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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2414.PDF
3 September 1954 309 TOUGH BABY: In one of the first air-to-air pictures of the Folland Midge light-fighter proto type, the play of light and shadow accentuates the sweeping lines of this precursor of the Gnat. Though measuring only 20ft 8in in span, the Gnat will be armed with two 30 mm guns and be capable of supersonic speed on the level. Con gratulations to chief designer W. £. W. Petter and test pilot S/L. £. A. Tennant. D.F.C. left). Flight" photographs will prove of benefit both to the United Kingdom and to Canada in the field of defence science. Dr. Field was engaged in research on anti-submarine and anti-mine devices for the Royal Canadian Navy, and in 1951 he became Canada's Deputy Director-General of Defence Research. He is a Fellow of the Royal Socielfbf Canada and a Senior Member of the Institute of RadJB-"Engineers. He has written numerous articles on ultrasonics? vibrations in solids and electrical waves. Dr. Field, who .Will be taking up his appointment next month, succeeds Dr. R. Cockburn, C.B., who was appointed Principal Director of Guided Weapons at the M.o.S. earlier this year. P0lish Air Day TyOLAND celebrated her air day with displays in the main cities A and towns on August 22nd. Writing in Zolnierz Wolnosci, the •organ of the Polish Army, General Jan Turkiel, C-in-C. of the Polish Air Force, claimed that "together with the Polish Army the Polish People's Air Force has grown in strength and raised its batde preparedness." He thanked the Soviet Air Force for its aid isjxaining Polish airmen, and then went on to claim that Poland npVhas "the most up-to-date aircraft and aerial weapons at her disposal," and that the Government is doing everything it/ can to prottifjte the development of the Polish aircraft industry. A broad cast over Warsaw radio by Major General of the Polish Air Force <j^Kadazanowicz (who, like the C-in-C, is a Russian citizen in Polish \Z\taniform) claimed that "never before had Poland such a strong air force as today," and that "never before has the Polish Air Force A had such excellent, up-to-date equipment as today," \ Service Gliding "At Home" *2>^ A POLISHED demonstration of sailplane aerobatics by Geoffrey *•*-Stephenson, British national gliding champion, in an Olympia, formed one of the highlights of No. 143 Gliding School's "Open Day" at Kenley R.A.F. station on Sunday last. More alarming was the demonstration of what a Primary can do when released from an aero-tow at l,000ft-plus, a stirring performance preceded by Prefect aerobatics by P/O. "Micky" Gilbert, W.R.A.F., one of the school's instructors, in a Prefect—with radio commentary from the cockpit. „*' In between training and demonstration flights with A.T.C. cadets in T.21B Sedberghs and T.31 "Cadet Mk 3s" (as Tandem Tutors are known to the Service), the afternoon's only powered-aircraft display took place—a vigorous show by F/L. Jones from Detling in a Chipmunk. Power assistance on aero-tows had, incidentally, been provided throughout by an Auster of Kenley- based 661 A.O.P. Squadron, R.Aux.A.F. A simultaneous "forma tion" winch-launch by two Sedberghs completed the display. In the evening, a colour film of A.T.C. gliding, made by instruc tors and cadets of the school, was shown. Although the success of the flying display was due to the good teamwork between instructors and cadets, much credit for both the film and the open day must go to the commanding officer of 143 G.S., F/L. C. Mackenzie-Lowe. The 1954 Air Racing Champion QY virtue of her victory last Saturday in the Goodyear Trophy Race, Miss Freydis Leaf becomes British Air Racing Cham pion for 1954—and the first woman to hold the title. Before the event she held 56 points and her newest challenger was Nat Vomers, with 50 points; in Saturday's race the latter pilot was placed fifth, so Miss Leaf gaing#possession of the championship ay a comfortable margin ;jj»roe final marking she had 78 points against the runner-up'sjrjf. Miss Leaf's successes during the season have been gajaecl on her Hawk Major G-ACYO, while corners has flownbiS Gipsy Major Gemini. . Jnird, fourtlyand fifth in the championship table, with the aircraft they Have flown in the majority of the events, are: H. ("Tim") Wood, Messenger, 61 points; W. P. Bowles, Gemini, 45; and Ron Paine, Hawk Speed Six, 42. Other placings and marks include: 6, F. Durikerley (39); 7, G. C. Marler (37); 8, A. J. Spiller (34); 9rJ». Blamire and G. R. I. Parker (32, tie); 11, T. G. Knox (26>~" A.V-M. for Martin H AVING retired from the R.A.F. last year at the age of 48, A.V-M. Alfred C. H. Sharp, C.B.E., D.S.O., A.F.C., has joined Martin Aircraft, of Baltimore, to assist in the study and de velopment of foreign marked;. He became a pilot in the R.A.F. in 1924. During the warjtfe served as deputy director of organiza tion and planning at the Air Ministry, as deputy chief of staff to the commander of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in England, and later he commanded No. 54 Pathfinder base here. Australian D.M.E. CINCE a reference was made in an article "Across Three ^ Oceans" (Flight, August 6th) to Australian Distance Measuring Equipment as used by Qantas on their Indian Ocean Wallaby service, more information has been provided by the manufacturers. Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia^iLtd., have supplied their 200 Mc/s D.M.E. equipment to othgroperators in Australia in addition to Qantas, and example>^6t the airborne components are to be shown on the Matedhi stand at Farn- borough. >r The Australian system uses doubte-pulse interrogation and thereby gains two important advantages over the single-pulse systems: only one transmitting and receiving frequency is required, and the system discriminates against interference by noise, thus gaining in reliability and traffic handling capacity. As many as fifty aircraft can be handled by each ground station without saturation. (Incidentally, the reference in our article to I.C.A.O.'s 100 Mc/s D.M.E. should, of course, have read 1,000 Mc/s.) / The double-pulse airborne equipment is simplified; it has an output power of 400 watts and twelve channels are obtained by variation in pulse spacing. The weight complete is 50 lb and the current consumption is 8 amps at 28 volts. toot £ \ "Flight" photograph MISS FREYDIS LEAF, the new British Air Racing C/iSmp/on (see neves item on this page) is aviation adviser to the Women's junior Air Corps.
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