FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0923.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in" the World Founded 1909 No. 2424 Vol. 68. FRIDAY, 8 JULY 1955 EDITOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. and Bar ASSOCIATE EDITOR 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, Deansgate. 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). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 1Cs. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00. IN THIS ISSUE : R.A.E. Golden Jubilee - 36 The A.R.B. Year ... 36 Bobolink to Delta (Boul- ton Paul history) - - 39 Helicopters in Europe - 54 Reduction of Jet Noise - 57 "Carte Blanche" Atomic Exercise 66 Age and Experience AVIATION is growing up. This year of 1955 has already brought more noteworthyanniversaries in the British aircraft industry than any we can remember pre-^ viously. In May we reviewed the first 40 years' activities of one major manufac- turer, Gloster Aircraft, and in the previous month 40 years of Westland Aircraft—an occasion which, incidentally, the company itself marked last week with a garden party near London. Feature articles in our last week's issue led up to another even greater occasion which is now being celebrated, namely, the golden jubilee of the Royal Aircraft Establishment (as it is now styled) at Farnborough. And this is not all; the history to date of another respected company, Boulton Paul, is also reviewed in some of the following pages; and a little later in the month it will be the turn of Fairey Aviation, with another fortieth anniversary. Farnborough, towards which today many will turn their steps (and many more, no doubt, their thoughts) has a remarkable record of service to the aircraft manufacturing industry and, more broadly, to the nation. This was made clear in the tributes and reminiscences, printed last week, from men associated with Farnborough, some of whom had actually worked there. The near-miraculous investigation into the Comet disasters, also, is still in the public mind; so that while some may believe that the Establishment, now in its 50th year, is no more than a sort of super, technical Scotland Yard for aviation, they at least have an appreciation of the standard of work and the calibre of the men of Farnborough. Today the work of the R.A.E. and of similar scientific and research centres is more important to the country than ever previously. That Princess Margaret has found it pos- sible to include among her engagements an inspection of the activities and equipment displayed at Farnborough on the occasion of its jubilee celebrations is particularly gratifying. Enterprise—and Risk Turning again for a moment to the histories of aircraft manufacturers which we prepare from time to time as the jubilees occur, it is instructive to observe the rewards for enterprise—and also the cost. The facts are often cruel, but they give grounds for encouragement; many excellent ideas and aircraft designs of past years have failed, some disastrously, and most expensively. On the other hand, some have succeeded brilliantly and brought fame, prestige and reward. One thing clearly brought out is well expressed by the old adage "nothing venture, nothing gain". We are well aware how easy it is to write about such matters and in contrast how overwhelming a responsibility is the taking of a decision to build a new aircraft today; but courage and enterprise there must be, and with the store of knowledge and experience now built up, the chances of success in a vastly more complicated undertaking are at least as good as they were in the past. Once the difficult decision has been taken to proceed with a new aircraft to suit a definite market at a definite time the technical battle begins, and it is here that Farn- borough enters the picture. From the R.A.E. manufacturers can depend upon obtaining a great deal of advanced basic data of a kind that they could seldom hope to provide from their own sources. In addition, they can later take individual problems to Farn- borough as they arise during construction and development and be sure of help in their solutions. And so, eventually, the finished product emerges and flies, and in due course (very appropriately, we have often thought) finds its way back to Farnborough again for a different purpose—its demonstration to prospective purchasers from all parts of the world who assemble there each September as the guests of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. So the cycle is completed.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
