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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0025.PDF
FLIGHT, 4 January 1957 25 THE INDUSTRY H.P. Senior Staff Dine PROPOSING "The Company" at the Handley Page Senior StaffDinner in London on December 19, Dr. J. E. Richardson, principal of Northampton Polytechnic, expressed the regret of the assembly that Lady Handley Page had to be absent through indisposition. In congratulating the company on its outstanding record in education and training he recalled that in 1910 the Polytechnic had decided to engage an aeronautical engineer to give instruction on two evenings a week for a fee of £75 per annum. It was shortly thereafter suggested that Mr. Frederick Handley Page be appointed. The following year "Page, F. Handley," appeared on the books as lecturer instead of instructor and at a fee of £90 per annum. Dr. Richardson added that 145 Handley Page employees were under Northampton Polytechnic's care during the past year, and about 40 per cent of the present technical staff, including the director of the technical department, Mr. R. S. Stafford, had been through the Institute's hands at one time or another. Dr. Richardson wished Sir Frederick well on his imminent voyage down-under—whereby, he expressed the hope, Sir Frederick would sell lots of Victors and Heralds. Replying, Sir Frederick was not slow in answering a question posed by Dr. Richardson—what would Sir Frederick do in the matter of payment to St. Peter for having borrowed the patent of the slotted wing? Having wrestled with the Ministry of Supply on many occasions, said Sir Frederick, he felt quite able to handle the situation—always assuming that his elevators were set in the right direction! Sir Frederick described the Victor as the greatest aerodynamic success of all the present generation of aircraft—not only of the V-bombers. IN BRIEF That the company's prospects were "never brighter" was stated by Mr. E. N. Egan, director and secretary of Folland Aircraft, Ltd., at a Christmas party given at Southampton by the supplies department for their suppliers. Mr. A. F. Rock, chief supplies officer, welcomed the guests. * * * A new booklet, Nickel Plating for Engineers, has been produced by the Mond Nickel Co., Ltd. It has been written primarily for engineers, designers and others who are interested in the possibili- ties which plating offers in design; and while no attempt has been made to cover plating procedures in great detail, practices have At the annual dinner- dance of Flight Re- fuelling, Ltd.: Miss Mary Lewis, long- service employee, re- ceives a tankard and congratulations from Sir Alan Cobham; and Lady Cobham receives a bouquet from Miss Lewis. been dealt with so far as they affect the properties of the resultant deposits. Copies for official use are obtainable free from the Mond Nickel Co., Ltd., Publicity Department, Thames House, Millbank, London, S.W.I. * * * Analogue computers designed and built by Short Brothers and Harland, Ltd., Belfast, are to be demonstrated this month to engineers and mathematicians in Germany and Sweden. In these demonstrations the machines will be set problems typical of those being encountered in German and Swedish research. Some thirty Short analogue computers are i -\-K>" now in use by the aircraft indus- try, being mainly applied to the investigation of flutter and stabil- ity problems in large aircraft. Newly appointed to the export sales department of the aero engine division of Rolls-Royce, Ltd., Mr. G. M. Shipway has spent most of his aviation career in the Far East. From 1950 to 1954 he was aviation manager for the Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., in India, and his work with Rolls-Royce, Ltd., will be con- cerned with the Near and Far East. 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. London and the Private Owner "D EFERENCE the recent Flight article concerning the eternal -* *• triangle of London's airports, the unwealthy private pilot and M.T.C.A., I should like to put forward a suggestion. This is for the use of Fairlop again. The airfield is situated on the Under- ground, and, more important, outside the London Control Zone. Despite the action of, I believe, the L.C.C., who like building houses on aerodromes, some A.O.P.A.-type battling could perhaps be initiated in order to secure Fairlop for the proud ones. The suggestion for Hendon to replace Croydon makes for pleasant thinking, apart from the I.F.R./L.C.Z. considerations. Toronto, Ontario. T. R. V. FOSTER (Late of Experimental Flying Group). [Fairlop is now owned by Ilford Corporation, who keep it as an open space "mainly for recreational purposes."—Ed.] The Sopwith 1£-Strutter '"PHE description of the services of the Sopwith 11-Strutter in •* Flight for October 5 was very interesting. Its various uses have, I think, not been so detailed previously. I am pretty certain that by the end of August 1916, all aircraft of No. 70 Squadron were equipped with the Sopwith-Kauper gun gear, and the Scarff mounting; but the Ross gun gear was experi- mented with to a limited extent. The Squadron was then com- manded by Maj. Lawrence, R.A. (att. R.F.C.). Another alteration made to replacement aircraft was the substitution of the lever type fine adjustment by a fine screw-threaded needle. Once set, this gave a very nice adjustment to the Bloctube carburetter; but it could be dangerous. An attempt was also made by Capt. Palethorpe of "B" Flight to supplement the armament, by fitting an automatic pistol at the base of the right-hand undercarriage strut. This was fed with ammunition from a long slotted container. It was impossible of course to rectify any fault. This fitment fired outside the arc of the propeller and had some success. Much of the detail work was carried out by Sgt. O'Mara of "B" Flight, who was a fine crafts- man. The idea was never adopted, but a few months later other aircraft with twin forward-firing Vickers were much in evidence. Capt. Palethorpe was afterwards posted to the R.F.C. Testing Squadron, Martlesham Heath, and gamed further distinction whilst flying a de Havilland 4 on test duties, when he tackled single- handed the whole Gotha and A.E.G. force which attacked London. Capt. Palethorpe was wounded, and his observer A/M.l Jessop died of wounds received in action. After a forced landing, and the repair of their aircraft, Lt. Vaucour and A/M.l Warminger (by virtue of winning the toss as to who should fly back with the aircraft) were attacked by three Halberstadt two-seaters, I believe. In the subsequent scrap Bert Warminger, putting up quite a fight, was wounded fatally after getting off three drums of ammunition, and the aircraft sub- sequently came under A.A. fire. Lt. Vaucour had a miraculous escape, an e/a. bullet piercing a cigarette case in the breast pocket of his tunic, then penetrating no further. The Halberstadt was fitted with a 6-cylinder Argus, surely the noisiest aero-engine ever. The later stages of the Somme battle produced some intense air fighting, and if memory serves, around the end of September- beginning of October 1916 the biggest air battles up to that time were fought. Of 33 e/a. accounted for by the British and French in one day, the R.F.C. and R.N.A.S. got 22, and patrols of 70 Squadron nearly half of these. A patrol under the command of Capt. Cochran-Patrick ("C" Flight) on this occasion accounted for
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