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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0633.PDF
25 May 1956 633 R.Ae.S. Garden Party at Wisley A PLEASANTLY situated and accessible airfield has been-i*- selected for this year's garden party of the Royal Aero- nautical Society—Wisley, near Weybridge, Surrey, placed at theSociety's disposal by the Ministry of Supply and Vickers-Arm- strongs, Ltd. The date is Sunday, July 15. An uncommonlyinteresting gathering of aircraft is promised, including these from the Nash Collection: Bleriot XIa (1910), Bleriot XXVII (1911),Caudron G.3 (1912), Maurice Farman (1913), military Avro 504 (1914), civil Avro 504 (1914), Sopwith Camel (1917), FokkerD.VII (1918), S.E.5 (1918). Of more recent vintage will be a D.H. Beaver, Chipmunk and Cirrus Moth (1925), a ScottishAviation Twin Pioneer, a Hunting Percival Jet Provost, a Spit- fire, and the Edgar Percival P.9. The presence of a number ofother types is being discussed. The Royal Air Force Band will play during the afternoon and the printed programme isexpected, once again, to be worth preserving. Tickets (10s 6d, or 5s 6d for children of 5-15) are availableonly to members of the Society and their guests and the total number will be strictly limited; members are reminded earlyapplication should be made. Ecuador's Canberras A NEW—unofficial—record for the flight from Guayaquil,•**• Ecuador, to Los Cerrillos, Santiago, Chile, has been set up by two English Electric Canberra B.6s of the Ecuadorean AirForce, which covered the 2,030 miles in 4 hr 15 min. This time is 4 hr less than that taken by the scheduled Panagra service(DC-7s) and represents an average speed of 478 m.p.h. The flight was in conjunction with a visit to Chile by anofficial delegation from the Ecuadorean Armed Forces, led by the Ecuadorean Minister of Defence, Dr. Alenjandro PonceLugue. The two aircraft were flown by the Commandant of Quito Air Force Base, Lt-Col. Jacinto Ochoa, and Maj. R.Sandoval. Maj. Sandoval learned to fly Canberras in England in 1954, and delivered one to Ecuador from the English ElectricCompany's aerodrome at Warton, Lancashire. He said that the flight to Los Cerrillos was completely uneventful and the air-craft flew at 45,000ft. Big U.S. Merger LAST year two of the last major independent firms in the' American car industry amalgamated, to form the Studebaker- Packard Corporation (both firms, incidentally, have made manythousands of axial turbojets). It is now reported that the joint corporation is likely—subject to approval by the shareholders of allgroups—to merge with Curtiss-Wright. Such a move would result in a £178m organization, selling at the rate of £357m peryear. Bristol Prospects and Progress REVIEWING Britannia prospects in his statement in advanceof the Bristol Aeroplane Company's annual general meeting, Mr. W. R. Verdon Smith (chairman), remarks that, "The futuretypes of long-range passenger aircraft are by no means clearly determined. Many orders have been placed by the airlines forAmerican turbojet aircraft which are still in the design stage. These aircraft will be expensive in first cost and in operation; theywill certainly be exceedingly demanding in relation to airfield length, noise at airports and traffic control. Their cruising speed LATIN-AMERICAN DASH: Two English Electric Canberra B.6s of the Ecuadorean Air Force on arrival at Los Cerrillos, Santiago, Chile, after the unofficial record flight referred to on this page. will undoubtedly be high, but their range and block speeds maypossibly be less impressive. They are, of course, formidable candidates for routes offering high-density first-class traffic. "But such routes are comparatively few; and, for our part, webelieve in the prime importance of low operating costs, leading to lower fares and increased traffic, which can be expected fromthe turboprop, and we have confidence in our ability to offer the airlines very competitive equipment, both with the progressivedevelopment of Britannia and its proposed successors. "In this connection, it is interesting to note the steadily increas-ing trend of demand for low-cost air travel. It is hoped that the interested Governments, including our own, will see to it thatthe fare pattern determined by I.A.T.A. is a balanced one and takes full advantage of the economy of turboprop operations inorder to satisfy this demand." Of the company's new plant and equipment, Mr. Verdon Smithmentions research and development facilities that include a new low-speed wind tunnel, a Deuce digital computor, a new labora-tory for testing complete aircraft systems, and two 350,000- gallon water tanks for pressure testing of fuselages.Other points referred to by the chairman in his review of various aspects of the company's activities include the following:Bristol Freighter production will end this year; the company's rocket-motor branch has been entrusted with the power units forthe Royal Society's upper-atmosphere research programme in connection with the International Geophysical Year (these solid-propellant motors will carry 100 lb of instruments to heights of about 120 miles); new versions of the Olympus turbojet arerunning at considerably higher powers than those so far revealed; and experiments with the B.E.25 (Orion) turboprop are "mostencouraging" and it is already clear that the engine will fulfil the claims made for it. Mr. Verdon Smith also says that thecompany has set up a section of specialists to study "the applica- tions of nuclear energy to various forms of lightweight primemovers." The financial report shows that the value of orders on hand,which at the end of 1955 exceeded £100m, are now considerably greater than at any time in the company's history. Net profit forthe year after taxation is £977,363 (1954, £798,588). HONORARY FELLOWSHIPS of the Royal Aeronautical Society were conferred on the occasion of the Wilbur Wright Lecture. Recipients were Sir Roy H. Dobson and Dr. Hugh Dryden, seen below receiving the scrolls from the new president, Mr. E. T. Jones. On the right is Sir William Farren, who delivered the lecture (see overleaf) and who received the Society's Gold Medal. "Flight" photogrcuhs
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