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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1330.PDF
444 H^K THE OPENING OF THE SHOW The powerplant is the Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba 6, which has a plastic intake ring. The de-icer boots are air operated. Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant B.I. If the serial WZ 365 be anyguide, the Valiant displayed this year is the first of a new pro- duction batch (predecessors were serialled WP 199 et seq). Whilethe glossy black " one-off" B.2 impressed by its uniquely sinister air, this dull-silver B.I must be viewed as the repre-sentative of an increasingly strong force of Bomber Command Valiants. Further evidence of that strength is to be seen asNo. 138 Squadron's Valiants fly overhead—"at 287 m.p.h.", notes a precise Air Ministry announcement. Vickers-Armstrongs Supermarine Swift. Production of theSwift in a new version is continuing and F.R. squadrons in Germany are to be equipped with them in the near future.XD 904, shown at Farnborough, is claimed to be a standard example of this version. The leading edge of the wing, for justunder half of each semi-span, is carried forward some four inches; the cockpit canopy is a new dear-view, single-piecemoulding; the Rolls-Royce Avon has an afterburner; the hous- ing and ports of the two inboard cannon have been covered over;the radar nose-cap is replaced, on one of the aircraft shown, by a large metal " dolls-eye " cover for a camera port, and two furtherpanels cover sideways-facing ports. Another Swift there has windows without covers in thesepositions; the gun-camera is mounted in the nosewheel door; four pylon mountings can be seen under each wing, togetherwith provision for a large ventral tank under the fuselage. The ailerons carry geared tabs for use in manual control. Vickers-Armstrongs Viscount 724. T.C.A.'s fourteenth Vis-count, CF-TGV, arrived fresh from the Hurn production line to conclude Monday's flying programme, and was expected todemonstrate daily. Since development of the V.724 for Trans- Canada Airlines paved the way to dollar orders worth a totalof £34m, there could scarcely have been a more welcome repre- sentative of the great Viscount family. Next year's show,perhaps, will see the first appearance of the long-bodied Viscount 800; meanwhile, this development is attractively presented bya large model V.800, in K.L.M. colours, which forms the centre piece of Vickers' stand in the static exhibition. Nearby is aScoreboard recording some salient features of the Viscount story so far—e.g., the number sold (236), airline hours flown (130,010),and the numbers of records held (42) and customers (28). Westland Widgeon. The prototype of this efficient helicopteris the renowned G-ALIK, the seventh Westland Dragonfly built, which has now logged over 3,000 hr. The cabin is completelyredesigned to accommodate side-by-side seats for two in front (with dual controls in a trainer version) and three separate seatsbehind. In an ambulance role two stretchers (of standard General-Service type) can be loaded, one above the other,through the clamshell-type hinged port half of the nose. Bulged windows provide an excellent view. The engine remains an Alvis Leonides, driving a three-bladerotor. The rotor head is that of the larger Whirlwind, but the metal blades are of a special type peculiar to the Widgeon. Forrescue work, a winch can be fitted to starboard. Maximum weight is 200 lb up on that of the Dragonfly at 5,900 lb, and6,000 1b is expected with 8 lb boost. Empty weight is 4,424 lb. Westland Whirlwind H.A.R.S. Now in full production torthe Royal Navy, and with characteristics suited to a great variety of Service and civilian roles, the Whirlwind with the AlvisLeonides Major is being shown for the first time. Previously, a mock-up installation of this engine has been displayed in aWhirlwind airframe. The first flignt with the MajOi. too* piace at the end of last month, Lt. " Slim " Sear being the pilot.The maximum weight has been increased to 8,000 lb, the empty weight being 5,262 lb. Up to 12 troops can be carriedin the 10ft by 6ft by 6ft cabin; for a range of 100 n.m. a payload of 2,031 lb can be carried in a block time of 1 hr 20 min, andthe service ceiling is 14,500ft at 7,500 lb. Monday's Flying IT cannot be claimed that the flying display this year reachesthe high standards which have been set in the past, itseemed, in fact, that the demonstrations followed a pattern so constant that the pre-flight briefing must have specified a cer-tain routine. Some of the aircraft were shown for very short periods. Special credit is, however, due for a number of out-standing performances. " Roly " Falk finally performed a splen- did upward roll in the Vulcan, an aerobatic feat which he has RTV-2 displayed by Short and Harland. This massive vehicle was illustrated last week (p. 386) with its booster motors attached to the fore-body. •-..