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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1696.PDF
25 November 1955 815 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "flight" does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents in these columns;the names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. Unexplained Accidents IT seems to have become customary in certain sections of thePress and, indeed, with many people who should know better, to assume in the event of an unexplained accident to an aeroplanethat the cause was, probably, the result of an error of judgment by the pilot. After a recent most regrettable accident which resulted in thedeath of the pilot, comments which appeared in the Press and in the B.B.C. broadcast news and, later, remarks reported as havingbeen made by the coroner concerned, were to the effect that the cause of the accident was possibly pilot error. It may be that,in this instance, the pilot did make a mistake, but there is as yet no shred of evidence to support such a conclusion. Noaccident should be the subject of comment in this way, bearing in mind that all are subject to a thorough and competent technicalinquiry by expert technical investigators. Unjust criticism of one not able to defend himself can causeunnecessary and undeserved distress to a pilot's family and to his colleagues, and is surely a trait not normally in keeping withthe British character. Many pilots, especially those engaged in test flying, can recallincidents which in less skilled hands or in less fortunate circum- stances might have proved disastrous and which, in that event,would have been impossible of subsequent detection, except only that the pilot himself survived to bear witness. I know that it is now usual to decry the once-revered dictumde mortuis nil nisi bonum; but need the pendulum be allowed to swing so far in the direction of premature and irresponsiblecomment on those who cannot answer back? London, W.I. J. C. HARRINGTON.Master, The Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.Before the Wrights TN the recent correspondence discussing who were the first men•*• to fly heavier-than-air machines, I am surprised that nobody mentioned Gustave Whitehead of America.According to old books I have in my collection he built and flew in a steam-powered airplane at Oakland, Pittsburgh, inthe spring of 1899. Whitehead, who was a friend and admirer of Lmenthal, also built the engine, which was a two-cylindercharcoal burner and a 4in bore and lOin stroke. He carried with him as "fireman" on his first flight hismechanic, Louis Darvarich. The aircraft took off on its own three-wheeled undercarriage from a street in Oakland, assistedby firemen from No. 24 engine company and watched by a crowd of neighbours. The length and duration of this flight arenot recorded but it ended with the aircraft failing to clear a tall building and crashing to the ground. Darvarich was badly scaldedby steam from broken gauges and spent many weeks in hospital; Whitehead was uninjured. Before the end of 1901 he had built no fewer than 56 airplanes.How successful they were I am unable to discover but he is quoted as saying "Airplanes must rise vertically from the groundif they are to become practical." I believe the Philips Aeronautical Library in America has recorded many of his deeds . On August 14th, 1901, he made a li-mile flight at LordshipManor, Bridgeport, Connecticut. This flight is recorded in the American Inventor of April 1st, 1902. The machine used was amonoplane made of steel tubing, spruce, pine and bamboo, the wings were covered with Japanese silk which was sewn on bythe women of the neighbourhood in the Whitehead backyard at 241 Pine Street. Bracing was by piano wire attached to acentral post over the fuselage. Power was supplied by a home- made four-cylinder two-cycle motor located forward in the boat-shaped fuselage, driving two tractor airscrews mounted one in front of each wing. Ignition was of the make-and-break type, drybatteries were used and a gravity tank held two gallons of petrol. Another motor, of unknown specification, was fitted to drive thewheels and so assist take-off. All-up weight was approximately 800 lb and about 965 lb with Whitehead on board.On many of his early test flights he was accompanied by another mechanic, Anton Pruckner, who in 1934 said he wellremembered these early hops. On January 17th, 1902, Whitehead took off in a similar air-craft from the beach outside Bridgeport and