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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0057.PDF
FLIGHT, 14January 1955 57 CIVIL AVIATION BREVITIES TOURING 1954, their first full calendar year of service with•*-' B.E.A., Viscounts carried 335,000 passengers between 27 cities in 16 countries. It is also recorded that last year, for thefirst time, B.E.A. carried more than half the passengers flying between the United Kingdom and the Continent. * * * An Aquila Airways crew, commanded by Capt. D. Evans andaccompanied by Mr. S. Seymour, Aquila's chief engineer, left Blackbushe last week for New Zealand, where they will takedelivery of the first of three Solents bought from Tasman Empire Airways. The Blackbushe-Singapore stage of their journey wasbeing made in a Hermes operated by Britavia, Ltd. * * * Eagle Airways announce conditional M.T.C.A. approval tooperate a scheduled service between London and Innsbruck during the period June to October inclusive. The airline will operate upto four return flights weekly, providing the only direct link on this route. Subject to approval, fares will be approximately £20 singleand £35 return. * * * Delivery is being made this month of the last of four completeCossor Type 53 radio station installations ordered by the ruler of Kuwait—Sheikh Abdullah el Mulbarak—for desert communica-tions. The Type 53 station is a general purpose medium-powered communications equipment operating as either a static or a mobileunit. Remote control is provided and C.W., M.C.W. and R/T. transmissions are possible.* * * In preparation for the introduction of all-Stratocruiser service over the North Atlantic later this year, Bweek conversion courses for nearly 200 Shannon Airport. The aircraft allocatedCanopus, the aircraft used by H.M. the Churchill for recent transatlantic flights,ran off the runway at Shannon during a only superficial damage was caused. O.A.C. are running two-pilots and engineers at for training is G-AKGKQueen and Sir Winston On January 3rd Canopuscross-wind landing, but Air-India International are offering increased standards of com-fort to first-class passengers on their Super Constellation services. The number of seats in the first-class compartment has beenreduced from 31 to 22, the extra space being taken up by a separate, centrally situated lounge; tourist accommodation remains un-altered at 40 seats. * * * • - ' ''" ••..• According to West German radio reports "a four-engined Aero-flot passenger plane" was lost with all aboard while flying between Moscow and Berlin on December 29th. The victims includedmembers of a cultural delegation returning from a visit to Russia. Cypriot and.Italian members of a labour delegation were statedto have been among 13 people killed in an accident last month to an aircraft flying from Peking to Moscow. * * * Commenting on a recent reference, in an article on the deliveryof T.A.A.'s first Viscount, to the "highly satisfactory" perform- ance of the pressurization and air conditioning, Sir GeorgeGodfrey and Partners, Ltd., remark that the system was designed by Vickers-Armstrongs and includes Godfrey cabin superchargersand a Godfrey cold-air unit. CLUB AND GLIDING NEWS Vl^THOUT a single training accident in 1954, Lasham's"' gliding clubs completed 15,457 launches, 1,816 flying hours, and 2,809 cross-country miles during the year. Three Britishrecords were established from the site (by Philip Wills, Lorne and Ann Welch and Mrs. Evie Deane-Drummond), at whichsoaring was found possible on 117 days. Certificates gained by members comprised 76 As, 76 Bs, 16 Cs, 6 "Silver C" legs, 3"Gold C" legs. The combined membership of the Surrey, Army, Imperial College, Crown Agents and Polish Air Force Associationclubs is now over 400; in addition, the site is used by the B.G.A.'s No. 1 Test Group and the Air Section of WinchesterCollege C.C.F. The College cadets, incidentally, will be the first pupils to be raught to glide on the prototype Slingsby T.42. THE recent return from Jamaica of Paul Blanchard, ex-C.F.I.of Cambridge University Gliding Club and the Surrey Gliding Club, coincided with the publication of his book,Elementary Gliding. Intended as a manual for pupil glider-pilots, this useful handbook consists of a printed version of the dupli-cated notes previously circulated to members of the two clubs. After describing glider construction, basic