractors' trials the new carrier has a small advance Naval party of about 140 officers and men. When fully manned she will have a complement of more than 2,000. She is expected to come into operational service next year.
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