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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0099.PDF
27 January 1956 mercial pilots. Private aircraft totalled 1,300 and there were5,000 private pilots. The number of plants manufacturing aircraft and componentsnow totalled 55, employing not far short of 40,000 people (with another 12,000 employed by the carriers), and paying wages andsalaries running into some $136m annually in the manufacturing plants and more than $47m among the carriers. Mr. Notman added that the aircraft industry had become,over recent years, a truly major element in Canada's industrial economy, extending its benefits through the establishment ofstrong secondary industries by sub-contracts. Canadair might be taken as an example of the industry, he said, and he wenton: "We have had an average employment figure during 1955 of 8,000, with gross wages and salaries amounting to $31,200,000on an annual basis. In the past year, we invested nearly $3,500,000 in capital expenditure for new buildings, additionalengineering and rooling facilities, and machines. We continued during 1955 to produce our F-86 Sabre, of which we have nowturned out more than 1,400, and of which more than 1,000 are now serving in Europe with 12 overseas squadrons of theR.C.A.F., as well as with the R.A.F. We continued, also, to produce our Silver Star jet trainer and have now turned outmore than 500." Mr. Notman said that the first of a considerable number ofrear fuselages for the Royal Canadian Navy's new anti-submarine 99 aircraft, the Grumman CS2F-1, were produced during the yearby Canadair as sub-contractor for the de Havilland Aircraft Co. of Canada, Ltd., which held the main contract. Much develop-ment work had been done at Canadair on guided missiles. An- other major enterprise carried on last year was the advancedtooling and development work on Canadair's CL-28, the re- designed Bristol Britannia to meet R.C.A.F. requirements formaritime reconnaissance. Canadair had also entered the field of nuclear energy. Avro Blow-Down Tunnel pLANS have been approved for a supersonic wind tunnel for± A. V. Roe and Company, Ltd.; it will be built alongside the company's existing tunnels at Woodford, Cheshire. A 500 h.p. drive will suffice for supplying compressed air toa 40ft-diameter sphere charged to 115 lb/sq in absolute. Test runs will generally be of approximately one minute's duration.The working section will be 27in by 30 in and will be preceded by a flexible nozzle, with the aid of which infinite Mach variationwill be obtained over the range M = 1.5 to 3.5. The expected cost is approximately £100,000 and the new in-stallation will handle all preliminary design and development testing, leaving one or two major series of tests on finalizeddesigns to be made in Government tunnels. We expect to publish a description of the new tunnel in an early issue. Kenya's First Air Show Ten Thousand Spectators at Kitale: An Eye-witness Account (Left) Messrs. Warren Holder and Fitz-John in control. The tower may have been a little primitive, but it nevertheless had radio installed by Inter- national Aeradio (E.A.), Ltd. (Right) Local colour. THE Kenya Air Show, held at Kitale on January 7th and 8th,was the most ambitious ever attempted in East Africa. TheRoyal Air Force, civil airlines and charter companies, and owners of private aircraft worked together in the closest co-opera-tion to produce a splendid flying display which (writes a corres- pondent) 10,000 residents of Kenya—European, Asian and African—are unlikely to forget. The suggestion that the usual air rally should be extended intoa real air show was put by Capt. Norman Waugh (war-time Atlantic ferry pilot and post-war airline pilot) to the committee ofthe Trans-Nzoia Flying Club at Kitale, an "up-country" town 200 miles from Nairobi, in the heart of a heavily populatedfarming district. His proposal was enthusiastically received by Mr. Frank Humphris (chairman), Mr. Tom Ashworth (secretary)and the members of the club, and their hard work culminated in a miniature Farnborough which won great appreciation from theKenya people. In addition to the flying display, more than thirty trade stands were put up by airline offices, travel agents andcompanies associated with aviation, many of the stands being of a quality which would have done credit to Farnborough itself.This was, indeed, the first time that trade stands have been a feature of an air show in Africa.Weather was cloudy, with a sharp rain squall on the first after- noon, but this did not in any way deter the pilots from puttingon some first-class flying. This little up-country airfield has a grass runway of 1,800 yd. and another of 600 vd. There being no radiofacilities, Mr. Fitz-John, of Air Traffic Control, Nairobi, brought up a flying-control van from which he and Capt. Waugh very ablymanaged operarons. An excellent commentary was broadcast throughout by Mr. Roy Usher of Airsprav (E.A.), Ltd.The show was opened bv the Denuty Governor of Kenva, Sir Frederick Crawford, K.C.M.G., C.B.E., who, in his speech, re-ferred to the history of aviation in Kenya which, he said, was written less than 30 years ago when a de Havi'i^d D.H.51 He-ameairborne over Kenya. This same aircraft, VP-KAA, is to show us its paces todav . . ." The first form of public air transport to beprovided by Wilson Airways in 1929 was a Gipsy Moth. But from this small beginning, Wilsons built up a fleet of twin-enginedaircraft which, by 1939, were covering over a million miles a year. Referring to the pioneers of aviation in East Africa, Sir Frederickwent on to say: "It is in a great measure due to the efforts of these early pioneers, who flew in all weathers and without radioaids, that we have today a highly efficient network of air services throughout East Africa operated by our own airline from 44different airfields. We also have charter companies which are doing a most essential job of work, and we have the Kenya PoliceReserve Air Wing, which has proved itself time and time again during the emergency and is, I am glad to say, here to stay." Sir Frederick also paid tribute to the Aero Club of East Africa,which was formed in 1927, and which has done a very great deal to foster and encourage private flying. The Deputy Governorconcluded by saying that he had no doubt that tne Show would be a further contribution to the development of aviation in EastAfrica. The first event was a fly-past in single formation of all but thejet aircraft, introducing the pilots. This was closely followed by one of the most eagerly awaited events of the day—formationflying by three Mk 4 Venous from No. 8 Squadron based at Aden and flown by S/L. A. J. Houston, F/O. I. B. Munro andF/O. E. T. Dunn. They gave an impeccable display of formation aerobatics—double loops and barrel rolls, low, fast runs and steepturns, finishing their display with a spectacular "ding"—a very fast dive over the airfield, breaking away at right angles to theleader. On the Sunday afternoon the show was "made" for the publicwhen S/L. Houston landed his Venom on the grass strip)—imme- diately to disappear, as he parked outside the control tower, u"dera crowd of autograph hunters from the Trans-Nzoia Flying Club. S/L. Houston eventually took off again, to thrill the onlookerswith a farewell low fast run culminating in a very fast climb and several beautiful roils as he disappeared into the clouds. It is not easy to follow such a performance with a piston-enginedaircraft, but Gapt. E. Boscovic, manager and chief pilot of Gamp- ling Bros, and Vanderwal, Ltd., gave a fine demonstration of the
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