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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1824.PDF
FLIGHT, 23 December 1955 947 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. The Felixstowe Flying-boatsI N view of the current articles on the Felixstowe Porte flying-boats in Flight, I thought it worth putting on record that, until 1953, a hull of a flying-boat of apparently 1914-18 vintage was tobe found at Bawdsey Ferry, near Felixstowe; circumstantial evi- dence suggests that this may well have been a Porte boat. If mymemory serves me correctly, the fuselage was perhaps 30 to 35 feet long, and the decking was about half the width of the hull at itswidest point, giving the characteristic "early flying-boat" cross- section. The hull was extensively covered with roofing felt andwas in use as a fisherman's store; it may well have been destroyed in the floods of 1953. Still to be found at Bawdsey are three flying-boat hulls ofslightly more recent date and in a good state of preservation— two Supermarine Southamptons and what I assumed to be thehull of the Short R.6/28—characterized by its large size and beautiful lines. All these hulls were in use as inhabited houseboats. I wonder if you, or any of your readers, have any informationon the origin and history of these interesting relics. Sheffield 5. ROBERT SHAW. Before the Wrights T AM distressed to see your correspondent Mr. John GarwoodA [November 25th] has fallen for one of the classic aero- historical red herrings. The Whitehead claim is best dealt within the notes to the edition of the Wright papers published in 1953. The American authorities have gone into the matter andthere is no reputable historian on either side of the Atlantic who takes the Whitehead claim seriously. There were a number ofenergetic, and sometimes ingenious, men making would-be flying machines at the time, and the wish to fly was naturally fatherto the thought—and the report, I fear. Mr. Garwood will, it is hoped, be amused when he finds thatone of the affidavit-signers had a financial interest in a biography of Whitehead! London, W.I. C. H. GIBBS-SMITH. Navaid EfficiencyW ITH reference to L.A/C. Harmer's letter in your issue ofNovember 25th, perhaps a more generally acceptable answer to the question "What has replaced M.F. D/F.?" would be"M.F. radio-beacons and the radio compass." But it depends on how you look at it. Had Mr. Abrahams [theearlier correspondent] been a U.S. citizen his question would have been "What has replaced the four-course radio-range?" AndL.A/C. Harmer's U.S. counterpart would have written to you saying "V.O.R." No doubt, there are interested parties whowould inform you that Mr. Abrahams has got it all wrong—that M.F. D/F. never existed as an aeronautical navigational aid; orthat, if it did, then its modern replacement will be a device called TACAN.But for the time being—despite the appearance, year by year, of revolutionary navaids with handy bisyllabic labels—the air-lines go on installing radio compasses in their aircraft, and many of those responsible for providing ground facilities purchase radiobeacons and V.H.F. D/F. So they appear to constitute the real answer—at the moment. One day, perhaps, out of the feverishactivity in those circles where radio aids to navigation are dis- cussed philosophically, developed, designed and finally produced,the ultimate solution will emerge. It will be the aid which can be used anywhere in the world; it will not be subject to site orpolarization error and will be suitable for long- or short-range navigation. Till then, Mr. Abrahams will be entitled to sigh for the rosesof yesterday, and L.A/C. Harmer, and others equally enthusiastic, will be ready to convince him that their latest toys, each and allof them, can cure his nostalgia. Chelmsford, Essex. L. A. SWEENY. T WAS most interested in L.A/C. Harmer's letter [November•*• 25th] on D/F Efficiency and not in the least surprised at the results obtained on the Malta homer at Dingli.In January 1939 a few of the then "R.D.F."