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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0314.PDF
312 FLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS P.I Flies with ReheatS PEAKING at the annual general meeting of the English Elec-tric Co., Ltd., on March 15th, Sir George H. Nelson, Bt., chairman and managing director, said that the first prototype P.Ifighter recently flew for the first time with reheat, and that it would be flying at "still higher speeds" during the current trials.Company pilots who had flown the aircraft reported that it had no vices and was very pleasant indeed to fly. Though steady andencouraging progress was being made, the company did not underestimate the extent of the future development work neededto prove both the aircraft and its advanced equipment. The two P,l prototypes, said Sir George, had now completed some300 flights, most of which had been supersonic. Further P.ls would be flying later this year and good progress was being madewith the twenty development aircraft. The P.I had already been flown many times by Service pilots. In the guided weapons field very promising test results werebeing achieved on ranges in this country and Australia. Provision of new facilities continued and the greater part of the new factoryat Stevenage was now in operation. Speaking of the subsidiary company D. Napier and Son, Ltd.,Sir George said that this company was now in a position to deliver Elands from the factory in Liverpool. Bristolians with Boeing A TEAM of engineers from Bristol Aero Engines, Ltd., leftLondon Airport last Friday for the U.S.A., where they are to discuss with die Boeing Airplane Co. the possible use of theBristol Olympus turbojet as a powerplant for the Boeing 707. Talks began in Seattle last Monday. The team, which is led byDr. E. J. Warlow-Davies, deputy chief engineer, comprises Mr. F. C. Marchant, who is the chief designer; Mr. Borden Lewis,assistant chief aerodynamicist; Mr. A. V. M. Reed, performance engineer; and W/C. Walter Gibb, assistant chief test pilot. Thevisit is being made at the invitation of Mr. Welwood Beall, senior vice-president of the Boeing company, who visited Bristol recentlyto discuss the Olympus engine. Philippines Visit by Canberras /^ANBERRAS of No. 9 Squadron, R.A.F. Bomber Command,^-/ are to pay a goodwill visit to Manila, in the Philippines, between April 12th and 16th, landing at the U.S.A.F. base atClark Field. On March 15th the first group, led by S/L. L. G. Bastard, the CO., left R.A.F. Binbrook for a three months' anti-bandit tour in Malaya. They are relieving No. 12 Squadron and fly to new temporary headquarters at R.A.F. Butterworth(Penang), via Idris, Habbaniya, Mauripur, Negombo and Changi. While at Penang a flight will go to Manila for the four-day visit. EXPERIMENTAL SEA VENOM: A revealing photograph of a de Havilland Sea Venom F.A.W. 21 which has been fitted with blown inner flaps by the company's Christchurch division. It is at present engaged in experimental flying at high lift-coefficients. One of the oldest squadrons in the R.A.F., No. 9 returned toEngland on February 24th after an 18,000-mile tour of West Africa, giving to many thousands of West Africans their firstsight of a modern jet. Several ceremonial fly-pasts and displays were undertaken during the visit to Nigeria by H.M. the Queenand the Duke of Edinburgh. Sea Hawks for German Navy ACCORDING to the press bulletin of the German Aircraft• Industry Association, a number of Hawker Sea Hawks are being ordered for the equipment of the West German Navy. Anumber of Fairey Gannets may also be obtained. Orders so far placed, excluding spares, are stated to be worth around five millionpounds. NATO limitations restrict the German Navy to 58 front-lineaircraft. Except for a few Grumman Albatross air/sea rescue air- craft, the bulk of the equipment is expected to be obtained fromEngland. Wessex and WhirlwindT HE licensing agreement between Westland Aircraft, Ltd., andthe Sikorsky Division of the United Aircraft Corporation of America has recently been extended with a view to the productionof a new helicopter based on the engineering principles of the S-58 but redesigned to meet British operational requirements andstandards of airworthiness. To be called the Wessex, it will be powered by the British-designed-and-built Napier Gazelle gasturbine. In anticipation of production Westlands have recently expanded their Yeovil works. A new technical building, includ-ing a comprehensive modern design and drawing office, has been erected and substantial extensions, involving a completely newlayout, have been made to the machine shops. Additional factory space has been provided for production facilities. Editorial comment on the Wessex appears in this issue. From Yeovil, too, it is learned that delivery of the first troop-carrying helicopters to the British Army will begin in May. They will be Whirlwinds capable of carrying up to ten fully equippedtroops, and are expected to be used initially at the Joint Experi- mental Unit, Middle Wallop. The Secretary of State for Warhas already announced that this Unit is to participate in field trials with the British Army in Germany during August this year. Sycamores in the Middle East A CCOMPANIED by Mr. D. Vicary, a service engineer, Bristol•**• helicopter test pilot Peter Wilson has completed a 10,000-mile tour of Middle East units equipped with Sycamore helicopters. Object of the tour, which lasted five weeks and involved about70 hours flying, was to offer help and advice on servicing and operating questions to the Sycamore units of the Middle EastAir Force. Wilson and Vicary spent a week in Cyprus, where four Sycamores are engaged in search/rescue, casualty evacuation andV.I.P. transport, and in supporting Commando operations in mountain areas. The Governor of Cyprus, Sir John Harding, isa frequent Sycamore passenger, and Air Marshal Sir Claude Pelly, C-in-C. of the Middle East Air Force, is flown daily from hishome in Kyrenia to Nicosia. The journey—16 miles by road—is completed in fifteen minutes and without the need of an escort.In Nairobi, Kenya, a Sycamore is being used for "cas. evac." and is operating up to heights of 10,000ft in Mau Mau country.Mr. Wilson reports: "At least twelve soldiers in Kenya owe their lives to the Sycamore. It rescued them from situations inwhich other transport methods were impossible." The Bristol visitors also landed at an airstrip 6,400ft above sealevel, near Aden, where two Sycamores are based for sea and desert rescue duties. At Amman, on the return journey, Mr.Wilson had the unusual experience of flying a Sycamore at about 1,250ft below sea level in the Dead Sea area. Rolls-Royce Issue ANNOUNCEMENT was made last week of an issue of** 1,100,000 new £1 Ordinary shares by Rolls-Royce, Ltd., at 77s 6d each. They are offered to holders of the existing £6mOrdinary stock and 619,234 workers' 1955 10s units registered on February 20th on a £1 for £6 basis. In a statement accompanying the offer, Lord Hives, the chair-man, said that turnover for 1956 should be nearly 30 per cent greater than three years ago; firm orders exceeded £70m. A state-ment was also made by Air. W. T. Gill, finance director, who outlined current and impending moves in equipping the aero-engine division for programmes of high-speed and high-altitude research. Mr. Gill also mentioned production of the Conway andof the Tyne—the latter for the Vickers Vanguard, which would be coming into production in 1959.
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