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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0067.PDF
FLIGHT, 18 January 1957 (67 I Initially the major design effort is being concentrated upon theA.W.650, with four Darts. Selection of this engine is a "natural,"and it is rare indeed for a manufacturer to be able to plan anentirely new and competitiye machine upon such well-tried trans-port powerplants. Each is installed in a conventional bulgedViscount-like cowling, with jet exhaust below (outers) or at theside. In this type of aeroplane jet thrust is of secondary import-ance and the propeller horse-power is all^important. Thepropellers will, in fact, be Rotol units, with a diameter of lift 6in —appreciably larger than those of the Viscount, but similarto those specified for later (RDa.7) Friendships. Fuel will be carried in bag-type tanks between the wing spars, the capacitynormally amounting to 3,300 Imp. gal. At a somewhat later date it is probable that certain operatorswill be attracted by the possibility of fitting two Tynes. At present the engine-out certification requirements for such anaeroplane would, in adverse circumstances, limit the payload. Nevertheless the Tyne's greater efficiency and lower installed dragand weight are likely to have great appeal, particularly when the engine becomes available in later versions delivering appreciablymore than 5,000 s.h.p. At present the twin-Tyne study has the type number A.W.651. Clean-limbed is a good adjective to apply to the airframe. Greatattention is being paid to achieving a long safe life, appreciably greater than the probable life-span of the aircraft. Virtuallythe whole structure is conventionally built from light alloy. In order to accelerate development, and draw directly uponexisting fatigue experience, it has been found possible to make the wing similar in several respects to that of an Avro designwith a long background of operational use. It is a two-spar structure with a high aspect ratio and very efficient weight-liftingqualities, which have been improved by fitting entirely new double-slotted flaps, with hydraulic operation. All flying controlsare conventional manual systems, with spring tabs and tension- compensated cables. The elevators are horn-balanced. Both main undercarriage units and the nose gear employ twinwheels, with moderate-pressure tyres. The main units are of wide track and have differentially actuated hydraulic brakes withan anti-skid control. All units retract rearwards hydraulically, and the nose gear, which is steerable, folds into an unpressurizedunderfloor box standing proud of the underside of the hull. The flight deck is entirely above the usable fuselage volume,and studies have shown that the pilot view will be exceptional. Provision is made for an operating crew of two or three, with This three-view general-arrangement drawing depicts the standard A.W.650 with four RDa.7/2s and a full-length fuselage, corresponding with the tabulated data. Fuselage window-positions are not shown. ARMSTRONG WHIT WORTH A.W.650 Provisional data with four Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.7 1 each rated at 2 fOO maximum e.s.h.p. Basic Dimensions: Span, 115ft; length, 86ft 9in; height, 27ft; gross wing area, 1,419 sq ft; aspect ratio, 9.32. Dimensions of Hold: gross volume available for freight, 3,680 cu ft; floor area, 426 sq ft; overall length, 47ft; width at floor level, 10ft; maximum width, 11ft 8in (140in); maximum height, 8ft 9in (105in); minimum height, 6ft 8in (80in); floor height above ground, aircraft loaded, 4ft; minimum dimensions of forward door, 8ft 4in wide by 6ft 8in high; minimum dimensions of rear door, 8ft 8in wide by 6ft 8in high (both doors pressurized in flight). Weights and Performance: maximum weight, 76,000 Ib as basis for initial C. of A. application, with early development to at least 82,000 Ib; payload (with normal cruise in still air in standard atmosphere with reserves for 230 statute miles plus 45-min stand-off), 28,000 Ib up to 500 st.m., 26,500 Ib at 1,000 st.m., 22,000 Ib at 1,500 st.m. and 17,500 Ib at 2,000 st.m. (fuselage cross-section chosen to provide maximum usability for economic operation on stages up to 2,300 st.m. with reserves); mean t.a.s. at cruising power at 25,000ft, 296 m.p.h.; standard- atmosphere take-off balanced field length, 3,500ft at 76,000 Ib rising to 4,200ft at 82,000 