FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1538.PDF
694 FLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS Vulcan and Valettas TN written Parliamentary replies last week the Secretary of State-*• for Air, Mr. Nigel Birch, made reference to the Vulcan accident at London Airport on October 1. He also mentioned the Valettaincident on September 24, in which several M.P.s aboard were hurt when the aircraft suddenly lost height. The Minister announced that a further investigation of someaspects of the report of the Court of Inquiry on the Vulcan crash was to be undertaken immediately by the Minister of Transportand Civil Aviation, Mr. Harold Watkinson. Subsequently it was stated that the Minister of Transport andCivil Aviation had ordered an independent private inquiry into "certain aspects" of the Vulcan accident; this was to becarried out by Dr. A. G. Touch, Director of Electronic Research and Development at the Ministry of Supply.In the Commons last Wednesday Mr. Frank Beswick (Lab., Uxbridge) was to ask on whose authority the decision was madefor the Vulcan to use London Airport as a return base on October 1; by whom the recep:ion arrangements were made;and if the Air Minister would make a statement. He was also to ask what consultation took place between the Air Ministryand the Hawker Siddeley Group before the latter issued their statement as to the cause of the accident. Of the Valetta, Mr. Birch said that the report of the Court ofInquiry showed that the accident [reported in Flight for Septem- ber 28, p. 536] was caused by a defective valve in the amplifierunit of the automatic pilot. The defect was a most unusual one, but further tests are to be carried out. A temporary restrictionis being placed on the use of the autopilot in certain Valettas. Neville Duke Steps Down TPHE announcement last weekend that S/L. N. F. Duke, D.S.O.,•*• O.B.E., D.F.C., A.F.C., would be relinquishing his appoint- ment as chief test pilot of Hawker Aircraft, Ltd., as fromOctober 31, owing to the "persistent recurrence of the spinal disorder" caused by his accident at Thorney Island last year, isa matter for very great regret; for Neville Duke's name has been associated—perhaps more than that of any other test pilot—withthe development of high-speed flying in this country since the war. During his eight years with Hawker Aircraft, S/L. Dukesaw the Hun er through from its prototype stages to squadron service. In 1949 he set up London-Rome and London-Karachirecords in a Hawker Fury, and in 1953 he broke the world speed record with an average of 727.6 m.p.h. in a Hunter. Clearly, Duke's injury was more serious than had been thought,and he was quoted in an interview as saying that he fractured his spine in the crash and that though he had been trying tokeep going, first in a plaster cast and then in a plastic one, the FAIREYS IN FORCE: At the recent Royal Aero Club dinner to record- breaker Peter Twiss: Professor R. L. Lickley, chief engineer, Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd.; Mr. G. W. Hall, assistant managing director; and the guest of honour. ._ .•'. \ Lt-Cdr. Overbury. KNIGHT AND VISCOUNT: Sir Thomas and Lady Sopwith chatting with Capt. L. S. Anderson of T.C.A. at Montreal Airport before leaving for New York on their first flight in a Viscount. Sir Thomas, chairman of the Hawker Siddeley Group, had been visiting part of the Canadian aircraft industry. strain had been too much. "Compression was the trouble," hesaid. Fortunately, his disability will not debar him from civil flying;and the announcement said that although he had not made up his mind about his future, he would be unlikely to leave theaviation world entirely. New Saunders-Roe Test Pilot "THE holder of two inter-••- national point-to-point records, Lt-Cdr. J. R. S. Over-bury, R.N. (retd.), has joined Saunders-Roe, Ltd., as a testpilot under S/L. J. S. Booth, D.F.C., their chief test pilot. In1954, Lt-Cdr. Overbury flew a Sea Hawk from London toAmsterdam at a speed of 571.5 m.p.h. and the following yearpiloted a Sea Venom from Rome to Malta at 531 m.p.h. He joined the Royal Navy in1943, trained in Canada and thereafter served with 810 and812 R.N. Squadrons in the air- craft carriers H.M.S. Ocean andH.M.S. Theseus. Lt-Cdr. Overbury qualified asa flying instructor in 1950 and in 1951/52 was training flight commander at the Royal NavalAir Station, Lee-on-Solent. In 1953 he graduated from the Empire Test Pilots' School and for the next two years servedwith the Royal Naval Test Squadron at Boscombe Down. Hunter Home THE Hawker Hunter T.7 which on October 20 flew fromLondon to Rome at 566.1 m.p.h. made a return journey on October 25 which is also likely to rank as a point-to-point record.The crew of the two-seat Hunter again consisted of A. W. ("Bill") Bedford, Hawker deputy chief test pilot, and Frank Murphy,former production test pilot and now Hawker's R.A.F. liaison officer. Subject to confirmation, they covered the official distanceof 891.67 miles in 1 hr 40 min 9.7 sec, an average speed of 533.93 m.p.h. During its stay in Rome the Hunter was shown to the ItalianAir Force. Fifteen demonstration flights were made, and the air- craft was handled by a number of senior officers, including theC.A.S., General Rafaclli. It appears to have given a very favourable impression. A.W.650 TeamT HE composition of the design team which is to handle thedevelopment of the Hawker Siddeley Group's new civil air- craft project, the Armstrong Whitworth 650-series freighter/coach has now been announced. Headed by Mr. E. D. Keen, chief designer of Armstrong Whitworth, the team has beenestablished at the company's new £1 million research and design centre now being completed at Whitley, near Coventry. Theproject is under the direction of Sir Arnold Hall, technical director, Hawker Siddeley Group, Mr. H. M. Woodhams, man-aging director, Armstrong Whitworth, and Mr. Keen. Mr. Keen states: "Now that the pattern of our design workfor the next few years has become clear, we have decided to reorganize our technical departments in order to streamline ourwork. Mr. H. J. Staite has been appointed chief project engineer and will lead a small, complete team of designers, structural
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