principles of flight,and the effect of the controls, the author deals in turn with the straight glide, turns, stalling, the winch launch, cable-breaks, circuits and landings, spinning, sideslipping and the use of airbrakes. Appendices cover instruments, thermals and gusts, "more about lift and drag" and how to obtain the best performanceunder various conditions. For once, would-be readers will not be put off by the price: they will need only to forgo the cost ofone or two launches. Cartoons and technical sketches by A. R. I. Austin and P. Sullivan respectively add to the readability of thehandbook. It is published at 5s by Thermal Equipment Ltd., 17 Hanover Square, London, W.I. A PRESENTATION fund has been established for Mrs.-**- Alex Orde, until recently Secretary of the British Gliding Association. It is hoped that Mrs. Orde will receive a personalgift and a silver model sailplane, and that the remainder of the money will be used to establish a fund for encouraging youngglider pilots. Contributions should be sent to the B.G.A. at Londonderry House, 19 Park Lane, London, W.I, where Mrs.Yvonne Bonham has taken over from Mrs. Orde as secretary. The Association is holding what has become its annual ball onFriday, March 11th, this year, from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and the Instructors' Conference and the annual general meeting will takeplace on the following day. NATIONAL AIR RACES, 1955 AS briefly recorded last week, the Royal Aero Club has adopted^ a new plan for this year's National Air Races. The main object is to increase the spectator-appeal this year by making theraces accessible to more people, and by concentrating on short, closed circuits, visible during the whole of the race from the baseaerodrome. Full details of the arrangements are as follows: — The Trophies: S.B.A.C. Challenge Cup, for aircraft with amaximum sea-level speed of more than 160 m.p.h.; Air League Challenge Cup, for Austers, and aircraft (other than Tiger Moths)for aircraft with a maximum sea-level speed of more than 130 m.p.h. and not included in either of the foregoing classes; Norton-Griffiths Challenge Trophy, for D.H. Tiger Moths; Grosvenor Challenge Cup, for Austers, and aircraft (other than Tiger Moths)with a maximum sea-level speed of not more than 130 m.p.h. Organization: At each of four separate meetings, five raceswill be held, one for each of the above classes. There will thus be a total of 20 racing events. Points will be awarded accordingto places attained both on handicap and on actual speed. The pilot who at the end of the season has gained the most points in theraces for one particular trophy will become the winner of that trophy. A separate race will be flown for the Kmg s Cup, bythe first 15 pilots placed in the 1955 British Air Racing Championship. Aircraft must not exceed 1,750 kg (3,858 lb). In each of the class races, the number of competitors will be limited to six: pilots may be of any nationality, and they mayenter for more than one class. The Meetings: (1) Fairwood Common Aerodrome, Swansea—Saturday, April 30th (in conjunction with the Swansea and District Flying School and Club). (2) Yeadon Aerodrome,Bradford/Leeds—Whit-Saturday, May 28th (in conjunction with the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association). (3)Bristol Airport, Whitchurch—Saturday, June 11th (in conjunc- tion with the Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club). (4) CoventryCivic Aerodrome, Baginton—Saturday, August 20th (in conjunc- tion with Coventry Corporation).An air display will supplement the races at each meeting; on the fourth occasion, at Baginton, the King's Cup Race will beflown (in addition to the final races) and a new International aerobatic competition will be held.The Courses: Each of the five class races will be flown over five laps of a six-mile closed circuit. The King's Cup Race, theRoyal Aero Club state, will be flown on a handicap basis "over a short closed circuit." Prize Money: A minimum of £250 will be awarded at eachmeeting. First, second and third prizes will in each case be £25, £10 and £5 respectively and a £10 prize for the highest speedin each race will also be given. The foreign pilot with the greatest number of points will receive a prize of £25 presented by theNorwegian pilot Capt. Jan Christie.
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