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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1668.PDF
830 FLIGHT, 23 November 1956 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Another U-2 SightingO N November 12, at about 11.10 a.m., I saw what I believewas a Lockheed U-2. The aircraft flew around about Farn- borough airfield for about 20 minutes and made off when twoHunters joined the Farnborough circuit—although this may be only coincidence. Its description, as far as I could see, followed very closelythat given by Messrs. Gates and Farrant in your issue of Novem- ber 9, but the fact that the machine was flying just above low andpatchy cloud made accurate observation difficult. At first sight the aircraft appeared to be similar to a Sea Hawk,but on closer observation it could be seen that the wing was of higher aspect-ratio, and the engine noise was quite unlike that ofa Sea Hawk at that speed (about 200-250 m.p.h.), there being no "whine." When several miles distant the aircraft turned and the finappeared to be similar to that of a Panther, although this may be an illusion caused by the distance. Farnborough, Hants. TIMOTHY C. CARBURY.[New information about the U-2 is given on page 809.—Ed.] Window Revolution VERY briefly mentioned in the end paragraph of "Test ofFriendship" on page 737 of Flight of November 2 is a principle entirely new and of very great importance to aviation.I quote: "An unusual feature of the window design is that the pane is encastre with the skin and window frame and acts as amembrane." If the tests are as successful as the makers claim, then wide-spread application of the principle renders redundant the vast amount of work which many in aircraft structures, and a fewoutside it, have devoted to establishing, proving and demon- strating the "neutral hole" principle.Indeed, Fokkers appear to have achieved at one stroke a close approximation to the highly desirable state of "even" stressdistribution in the membrane of their pressure hull, regardless of all openings and interruptions.Now there remains only the elimination of riveted joints. . . . London, N.W.5. W. D. PERRETT. B.O.A.C.'s Future Equipment WITH the ordering of Boeing 707s B.O.A.C. are now the onlyairline in the world proposing to offer a combined fleet of jet and turboprop types for long-haul work. Here, surely, is agreat opportunity to prove the potentials of such a combination. There must be continued development of the Britannia, advantagebeing taken of the new Orion's enormous potential in the design of a stretched 450 m.p.h. version with which B.O.A.C. couldinaugurate their Blue Riband turboprop and jet partnership in 1960.It has been suggested by some that the long-range propeller- turbine transport represents an interim type, bridging the gapbetween the piston-engined airliner and the subsonic jet. On the contrary, with the development of large supersonic aircraft, thebig and demanding long-haul jetliner as we know it today may rapidly lose its competitive position; but the turboprop, beingthe only form of powerplant at present in prospect which can enable an aeroplane of practical size to lift a really large payloadover very long range, will see service in its advanced form well into the supersonic era.We must consolidate our undoubted lead in the development of this type of powerplant by squeezing from it the last ounce ofpotential. If sufficient effort is forthcoming, the Britannia family and its successors, developed in both passenger and freight forms,may well be the most dominating transport aircraft during the 1960s.Malvern, Worcs. • D. W. SUTHERLAND. NEARLY two years ago the Government announced areduction in the number of projects to be undertaken by the aircraft industry. Accordingly the promising design of theVickers 1000 and its civil version the VC-7, which had almost reached the prototype stage, was scrapped. It was expected thatthe VC-7 would be in operation with B.O.A.C. in 1960, but now the Corporation has had to resort to buying Boeing 707s withvaluable dollars. Further, the project of die V.1000 was halfway through its course from drawing board to operation, a prototypebeing very near completion, while over £4 million had been spent on the whole development. All this was scrapped as if of littleconsequence. Bearing this in mind we now see the announcement of a de Havilland project, the D.H.I 18, whose performance is to benearly the same as the ill-fated VC-7. Yet it will not be ready until 1962, by which time the only market for it will be B.O.A.C.,since other potential operators will have equipped themselves with DC-8s and Boeing 707s.Does all this show good planning, competence and common sense? There will, of course, be those people who praise theBritish aircraft industry because it is putting a new aeroplane on the market. But at an enormous cost. The most tedious part of the work for one aircraft has alreadybeen scrapped, a pure waste of money, of technical skill, and of valuable resources. Now the process of designing, of testing, ofinvestigation and of building has to be gone through again. Is this good business, or another mere fantasy? The de Havillandproject is in fact a second attempt to build a long-range jet to compete with the Americans. We started in the lead, we thenfaltered and we are now resuming the task, though after the Americans have overtaken us. And what about the Comet? Is it to be relegated to the back-ground as soon as present orders are completed? The resources of the de Havilland Company have already been taxed to a limitby resurrecting such a fine aeroplane as the Comet. But we now learn that they are to begin a second major project, when we havebeen told that the industry is tackling too many at once. This is an obvious inconsistency. Rather, why is not the energy devotedto developing the Comet, and achieving a full order book? At least, if another project is to be started, why don't we set oursights high and build something that will completely overleap American designs, instead of machines diat are in the same classof performance? Shrewsbury. - _ R. E. GILL. The Sopwith If-Strutter "DEFERENCE the recent article on the Sopwith 1^-StrutterAV by Mr. J. M. Bruce, perhaps the following information may be of interest to your other readers.Sopwith li-Strutters A.1020 and B.2576: While on reconnais- sance six Sopwith 1^-Strutters of 45 Sqn., R.F.C. led by Capt.G. H. Cock, M.C., were attacked by eight Albatros Scouts (D3s) of Jagdstaffel 11. During the engagement one li-Strutter (Serialunknown, pilot unknown, observer Sgt. Fletcher) went down in flames; this was the seventh and last victory of Lt. Niederhoff.A.1020 also went down, and this was the nindi victory of Lt. Brauneck. Sopwith li-Strutter B.2576 (Capt. Cock and Sgt.Moore) was claimed by three members of Jagdstaffel 11, Obit. Reinhard, Lt. Deilmann, and Sgt. Kullmer, who all said they hadfired the fatal burst; but the credit was given to Reinhard—his first victory of a final score of twenty. Capt. Cock, who scored seventeen victories, and his observerSgt. Moore, who claimed fourteen victories, survived the war; I believe that until 1939 they were still in the Royal Air Force.Littleover, Derby. DOUGLASS WHETTON. INFRA-RED POSSIBILITIES (continued from p. 827) times more sensitive than the German war-time cell. Thesensitivity of a modern lead-sulphide cell is such that, mounted in a telescope, it can detect the heat from stars; and the publishedfigures of sensitivity would indicate that even with a mirror as small as three inches it would detect the heat from a domestictwo-kilowatt electric fire at about ten miles range. Possibly as important is the fact that by reason of the very short response-time and high sensitivity of photo-conductor detectors it becomes possible to detect very small changes in temperature with ascanning system, and hence to build a thermal picture. In addition to possible military applications, modern infra-redtechniques, particularly photo-conductive detectors, have made their mark in a number of scientific and industrial fields. Forexample, the vibration and rotation of molecules gives rise to absorption bands in the infra-red. By the measurement of thewavelength and intensity of these absorption bands a great deal of information on the structure and size of molecules is possible.Dr. H. W. Thompson of Oxford University has for some time, led the world in these techniques, and many molecules of interestto human life and to industry have been investigated. In astronomy it is possible to measure and study the infra-redradiation from stars. ; :
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