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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2187.PDF
162 PLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS The Ministerial Changes T RANSPORT and Civil Aviation is to have a new Minister as a result of the Government reshuffle which, last week, followed the resignations of Sir Thomas Dugdale and Mr. Lyttleton. Mr. A. T. Lennox-Boyd succeeds Mr. Lyttleton as Colonial Secretary, and Mr. J. A. Boyd-Carpenter has been appointed to the post thus vacated. Financial Secretary to the Treasury since 1951, Mr. Boyd-Carpenter is 46 years of age and has represented King- ston-upon-Thames af a Con servative since 1945/ Educated at Stowe and Baikal, he has had a legal training (he was called to the Bar in 1934) and served dur ing the war with the Scots Guards, holding various staff appointments/ and posts with A.M.G. in Maly. Vice-chairman of the Conservative Parliament ary Laboi|r Committee, he has made a Jpecial study of trades union Jiid delegated-legislation matterjf So far, he has had no contacfe with aviation other than as a Passenger; but those who havff watched his political career kn^W him to be a man of Mr. Boyd-Carpenter. ujfrsual ability and imagination ' r apd will wish him well m his Jiew appointment. Mr. Lennox-Boyd, who has jBmost completed 23 years of con tinuous service in Parliament, became Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation on May 7th, jp52. He has thus been responsible for implementing two ma*>r Government policies—the de nationalization of road transport and the "new deal" for independ ent airlines. The fact that Air. Lennox-Boyd has performed both jobs simultaneously indicates his immense capacity for hard work, and for quickly grdfeping the essentials of a complex prob lem. In his role as Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Lennox-Boyd has, inevitably, steered a path of compromise between two extremes of opinion as to the respective roles of State and civil airline operators. While his policy may not have been popular with either faction, we are certain that he himself was, and mat good wishes will accompany his promotion. New Hope for Ultra-lights GOOD news that should help to reduce the cost of ultra-light aircraft and encourage their construction fey" amateurs was announced last week by the M.T.C.A., in thpform of a relaxation in the requirements for airworthiness certification. This applies to aircraft not exceeding 1,200 lb ajt«up weight, with a stalling speed of not more than 45 m.p.brf'and maximum engine power of 75 h.p., which are usedjpKely for private purposes. To take advantage of the newjgraieme, the aircraft must have been built to a design apprqj^a by die Popular Flying Association and constructed undejroie Association's supervision. Permits to fly will be awardedron the recommendation of the P.F.A. The following conditions apply to machines qualifying for permits unde^The scheme: (a) They may be flown only within the U.K. arfH not over populous areas; (b) they must not be used for aerobatic flight; (c) they may be flown only by day and under V.F.R.; and (d) third-party insurance will be necessary in all cases. Bristol/Short Collaboration AN important announcement was made shordy before the k August Bank Holiday by the Board of Short Bros, and Har- land, Ltd. They stated the issued share capital of the company has been increased from £2,000,000 to £2,360,000 and that the 360,000 new £1 shares have been acquired by the Bristol Aero plane Co., Ltd., "as part of a programme of mutual collaboration between the two companies." TJg Belfast company invited the Bristol firm to nominate two addifional directors and Sir Reginald Verdon Smith, and Mr. CyriLjfT Uwins, were accordingly elected. The chairman and managing director of Short Bros, is Rear- Admiral M. S. Slattery. £ Short Bros, have fiverfactories in Northern Ireland: the main works is at Queen's J^fiind, Belfast, where there is an airfield and flying-boat base; two works at Newtownards; one at Castlereagh (Belfast); and oq^at Lisburn. The current aircraft production programme consists of the Short Seamew for the Royal Navy; fuselages for the Supermarine Swift; and a production line for the Bristol Britannia. The company was also building 15 Comet 2s until this work was suspended by de HavUlands pending the result of the Comet investigations. Repair and reconstruction work on Sunderland flying-boats is also continuing. In addition to aircraft manufacture, Short's have precision engin eering, general engineering an«r'flying-school divisions, and much research work is being yatlertaken under various Government contracts. Bristol Canadian Acquisition ANOTHER statement made immediately before the holiday L announced that the Bristol Aeroplane^So. has acquired the share capital of an important Canadiaaf*fcompany, MacDonald Bros. Aircraft, Ltd., of Winnipeg. JjjWIs company, which has a plant of some 200,000 sq ft producjreri area at Stevenson Airport, is mainly engaged on overhaul S«#rk and sub-contract components manufacture; a considerabj^proportion of the latter activity is concerned with sheet-maiffl assemblies for gas turbines. Sir Reginald VerdMf'Smith, Bristol's joint managing director, will become chairnroi of the MacDonald Board. The president will be Mr. R. ^Reynolds, who is executive vice-president of the Bristol Aeroplane Co. of Canada, Ltd., and Mr. W. S. Haggett will be executive assistant to the president, in immediate charge of the Winnipeg plant. V-Bomber Dimensions JUST cleared for publication are the ovgii!f"span, length and height (on the ground) of the two^jiraTV-bombers, the Avro Vulcan and the Handley Page Vj^KJfT The figures are: Vulcan B.l, span 99ft; length, 97fuMn; height, 26ft 6ins; Victor B.l, span, 110ft; length, MtfpmSn; height, 26ft 9ins. These figures inspire the moughtJif^tthe very moderate size of both aircraft belies their tremenxious potential. Egypt Means Business THE Egyptian Government is planning the early build-up of a jet-powered fighter force, and the development of _ civil aviation facilities second to none, according to A. Cdr<^5>olimai, Egyptian delegate to the International Civil Aviatioji*Organiza tion. In an interview in Montreal last week, he saiaV: "The a*ys of corruption, and the attitude that tomorrow/will be^pon enough, are gone. Thanks partly to the invaluable technical co-operation we hj*tfe\received from U.N. agencies ^fich as I.C.A.O., more than a dozen projects have been taken off the shelf and acted upon." In civil aviation alone, rje said, the new moves would mean an outlay of some £1,071,01)0 over the next few mo&tjfts. A. Cdre. Soliman specifically cited an ambitioiis Egyptian War MmistryJprogramfiBe which has already turned put training aircraft "simifar to the Chipmunk," and which ik sfpn to pro duce a "still'-iecret jerHghter". He also referred to moves that have centralize airport tisrminus facilities in Cairo* Alexandria, Mersa Matrulfand Luxor. JVluch %i Egypt's future ayiation pro duction, the Jr commodore said, mil b* shared by Egypt with other Arab cfuntries, including LiBysC the Sudan and Saudi- Arabia. Aircrift for Egypt* Air Force, he added, were being constructed with materials imported from several countries out side the Iron Curtain and armed with weapons and ammunition produced in Bgyption factories. "We are finally getting things done the wayWou do tbem in Canada," he said. "Our attitude has changed. People are going to hear a lot more about Egypt from now on." Incidentally, the Anglo-Egyptian agreement for the with drawal of British forces from the Suez Canal Zone, initialled on July 27th, will mean that some 15,000 R.A.F. personnel will move out in due course. BEA IN HIS BONNET : The helmeted figure beneath the new, offse'., fighter-type [cockpit] canopy of the Canberra B.8 night intruder (other photographs of which\appear on page 167) is W/CR. P. Beamont, D.S.O. / O.B.E.,rD.F.C, chief test pilot to the English Electric Company.
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