FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0279.PDF
IVERPOOL 281 An English Electric P.TA and (left) an under- 30,000ft flight plan from Warton Aerodrome (A). Supersonic speed within the leg B-C can be held for only about 60 sec—too short a time /or readings to be taken at more than a single simple test-point. Shaded is the area liable to receive "bangs"; dotted lines indicate airways. SUPERSONIC TEST RANGES Would they Solve the "Bangs" Problem? ANEWSPAPER headline, a year or two old, amongst a wall-collection of such cuttings kept by a member of Flight'sstaff reads: PUBLIC COMPLAIN ABOUT JET MEN. NOW it has been joined by JET MEN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE PUBLIC. The new-comer headed a report that the chief engineers and test pilots of the two companies in Britain flying fully supersonic aircraft havecried "Halt!" to the growing restrictions on their work. For years there has been official sympathy for those people who have hadtheir greenhouses broken, ceilings cracked and animals upset. Now [writes a special correspondent] has come the counterblast. Mr. R. L. Lickley and Mr. Peter Twiss of Faireys report thatafter every supersonic flight in the F.D.2 there are widespread complaints. Mr. F. W. Page, of English Electric's Aircraft Divi-sion, says that restrictions "hamper" testing of the P.I; that any further restrictions would be "quite intolerable," and that alreadythe restrictions pilots had to observe were "an unfair burden to place on someone engaged on a job which is difficult and hazardousenough anyway." Present rules prohibit supersonics over land at less than 3O,OOOft,and supersonic diving over land at any height. Much test flying on supersonic aircraft must therefore be done over the sea. Para-doxically, another Ministry of Supply rule says that valuable prototypes must not be flown over the sea. Despite this the P.Ishave done at least 400 flights, probably much more, and the F.D.2s 250! It seems that the rules may have beenbroken. Now the Ministry of Supply is seeking to reshape the rules; theminimum supersonic altitude may be reduced to 20,000ft, which may mean that the "bangs" generated will have been worn downto "rumbles" when they reach the ground, and an overland super- sonic range may be established for the essential testing which hasto be done under 20,000ft. This would mean that pilots could carry out their tests knowing that they were under constant radarsupervision and, in low-level sorties and good weather, under visual watch as well. If anything went wrong and they baled outor crash-landed, help would be on its way immediately and it would be directed to the right place. Designers, too, would ratherretrieve the bits and pieces of aircraft than resort to the hit-and- miss method of surmising the cause of an accident while theessential evidence lay hidden on the seabed. The range would have to be great enough for bangs whichtravel on after an aircraft decelerates to less than Mach 1 to peter out within its confines. Flat, open country would be ideal, butBritain has few such places. Areas which may be considered could be from Wellesbourne Mountford Aerodrome, Warwick-shire, due east for about 150 miles to the East Coast near Orford- ness. This would be a long, narrow range just missing Northamp-ton, Bedford, Cambridge and Ipswich (but not protecting them from some substantial bangs) and would be particularly useful forthe F.D.2 and probably some future aircraft based at Thurleigh, near Bedford. Another choice is over the Welsh mountains,running from the South Wales coast about Llanelly north-north- east to Mold, Flintshire, about 100 miles away. Another rangecould be over the Pennines north of the Midlands, from Leeds north-north-west to the Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border.These areas would all need to be about 20 miles wide; and very accurate navigation, never simple at high speed, would be neededto keep the aircraft running along the centre line. The ranges over the hills would involve some difficulties with uninterruptedradar surveillance of low-level flights. "Flight" photograph If public feeling forestalls an overland range in this country, theGovernment will be obliged to look elsewhere, for such a range will be an essential part of the long-term plan for developingaviation in Britain. As related by Peter Twiss [p. 267 of this issue] Cazaux, near Bordeaux, was successfully used by Faireys for52 sorties. But even the comparatively simple F.D.2 felt the embarrassment of being away from its base. And it may beasumed that the novelty of fast aircraft flying over their homes will wear thin as quickly with the French (to whom it may notbe such a novelty by now, anyway) as it has with ourselves. The North African desert would be ideal. So would Woomera. Butcompanies using Continental sites (and they will increase in number as time goes on) would need to move their maintenancebases out there, and have a frequent and costly air service carrying personnel and spares between the ranges and their developmntcentres. The organizational disadvantages and the subsequent dislocation of test programmes make these far-away places verydoubtful sites—at least for some years. An interim measure could be more and larger over-sea ranges.One over Cardigan Bay, where flying could be dovetailed in between missile firings from Aberporth, would be useful forEnglish Electric, who have already used the area for gun-firing trials at supersonic speeds. Another along the South Coast fromSelsey Bill to Beachy Head would be clear of main shipping lanes and fairly close to the A. and A.E.E., Boscombe Down, whichwill soon be receiving supersonic aircraft. The minimum requirements for an over-sea range would be(a) enough helicopters to have at least two airborne, not just standing by, during each test flight; (b) Sarah equipment for allpilots; and, of course, (c) constant radar cover. This last item will be a considerable expense at either sea or land ranges, for themost modern equipment is needed to keep track of supersonic aircraft. Ordinary airfield surveillance radar is not sufficient, be-cause of the time between "paints" and its inability to get sufficient response from the small volume of echoes from a small-frontal-areaaircraft when seen nose-on or tail-on. Such shortcomings would deprive the plotters of an accurate picture of the flight path ata reasonable range. All these suggested ranges—and, no doubt, most others whichmay be suggested—will clash in some measure with the present civil airways. Obviously these must be respected, but they willbe an added embarrassment to supersonic flying, particularly when the maximum height of the traffic lanes is raised to 25,000ft forturboprop aircraft, and (later) probably higher still for turbojets. It will be necessary to move the lanes away from the areasdesignated as supersonic ranges. Whichever ranges are chosen—the aircraft industry will demandthat one or more are chosen and the Government cannot do other than support the demand—^many more bangs will in future echoacross the British countryside and coastline. As more P.ls come along, and the Blackburn N.A.39 appears (and perhaps otheraircraft with higher Mach numbers and capable of sustaining them for long periods), the ranges will be in use day and night.Only the new and unproved aircraft will use the ranges; super- sonic aircraft in normal service will, as Peter Twiss said in hislecture, fly patterns which will give the minimum disturbance to the public. Establishing a range will not be a simple matter ofpassing legislation almost unnoticed. It will be a long political wrangle, reaching from Parliament down to the public bars ofthe villages lying within the areas ultimately selected.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