flew along the shore- line for a distance of two miles. After landing and refuellinghe flew off again, this time over Long Island Sound and made several turns and "figure eights" over a distance of about sevenmiles and then landed safely on the water. The motor used in this instance burned kerosine. Accounts of this flight were alsopublished in the American Inventor, along with affidavits from eyewitnesses.I wonder if any older American readers remember Gustaye Whitehead, or if anyone knows what happened to all hisinventions. JOHN GARWOOD.Sutton, Surrey. "'. D/F Efficiency TN your issue of September 16th there appeared a letter entitled-•- "Radio Recollections." In it, Mr. G. Abrahams wrote with nostalgic touch about the "good old days" of M.F. D/F. andqueried, "What has replaced it?" Obviously he has never heard of Malta homer.This, a V.H.F. D/F. homer of standard pattern, stands some 880ft above sea level, distance from Tripoli 250 miles, Tunis250 miles and Benina 430 miles. The homer usually maintains 5 + 5 contact with these points for at least two-thirds of theyear. For example, I may quote the homer's 1955 record up to the present time. Strength 5 R/T. contact was established withTripoli for the first time this year on March 26th. Contact with Benina came on the same day; Tunis was tested two days later.Last week we tested 5 + 5 with Tunis. This morning Tripoli and Benina were 5 + 5. Perhaps the above does not appear spec-tacular, but the following may cause a lifting of eyebrows. Malta homer frequently receives and transmits to aircraft which aresouth of Tripoli, east of Benina and north-west of Tunis— aircraft which are calling these stations but receiving no replyfor the reason that they are out of range. I think that Mr. Abrahams will agree when I say that a V.H.F.homer repeatedly passing class A bearings to aircraft which are on the average 500 miles away is not such a "sad affair." Thestandard range of a homer is put as 250 miles at Angels 10 (ground to air). To state the entire case for Malta homer on paper would takea long time and a lot of paper, but I enclose copies of some "testi- monials" of which we are very proud.R.A.F. Dingli, Malta. L. A/C. HARMER. [Among our correspondent's enclosures is this extract fromH. F. King's Flight article "Middle East and Far East," pub- lished on May 29th, 1953: "Our last call was on the Malta homerstation, which has achieved a very high reputation among Service and civilian pilots. Of standard R.A.F. pattern, the homer isabove the sea and often 'works' aircraft at freak distances. One log entry we saw read: 'bearing 118, height 11.5, miles 625.' Wewere also shown a letter from Airwork, Ltd., to the 'Staff of the Malta Homer,' thanking them for their excellent work in con-nection with the Hermes down off Trapani last year. There is little glamour about these homers, but, truly, the R.A.F. wouldbe lost without them."] FORTHCOMING EVENTS Nov. 29. Society of Instrument Technology: "Electronic Computing Methods," by A. St. Johnston, B.Sc, A.M.I.E.E., A.C.G.I. NOY. 29. R.Ae.S.: Section Lecture: "The Noise of Jet Engines," by F. B. Greotrcx, B.A., A.F.R.Ae.S. Dec. 1. R.Ae.S.: Main Lecture: "Free Flight Techniques for High Speed Aerodynamic Research," by P. A. Hufton, M.Sc. (at Boscombe Down). Dec. 1. R.Ae.S.: Graduates and Students Section: "Aeroelasticity in Practice," by H. S. Liner. Dec. 2. Aircraft Golfing Society: Dinner and Dance. Dec. 3. British Interplanetary Society: "Probing Interplanetary Space," by E. Burgess, F.R.A.S. Dec. 6. Society of Instrument Technology: "Planning a Servo- mechanisms Laboratory for Instructional Purposes," by E. B. Pearson, M.Sc., A.M.I.E.E., A.F.R.Ae.S. Dec 6 RAe.S.: Section Lecture: "Fatigue Aspects of Structural Design," by W. A. P. Fisher, B.A., A.M.i.Mech.E. Dee 9 Helicopter Association: "Helicopter Turbine Installations," ' by A. W. Morley, Ph.D., M.Sc., A.C.G.I., A.F.R.Ae.S. Dec. 16. London Airport Inauguration by H.M. the Queen. R.Ae.S. Branch Fixtures (to December 9):— Nov 28, Hal ton, Film. Dec. 2, Chester, Annual Dance. Dec. 5, Halton "Parachutes," by W. D. Brown. Dec. 7, Bristol, "A New Approach to Aircraft Design for Production," by W. E. W. Petter; Brough, "Aerial Photography," by Charles E. Brown; Oiesfer, "The Pioneer," by N. J. Capper; Reading and District, "Airframe Fatigue," by W. Tye. Dec. 8, Isle o* Wight, Annual General Meeting and Film Show. Dec. 9, Glasgow, "Test Flying," by Ben Gunn.
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