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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1697.PDF
FLIGHT, 30 November 1956 859 Correspondence •.", ""• The Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreementwith the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not forpublication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Ghost Squadron tfAVING noted the enthusiasm of your readers about theA-I resurrection of some of the earlier types of aeroplanes, I feel that the enclosed photograph [reproduced in the head-ing.—Ed.] taken last week may be of some interest. It all started early in October when a small item appeared in alocal newspaper with regard to a "ghost squadron" of World War Two aircraft reclining on a tobacco farm near Tillsonburg,Ontario, "poised for instant flight as if once more their peaceful skies were threatened."Last Sunday I visited Tillsonburg and after much enquiry and searching eventually came upon a remarkable sight—a dilapidatedfarm, a mile off the highway, completely surrounded by aero- planes, 45 of them altogether. The first machine to come into view was a Westland Lysander,behind which stood two Fairey Swordfish, one fully rigged and the other with its wings lying on the ground on either side. Alittle further on more Swordfish, ten in all, fully rigged but with- out a scrap of fabric left on them. On the other side of the farmhouse and scattered through the surrounding bush I counted thirty-two Yales and Harvards. The owner of this "ghost squadron" was kind enough toallow me to walk amongst his treasures on condition I didn't touch them; he apparently believes they are airworthy andthought I might damage them! ("A piece of canvas here and a drop of oil there and they are once again ready to fly.")It seems that the owner (who shall be nameless) bought these aeroplanes from the Canadian Government eleven years agowith the intention of maintaining them in an airworthy condition for the benefit of wartime pilots who might want to fly themfor old times' sake. The Swordfish in some cases still carry ROYAL NAVY on thefuselage forward of the tailplane and are all fitted with canopies. All traces of unit or serial identification have long since disinteg-rated, although I have no doubt the airframe serial number plates would still have been legible had I known where to look for them. The Lysander, its wings lying on the ground beside it devoidof fabric, has the black and yellow markings of a target aircraft and carries the serial number 2346. Maybe some of your readersflew this machine—if they did I would be glad to let them have photographs of it in its present condition.Further, if any readers are interested in learning more about this collection I would be more than pleased to hear from them. Woodbridge, Ont. JOHN H. MATTHEWS.[Our correspondent's full address is Davidson Drive, Wood- bridge, Ontario, Canada.—Ed.] The Future of the HelicopterF is difficult to accept Mr. Basil ArkeU's comments [Novem-ber 16] on my article "How Fares the Helicopter?" as a challenge when I find myself in agreement with so many of hisviews. In my case, his only complaints seem to be (a) that I implied that the Ministry of Supply cut back its helicopter pro-gramme for reasons of standardization rather than finance, which I certainly did not intend, (b) that I put much of my faith inthe Rotodyne, which I admit, and (c) that I did not suggest how we should ensure "helicopters, not excuses," which I refute. The basis of all my argument is that helicopters cannot fulfiltheir promise until a great deal of money is put into them. That money will not be forthcoming until the people who hold thepurse-strings are convinced that it will be well spent. So, the small amount of cash now available must be allocated to thefew projects that offer the best prospects of early success. We cannot afford to finance 75 assorted designs and, in anycase, of the 75 under development in the United States in 1945, the handful that achieved full success were predominantly con-ventional single-rotor machines. This supports my plea for a measure of standardization of basic configuration. Certainly, letus leave scope for bright ideas, but not of the kind that would have half our designers still fiddling with biplanes and ornithopters.I agree that the industry has shown plenty of initiative; but lack of co-operation and standardization has caused much of thatinitiative to be wasted. This has led to the frustration, redund- ancy and loss of interest that Mr. Arkell so rightly deplores. This unsatisfactory picture will improve only when the heli-copter becomes a competitive, practicable, comfortable vehicle on a large scale. Thus, my hopes for the Rotodyne stem from thefact that it promises to achieve an efficiency and economy far A sight to sadden connoisseurs of historic aircraft: Swordfish on a Canadian farm (see letter from Mr. John H. Matthews). superior to those of anything else in the air over ranges up to400 miles. These are virtues that even an inmate of the War Office or a potential airbus passenger can appreciate. Mr. Arkell is wrong in saying that I ask for "helicopters, notexcuses" without indicating how this is to be achieved. The lead, as I state, must come from the fighting Services, in particular theArmy, for whom aircraft like the Skeeter, Wessex and Rotodyne must surely be indispensable. In addition, B.E.A. might show itsfaith in the airbus with an "off the drawing-board" order which would be little more of a gamble than those for the Empire flying-boat or Vanguard. But—and this was one of the most important points that Itried to make—the civil airbus will be possible only when there are heliports for it to use. As Mr. Arkell says, helicopters mustserve main centres of population, not merely the world's outbacks, and he clouds the issue only by dragging in the red herring ofLondon Airport. The amount of money spent on London Air- port is irrelevant, because while intercontinental airliners requireimmense runways we must provide them. Similarly, their passengers must be given every comfort and convenience and it isno more justified to compare these facilities with those required by helicopters than to compare the varying requirements of theQueen Mary and an Isle of Wight ferry boat. In some places the cost of building a heliport might be high;but the real lack is of space and foresight rather than money. Unless the authorities in London and elsewhere find room forheliports, and accept the noise and other problems, the airbus is doomed. Surbiton, Surrey. JOHN W. R. TAYLOR. Bombers and Defensive Armament TT would appear that the inclusion of protective tail-armament*• as part of a nuclear bomber's weapons system is an indis- pensable item of equipment, without which the Likelihood of theaircraft reaching its objective safely is extremely remote. For some obscure reason known only to themselves, designersof such aircraft as Victor, Vulcan and Valiant find it expedient to dispense with protective armament altogether. Does this meanthat protective armament so far as British bombers are concerned is a thing of the past? Edinburgh. A. G. A. ANDREWS.[The omission of defensive armament from the V-bombers was an Air Staff requirement in their design; it was considered thatthe additional performance thereby conferred would more than outweigh the lack of guns.—Ed.] Spotters' Corner T WONDER if any of your readers could help me identify an•*• aircraft which flew over Edinburgh just after mid-day on Tuesday, October 30. It headed due north over the west sideof the city, turned in a wide sweep over Fife and disappeared above cloud heading a little east of south. It left a double con-trail, the trails of which broadened out until they almost met. It had large wing-tip tanks—at first I thought it was a B-45—but as it flew over I could see no engines. The wings appeared to be absolutely straight, with parallel leading- and trailing-edges.The trails came from the wing-roots. Wing-span seemed to be less than the fuselage length, and the general layout was reminis-cent of the Trident. The aircraft was finished in silver. It was very high but seemed to be about the same size as a B-45.I doubt if it was a CF-100; could it possibly have been an F-89? Edinburgh, 12. IAIN C. WALKER.
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