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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0760.PDF
758 FLIGHT, 3 June 1955 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. Westland Recollections i . ' ~ Tl^HILST it was difficult to imagine any advance on the "Bristol"* * issue of Flight some time since [February 16th, 1950], in my opinion the "Westland" issue is a better one.The only drawback I can find is the lack of project data, whicn possibly originates in a ruling by the company concerned; and thelack of serial numbers. The following notes may be of some interest: — (1) Contemporary sources also give the name Wizard to theF20/27 but this does not seem to be official. (2) The Pterodactyl series are rather enigmatic, due mainly tothe fact that not all of Capt. Hill's designs were also those of Westland. However, there seems to be ground for projects 2and 3 and, in publications of the time, an alternative to the Ptero- dactyl 5 is shown as an escort pusher fighter with the gunner infront; together with (K 2770), the standard type. After or shortly before Capt. Hill left Westlands a tender to A.M. specificationRl/33 was submitted. It was Pterodactyl 7 and was a large G.R. sponson flying-boat of the Lerwick/Sunder land class, but taillessof course. (3) The Lysander is mentioned with reverence by all who flewit. Its particular merits were seldom so well used as in the "Agent Dropper," properly designated Lysander S.C.W. (SpecialContract Westland) of which about twelve were converted in 1941-42 by Fieldings. Its all-up weight was of the order of10,000 lb, and it formed the equipment of No. 161 Squadron, with V, T and R serials. Up to six passengers could be carried,and the duration was phenomenal. For instance, on the night of March 19th, 1943, machine F for Freddie took one agent onan unsuccessful trip to France, the duration of which was 8 hr 30 min; and, on February 19th of the same year, "Fred" also tookone out and brought two back on a successful trip of 7 hr 40 min. Even in 1947, in the early stages of the Israel-Egyptian war,Lysanders were engaged in border patrols in the Sinai (saw one myself); and in Canada six old Mark 2s were converted to cropspraying with an all-up weight of 10,500 1b and an incredible swath-width of 175ft per track.The Lysander Delanne tandem wing was a conversion of the prototype P.8 (P6127) to be type P.12 (P for Petter, incidentally).It was, it seems, fitted for a while with a centre fin, used to gather data for a monoplane fighter bomber similar to the Miles F.A.A.Libellula. (4) Westland also tendered a most interesting design to S 24/37,designated P.ll. It was not built, although the Fairey Barracuda and Supermarine 322 were. (5) Finally, in continuation of the lightplane tradition a tender—one of eleven from Commonwealth firms—was submitted to T16/48 which was eventually won by Percivals and called theProvost. The history of these eleven tenders is quite another story, however.Higham Ferrers, Northants. ARCHANGEL. PI your issue for May 13th a correspondent referred to the factthat he had not so long ago seen a Pterodactyl hanging from the roof of a Farnborough hangar. I saw this particular machinemyself in 1948 and am of the opinion that it is in fact the first Pterodactyl which was built by Capt. Hill prior to his joining theWestland Company. ':•• I recall the following brief details of the machine, which maybe of some interest. The fuselage was triangular in section and apparently a single-seater. Unlike the later Pterodactyls, an ortho-dox undercarriage was fitted, the tailwheel being at the extreme end of the short fuselage under the aft-mounted engine. Midwaybeneath each wing was a small triangular-shaped vertical surface. The serial number was J8067.Doncaster, Yorks. J. E. HoWARTH. Jet Pioneers—A ReactionI READ with interest the comments under the heading "JetPioneers" in Flight of May 6th. There is in existence in this country an organization formed in1945 and made up of the original Whittle team who were employed by Power Jets, Ltd., up to the spring of 1945. They are known as"The Reactionaries," a name chosen for its jet implications, and meet regularly at an annual dinner held on the nearest Saturdayto April 12th, the anniversary of the first engine run. The dinners were originally held at Lutterworth, but recentlythey have taken place at Farnborough, Hants, the present location of Power Jets (R. and D.), Ltd.The total membership is just under 100 and although our members are now spread all over the world, our annual gatheringis always well supported. A newsletter is prepared each year giving the present activities of the members and is circulated tokeep our distant members in touch. A limited number of guests are invited to attend the dinner,their names being proposed by any member. I am afraid that we have not yet risen to the heights of ourAmerican counterparts in unveiling plaques from 30,000ft, but I can assure you that a good time is had by all at our reunions andthat we are still very much a live organization. Farnborough, Hants. A. SIMONS, Hon. Secretary, The Reactionaries. IN BRIEF : . "Granny," who provides her address but omits to give hername, has apparently been having an argument with her grand- son about the first Atlantic flights. To settle the controversy:First crossing (by stages via the Azores and Lisbon), Lt-Cdr. Read and crew, Curtiss NC-4 flying-boat, May 1919 (west-east). Firstnon-stop crossing (W-E), Alcock and Brown, Vickers Vimy, June 1919. First solo crossing (W-E), Lindbergh, Ryan monoplane, May1927. It was probably the last-named that "Granny" remembers having seen land at Croydon—he continued from Paris, where hisAtlantic flight ended. In contrast to "Granny," a Berlin reader—Herr HermannHirsing—gives his name but no address. He writes enquiring about the possibilities of finding a firm that would make him aminiature (12ft long) airship envelope of goldbeaters' skin, a material once commonly used by manufacturers of lighter-than-aircraft. He encloses a sample from an envelope made for him many years ago by the Zeppelin company. If he will provide hisaddress, we can give him the name of a London firm that can supply the material. Meanwhile, any others in a position to assistmay care to make the fact known. REALISM IN MINIATURE : A PULSE JET-POWERED SABRE Though we seldom pub- lish photographs of models, we make an ex- ception of this remark- able F-86F, the work of Mr. P. Donavour-Hickie —aided, as he says, by "Flight" data. Mild steel (22 s.w.g.), aluminium, plywood, balsa and Fibreglass are among the materials. A Dynajet (4.5 Ib static thrust) pro- vides the power. Wing span is 37 in and weight just under 6 Ib.
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