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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1589.PDF
FLIGHT, 9 November 1956 747 One of Fison-Airwork's hard-working pair of West I and S-55s The company Britain's foremost aerial spraying organization, also operates eight Hiller 360s and associates own many fixed-wing machines. A FIELD FOR THE HELICOPTER Fison-Airwork's Aerial Spraying Service ALTHOUGH the farmer is by popular tradition a grumbler,he appears at least to have the aviation business on his side.In his remorseless battle with nature and the elements to prise his livelihood out of the soil, he has enlisted the aeroplaneas one of his most effective implements. Even though the home market is small in comparison with the vast agricultural industriesof other countries, two British aircraft constructors have seized the opportunity of supplying the fanner with the sort of aeroplanehe needs. The Edgar Percival P.9 and the Auster Agricola, subjects of "In the Air" articles in two recent issues, are in ourview certain of big business in the years to come. But what of the helicopter? Its protagonists claim that on every count but one—cost ofoperation—the rotary wing scores over the fixed wing for aerial spraying. Indeed, they say, despite the fact that the farmer mayhave to pay twice or thrice as much per hour for a helicopter as for a fixed wing aircraft (a typical cost is £40 per hour), he willstill need it for many jobs. Is there an opening for a really cheap-to-operate specializedhelicopter for agricultural work? Obviously, however carefully designed, a machine of this kind could never approach theeconomy of such specialist fixed-wing competitors as the P.9 or the Agricola—but it could sufficiently reduce the disparity in costto open up a big market. Furthermore, it could widen further the field in which the helicopter excels—that multitude of industrialtasks which only a vehicle infinitely controllable in all three dimen- sions can attempt. It was with such matters in mind that we recently visitedFison-Airwork at their U.K. headquarters near Cambridge. They operate a mixed fleet of two S-55s, eight Hiller 360s, and otheraircraft, and are thus well qualified to judge the relative merits of fixed- and rotary-wing in agriculture. This firm is, in fact, thebiggest and one of the most experienced industrial helicopter operators outside America and Australia, and is undoubtedlysecond to none in its experience of aerial spraying. The firm has its roots in Fisons Pest Control, Ltd., whose aviation division wasmerged intact in May 1955 with the British independent operators, Airwork, Ltd. They are a good example—if politics may beallowed to intrude—of what a private civil operator can achieve unfettered by Government control. Fison-Airwork's operationsare mainly overseas (with associated companies in East Africa and South Africa), and are truly fascinating in their variety. Our questions centred mainly around helicopter operations.First, why did such jobs pay if they were so much more expensive than those done by competitive fixed-wing aircraft? The answerwas that there are countless jobs which (if it is accepted that aerial spraying is essential) die fixed-wing aeroplane cannot per-form. There may be no landing site, the area may be too small for manoeuvring, there may be hazardous obstructions. Furthermore,it is claimed, the application—whether of fertilizer or a pest-killer —may be so critical as to its distribution that the necessary degreeof control can only accurately be achieved by the helicopter. An example in mind is the spraying of banana plantations in Jamaicaagainst leaf-spot. This job was only recently undertaken by the company, and from early results it seems to have supplied theanswer to one of the banana grower's biggest problems. Second, what son of helicopter did Fison-Airwork considershould be developed for aerial spraying? The suggestions came in detail. They were: (1) A sturdy, simple and straightforwardmachine, costing about £5,000, with quick-change components. It should be possible to remove the engine, transmission, rotorhead and other items with ease. (2) All unnecessary items should be eliminated, at the expense of good looks. (3) The fuselagestructure should be open, and preferably of tubular construction. The undercarriaee should be interchangeable between four wheelsand skids. (4) The rotor blades should be metal. The clearance of the fuselage from the ground should be sufficient to allowinstallation of the insecticide tank. Attachment points should be provided on each side as an alternative. (5) Seating for the Dilotshould be in the centre; if this cannot be achieved, he should sit on the left. (6) Trimming should be electrical and the controlsshould be light. It is unimportant whether the cyclic-pitch lever is of the overhanging type or comes from the floor. The lever-typethrottle (as on the Hiller 360) would be preferred to the twist-grip type. (7) Cockpit canopies should be easily detachable, and con-vertible to completely closed or completely open, with doors separately removable. (8) The machine should be kept as small aspossible. (9) An engine of 250 to 300 h.p. would be preferred. (10) The payload of a machine should be a minimum of 900 1b,hovering ceiling at full load 5,000ft, cruising speed 100 m.p.h., and endurance 21 hours. A simple enough category of requirements—with the exception perhaps of the £5,000 first cost. In conclusion, we quote Mr. J. E. Harper, co-director of Fison-Airwork and a helicopter pilot of long experience. He was speaking of agricultural flying in general, rather than of helicopter opera-tions in particular, but his words lend colour to one of aviation's most difficult but fascinating activities: — "There is no doubt in my mind that few operations are asarduous on the flying side or in the maintenance field as those met in aerial spraying—no better medium to train safe captainsfor helicopter airlines of the future! I claim this because flying conditions are tiring due to concentration during prolongedperiods of low flying; in fact, over 85 per cent is done a few feet above the ground. Continuous manoeuvring and turning, avoidingobstacles, combined with frequent take-offs and landings necessi- tate flying the machine all the time with no margin for errorresulting in physical fatigue. An average of four hours flying per day is sufficient on this type of work. Some of our pilotshave exceeded eight hours on some days, but it would not be possible to keep up to this figure for more than the odd occa-sion . . ." We left Cambridge thinking it might be rewarding for thehelicopter manufacturing industry to look into aerial spraying a little more closely. As with jet and turboprop in transport, therewould seem to be room in agriculture for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing—if the latter were designed with the same imagina-tive approach as were the P.9 and the Agricola. COSSOR COMMUNICATIONS AS a subsidiary of A. C. Cossor, Ltd., the Cossor Communica-** tions Co., Ltd., has been formed to extend the telecommuni- cations interests of the Cossor group, and a development team isengaged on an ambitious programme in which, it is stated, the fullest advantage will be taken of new techniques, particularly theuse of transistors, printed circuits and mechanized production methods.The new company will take over the handling of sales of existing Cossor communications sets, such as the WS.53 and T.1509 trans-mitters used by the Army and the R.A.F. and exported. Main emphasis, however, will be on a new range of designs, varyingfrom light portable sets to heavy equipment. The company's activities will extend not only to radio but to line communications,in co-operation with the Sterling Cable Co., Ltd., the cable-making subsidiary of the Cossor group.Mr. Henry Chisholm, joint managing director of A. C. Cossor, Ltd., is chairman of the new company, with Mr. T. S. Heftmanas general manager and technical director. The sales division (Mr. I. Campbell-Bruce is sales director) is at Cossor House,Highbury Grove, London, N.5 (Canonbury 1234).
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