-trained N.C.O.s and airmen, myself included, took the first mobile station to leavethis country to Dingli; together with a Mk I G.L. set which subsequently arrived, we provided the sole R.D.F. cover for Maltauntil more equipment and staff arrived in June 1940—and, inci- dentally, no civilian was killed in a raid until we were off the airfor three days after losing a mast in a gale. The point of all this is, of course, that radio propagation con-ditions are exceptional in the Mediterranean from time to time, and it would be interesting to learn if any coincidence has been foundbetween freak ranges and particular weather conditions. For example, with a warm south-east wind blowing from Africa thereis usually a hefty temperature inversion which does the trick. We tried to find the co-relation ourselves from one of the later stations(C.O.L.) on the north side of the island, very ably assisted by such information as Norman Smith and his staff could give us from themet. office; but events were rather against such an undertaking at the time! To conclude with a "line": we did get a reflection, one night,from the coast of Greece, and some phenomenal ranges on ship- ping. Anything comparable with aircraft at nought feet from thehomer? As a footnote, I would be delighted to hear from any of theoriginal staff of "241" and "242" who happen to read this letter. Reading, Berks. R. T. TOWNSON. [Letters addressed c/o the Editor and marked "CorrespondenceNovember 28th" will be forwarded.—Ed.] Veteran Fokkers "D EGARDING the Fokker F.Vila which recently returned toAV Holland and of which you printed a photograph on page 728 of the issue of November 4th, this is not an ex-K.L.M. aircraftas supposed. It started life as CH-158 (c/n 5054) and was delivered to Balair in March 1928. On November 2nd, 1929, itwas sold to the Danish D.D.L. as OY-DED. It flew in D.D.L. livery until it was, in 1946, sold to Sweden as SE-ASE. In 1953it was bought by Dansk Luftfart Service as OY-ASE and as far as I know it still carries this registration. It is perhaps interesting to note that another old Fokker air-liner is still flying in the Belgian Congo; this one, OO-AGI, is a three-engined F.VIIb and it is owned by the Socie'te' Avia. Itis not of Fokker origin, because it has been built under licence by the Belgian S.A.B.C.A. company. Wassenaar, Holland. E. VAN DER KLAAUW. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. 6. 10. 12. Jan. 12-13. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. 14. 14. 17. 20. Jan. 21. R.Ae.S.: Young People's Lecture: "Test Flying—Current Problems and Techniques," by W/C. R. P. Beamont, O.B.E., D.S.O., D.F.C., A.R.Ae.S. Helicopter Association: Economic Production of Heli- copters—Future Possibilities," by L. J. Harper. R Ae S • Section Lecture: "Some Modern Structural Prob- lems," by Prof. W. S. Hemp, M.A., F.R.Ae.S. R Ae S • Presidential Address by N. E. Rowe, C.B.E., B.Sc, F.C.G.I., F.I.A.S., F.R.Ae.S. British Welding Research Association: London Meeting on Increasing Productivity by Welding. British Interplanetary Society: "Space Ship Instrumenta- tion," by R. A. Waldron, B.A., Grad. Inst.P. Women's Engineering Society: New Year Luncheon. R.Ae.S.: Section Lecture: "Crack Detection in Aircraft Structures," by Dr. W. Deck, Federal Aircraft Factory, Switzerland. Institute of Navigation: Some Meteorological Aspects of High-Level Navigation—(1) "Jet Streoms in Flight," by Capt. B. C. Frost (B.O.A.C.); (2) "Forecasting Jet Streams," by J. K. Bannon and T. H. Kirk (Meteorological Office). Aircraft Recognition Society: Ninth All-England Recognition Contest. Feb. 10. Helicopter Association: "Helicopter Control Systems," by J. S. Shapiro, Dipl.lng., A.F.R.Ae.S. Feb. 11. British Interplanetary Society: Birmingham Branch: "Aero- dynamic Considerations of an Orbital Rocket," by W. F. Hilton, Ph.D. Feb. 13. Institute of Transport: Brancker Memorial Lecture by R. S. Damon, President, Trans-World Airlines. R.Ae.S. Branch Fixtures (to Jan. 26th i:— Jan. 2, Derby, Annual General Meeting. Jan. 3, Belfast, "Accident Proneness," by Dr. J. A. Smiley. Jon. 5, Isle of Wight, "Noise of Jet Engines," by F. B. Greatrex. Jan. 9, Glasgow, "Helicopters," by R. Hafner. Jan. 10. Boscombe Down, "Fatigue—the Metallic Deathwatch Beetle," by D. C. Smith; Bristol, "Aerodynamics and Associated Prob- lems," by R. F. Creasey. Jan. 11, Brough, "Passengers and Freight Handling by Transport Command," by W/C. P. J. George; Chester, "Supersonic Flight," by G. A. V. Tyson; Manchester, "Analogue and Digital Computors Applied to Aircraft Design." by J. Arrowsmith; Wcybridge, Brains Trust. Jan 12, Cheltenham, "Liquid Springs: Pro- gress in Design end Application," by A. E. Bingham. Jan. 17, Bristol, "Powerplants for Supersonic Flight," by Dr. E. S. Moult. Jan. 24, Bristol, "Aeroelastic Problems in Connection with High-Speed Flight " by E. G Broadbent; Belfast, "The Turbulent Atmosphere," by E. Hyde. Jan 26, Isle of Wight, "Interplanetary Flight," by A. V. Cleaver.
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