FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0004.PDF
FROM ALL QUARTERS . . . Wills Flies High REACHING a height of more than 30,OOOft over Mount Cook,New Zealand, on December 29th, Philip Wills set up new British gliding records for absolute altitude and for gain of height(28,200ft). Previous British records were respectively 22,430ft, set up by Wills in Spain in 1952, and 19,120ft, by A. F. ("Bill")Bedford in 1950. For the Mount Cook flight Wills used a Weihc sailplane which, it is reported, was still rising when he was forcedto bring it down as a result of extreme cold and the cracking of its cockpit canopy. The world gain-of-height record is at present30,098ft. Other gliding news from the Antipodes is that the Australiannational gliding championships, held on a de-centralised basis, have recently begun. The use of one base was ruled out becauseof the prohibitive cost of transporting sailplanes over long dis- tances. Spread over a 25-day period, the championships comprisefree distance, goal, and out-and-return competitions, with bonus points awarded for speed. Otters for the U.S. Army *rI T is announced that 84 de Havilland Canada Otters have beenordered, probably as the C-137, by the United States Army; the total contract price is reported to be approximately $10m(£3,571,000). This is very welcome news, for it may well herald further large American orders for the type. The new contract ex-ceeds the total order-book for the Otter; this stood at about 60 aircraft, of which some 45 have been delivered. It will be remembered that, several months ago, six Otters weredelivered to the U.S. Army for evaluation at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. These aircraft performed excellently and—according tosome observers—appeared to match the best that could be done by both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. D.H.C. have the distinction of being virtually the only non-American firm supplying aircraft to the armed forces of the U.S.A. The Otter's smaller forebear, the Beaver, has already been sup-plied to the Army and Air Force, to a total of over 300 machines. English Electric Liaison FOLLOWING the resignation of W/C. R. R. Stanford-Tuck,W/C. P. D. W. Hackforth has joined English Electric as assistant aircraft liaison officer. He will be based at Warton, andhis duties will mainly concern liaison with R.A.F. Canberra squadrons. Born in India and educated at Oundle, W/C. Hackforth won aprize cadetship to Cranwell and was commissioned in the R.A.F. in 1934. During his Service career he has been employed onspecialist signals and radar duties, has commanded two bomber squadrons (Nos. 115 and 170) and has been station commanderat Swanton Morley. From 1951 until his retirement in November, 1954, he was British air attache in Caracas, Venezuela, in whichpost he was concerned with eight Caribbean countries. Yet Another J47 SINCE the General Electric J47 first went into production in1947 it has probably been made in greater numbers than any other post-war aero engine—Sabres and Stratojets alone accountfor over 20,000. One variant was developed with an afterburner (the D-series),the production version of this series being the J47-GE-17, for the F-86D all-weather Sabre intercepter. Late-model F-86Ds arenow receiving the J47-GE-33, in which several improvements have FLIGHT THE COLLIER TROPHY, awarded in Washington jointly to Mr. James Kindelberger of North American Aircraft and Mr. Edward Heinemann (right) of Douglas Aircraft. The award recognizes their achievement in producing, respectively, the F-100 and the Skyray. been incorporated. These include new inlet guide-vanes whichpermit a greater mass flow during full-speed running, either dry or with afterburner; a capacitor-discharge ignition system; a fullyfloating turbine shim shroud; a "hot-streak" afterburner-ignition system (see pp. 642-3 of October 29th, 1954, issue); a ceramicliner for the afterburner; and a larger variable-area nozzle. With the GE-33 installed, the F-86D requires about 20 per centless time to reach 45,000ft from a standing start. Static thrust with afterburner is probably about 8,000 lb. Inspection AppointmentP N January 1st Mr. E. H. S.Folland was made group chief inspector to Blackburn andGeneral Aircraft, Ltd. A son of the late Mr. H. P. Folland, hehas held A.I.D. appointments in several well-known factories. In1945 he was appointed senior production officer of the Ministryof Supply for the standardiza- tion of aircraft equipment. In1947 he resigned from the M.o.S. to become chief inspector toDowry Equipment, Ltd. Since 1951 he has held a similar ap-pointment with Folland Aircraft. Mr. Folland. Hot Secret TT is reported by American Aviation that British fighters—theA Gloster Javelin first, and others later—are to be armed with a de Havilland air-to-air missile which homes on to sources of infra-red (i.e. heat) radiation. Such a method of homing has been dis- cussed for years, and it has singular merits. Whether or not thereport is correct,, however, cannot be slated. DORNIER Do25: At Getafe airport, outside Madrid, is seen the new German - designed, Spanish - built general- purpose monoplane. Initially powered with a Tigre G-IVA of 150 h.p. it is stressed for engines up to 260 h.p. All fuel is carried externally. Note the remarkable cabin window and windscreen arrangements.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
