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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1753.PDF
^VV,\.^.^>^ . o , •;.:.. • 14 December 1956 917 SUFFIX "A", ap- pended to the type - designation P.I, distinguishes this Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire- powered proto- type of English Electric's super- sonic intercepter from the produc- tion-type Rolls- Royce Avon- engined P. IB. Re- heat is fitted in both cases. jr and the Far East. He was appointed to the command of 613Squadron in 1949 and in 1952 was appointed O.B.E. for his services to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. At A. V. Roe and Co.,Ltd., he had undertaken some of the test flying on the Vulcan, and demonstrated these aircraft in memorable fashion at the S.B.A.C.flying display. Bristol Chief Test Pilot /"\N January 1 next year Mr. A. J. ("Bill") Pegg, O.B.E.,v-' relinquishes his appointment as chief test pilot of the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd., to become general service manager at theWeston-super-Mare works of Bristol Aircraft, Ltd. He will be succeeded as chief test pilot by Mr. Walter Gibb, D.S.O., D F.C "Bill" Pegg Walter Gibb "Bill" Pegg, who is 50, joined Bristols in 1935 as assistantto Mr. C. F. Uwins, who was then chief test pilot, and succeeded him in 1947. In recent years he has been responsible for theBritannia flight-test programme. In his new capacity, Mr. Pegg will be responsible for after-sales service and training for allBristol helicopters and other products from the factory at Weston and at Banwell. Mr. W. F. Gibb, who as assistant chief test pilot of BristolAircraft has undertaken much of the Britannia flight test pro- gramme, holds the world's aeroplane height record (65,890ft)which he set up in the Olympus-Canberra on August 29, 1955. Alpine Operator ON December 6, a talk on Alpine flying was given before theSki Club of Great Britain by Capt. Hermann Geiger and his associate, Max Stampfli.After the showing of several short films—emphasizing that the magnificence of the scenery was in inverse ratio to itssuitability for aircraft operations—Capt. Geiger was introduced by H.E. the Swiss Minister, and spoke shortly (in French) abouthis work. Then slides and another film were shown, with a commentary in English by Max Stampfli.Hermann Geiger started flying in the Alps about 26 years ago, and has since made over 7,000 mountain landings. His STING RAYS: Skimming low over the sea are these three Douglas F4D Skyray carrier-based intercepters of the U.S. Navy. A later develop- ment, the F5D Sky/oncer, is larger and has a more powerful version of the Pratt and Whitney J57 turbojet present aircraft, a Piper Super Cub (150 h.p. Lycoming), has acombined wheel and ski undercarriage, the skis being about 5ft in length and lft wide. During the years he has developed aspecial technique, based on a study of birds, which was described in a review of his recent book Alpine Pilot Flight, October 12).The film and slides demonstrated that Nature's defences of her mountain fastnesses must never be underrated. Landing stripsneed to be surveyed in summer, and further careful recon- naissance made before a landing, in order to estimate the angleof slope and the state of the snow. The Fohn wind, whipping snow off the mountains, can reduce visibility to a few feet. Though Capt. Geiger is probably best known for his rescueoperations (to date, he has rescued 270 injured people), his normal work includes a great variety of tasks. Based at Sion, inthe Rhone Valley, he has gradually built up a nucleus of aircraft, trained pilots and parachutists. Items transported includematerials for the construction of mountain huts and other build- ings, equipment for survey parties and food for isolated villagesand animals. When ski-ing and climbing accidents occur, Geiger co-operates with the guides in bringing assistance. If peopleare trapped in avalanches, parachutists, medical supplies, sledges and skis are dropped on the spot. The parachutists (who haveto use large-diameter canopies by reason of the rarefied air) receive their initial training with the R.A.F. at Abingdon beforeworking from Sion. It has sometimes proved impossible even for Geiger to land a light aircraft near the scene of an accident, soa helicopter is to be operated next year in addition to the fixed- wing machine.
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