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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 3020.PDF
5 November 1954 INDONESIAN FIRST-BORN Ground-attack Single-seater foA I.A.F.J THE first aircraft to be designed and built in Indonesia was constructed by die Aero-technical Branch of die Indonesian Air Force and is now completing its flight test schedule.,- It made its first flight on August 1st last at Husein SastranajgSra A.F.B., Bandung, Java. Significantly this first venture, called NU-200 Sikumbang (Bee), was designed to fulfil an operational role similar to that of the Fletcher Defender in die U.S.A. and Japan. It is, in fact, a light ground-attack single-seater wi*h a maximum all-up weight of 2,400 lb; it is powered by a 200 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Six driving a two-blade fixed-pitch woodert airscrew. The accompanying photograph shows it to be a low wing mono plane of conventional configuration with a fixed tricycle under carriage. The pilot sits just above the leading edge under a sliding cockpit canopy which, together -with the distinctive fuselage upper contours, should provide an excellent view; the engine is slung quite low forward of a Hartfard-like hump in the cockpit coaming. No details of armament are released, but it would appear that mountings are provided" for two machine guns in the wings with other stores such as rockets, bombs or napalm slung beneath the wing. Construction is composite. The wing is a single-piece wooden structure with plywood covering, having an aspect ratio of 6.5, a N.A.C.A. 23012 aerofoil section and an area of 182 sq ft. Its split Indonesia's first home-designed and built aircraft, the single-seat light ground-support NU-200 Sikumbang (Bee) is here seen airborne over lava during a test flight. flaps are electrically operated. Two sets of fixed slots are posi tioned opposite the ailerons in each wing. The tail surfaces are likewise cantilever wooden structures with trim tabs on rudder and elevator. The fuselage, on the other hand, is of welded steel tube with metal covering. The undercarriage is fixed and employs oleo shock-absorbers, and the nose wheel is not steerable. Span, length and height are, respectively, 34.8ft, 26.75ft and lift. Maximum and cruising speeds at sea level are quoted as 160 m.p.h. and 140 m.p.h. and landing speed as 55 m.p.h.; initial rate of climb is "over 1,000ft a minute" and service ceiling 16,500ft. Range, with a total fuel capacity of 40 Imp. gallons, is stated to be 600 miles. / THE FLEURET IN INDIA TTHE practical aspects of conversion from light piston-engined •*- trainer to light jet trainer were recently demonstrated in a series of tests by the Indian Air Force, using the Morane-Saulnier MS.755 Fleuret. This experiment, under Service conditions, followed the I.A.F. decision in May, 1954, to adopt die French "light jet trainer" formula, and was carried out at the Air Force Academy No. 1 at Begumpet airfield, Hyderabad. The experiment was conducted with four pupils, and showed that the average pupil-pilot with 60 hr piston-engined experience (in this case on the Percival Prentice) could easily convert onto a jet machine and safely solo after a period of between 7 and 12 hours' dual. Side-by-side seating was found to be preferable for a jet trainer used in this manner, i.e., relatively early in the flying training programme. In addition, a pupil with only 10 hr dual and 1^ hr solo on a Tiger Moth received 4 hr dual on the Fleuret, and was checked and found safe for solo by the maker's pilot. A total of 105 flying hours was achieved, an average of 3J hr per working day, made up of 128 flights and 282 landings. Of this total, 58| hr were flown by the pupils, on dual, solo and check flights, and the remainder by the Morane-Saulnier pilot and the I.A.F. instructors on demonstration and evaluation flying (includ ing night flying). Total maintenance time required was 287 hours, an average of 2.45 hr per flying hour. JAPANESE DEFENCE PRODUCTION A THREE-YEAR defence production programme is being *• prepared by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry to fulfil the requirements of the programme laid down by the Defence Agency. Some 29,400 million yen (approximately £30m) will be spent to strengthen the country's Self-Defence Forces" and specifically to increase the Land Self- Drfence Force to 180,000 men, and the Air Self-Defence Force to 1,300 aircraft. The programme allows for production of replacement equipment required in the next three to five years. The programme covers the construction of 200 jet fighters and )et trainers each year, and for the following piston-engined res: 60 basic trainers, 60 advanced trainers, 40 twin-engined ^sports, 30 anti-submarine attack aircraft, and 60 liaison air-aft It is also planned to produce 40 medium-sized and 60 small *'.aicopters. Various proportions of the total financial appropria tion are allotted for aircraft, arms, ordnance and fuel. The •f-unistry, it is reported, does not consider that the industry is yet enable of producing guided missiles, rockets or other special wJapons. Some two-thirds of the first year's total appropriation ls exPected to be devoted to the construction of warships. t ti c In connection with the programme, Gen. Hull, commander of U.S. Far East Forces, recently called a conference which was attended by Gen. Hayashi, chairman of the Japanese Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the chiefs themselves—Gen. Tsutsui (army) Admiral Nagasawa (navy) and Gen. Kamimura (air force). ULTRASONIC THICKNESS-GAUGE / TN the orthodox type of ultrasonic thickness-gauges, working on * the resonance principle, the operator must turn a calibrated knob to vary the frequency of the signal and must judge the reson ance point from the sound in his headphones. In a new instrument marketed by Dawe Instruments, Ltd. (130 Uxbridge Road, Han-well, London, W.7)—known as Tja»C"Tl07 Visigauge—both these operations are carried out automatically by the instrument itself. This gready reduces the time' required for each measurement and, it is stated, increases the accuracy reading. A typical accuracy claimed, over the lowest of the five available ranges (in steel 0.015 to 0.030in) is a maximum error of only 0.0006in on a reasonably smooth material, when set up against a standard test block. GERMAN INTEREST IN LIGHT AIRCRAFT AN exhibition of light aircraft was staged at Munich-Riem ** Airport at the beginning of the month under the sponsorship of our German contemporary Der Flieger. In the interim between the granting of permission to build and the appearance of indigenous German designs in numbers, it is considered that a sizeable market must exist for foreign light aircraft in Germany. Foreign constructors were therefore invited to exhibit at Miinich-Riem, and many aircraft, particularly Italian and American, were on show both on the ground and in the air. From Italy came a Piaggio P. 136 amphibian and a Rondone F.4. The new Airone F.6 did not receive clearance in time and was therefore unable to be present. A KZ.7 arrived from Denmark, and from the U.S.A. a Cessna C.170, C.180 and C.195, together with a Piper Cub. Particular interest was aroused by details of the Temco Plebe, which, it is said, will be built in Germany. The only British aircraft shown were a Tiger Moth and a de Havilland Rapide. Four previously announced Czech aircraft, the Aero 45, the Zlin 22, Sokol and Pionyr, and various Walter engines, were not granted entry permits and could not be shown. Indigenous German exhibits included the powered version of the Dittmar Move, the Doppelraab and the new Greif 1 gliders, as well as items of aircraft equipment. Two Americans, Stits and Nelson, exhibited respectively the Playboy aircraft for home construction, and the 40 h.p. Boxer H.49 engine, reported to sell for Dm 3,000. The exhibition will be repeated next year.
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