FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0376.PDF
374 FLIGHT, 30 March 1956 Tll-104 COMES TO LONDON (continued from page 372) the sweep angle of some 30 deg allowing a thickness /chord ratioof some 12 per cent, with the maximum thickness about half-way back. The surface tolerance is good, and the well-rounded leadingedge shows rivet lines for internal stiffeners every inch or two. There are four large fences and the metal tips carry conventionalnavigation lights and two vertical slots (presumably de-icing air outlets). There is marked anhedral. Fuselage.—Remarkably simple, this structure seems to consistof nine sections joined by butt-straps, with almost the entire length pressurized. All riveting is flush. Frames and stringers in thefuselage are numerous, although the skin is applied in large panels of what seems to be something thinner than 18 gauge. Theextreme nose is essentially that of the bomber, with an optically flat panel, and the flight deck has flat, sharply raked screens fittedwith wipers. A tiny transparent dome (not a light) is mounted in the roof behind the flight deck. Doors are rectangular (roundedcorners) and windows circular, the latter being surrounded by doubler plates. Seven windows—three port, four starboard—are mounted in square emergency exits. The interior is divided into several cabins with seating for up to 46 persons. Thismachine, L-5400, is arranged for V.I.P. transport, but in Aeroflot service standard seating could be greatly increased. Pantriesand special radio gear are located above the wing, but the toilets extend almost back to the tailplane, where noise and jet buffetmust be considerable. Undercarriage.—Of Germanic appearance, the stalky bogiesretract rearwards into nacelles. Tyre pressure is probably under 100 lb/sq in and the runway loading factor must be low. Struc-ture seems to be of magnesium alloy, there being one main oleo to each bogie, restrained by a drag strut and with an anti-bouncedamper mounted forward of the leg to prevent the bogie beam from oscillating. All tyres have a diamond tread and brakingseemed most effective, although there is no evidence of anti-skid equipment. As already noted, the twin-wheel nose unit is steerable. Tail Unit—All surfaces are swept at about the same angle asthe wing, and there are no intakes or "turbulators." The fixed tailplane is mounted on the fuselage and has very slight dihedral(on the bomber it is mounted on the fin). Control Surfaces.—Elevators and rudder are mass-balancedand shrouded and have tabs. The ailerons have small tabs and appear to be sealed. Hinges are everywhere inset, the leadingportion of each movable surface being relatively thin. Fully powered control seems unlikely, but power boost is probable.The flaps are of considerable chord. There is one flap portion between each aileron and undercarriage nacelle and one portioninboard of each nacelle. Radio.—From the number and type of aerials distributed aboutthe airframe we would judge the Tu-104 to be generously—even lavishly—equipped with electronics. Since the nose of themachine appears to be entirely military, it seems possible that the radar scanner housed behind a small grey dielectric blister under the nose is, in fact, the bombing aid of the military version.For civil operations it could well be adapted as a map-painting aid to navigation—its assistance might well prove very usefulover certain parts of Russia. It seems unlikely that this radar would prove entirely satisfactory for turbulent cloud-spottingpurposes. It may be assumed that since the war the Russians havedeveloped navigation aids of their own, probably based to some extent on the German Lorenz and Consol systems, i.e., a beam-type approach aid and a lattice position-fixing system. Certain of the aerials carried by the aircraft at London Airport appearedsuitable for these two types of radio. In addition, both the 11-14 which visited London die previous week and the Tu-104 carriedstick and T-shaped aerials under the fuselage and horizontal tail surfaces which could be used for something equivalent to D.M.E.or V.O.R. and for radio height-finding. It seems likely that the Tu-104 has both D.M.E. and radio-altimeter equipment. Foroperations in Russia, a fair variety of communications radio would probably be needed; here again, wire, stick and whip aerialssuggest that H.F. and V.H.F. radio is fitted, with the possible addition of M.F. Absent is any form of D.F. loop equipment,though this may, of course, be fitted somewhere inside. The only integral aerial is one housed in the plastic tip of die fin. Conclusions that can be drawn are, first, that almost every typeof radio and radar equipment helpful to normal operations was being carried, and secondly, that a good deal of equipment utilizedcomparatively clumsy aerials—though several of these may have been fitted only in prototype form or just for this flight. It wasinteresting to see such a fast aircraft so festooned with un-aero- dynamic and eminendy ice-prone appendages. Finally, the largenumber of aerials may well indicate liberal duplication of equip- ment, conforming either to Western airline practice or pointingto poor equipment-reliability. Miscellaneous.