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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1617.PDF
16 November 1956 775 cured synthetic-sponge stabilizing compound. A final coating ofnickel p.ate provides protection from abrasion and erosion The new holiow-a.uminium-blade propeller has been selectedfor the Lockheed L.1649A for T.w\A. and Lufthansa and the Lockheed Ele;tras for K.L.M. The former type of aircraft has avery large three-blade propeller for which solid aluminium blades would be 50 per cent heavier than their hollow equivalent. TheElectra has an appreciably smaller four-blade unit for which soLd blades wou.d be 27 per cent heavier. These weights do not, ofcourse, take into account the reduced weight of hub, actuating mechanism and mountings which the lighter blades make possibleand in the case of the L.1649A the choice of the new propeller provides additional payload equivalent to four passengers. Fairey Board Appointments /^ERTAIN executive changes have been announced by the^ Board of the Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd. Mr. Geoffrey W. Hall, A.F.R.Ae.S., has been appointed a vice-chairman of thecompany (additionally to his appointment as managing director); Mr. Richard Fairey has been appointed a vice-chairman and hasrelinquished his appointment as general manager; and the follow- ing additional appoin ments to the Board have been made- MrRobert L. Lickley, B.Sc, D.I.C., M.I.Mech.E., F.R.Ae.S., to be technical director (retaining his appointment as chief engineer);Mr. John C. Macpherson, A.C.A., to be financial director (retain- ing his appointment as secretary); and Mr. Alan Vines,A.F.R.Ae.S., A.M.I.P.E., to be production director. Mr. Lickley has been chief engineer of the Fairey Aviation New Fairey directors: Messrs. Lickley, Macpherson and Vines. Co. for five years. He was responsible for the successful develop-ment of the Gannet and the F.D.2; and the Rotodyne is being designed and manufactured under his control. Mr. Macphersonwas appointed secretary of the company in 1944 and head of the financial department in 1952; he is chairman of the taxation com-mittee of the S.B.A.C. Mr. Vines, who is also a director of Fairey Marine, Ltd., was responsible as production developmentengineer and later deputy chief engineer for prototype manu- facture and for the development of the Fairey "envelope tooling"method of aircraft construction. He became production manager in 1950. Leonides Majors in Bristol 173 ON November 9 the first Bristol 173 helicopter powered byAlvis Leonides Major engines started its flight trials. Based at the company's Weston Division, where all Bristol Aircrafthelicopter work is done, it began its flight development with a series of hovering tests in the hands of Mr. C. T. D. ("Sox")Hosegood, chief helicopter test pilot. Third 173 to be built, the new machine is stronger (to allowfor a higher gross weight), has a higher rear rotor pylon (to im- prove efficiency and handling in gusty air) and is fitted with two850 h.p. Leonides Majors driving four-blade interlinked rotors. Two more Major-powered 173s are near completion. Second SeaMaster Lost REMARKABLY bad luck seems to be dogeing the MartinCompany in their efforts to turn the P6M SeaMaster into a usable weapon for the U.S. Navy. On page 783 we publish anabstract from the report on the crash of the first prototyDe, which broke up in the air nearly a year ago. It is now learned that thesecond machine has also been lost over Delaware Bay, although details of the occurrence are not yet available. The crew ot tour,all Martin employees, escaped by parachute. FOUR-YEAR-OLD: Built tour years ago by S.N.C.A.S.O. to O.N.E.R.A. designs, this tiny experimental machine, maturing little more than lift in span and weighing only about 2.000 b, hasmst been shown to the French Press. It bears the appellation Delta Jet. OVER 14 MILES UP: First pictures, by radio, of the U.S. Navy balloon and its crew (Cdr. Morton L. Lewis, left, and Cdr. Malcolm D. Ross) after their November 8 attempt on the world's official absolute height record, which has stood at 72,395 ft for 27 years. They succeeded, by attaining— subject to confirmation—just over 76,000 ft. Note the parachute-type suspension of the pressurized gondola beneath the transparent-plastic envelope. The loss of this second machine is certain to prove a serioushandicap in the development of the type, although it is too early to predict whether or not the production order, at present for24 P6M-ls, will be affected. The production machines will be powered by Pratt and Whitney J75 engines and will be used in avariety of attack purposes. Agricola Down Under ""pOPDRESSING trials of the first Auster Agricola to operateA in New Zealand began on October 25, only one week after the aircraft's first flight in that country. During the initial top-dressing operations, loads of between 7 and 12| cwt were dropped (at 300ft and 90 m.p.h.) at a selected rate of 3 cwt per acre. Themachine is said to have performed well from the strip in use, which was 150 yd long and sloping, in spite of crosswind conditions.The Auster representative in New Zealand, Mr. E. C. Harrison, has reported that pilots of Airlift (N.Z.), Ltd., Rangitikei AirServices and Auster Air Services agree that "the Agricola has far better aileron control, general performance and landing charac-teristics than any of the American aircraft now operating in New Zealand." New D.C.A. for New Zealand SIR ARTHUR NEVILL, New Zealand's Deputy Director ofCivil Aviation, has been appointed to succeed the retiring Director of Civil Aviation, Mr. E. A. Gibson. A former Chief ofthe New Zealand Air Staff, Sir Arthur was appointed Deputy Director in 1952. In 1955 he was elected a Fellow of the RoyalAeronautical Society. His connection with aviation dates from 1930, when he was transferred from the Royal New ZealandArtillery to the R.N.Z.A.F.
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