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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0959.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2425 Vol. 68. FRIDAY, 15 JULY 1955 DITOR 1AURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. and Bar iSSOCIATE EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. •ECHN/CAL EDITOR N. T. GUNSTON \KT EDITOR IOHN 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: ' j 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, Ili/fe, Glasgow. | Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). I SUBSCRIPTION RATES ; Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00. IN THIS ISSUE : Farnborough's GoldenDay 74 TheAnglo-American Con- ference : Installations and Design 77 Design of Large Heli- copters 79 Glimpses of Soviet Air Strength 82 The Story of the Viscount 83 The Viscount for North America 87 Farnborough At Home - 94 Sycamore in the Tyrol - 96 Lasham Prospects - - - 97 Thoughts on Skylarking - 98 British Engine for Ultra- lights 106 The Helicopter in the Making UNLIKE most newly introduced vehicles and machines, the helicopter has beenreceived more readily by the public than by the engineers of the industry in whichit was conceived. It has undoubtedly captured the people's imagination, and it has done so by its unique ability to perform tasks beyond the capability of any other type of craft. The rotating-wing aircraft has a strong appeal, too, by reason of the fact that in some situations, e.g., on certain short-haul routes, it promises to provide a method of avoiding one of the drawbacks of fixed-wing air transport, namely, the trying and noisy process of take-off along a mile or more of concrete, and the almost equally unsatisfactory procedure involved in landings. The use of helicopters—and small single-engined ones at that—by the Royal Family has removed from the public mind many lingering doubts about the reliability of such machines; yet—and to revert to our opening theme—several of the country's leading aircraft-manufacturing organizations, among them de Havilland, Handley Page, the Hawker Siddeley group, and Vickers, have yet to show tangible interest in helicopters. In saying this we cast no reflection upon these great companies, because it is well known that they are fully occupied in other directions; in addition, Flight has commented in the past upon the undesirability of over-stretching and over-diluting the very few technical staffs that have helicopter experience. With those who continue to maintain that the helicopter is an unsatisfactory device, "a perfect machine for demonstrating the effects of fatigue," and so forth, we are inclined to agree less each day. Extra-mural.Possibilities ; • " •'• •'• ~""J -•"-• --••-•-•• §The apparent lack of interest in helicopters by large aircraft companies—and our remarks apply even more forcefully to the American aircraft industry, and to some extent to France—may turn out to represent a largely unconscious foreshadowing of the future. There are those who believe that helicopters differ from fixed-wing aircraft to such an extent that diey could be built with advantage outside the aircraft industry. There is some sense in this argument. Certainly mechanical-type helicopter designs—those with gear- and shaft-driven rotors—seem to owe only a very small part of their success to fixed-wing manufacturing experience; their slab-sided, tubular-framed bodies and the engine, clutches, gearboxes and even control mechanisms all represent detail work of a type handled daily outside the aircraft industry as such. This line of thought applies with less force to tip-jet designs; but these represent entirely new ground even to the aircraft design teams. We ourselves do not rule out the possibility of certain classes of small helicopters being built cheaply and in large numbers by firms hitherto unconnected with flying, though in this case rotor heads and blades may have to be bought or "borrowed." We include here the small tip-jet types diat are likely to be used by the Army for communications and spotting. These machines will in any case have to be handled by M.T. sections, much as if they were motor bikes. For the larger rotating-wing machines—especially the helibuses of a decade hence— we prefer to think in terms of the experience and exceptionally high standards for which the aircraft industry is famed. This may mean higher costs and longer to wait, but it is our guess that the additional safety and reliability which follow will provide the justification. To achieve this end, however, British manufacturers will have to expand their facilities, attract and train hundreds of new men, spend a great deal more money and accept that their helicopters will still make little progress—either at home or competitively with those produced abroad—if they are treated only as a sideline.
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