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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0306.PDF
302 FLIGHT, 16 March 195<f HUSHING HOT SHIPS . . . on the south side of the field) these two firms were churningout afterburning fighters at the rate of dozens per week, and F4D-ls, F-86K.S and Ds and F-lOOCs were thundering off almostcontinuously. Not much can be done about the take-off, but North Americanhave put in five years of study—costing $1.5m—in an effort to reduce run-up noise. One tangible result is the row of twelvesound-abatement chambers illustrated. All ground running at over 70 per cent power, and all running between 8 p.m. and10 p.m., is done in these chambers; and for four years not one jet has been run between 10 p.m. and 7.30 a.m. The photographs show F-lOOCs and the last batch of F-86K.Srunning up, the F-100's big Pratt and Whitney J57 requiring water cooling in the muffling unit, resulting in a plume of steam worthy of the Queen Mary herself. The F-lOOs are backed up to a fixedwall, but the tails of the smaller Sabres fit right inside and are covered by sliding doors. A detail point is that thick, heavyenvelopes are pulled over the F-86 tail surfaces before full-power running, to damp out much of the vibration. Once in the air, responsibility for noise rests entirely onthe pilot. Over heavily populated areas—of which Los Angeles county has some thousand square miles—flying at over 350 knotsis forbidden below 10,000ft, and all supersonic flying is restricted entirely to altitudes above 40,000ft. In the latter case it is worthcommenting on the fact that pilots of F-lOOs (and of F4Ds) do not need to dive to exceed Mach 1. In the Los Angeles regionsupersonic work is confined to 15 miles off-shore, and low-altitude flying is similarly confined to the ocean or desert. The U.S.A.F.restrictions are slightly less severe than those imposed by North American: supersonic flying is allowed at 10,000ft over water or30,000ft over land. "LOX" BREATHING SYSTEM Details of the Normalair I Bendix equipment _.. FOR several years past Service-type aircraft in the U.S.A. haveenjoyed the manifold advantages of high-altitude breathingequipment drawing gaseous oxygen from a system supplied by a high-pressure liquid-oxygen storage unit. Such a system canbe made very much lighter and more compact than can any com- parable system involving conventional storage cylinders; typicalfigures are a reduction of 67 per cent in weight and 81 per cent in bulk. Last summer a move was taken aimed at making such equipmentavailable to British aircraft: Normalair, Ltd., of Yeovil, purchased a licence permitting them to manufacture liquid oxygen systemsdeveloped by the Bendix Aviation Corporation of New York (who had previously, in 1951, granted Normalair a general licence).Bendix have evolved various types and sizes of system, but one of the most-used types (it is fitted to the F-86F Sabre) employs aliquid oxygen converter of five litres liquid capacity, giving a gaseous supply equivalent to that provided by six standard 750-litre storage cylinders. Normalair are now in full production with this system in its American form for supply to Sabre formationson the Continent, under an off-shore contract. The components of the system fall into two distinct groupsconnected by the shortest possible length of piping. The first group, known collectively as the liquid-oxygen converter, has adiameter of 14in and an overall height of 9|in and includes the liquid oxygen container, an evaporating coil and various valves.The second group comprises a contents gauge, a filler valve and a "build-up-and-vent" valve, and is installed close to the aircraftskin to facilitate ground charging. Mishandling during charging is prevented by the fact that, unless the control lever of the"build-up-and-vent" valve is in the correct position for charging, the filler valve cover cannot be removed. Likewise the installationis so arranged that the hinged flap over the equipment cannot be shut until the lever is returned to its original position. The lever A schematic diagram of the system showing its simplicity—which, nevertheless, already reflects years of arduous development in America. is visible to the right of the hose coupling in the photograph atlower right. Normalair are also permitted to conduct independent develop-ment of the basic Bendix system and, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Supply, they are busily engaged in a developmentprogramme. Flight testing, which began in January, at present involves a night-fighter Meteor and will shortly also include aCanberra B.2. In addition to development of the liquid-oxygen system, the programme is accelerating the perfecting of high-altitude breathing equipment, cabin pressurization and air-con- ditioning units. At present it is a curious fact that Normalair haveno British production contracts for the liquid-oxygen system, but receipt of these would seem to be only a matter of time. In the Meteor N.F.11 used for flight development, Normalair have installed the liquid-oxygen converter beneath one of the radio shelves. Its overall height is but 9'/4'm. BUILD-UP AND VENT VALVE (Below) The ground-charging connection on the Meteor is located on the blue portion of the roundel on the port side of the fuselage. EVAPORATING COIL CAPACITANCE TYPE CONTENTS GAGES
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