—No air brakes could be seen, but twin doorsunder the tail almost certainly cover a box for a braking parachute. Instead of static-discharge wicks the aircraft was fitted with spikes,one of which was attached to the tip of each control surface. Conclusion.—Bad weather along the route from Tushino Air-port, Moscow, had not worried the crew, who selected a cruising altitude of 10,000m (32,800ft) for the 3 hr 36 min flight. Thosewho went aboard noticed oxygen points, possibly signifying an undeveloped pressurizing system. The aircraft, which was toremain at L.A.P. for at least two days, took 60,000 lb of kerosine aboard, hoses being applied to sockets in the upper leading edgeadjacent to the engines. Tail-piece: At 12.27 p.m. a P.R. Canberra (WT512) camecrabbing across at about 150 knots. Tu-104 Provisional Data: Two 15,000 ib-thrust axial turbojets, reported tobe designated M-709. Span and length, over 100ft; maximum weight, about 120,0001b; wing loading, about 75lb/sq ft; cruising performance, over 2,000statute mites stage length at about 500 m.p.h. t.a.s. SAUNDERS-ROE SKEETER (continued from page 359) push rod. A crossbar is bolted to the push rod and is connectedby links to the pitch-control arm of each blade. Movement of the crossbar by die jack simultaneously varies die pitch.The "fly-off" rotor-brake lever is mounted on top of the control- box structure between the pilots'seats, and is connected by Bowden cable to the brake-drum on die tail-rotor transmission shaft. The brake is applied by pulling die lever down-ward and is held in this position by a spring cable which also preventsoperation of the cartridge-starter until the brake is released. Alsofitted on die central structure are die fuel and oil on-off switch, mixturecontrol, engine starter lever, and Ki-gass primer. Protruding from beneath the re-designed instrument panel are two "parking brake"-type handles. Thaton the port side is indeed the main- wheel parking brake; die starboardone is the manual over-ride control for the centrifugal rotor-engagingclutch. To avoid the possibility of overspeeding the engine during thestarting cycle, which would cause the clutch to engage suddenly andthrow a heavy impact load on to the transmission and blades, die engine is normally started widi the manual over-ride (disengaging dieclutch) in operation. When die engine is running smoodily below the normal clutch-engagement speed, the manual over-rideis released. The engine speed is gradually increased and the clutch engages gently under the influence of the controlling centrifugalweights. For the A.O.P. role, the Mk. 10 Skeeter will carry an ArmyType A.62 H.F. communications set, mounted on die cabin floor between the pilots' seats. The port seat in diis version is rever-sible, a rear foot-well being incorporated in die cabin structure. The Mk. 11 trainer for the R.A.F. will be fitted with a PlesseyPTR.61H V.H.F. set, as shown in the cockpit photograph and the cutaway drawing. The Perspex roof-panels of the canopy in bothversions will be clear and not amber as on previous Skeeters. Another modification to the canopy as fitted to earlier types isthe deletion of the front direct-vision panels in favour of the sliding window-panels of die doors. It is reported diat bodi the A. and A.E.E., Boscombe Down,and die R.A.F. Central Flying School were most favourably impressed by the Skeeter 6 during evaluation tests last year.Boscombe pilots consider die Mk. 6 a pleasant aircraft to fly, and able to operate in relatively severe wind conditions; whileC.F.S. believes the machine to be not only superior to other helicopters of its class, but ideal as a training helicopter for dieServices. Certainly die Skeeter is capable of absorbing still higher engine powers, with corresponding improvements in payloadand performance; and an appreciable improvement will come with the finally developed metal blade, independently of the powerplantsituation. Total flying time logged by Skeeters up to last week was 503 hr, in addition to 364 hr of ground-running.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
