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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1586.PDF
FLIGHT, 4 November 1955 703 An item of uncommon interest was this Trans- port Command Hastings, loaded externally with a jeep, trailer and containers. Paratroops were paraded beyond. "Flight" photograph by the tower. The pilot was the squadron's commanding officer,W/C. R. G. W. Oakley, and he returned to show the Valiant off in various configurations and power settings, finally departingwith a sudden wave of Avon-thrust to higher levels and Gaydon. As for the Provost's succeeding show, we need only quote theobservation of a bystander that the pilot seemed to have flown the machine before. It was copybook flying with a dash. A Benson-based Hunter was programmed as being flown byone S/L. Lowbridge; and though Lowbridge proved to be his call-sign—his name being, in fact, Hunter—it was none the lessappropriate, having regard to the height of his opening run. His signature manoeuvre was a series of continuous rolls of which wegenuinely lost count. Suddenly the scene was sprinkled with the colour of supply-drop parachutes streamed out of a Hastings. Brief but wholly effective. Then after a Westland Dragonfly had been whirledaround and about with studied abandon, the 35 Squadron demon- stration team of four Canberras came out of the lowering sun fortheir three-plus-one act—always a sure-fire hit. The individualist wheeled round and round, successively clean, with flaps, withbomb doors open, and finally with wheels down; and the signing off was effected as shown on the opposite page.By this time the 54 Squadron Hunters had got airborne, sing- ing and whistling lustily, and the shadows were reaching out acrossthe field. The sinking sun was adding yet more gilt to the distant scene. A bonfire trailed smoke somewhere beyond the peri-track and the cold was forgotten in glowing mellowness. If to this setting be added the sheer artistry of 54 Squadron's aero-batics, it may be supposed that the President left with a not unfavourable impression of England and the Royal Air Force. SWEDEN'S DOUBLE-DELTA FIGHTER—THE SAAB J35 Since (he little Saab 210 research aircraft flew in December 1951 there has been widespread conjecture, and many conflicting reports, con- cerning the ensuing fighter. This has now materialized as the 735, laid out along the same lines, as seen here, and powered with a reheat Rolls-Royce Avon. One virtue of the double-delta configuration is that it admits a generous fuel load close inboard. The highest hopes are entertained, and, having regard to the results obtained with the "210" and to the power unit selected, these can hardly fail to be realized.
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