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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1331.PDF
FLIGHT, 9 September 1955 445 MISSILES ©IV SHOW PERHAPS this year's exhibition is slightly disappointingin the scope and variety of revelations in the sphere ofguided weapon development. From a technical aspect the most interesting exhibit is probably on the stand of theEnglish Electric Group, who are, incidentally, the only private company in the world capable of undertaking the entire designdevelopment and manufacture of a guided missile programme' In such work the English Electric company draw upon theresources of Marconi for guidance systems and D. Napier and Son, Ltd., for propulsion. An English Electric missile is shown in model form identicalwith that displayed earlier this year in Paris. The model is however, painted silver and bears red, white and blue roundels'although it may be presumed that missiles in British service—^ either with the Army, Navy or Air Force—would not be sopainted. The model was described in last week's issue. More satisfying was the rear end of an actual missile, whichwas cut-away to show the interior. The body was formed from centrifugally cast sections, bolted together end-to-end. It wasunderstood that the exhibit represented an early test vehicle, in which servicing and maintenance considerations were of minorimportance. Production-type missiles will no doubt embody quick-release couplings. The rear end of the body has beenbelled out to a slightly increased diameter, presumably to allow a cooling airflow to surround the liquid-propellent rocket motor.The latter is a conventional-looking single-chamber unit by Napier. Rectangular spigots can be seen around the extremeend of the outer casing, to carry four booster units. There are four control surfaces mounted in steel fork ends and rotated inroller bearings by hydraulic jacks. The " plumbing," although clearly visible, is not representative of the latest practice. In front of this exhibit is displayed an electronic pack-unit,hinged along one edge to open out for servicing. The pack is contained in a perforated air-cooled container. On the stand of Short Bros, and Harland, Ltd., can be seenacomplete RTV-2, of the type illustrated in last week's issue. This was originally an R.A.E design, work on which is believedto have been initiated by Follands before the project was taken over by Shorts. Although it is a test vehicle it is certainly largeenough to be a complete weapon, for it has a diameter of 15-17 inches, and the full-weight must be at least 1,800 lb. The nose is a 20-deg cone, aft of which the body continuesto increase in diameter steadily for at least six feet. The tail is of the boat type (which most designers would like, but fail toattain owing to the demands of the power-unit envelope). Cruciform wings are bolted on to the outside of the body, thesection being a parallel double-wedge. The tail, in line with the wings, is of high aspect-ratio. As in the English Electricmissile, the body sections are bolted together. Around the slightly tapered forward section of the body are sockets forattachment spigots for the four double boosters (which were visible in the photograph published last week). These motorsappear to have canted Venturis, probably to prevent dispersion in the event of failure of one of them; presumably the thrust-lines are intended to pass through the e.g. The only other complete missile on show is an elegant vehicleon the Fairey stand. The missile itself seems to be a prototype of an actual air-to-air weapon, although it is shown mounted onthe massive booster of an RTV-1 test vehicle. The latter, painted bright yellow, has four dummy motors and simple riveted fins.The weapon itself, which bears the serial number 3401, has an ogive nose, parallel double-wedge wings, a fiaired boat tail andrearward-raked tail surfaces indexed at 45-deg to the wings (on RTV-1 the tail surfaces are in line with the wings). Thewings have slightly swept leading edges, and the roots are com- pletely recessed in the body. Assuming that the weapon carriesits own motor and fuel, we would put the weight, less the booster, at about 3001b. Who's the Pilot? THE MEN FLYING AT FARNBOROUGH TEST flying is hard work. For most professional pilotstoday, it comes near to being a vocation; without anenthusiasm and a dedication to the technical purposeunderlying every flight, it cannot be followed with success. Widely contrasting demands are made upon the test pilot,for whom there is little relaxation. When his aircraft is service- able, he must be ready to fly it, but, inevitably, there are longand anxious waiting periods, both before the first flight of a prototype and subsequently. Yet once he is airborne, themaximum amount of useful flying must be packed into the brief periods available. Between flights his thoughts are naturallyoccupied with the problems of the test work in hand. For the general public, influenced by films, magazines, news-papers and popular biographies, test flying is filled with "glamour." To pilots the very word is anathema; and few things seem less glamorous than cold, hard " ironmongery"waiting on the tarmac early on a wet Monday morning. The Farnborough display is no holiday for the pilots; in fact,on many of them it imposes a severe strain by the end of the week. But at least it represents a change and provides the samepleasant opportunity for a get-together that all the visitors and exhibitors enjoy so much. Those who are demonstrating aircraft this year—they totalmore than 60—are shown below and in the following pages, and a few words about their careers accompany each portrait. Manythus noted are holders of numerous decorations, honours and degrees; these are, in general, omitted for the sake of brevity.In addition, as mentioned below, R.A.F. pilots will do their share by bringing over formations of the latest fighters andbombers now in squadron service. Three abbreviation, occur frequently in the captions below: E.T.P.S. - Empire Test Pilots' School. F"">»™"«£ Av^roii'h' " Aero'»lane »nrtArmament Experimental Establishmenc. Boscombe Down: R.A.E. = Royal Aircraft Establishment. Farnboroufh. FOR the daily flying displays, some of the air- craft are grouped together and fly in circuses; the remainder give individual demonstrations. The pilots are depicted in this portrait gallery in the order in which they are expected to per- form. Thus the aircraft in circus A are handled by the first eight pilots, right and overleaf. Tomorrow, Saturday, a formation of Valiants of No. 138 Squadron will take part in the display. They will be led by VV/C. R. G. W. Oakley, D.S.O., D.F.C., D.F.M. Accompanying them will be 64 Hunters of Fighter Command, in four for- mations, led by W/C. K. C. M. Ciddings, O.B.E., D.F.C., A.F.C., WJC.J. H. S. Broughton, D.F.C., A.F.C., W/C. J. A. Sowrey, D.F.C., WjC. P. J. Simpson, O.S.O., D.F.C. On each public day, the Hunter aerobatic team of No. 54 Squadron, led by Copt. Richard G. Immig, U.S.A.F., and comprising as well F/O. P. V. L Hamilton, FiO. 8. J. Noble, and P/O. K. R. Curtis, will also give a five-minute exhibition. S/L. MIKE RANDRUP(Eland-Elizabethan): Char- ter pilot before war. R.A.F. instructor 1940-41, fighter pilot Spitfires) in 1942. Since then, test pilot tn industry and at K.A.b.; O C Engine R. andD. Flight 1945-46. Chief test pilot for Napiers since 1946. 4,450 hr. H. K. CARTWRIGHT(Eland-Elizabethan): D.H. Technical School, 1935-38; Wilson Airways, Kenya, until 1940. No. 30 Sqn. abroad. Returned 1944 to fighter testing. Attached Napiers on Sabre develop- ment, remainedwith company. Has 3,500 hours. D. MASTERS (Gannet Trainer): Senior test pilot, Fairey, Ringway. R.A.F.V.R. 1938-46. In- structor, Rhodesia 1940- 1943. Bomber commander1944-46. No. 5 Empire Test Pilots' Course, Cran- field 1946. Joined Fairey in 1946. ROY MORRIS (Gannet Trainer): R.A.F. 1943-44, then Royal Navy till 1950. Recalled six months later and served as pilot and deck landing officer till February, 1952, when he joined Fairey, No. 12 E.T.P.S. course, 1953.
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