•.- Left, on elegant Fairey missile, described in the text. been prevented only by circumstances from achieving before.Last year, after an accident to the second Vulcan, the first had to be demonstrated at Farnborough and this was not cleared forrolling. Nevertheless, "Roly" took it well over the vertical— and according to reports was roundly upbraided for it. Thisyear there was nothing to limit him and, sweeping down past the control tower in a shallow dive, he pulled up into a steepclimb and completed a roll in fine style. Jan Zurakowski, who left Glosters for Avro Canada some yearsago, returned to Farnborough this year to fly one of the CF-lOOs in the show. His demonstration was short and to the point andin the classic tradition that previous shows have led us to ex- pect from him. He gave a masterly demonstration of flying,while also showing the excellent handling qualities of the air- craft. Out of a fast pass he half rolled and completed an upwardbunt, rolled again and went into a spin. Pulling out of this he went straight into a series of upward rolls and then stalledthe aircraft and executed a classic falling leaf—this with an aircraft with an all-up weight of well over 40,000 lb.The No. 11 Group Hunter formation aerobatic team, formed by No. 54 Sqn. and led by Capt. Immig of the U.S.A.F. gavea demonstration which for showmanship and originality of manoeuvre was well up to Skyblazer standard. It seemed thatthe aircraft did not quite give them the controllability in the bumpy air to perform just so precisely as the Skyblazers'Sabres. Most of the time, however, they were if anything closer together than the Americans. Particularly exciting was theirroll to starboard, beginning in echelon starboard and changing into box four on the way round. Just to prove that this wasroutine, they looped in box, winged over into line astern and rolled to port back into box formation. The bomb-burst wasbeautifully stage-managed. The team, in box, burst from a patch of cloud vertically downwards, to break immediately leav-ing trails of red smoke from their tails as they pulled out. Of noise there was plenty, from the gentle rustle of the Gnatat high speed to the shattering roar of the Olympus Canberra, fresh from its altitude record flight. The purposeful sound ofthe Leonides and Leonides Majors in Pioneers, Provosts, Herald, and in helicopter form in the Westland Widgeon, Whirlwind andBristol Sycamore and 173 contrasted pleasantly with the infernal cracking and resonant note of the Fairey Jet Gyrodyne.Perhaps the most curious of outlines was that of the Fairey Delta 2, which lowered its nose for taxying and landing. Thelong needle nose seemed to be sniffing for some kind of mechanical nourishment in the all-too-sterile tarmac. The Deltaheld pride of place for speed of touch-down. With the Gnat it shared the distinction of using a tail-braking parachute, butwhereas the triple chute of the Delta was jettisoned during the landing run, the Gnat taxied with its single canopy trailing.Real progress in the helicopter field was shown by the first appearance of the Westland Widgeon and of the LeonidesMajor-powered Whirlwind and, smallest but by no means the least interesting, the Fairey ultra-light observation helicopter,powered by a Blackbum-Turbomeca Palouste. Speed was the undisputed domain of the Hunters, Swift,Gnat and CF-100, although the Canberra P.R.9 showed a fine turn of speed as it tore about the sky on the power of its twoRolls-Royce Avon Mk 206s, which give five-figure thrust. Probably the fastest pass of all was that by Frank Bullen in theHunter F.6, which seemed not at all hampered by its two Bristol plastic wing-tanks. The Show Dinner AT the flying display dinner at the Dorchester Hotel, London,i. last Monday evening, more than 1,200 guests, representing100 countries, were present. The president of the S.B.A.C., Mr. J. J. Parkes, proposed the health of the guests, saying that theShow had become the premier meeting place of world aviation. Friends from the West Coast of America had told him that itwas easier to meet others from the East Coast at Farnborough than anywhere else. The S.B.A.C. was happy to provide facili-ties for its most redoubtable competitors. For the guests, the High Commissioner of Australia, theHon. Sir Thomas White, K.B.E., D.F.C., replied, saying that only the fringe of air transportation had been touched. TheViscount was very much in evidence in Australia, carrying on average a passenger load factor of 85 per cent.
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