Ib. plenty of room for supernumeraries. Like the rest of the fuselage,the crew space is pressurized to a maximum dP of 5.5 Ib/sq in by blowers driven from three of the main engines; a cold-air unitand heater are also specified. De-icing of the wing is effected by hot air, drawn from powerplant heat exchangers. Emergencypower services are pneumatic. As far as is practicable, Armstrong Whitworth will increase "systems" safety and utility by employingonly well-proven components. To sum up, then: Armstrong Whitworth are to offer a machineexceptionally well suited to civil freighting, passenger "coach" transport and various military roles. According to operator prefer-ence (route structure, mean payload density and other factors) fuselage length can be varied; thus, for certain operations, acheaper and lighter machine can be evolved by eliminating a number of 20in frames. A special wide hull will be availablefor car-ferrying. There will also be a choice of powerplant. Design of the basic A.W.650, as depicted here, is proceedingon schedule. The first machine will be built at Baginton in pro- duction jigs and is scheduled to fly before the end of 1958.Armstrong Whitworth have an outstanding record of military production, both as regards quality, quantity and low cost.As a company venture, production of ten A.W.650s is already being planned. All ten will be equipped—the majority asfreighters—for exhaustive trials and for full A.R.B. and C.A.A. certification up to intercontinental maximum conditions.Tropical trials will be conducted at a later stage in development. Armstrong Whitworth are not yet prepared to quote a price butthere is every reason for believing that, like the aeroplane itself, it will be extremely competitive. HONOURED BY THE I.A.S.A T the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences "Honors Night• Dinner," to be held in New York on January 28 as part of the four-day I.A.S. 25th annual meeting (which continues until the31st), A. Cdre. F. R. Banks and Mr. H. F. Guggenheim are to be formally announced as recipients of Honorary Fellowships, thehighest honour the I.A.S. can bestow. A. Cdre. F. R. Banks, C.B.E., O.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., M.I.Mech.E.,F.Inst.Pet., director with engineering duties at the Bristol Aero- plane Co., Ltd., since October 1954, is also a director of BristolAircraft, Bristol Aero Engines, Bristol Aeroplane Co. of Canada, and Rotol. From 1952-3 he was Principal Director of EngineResearch and Development at the M.o.S., "on loan" from the Associated Ethyl Co., Ltd., whom he rejoined in 1953 before goingto Bristol. Lately, unhappily, he has been seriously ill and it is improbable that he will attend the Washington meeting. The other recipient of an Honorary Fellowship, Mr. H. F.Guggenheim, is senior partner in the mining and metallurgical firm of Guggenheim Bros. Two of the three non-Americans elected to I.A.S. Fellowshipsfor 1956 are British. They are Professor A. R. Collar, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.Ae.S., A.F.I.A.S. (who has held the Sir George WhiteChair of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Bristol since 1946 and from 1941-45 was senior research scientist in thestructural and mechanical engineering department of the R.A.E., Farnborough) and Mr. Stewart Scott-Hall, C.B., M.Sc, F.C.G.I.,D.I.C., F.R.Ae.S., A.F.I.A.S., Scientific Adviser to the Air Ministry. Before joining the Air Ministry last October, Mr.Scott-Hall was for three years head of the Ministry of, Supply Staff at the British Joint Services Mission in Washington. Priorto that, he was Director-General (Air) at the M.o.S. For the I.A.S. meeting itself an extremely comprehensive pro-gramme of lectures has been arranged—in the words of an official handout,there are"94 papers slated for airing." Among them are:— Effects of Compressibility on Air Flow at Very Low Reynolds Numbers(Prof. Sir G. I. Taylor, Trinity College, Cambridge); The Jet-augmented Flap (J. G. Lowry, J. M. Riebe and J. P. Campbell of the N.A.C.A.Langley Aeronautical Laboratory); Invisdd Flow Field about Blunt Bodies at Hypersonic Speeds (S. H. Maslen and W. E. Moeckel, N.A.C.A.Lewis Flight Propulsion Lab.); and Evaluation oj VTOL Systems Suit- able for Transport Aircraft (W. Z. Stepniewski and J. Mallen, VertoJAircraft Corporation). "=/:•
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