FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0571.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2415 Vol. 67. FRIDAY, 6 MAY 1955 ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. and Bar ASSOCIATE ED/TOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. TECHNICAL EDITOR W. T. GUNSTON ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2 King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams, Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone, Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 260, Deansgace. Telegrams, Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 2 lines). SUBSCRIPT/ON RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, J14.00. IN THIS ISSUE : A Coming-of-Age—with Gannets ... 574 Actual ites Francoises - 577 Jet Provost 582 The First Round - - - 588 Off the Ice 590 Igor Sikorsky in Great Britain 591 Fabrications to Float and Fly 593 "Hot" Parts by the Hundred 598 Revolutionary Aircraft DURING the past two weeks a pioneer in aviation and the most successful of alldesigners of helicopters has been a guest on these shores. Mr. Igor Sikorsky,who came here to lecture, and to receive his James Watt Medal, may have had one regret on returning by air to his adopted America: he must have had all too little time to see England at its best in a mild and sunny spring. The aircraft industry, on the other hand, has profited by his devotion to his work and the cause of the helicopter; in rapid visits and at a succession of meetings and public engagements, Mr. Sikorsky has spread charm and infectious enthusiasm for his "whirly birds." What news has he brought and what novelties revealed? Frankly, few; for helicopter developments are much less obscured by military or commercial security than are those of other types of aircraft, and his company have for a long time past been commendably forthcoming with their announcements and news. What Mr. Sikorsky did do during his visit was to put forward the case for the helicopter more eloquently and convinc- ingly than had previously been done, and to outline more clearly its possibilities and the lines of development for the future. The prime advantage of these machines is seen in their unique ability to lift and carry from anywhere to anywhere else, albeit relatively slowly and for only short distances. In extreme cases where neither solid nor liquid surface is available for touching down, the helicopter is still able to hover a few feet from the ground for a load to be attached or unhooked, or while a ground crew disembarks and removes obstacles to landing. The extent of the ability to lift weight and bulk is technically almost without limitation and, moreover, the helicopter can itself fly to its load and deliver it at its ultimate destina- tion without depending upon any form of intermediate surface transport, which would of necessity place dimensional limitations, if not those of weight, upon the object to be transported. Any attempt to stretch the operational domain of the pure helicopter is almost certain, with present knowledge and experience, to result in impaired performance in other respects. In particular, additional lifting surfaces may increase speed and range, but only at the expense of payload and (probably) good hovering characteristics. For the Near Future Answers to broad, everyday questions offer great encouragement for the future. Small, economical helicopters of the staff-car-cwm-taxi kind can and will be a practical proposi- tion. Large helicopters for short-haul passenger and freight services await only time, money and experience for their appearance, and they offer the promise of economical operation and thus convenient and profitable services at low fares. The helicopter is not a competitor for the fixed-wing aircraft, although it will prob- ably supersede a few specialized designs. Its real work will be accomplished between places and over distances which the fixed-wing transport could not handle at all. It will, in fact, augment the services of today's airlines, and no doubt assist by feeding them new customers who could otherwise have no air connections. It has been estimated that helicopter evacuation of serious casualties in military operations has already resulted directly in the saving of 11,000 lives. We agree with Mr. Sikorsky that this work alone more than justifies every penny paid out and every moment of effort expended on these aircraft. In recent weeks we have devoted much space to the humanitarian aspects of helicopter operations. This is because we regard them as extremely important, yet find the plans of civil authorities to exploit their value practically non-existent, and at best haphazard. We have no doubt that the pure helicopter is here to stay; it is not just a stepping-stone towards the convertiplane or jet "Vertocraft." It will be developed in many sizes and several configurations; it will find a multitude of worthwhile applications. With such a potent future in view, we should like to see more done to expand the capacity of British industry to design, build, test and operate helicopters.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
