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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1319.PDF
14 September 1956 Mil Ulllllll 1,11 WEEK An Illustrated Day-to-Day Record of the 17th S.B.A.C. Display and Exhibition from Tuesday, September 4, to the closing of the Show, with additional notes on the Aircraft. ILLUSTRATED MAINLY WITH "FLIGHT" PHOTOGRAPHS THERE was no doubt about it, the weather had won. Fromthe morning of Monday when, as we reported last week,the clouds began ganging up like Teddy boys, to the end of Sunday's display, when the rain-sodden public began to queuetheir way home, it had been grey skies and dampness all the way at Farnborough. Only Saturday provided a warm and dryrespite—a flash in the pan, as the Met. Office pointed out, but a flash at least that boomed with the sound of the Fairey Deltas'Mach joust at height—even if the sight of the joust was obscured by the decorative outlines of the vaporous Teddy boys. Following Monday's "preview" display, fully described in lastweek's issue, the flying programme was modified on Tuesday to provide an improved and more logical presentation. Even be-fore the flying display, however, a basic difference was evident in Tuesday's Farnborough mixture. The new ingredients wereseen in the people attending—the sea of people which half- covered the tented exhibits and then flowed down the hill to lapin waves against the roped-off islands on which were parked the statically displayed aircraft. Among the visitors, appropriatelyenough, more foreign uniforms were seen, together with more stripes on uniform sleeves and stars on shoulders; more foreigntongues were heard; and more-expensive brochures were trans- ferred to more-important-looking briefcases. Perhaps it was anillusion, however, that the cigar-smoke wafting across from the exhibitors' crowded enclosures today had a more expensivearoma. Tuesday morning was dry if overcast, and there was much forthe guests—who seemed to include a noticeably large contingent of Canadians—to see. In the static aircraft park the SupermarineN.113 and the Bristol Britannia 301 were now on view, in addition to Monday's selection. Among the V.I.P.s this day werethe Minister of Supply, the Chief of the Air Staff, and the much- publicized Russian industry delegation led by Mr. P. V.Dementiev, the Soviet Minister for the Aircraft Industry. The day's flying display began with the Beverley and theengine test-beds, as on Monday but with the inclusion of the Orion Britannia. The order of R.A.F. participation was re-versed, the Canberra T.4s of 231 O.C.U. preceding the helicop- ter group and the Hunters of 43 Squadron following it. Theorder of the individual demonstrations which followed had been changed, giving a snappier show with fewer gaps than on Mon-day. The penultimate item was to be the Britannia 301—its only appearance that week—and the two Fairey Deltas, in theirrestricted low-level demonstration, would end the display (apart from the passenger flying in the Herald, Twin Pioneer, Presidentand Britannia). Items of information disclosed during the afternoon commen-tary were that the Canberra P.R.9 had been consistently flying at heights comparable to the existing world record (65,890ft);and that the Folland Gnat had completed the first phase of gun- firing trials at 40,000ft.The incident which was presented to the British public at their breakfast tables next day under headlines such as "JETTWISS SAVES DROOPY" occurred as Peter Twiss was taking off in! WG 774, his record-breaking F.D.2. As he applied reheatearly in the take-off run, the cluster of three braking parachutes accidentally streamed from (the tail of the machine. Twiss con-tinued along the runway without reheat, but was heard to apply afterburning again before leaving the ground. The tail para-chutes were jettisoned after take-off, and Twiss and Slade carried out their low-level display as planned. At a Press conference following the display, Mr. Dementiev,the Soviet Minister for the Aircraft Industry, was asked whether Russia had plans for an attack on the F.D.2's speed record of1,132 m.p.h. He replied that Russia possessed aircraft which could fly "just as fast"; such speeds were widely accepted. A newturboprop transport which would carry 120-180 people, Mr. Dementiev said, was now under construction in the Soviet Union.He had been impressed at Farnborough by the organization and piloting skill involved, as well as by the aircraft and otherexhibits. When asked how many people are employed in the Soviet aircraft industry, Mr. Dementiev gave an eminently quot-
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