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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1284.PDF
432 FLIGHT, 7 September 1956 THE SEVENTEENTH S.B.A.C. DISPLAY . .. in the latter half of next year. Emphasis was placed recently uponthe Britannia's short- and medium-range capabilities by the announcement of a new variant, the 320. This aircraft, like the310, will have a cruising speed of slightly more than 400 m.p.h., but, unlike that aircraft—which is essentially a long-ranger—it will have reduced fuel tankage. It is to this version that American operators (see page 423) are paying particular attentionat the present time. The Britannia order book was increased from 55 to 56 on theopening day of the display by an order for one 310, plus an option on two, by the British independent airline Hunting Clan. Nextmonth the first Britannia 102 passenger services are due to be inaugurated by B.O.A.C. Bristol Orion-Britannia (G-ALBO). This famous aeroplane,the first of all the Britannias and flying since August 1952, has been turned into an engine-development vehicle reminiscent of"Old 1961" at Burbank. From starboard to port the powerplants comprise a Proteus 705, a second 705, a Proteus 755 and an Orion—all, of course, made by Bristol Aero-Engines. The trim Orion has been penalized by having to fit the fatProteus nacelle, for it has been carefully engineered so that it can be bolted on to an existing Proteus firewall in the minimum This year S/L. W. R. Gellatly operated the agile Fairey Ultra-Light helicopter from a company truck. In modified form it is sweet to fly. of conversion man-hours. In spite of its great power the Orioninstallation is actually lighter than that of the Proteus. ALBO first flew on the Friday before the Show, and windmilling trialsrevealed a lubrication problem, of a minor nature, which recurred on the Saturday and Monday. It was hoped that, following minoralterations to the Orion reduction gear, the aircraft would be able to fly to Farnborough by Tuesday. Bristol 171 (G-AMWI). Bristol's Sycamore Mk 4 demonstra-tor this year sports a red-and-white colour scheme, and is seen to carry the Perspex side-blisters which provide the extra cabin widthfor the stretchers carried in the ambulance version, in addition to the hydraulic winch, starboard-mounted, for search and rescue.On the stretcher mounting inside the fuselage is installed a Pye industrial television camera installation, which has been flighttested in the Sycamore and demonstrated to police authorities and the Army. Bristol 173 (XH 379). The second prototype of the Bristol 173Mk 2 appears this year at Farnborough with fixed horizontal and vertical tail surfaces (which, incidentally, were fitted only lastFriday) in place of last year's vee-tail. Bearing the insignia of British European Airways (King Arthur Class: Sir Bars), thismachine has in fact been the subject of intensive handling trials by B.E.A. during recent months. The three small red-knobbedrods which now sprout from each rotor head indicate the addition of new centrifugal droop stops, spring devices which prevent therotor blades from drooping excessively when stationary. Inside the fuselage are four single forward-facing seats and a twininward-facing bench seat. de Havilland Comet (G-ANLO). The heavy programme ofexperimental work allotted to the Comet 3 prototype has precluded the appearance of the aircraft at this year's display. The machineis at present undergoing extensive modifications at Hatfield to make it fully representative in all essentials—engines, systems andaerodynamics—of the Comet 4 and 4A. This programme, made especially urgent by the recent order for four Comet 4s and ten4As from Capital Airlines, U.S.A., will enable much of the new Comets' performance and certification flying to be carried out wellbefore completion of No. 1 production Comet 4, which will be the first of B.O.A.C.'s 19, now scheduled for November 1957. Develop-ment-hours on the Rolls-Royce Avon RA.29 engines of the 4 and 4A are to be augmented by two Comet 2s, which are now beingmodified to take a pair each of these 10,500 1b powerplants. (As Armstrong Whitworth's P. M. R. Walton threw the Sea Hawk FGA.6 all round the sky in spite of its assortment of under-wing stores. Here, however, it is proceeding in more sedate fashion.
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