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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0993.PDF
27 July 1956 139 READY FOR WORK: Recently given its C. of A., and finished in a new paint scheme of "Canterbury green" and "Dorchester grey," the Auster Agricola poses for its first air-to-air portrait. Note the pilot's excellent view over the sloping nose; the increased chord of the ailerons; and the deletion of the dorsal fin. The tailwheel has gleaned a bunch of grass from the airfield, which was being mowed. would be more easily concealed from enemy air observation thanwould fixed-wing machines and also that pilots conversant with the larger helicopters already used in the Service will be able toconvert immediately to Skeeters, which have a similar control system. For reasons unstated, Army, Ministry of Supply and Saunders-Roe representatives were unable to reveal the actual number of helicopters involved in the order, or their cost, or to give anindication of the cost of operating them as compared with that of light fixed-wing machines of the Auster type. The various answersgiven were that the order was "substantial," that it was the number the Army had asked for and, from Saunders-Roe, that it wassufficient to justify putting the machine into production. There is no doubt that to have received official Service backingin this country will greatly enhance the prestige of the Skeeter and smooth its way towards sales abroad. Price and operatingcosts of a civil version have been given in round figures as £15,000, and £10 10s to £12 per hour, including insurance—but not, ofcourse, crew pay. In Army hands the Skeeter has undergone extensive trials, andit has been ordered on the strength of them. As a type of aircraft, it has been selected because the Army is now satisfied that thereare certain jobs which must be done and which entail hovering nights. If this experiment proves successful, additional ordersmight well follow. It is foreseen that operations will be necessary in some areas where not even the very short trip required bythe A.O.P. Auster could be prepared. The main uses to which the Skeeters will be put are: local observation duties in supportof Army operations, personal transportation and training. All the machines will be equipped so that they can be adapted immediatelyfor dual control. Both the Skeeter and its engine have considerable developmentahead of them. The machine itself, for example, is to have new, more efficient, all-metal rotor blades; and the de Havilland GipsyMajor 200 engine, which at present gives a top speed of 101 m.p.h., is likely eventually to produce up to 250 h.p. with the aid of itssupercharging, new induction system and new cylinder heads. A.W.A. Armaments Appointment A FORMER senior executive at Woomera who joined SirW. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Ltd., a year ago, Mr. Charles Bayly, has been appointed chief engineer of thecompany's armaments division, which is responsible for thedesign, development, production and testing of rocket motors andmissiles. Mr. Bayly, who is 40, was one of the original teamsent out to Australia in Febru- ary 1947 to set up the LongRange Weapons Establishment and Woomera Range. He servedwith the Ministry of Supply in Australia for four years, and wasresponsible for planning all range facilities of a technicalnature; later he formed and ran the test vehicles group respons-ible for assembly, testing and flight trials of guided weapons.In 1951 he was appointed rocket motor design manager withI.C.I, at Summerfield Research Station, where he was respons-ible for the design, development and manufacture of rocket motors. Educated at Cheltenham College, Mr. Bayly learned tofly with A.S.T. in 1935, and served with Armstrong Whitworth as assistant to the production manager of Whitley 5 productionbefore joining the R.A.F. in 1940. After Technical Branch service with squadrons he became O.C. Servicing Wing H.Q.,Fighter Command. Immediately after the war he joined the M.o.S. and was engaged on the early design of monofuel andbifuel rocket motors. Tanker Roll-out LAST week the Boeing Airplane Company held the "roll-out"J ceremony, at Renton, Wash., for the first KC-135A tanker for the U.S.A.F. Strategic Air Command. Boeing gained thecontract for 400 of these impressive aircraft in the autumn of 1954, and promised a first flight in September 1956—a programmewhich seems likely to be beaten. Receipt of these aircraft will Mr. Bayly revitalize the striking potential of S.A.C. by allowing the B-47sand B-52s to refuel at their operational speeds and altitudes. The first machine (there is no prototype, the civil-cwm-military707 demonstrator having completed the basic testing) is officially designated KC-135A—BN-1, with the serial number 55-3118A(the "A" in the number is curious, in that it seems to imply that a similar aircraft with the same number has already been built—which is, of course, not the case). Powered by four Pratt and Whitney J57s with a wet rating of 13,500 lb apiece, the maximumweight is of the order of 270,000 lb. The seven wing-tanks hare a total capacity of 17,398 U.S. gal, and the front and rear fuselagetanks house 4,500 and 6,380 U.S. gal respectively, making a total of 28,378 U.S. gal. Transfer is by means of a "Flying Boom"under the tail. Coincident with the roll-out of the first "135" was that of thelast of 888 KC-97 piston-engined tankers. The first 707 jet airliners are also due to leave the Renton factory in rather more than ayear's time. Death of Anzani TT\ESIGNER and builder of many early aero engines, including•*"' that which powered the monoplane in which Bleriot flew the Channel 47 years ago, Alessandro Anzani died at Caen, inFrance, last Monday. He was 79. First-time Sarah s ""THE "Sarah" air-sea rescue system—search and rescue and-*- homing—proved its worth in thick fog on July 17 when the pilot of a Hunter was brought ashore less than 90 minutes aftersending out a "May Day" distress call and baling out at 35,OOOft. The pilot, F/O. N. R. Williams, was picked up by a Sycamore—from R.A.F. Station Thornaby, Yorks—which took off from there about ten minutes before he reached the water. AnotherHunter provided a "fix" on the point where F/O. Williams had baled out, and when the helicopter was ten miles away from thedinghy its "Sarah" receiver began to pick up impulses from the transmitter F/O. Williams carried with him. "Sarah" is a sub-miniature radio beacon weighing only 3 lb8;j oz and, in spite of its small size, emits a signal that can be heard continuously for 20 hours over a radius of 70 miles. Theuser has only to pull a ring which releases a 31 in flexible aerial and starts the transmitter. Sarah is produced by Ultra Electric. The Air Racing Championship ON the occasion of the National Air Race meeting at Bagintonon Saturday last, F/L. H. B. lies was declared British Air Racing Champion for 1956. Together with S/L. D. P. Boulnoisand G. C. Marler, his points total in the championship was 56, the final top placings being decided by relative performances inthe King's Cup Race. The championship table is given below, and the race meeting is reported on page 140. Place 1 2 3 4 5 r6 1 9 < \ 14 <I Pilot H. B. lies D. P. Boulnois . G. C. Marler D. F. Ogilvy J. M. Donald . J. H. Denyer T. G. Knox A. Barker A. S. K. Paine . J. N. Somers E. Crabtree C. Gregory A. G. Oldham . P. Blamire N. H. Jones J. R. Johnston . Points per round 1st 18 18 18 16 16 8 1418 14 1210 10 14 10 1016 2nd 16 16 18 18 18 20 1210 10 2018 14 20 14 1216 3rd 22 22 20 20 16 20 2220 22 1418 18 8 16 188 Total points 56 56 56 54 50 48 4848 46 4646 42 42 40 4040 The above competed in the King's Cup Race. Also in the Championship list were: (17) F. Dunkerley and Miss A. Windle. 38; (19) B. J. Snook, 36; (20) J. E. G. Appleyard. 32; (21) R. H. Mclntosh, 30; (22) P. S. Clifford, N. D. Norman and R. R. Paine, 28; (25) W. P. Bowles and P. Vonneck. 26; (27) B. Maile, 24; (28) J. G. Lovegrove, J. Rush, 20; (30) E. N. Husbands, 18; (31) A. J. Spiller, 12.
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