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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1223.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2432 Vol. 68. FRIDAY. 2 SEPTEMBER 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, Sed/st, 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, Hiffe, Manchester. Telephone, Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3S95 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2. 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, (14.00. IN THIS ISSUE : News of the Week - 337-346 British Aircraft 1955 - 347 Sailplanes and Gliders - 385 Missiles and Targets - - British Power Units 1955 Accessory Developments Power Units Data - - Military Aircraft Tabulated Civil Aircraft and Helicopter Data The Ministry's Contribution Farnborough Show Guide 410 The Ancillary Industry - 413 386 387 399 407 .... 403 409 ... 410 TO ALL our friends who, in early September, travel from almost every country in the world to visit England and, in particular, the Exhibition and Display of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, we extend a warm welcome. We hope their stay here will result in pleasant personal contacts and, professionally, will prove a stimulating experience. . - • ^ At Farnborough Next Week IT is our custom in this annual special number, devoted to the British Aircraftindustry, to review the latest products and practices of the manufacturers. We alsoexamine broadly the progress made in aircraft design, the current requirements and the extent to which British achievement is leading, keeping pace or lagging by comparison with that of other nations. When considering such matters, it is a pre-requisite to have one's timing clearly in mind, otherwise unfair comparisons will be almost unavoidable. In a slightly different context we commented last week on the gestation period of modern aircraft, estimating it at about seven years. Assuming that a prototype starts its flying life about half-way through this period, in the later stages there may be simultaneous flight testing of first, second or third-year prototypes in their various phases of development. The date at which they should be able to undertake the work for which they were designed is more significant than the maker's estimate of future performance. Again, it may be misleading to regard a transport as better or worse than another of equal capacity on the figures of the moment, when, in fact, the one is at the end of its development life, and the other at the beginning. The basis for comparison is another matter which must be fairly considered. If one fighter, to meet a specification, must carry four 30-mm guns, then it must be expected to have fire-power advantages, but weight and performance disadvantages, when compared with another with lighter armament. It has been apparent for some time past that not only fighters but military aircraft in general are becoming less versatile. They can do as much as and more than their predecessors; but, to achieve the ultimate efficiency, they must be tailored to one task only. More than ever before, the armament to be carried is settling their size and shape. ; - • s Specialization is also the order of the day for the new gas turbines, as will be seen at Farnborough. This may in fact be remembered as an engine year, one marking the first showing of such outstanding new designs as the de Havilland Gyron turbojet for supersonic fighters, the Rolls-Royce Conway by-pass turbojet for transports, and the de Havilland Spectre and Armstrong Siddeley Screamer rocket motors. The Napier gas-producers, too, will be seen. The Bristol Orpheus may be lending its full thrust to the Gnat, the Armstrong Siddeley Viper to the Jet Provost, and the Alvis Leonides Major, for transports and helicopters, will be making its flying debut. And the list does not end here. How do these products line up with their competitors abroad? So far as engines are concerned, there is none better anywhere. Of new transport aircraft in service, nearing service, or appearing for the first time, none holds more promise. In the military field, the picture is, perhaps, a little less rosy, thought not discreditable to the designers and producers. The machines now going into service are the end- products of a difficult period, a period of rapid, unconsolidated progress, of financial stringency and of official procrastination. Here we are barely holding our own with America and with what is known of Russian equipment. A realization of the importance of exceptional high-altitude performance has had its effect on airframe and engine design. In this respect many of our aircraft are outstanding. Numbers are still very short, but potential customers will find the technical merit to be high, the cost reasonable and the quality of the engines such as to tilt the balance favourably.
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