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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1990.PDF
BLACKPOOL'S HUNTERS: Last Monday, Princess Margaret visited the Hawker Hunter factory at Squires Gate, as recorded on this page. Reading clockwise from the top, these photographs show: detail assembly proceeding on a Hunter centre fuselage, removed from its jig; front fuselages, almost ready for the erection shop; part of the brilliantly lighted paint shop, with a Hunter (standing on its nosewheel and a rear trestle) being sanded preparatory to being camouflaged; and the final erection shop, with the first machine having functional tests. Blackpool Hunters THE Government-owned aircraft factory on Squires Gate air port, Blackpool, is the largest industrial plant in West Lanca shire, and it produced thousands of aircraft-^mostly Welling tons—before 1947. Used as storage space for four years, it was re-opened in 1951 and the Hawker Aircraft Company has since undertaken a huge programme of tooljng-up to build the Hunter, including the construction of a new 2,000-yd runway and the recruiting of an eventual labourrforce of over 5,000. At Blackpool, Hawkers de^everything connected with making Hunters except design-vtfrk; and, as was recently pointed out (.Flight, May 7th) all components are interchangeable with those of Hunters madeat Hawker's own factories, or at Coventry, or in the Low Cqantries. The revealing photographs on this page are the first^Iepicting Hunter production at Blackpool. They show some*6f the work inspected by Princess Margaret when she visited the big factory last Monday. Later, from the bridge of a fishery protection vessel in Fleetwood Bay, she heard S/L. Neville Duke produce a sonic bang. Helicopters in Parliament IN reply to a question in the Commons on June 30th Mr. J. P. L. Thomas, First Lord of the Admiralty, said that there were approximately 100 helicopters in Royal Naval service (Dragon- flies, Hillers and Whirlwinds) and that a further 100, all British, were on order. Mr. L. D. Gammans, Assistant Postmaster-General, said that there were no immediate plans for renewing civil helicopter mail services. Similarly, Mr. J. D. Profumo, Under-Secretary for Civil Aviation, said there were no plans for expanding experimental helicopter services at public expense. The Minister was, however, always ready to consider proposals for new services supported by private funds. Canadian Bristol Appointment AN announcement by the **• Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd., state&4hat A.V-M. A. L. James, C.B.E., CD., B.Sc, EX.LC, F.R.Ae.S., M.E.I.C., will join ; the board of the Bristol Aero- . plane Company of Canada, Ltd., and of its subsidiary, /Bristol I Aero Engines, Ltd., on^eptem-: ber 1st; he will also beofoie vice- i president (engineer^) of the latter company. Ajf-M. James, I who joined the A.C.A.F. in 1924, was most recently A.O.C., j Air Defence Command, in which [ post he was raiponsible for the : Canadian pait in the North [American A|r Defence system. He graduated from McGill University/and took a post graduate ojburse at the Imperial [College o/Science and Technology in London. In 1929, he was I a pilot a/the R.A.E. Farnborough. Bristol also announce that negotiations are in progress to I acquire Macdonald Brothers Aircraft, Ltd., of Winnipeg for the Bristol group for a reported price of £lm. This company is [ engaged on aircraft repair work and on the manufacture of sheet netal components for jet engines. A.V-M. James OTHER AIR NEWS REPORTS from Australia and America speak of British develop ment of ground-air, air-air and air-ground guided weapons. At least one 2,000 m.p.h. (Mach 3),ground-air weapon now on test at Woomera is stated to be a4jeam-rider to a point in the vicinity of its target, from where it homes" automatically. RECENTLY formed in Austria, with official British and Austrian support, is the Alpine Air Rescue Service, which will include para chute teams of doctors, mountaineers and dog-trainers. The headquarters of the organization is in Graz, British Zone; tech nically, such a development is not permitted by the Allied Council, and Russia has protested. Five aircraft are expected, on loan, from the Swiss rflr rescue service. AN order has been placed by the Royal. Canadian Navy for British precision approach airfield radar equipment, to be installed at R.C.N.A.S. H.M.C.S. Shearwater, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The equipment is to be manufactured by Standard Tele phones and Cables, Ltd. It .provides traffic control and precision approach facilities on twe radar scopes in the control tower, fed through a radio link from trailer-mounted radar beside the runway in use. The trailer contains two 50 kW radar transmitters radiating a pulsed fan beam in the 3 cm band from two aerials. At ten miles the swept space is approximately three miles by one mile.
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