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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0170.PDF
166 FLIGHT 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 photograph of G-ACHP referred to in the letter below from Sir Archibald Hope, joint managing director of Airwork, Ltd. I.CUA.O. OdditiesI S I.C.A.O. international? Yes, I suppose it is, if viewedas an assembled body of contracting states. But, as a rider to the question, how far do the party Statesback up the principle for which I.QA.O. stands? For the con- vention is not a law unto itself, has no tribunal or penalizingauthority. It does, however, succeed in unifying a large amount of aviation practice, and, though it continues to win a measureof agreement, one is surprised to find such extraordinary anomalies as still exist. For example, a Belgian Commercial Pilot's Licence may notbe exchanged for the French equivalent; the M.T.C.A. in this country will accept neither, and in many other countries thereis no reciprocal arrangement for crew licensing either. Yet, in spite of this, under the pool agreement of I.A.T.A.,B.E.A. is busy selling thousands of seats a year for Sabena, Sabena for Swissair, no doubt Swissair for Air France, andso on around the circuit. And, though it has nothing to do with it, for what possiblegood reason may one not buy a glass of whisky whilst overflying Germany? Radlett, Herts. R. H. H. SLADE. Jettisonable Rocket Motors HAVING read the letter [January 27th] from Mr. W. L. Goreof Aerojet-General Corporation on the first jettisonable liquid-propellant motor, I must differ from his line of thinking bypointing out the existence in Germany, in late 1942, of the B.M.W. 718 bi-fuel motor, which was jettisonable and rated atthe high thrust of 2,700 lb for three minutes. The B.M.W. 718 motor was fitted to a number of aircraft, one of the most notablebeing the Me262. Though the B.M.W. 718 was superseded by the Walter H.W.K. 509A, for reasons of reliability, it must surelyrate as the world's first jettisonable liquid-propellant motor. Bristol, 5. DAVID LILLIMAN. [We do not think that Mr. Gore was claiming that the Aerojetmotor was the first to go into service, but only that it was con- siderably earlier than die Super Sprite. The B.M.W. 718 wasone of several German units of this type in the early war period.—Ed.] Gap in the MapP ROTAGONISTS who have been agitating for improvedinternal air services within the British Isles will have read with satisfaction the news that provisional approval has beengiven to B.K.S. to operate a regular air service between London Airport and Leeds (Yeadon). This new service will permit goodair connections between all major northern industrial or tourist centres and London. A glance at an air-route map, however, will show little causefor complacency as yet. Several large and important towns are still not connected to London by air. Of these, Norwich cannotat present be served as it does not possess an airfield. On the other hand, Cardiff, Swansea and Exeter have airfields fromwhich local services radiate to the near Continent but not to London. Exeter, at least, surely merits an air connection to L.A.P. Theenormous tourist potential available in the West Country would appear to justify an experiment by one of our leading independentoperators. It may be argued that such services are uneconomic, but to thebest of my knowledge the services to Liverpool (Starways), New- castle (Hunting Clan, with Heron aircraft) and Bembridge, I.O.W.(summer only) have not only achieved high load-factors, but have been run at a profit to the operators concerned. Let us hope, therefore, that by next summer we may be able to board a plane at L.A.P. for a flying visit to glorious Devon. Chessington, Surrey. BRIAN J. MITCHELL. The Late Lamented CadetT HE letter from Mr. David Ogilvy regarding Avro CadetG-ACHP aroused much interest among the many employees who remembered it and who worked on it at Heston.You may be interested in the enclosed photograph of the aircraft taken whilst it still had a radial engine. This shows that it wasused for the Warner Brothers production of the film The Blue Army (later generally released under the title of The BlueSquadron). It would be superfluous for me to list all the distinguishedpupils who flew this aircraft, but you may also be interested to know that this was the aircraft on which the late LordLondonderry did most of his training for his air licence at the time that he was Secretary of State for Air. London, W.I. ARCHIBALD P. HOPE. Ultra-light Duration Record Having just been through your excellent magazine of Janu-ary 6th, I find something not quite true to fact on page 6, in "Here and There." You mention, in the paragraph concerningAI Mooney, that his Mite still holds the under-500 kg world class record for unrefuelled flight with 1300 miles. I am sure this is an oversight on your part, as the record isnow held by ourselves since August 4th, 1955, with one of our Tipsy-Belfair aircraft flown by P.I.R. Andersen, for a distanceof 1,637 miles, from Chievres in Belgium to Sidi-Ifni in Ifni, a Spanish outpost on the West African coast.Gosselies, Belgium. MAURICE TIPS, Manager, Technical Department, Avions Fairey S.A. [This is, of course, correct; confirmation of the new record was announced by the F.A.I, last November.—Ed.] FORTHCOMING EVENTS Helicopter Association: "Engineering Aspects of Helicopter Bus Operations in City Centres." Three papers introduced by J. S. Shapiro, Dip.lng., A.F.R.Ae.S. (at 5.30 p.m.). British Interplanetary Society: Birmingham Branch: "Aero- dynamic Considerations of an Orbital Rocket," by W. F. Hilton, Ph.D. R.Ae.S.: Graduates and Students Section: "Flight-Testing of High-Speed Aircraft," by T. H. Kerr. R.Ae.S.-. Main Lecture at Yeovil: The First Henson and Stringfellow Memorial Lecture, by Dr. A. M. Ballantyne, T.D., B.Sc., A.F.I.A.S., Hon. F.C.A.I., A.F.R-Ae.S., and Capt. J. L. Pritchard, C.B.E., Hon. F.I.Ae.S., Hon. F.R.Ae.S., M.R.I. Air Transport Auxiliary Association: Annual Dinner, Eccles- ton Hotel. Association of British Aero Clubs and Centres: Annual Dinner. R.Ae.S.: Section Lecture: "Design of Low Landing Speed Aircraft," by R. C. Melntyre, A.F.R.Ae.S. Aerodrome Owners Association: Annual General Meeting, and Annual Dinner. Lancashire Aero Club: Annual Supper Dance. R.Ae.S.: Section Lecture: "Use of Elementary Plasticity in Design," by A. J. Barrett, B.Sc.(Eng.), M.S. in A.E., M.I.A.S., A.F.R.Ae.S. R.Ae.S.: Section Lecture: "Powerpiants for Supersonic Flight," by Dr. E. S. Moult, B.Sc., M.I.Mech.E., F.R.Ae.S. R.Ae.S. Branch Fixtures (to February 24th) Feb. 10, Brough, Annual Dinner Dance. Feb. 13, Holton, Film; Henlow, Annual General Meeting. Feb. 14, Bristol, "Aerial Photography," by Charles E. Brown. Feb. 15, Coventry, Lecture by E. P. Hawthorn; Reading and District, Lecture and Film Show on Guided Weapons by S/L. R. E. W. Harland. Feb. 16, Isle of Wight, "Operation of Turbo-Propeller Aircraft," by P. G. Mose- field; Yeovil, Main Lecture (see above). Feb. 21, Belfast, "The New London Airport," by R. F, Buistrode. Feb. 22, Weybridge, "Training and Research in the Field of Aircraft Production," by Prof. J. V. Con- nolly. Feb. 23, Cheltenham, "The Investigation of Flutter by Flight Tests," by H. G. Peacock. Feb. 24, Leicester, Lecture. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. Feb. March 10. 11. 14. 16. 17. 17. 21 23. 24 28. 1.
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