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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0702.PDF
708 FLIGHT, 2A May 1957 SHOWING THE FLAG . . . order to meet the demands of rather larger aircraft. The AL.30 isinstalled in the Handley Page Herald. Also on show will be the Zero Reader Flight Director, which isestablished both in military and civil service as a most valuable instru- ment-flying aid. A number of versions have now been developed andthe technique on which the instrument is based has been adopted extensively in integrated instrument systems and autopilot approachcouplers of other equipment. The company will display a representative selection of gyro instru-ments, including the latest H.L.9 artificial horizon, which will operate either from the standard 400 c/s A.C. electrical supply or from thenormal aircraft 24 V D.C. source. This is an important feature either in providing a stand-by for A.C. system failure, or in equipping aircraftwhich have no A.C. system at all. Sperry Gyroscope Co., Ltd., Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex. Standard Telephones (Stand No. 137). This company will showexamples of a wide range of airborne communications equipment. Included will be the STR.12-D 140-channel V.H.F. and the STR.18-C100-channel V.H.F. R/T. communications equipment, both well-known and standard on many British civil aircraft. The company will alsoshow their automatic tuning and 44-channel conversion kit for the STR.9-X 10-channel V.H.F. airborne communications equipment whichis standard in 24 of the world's air forces, including the R.A.F. The converted STR.9-X will be demonstrated in operation at the exhibition.It will provide automatic tuning of the transmitter and receiver stages after switching into circuit the desired 10XJ or 10XAJ crystal, 44 ofwhich, together with the selector and electronic tuning unit, can be installed in place of existing tuning mechanism. Also on display will be the STARN.21 airborne Tacan navigationequipment, which is claimed to provide the pilot of an aircraft with distance and bearing indication up to 2,000 n.m.; the A.1205 "airbornecatastrophic warning" device which produces a firebell sound in the pilot's headphones on receiving a signal from any one of a number ofemergency-sensing points; and commutated antennae direction finding equipment—a new method of radio direction-finding applicable to H.F.,V.H.F. and U.H.F. bands. Another working exhibit wUl be the airborne radio teleprinter receiver (of the type first used on a scheduled flightlast year), which will pick up direct signals from an M.T.C.A. trans- mitter located at Prestwick. An airborne teleprinter specially developedby S.T.C.'s associates, Creed and Co., Ltd., will be exhibited in con- junction with the receiver. An item of test equipment to be seen will be the Goniograph, whichhas been developed to facilitate the on-site testing of automatic direction finders from live signals from an aircraft. A range of external andsuppressed aerials will also be on display. Standard Telephones and Cables, Ltd., Oakleigh Road, New Southgate, London, N.ll. Vactric (Ext.). Principal among many items to be exhibitedby this company are A.C. servo components, D.C. servo components, servo gearheads, "breadboard" components and telemetry switches. TheA.C. servo components are size 11 A.C. tacho-generator, size 11 A.C. motor-generator; size 11 A.C. motor, size 11 A.C. motor with damping,size 11 A.C. motor with low voltage D.C. magnetic brake. The D.C. servo components are size 11 D.C. low inertia generator, size 11 D.C.motor, size 08 D.C. motor, P100 D.C. motor, F200 D.C. motor, P800 D.C. motor; and the servo gearheads are size 11, size 11 speed reducer,size 10 and size 15. The breadboard components are of particular interest and have beendeveloped in order to reduce the time needed to bring a servo system from the drawing board to a production-prototype stage. With the aidof these, servo designs can be translated into hardware for testing in a matter of hours instead of weeks. The servo layout illustrated wasmounted and wired in several hours, while a traditionally made proto- type would have taken some eight weeks to make. A slotted, precision-machined, duralumin base plate is used as a breadboard (the term originated when designers actually used domestic breadboards for thispurpose). On this can be mounted component supports fitting many standard international frame size servo components. Basic Jin diametershafting is supplied, with precision ball-bearings, shaft-angle indicators and couplings without backlash and considerable misalignment freedom.Cranking handles, pulleys and a range of gears are also offered. Com- ponents can be supplied individually and special designs can be manu-factured to order. Particular interest also attaches to a telemetry switch comprising aP200 motor, a gearhead and switch. Its application for the continuous sampling of electrical information is extensive since motor, gearheadand switches may be altered to suit requirements. Vactric (Control Equipment), Ltd., 196 Shane Street, London, S.W.I. Vickers-Supermarine Scimitar naval fighter. Vickers-Armstrongs. As this page is passed for press it is hopedthat a Viscount will be demonstrated on the two final days. This is likely to be a Series 800 aircraft recently supplied to K.L.M. On the same days the Supermarine Scimitar twin-jet naval fighter willbe shown in flight. This machine is in full production for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, is powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon turbo-jets, and has a "super-circulation" system over the wing flaps. Built-in armament is four 30 mm Aden guns. The Scimitar is also a notableaircraft in the strike role and can carry conventional or atomic weapons. Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), Ltd., Vickers House, Broadway, London,S.W.I. Westland (Stand No. 24). During the show this company will bedemonstrating their Whirlwind and Widgeon helicopters. Neither is a stranger to France; the Whirlwind is supplied to the French Governmentand has been used very successfully by the French forces in Algeria; and the Widgeon is a five-seater development of the Westland Dragonfly, ofwhich the French forces were the earliest operators. This will, however, be the first time that a Whirlwind with the 750 b.h.p. Alvis LeonidesMajor has been seen in France. Both Whirlwind and Widgeon have a full Certificate of Airworthiness, and the latter type will participate inthe daily helicopter shuttle service between Issy-les-Moulineaux and Le Bourget. The Leonides Major-powered Whirlwind (the production type for theRoyal Navy) is claimed to be particularly suitable for high-altitude operation in tropical climates. The version on display will be equippedwith eight passenger seats and an hydraulically operated winch hoist suitable for rescue or weight-lifting operations. Demonstrations will be given with the Widgeon to show how simplythis five-passenger helicopter can be converted into an ambulance for the carriage of two standard stretchers. This is accomplished by removalof the three rear seats and by re-positioning the front passenger seat behind the pilot, so that it becomes available for a doctor or a nurse.The Widgeon will also be fitted with the hydraulically operated winch hoist: two persons can be lifted simultaneously during sea-rescueoperations. A feature of the Widgeon is that by use of the Whirlwind rotor-headthe e.g. operating range has been increased in comparison with that of the Dragonfly. This helicopter is powered by an Alvis Leonides 521/1engine. The complete range of Westland helicopters (there are five separate types) will be displayed as detailed scale models on the com-pany's stand in the exhibition hall. Westland Aircraft, Ltd., Yeoyil, Somerset. Henry Wiggin (Stand No. 33). This Birmingham firm will bedisplaying a comprehensive range of aero-engine, airframe and after- burner components in the Nimonic series of high-temperature alloysand in other Wiggin high-nickel alloys such as Monel, "K" Monel, Inconel, the Brightray series and the Nilo series. International acceptanceof these materials will be demonstrated by a variety of exhibits from foreign sources. Developed originally for turbine rotor blades, the Nimonic alloys arenow used extensively for engine structure aft of the compressor. Of particular interest is the current use of thin-section Nimonic 90 turbinediscs bladed with Nimonic 100, a combination giving a light and compact turbine assembly capable of operating at very high gas temperatureswithout the use of cooling air. Other recent developments include the growing use of Nimonic 80in sheet form for flame-tubes and afterburner parts, and the wide adop- tion of high-nickel casting alloys for stator blades, support rings andshrouds. A range of exhibits will illustrate these trends. Henry Wiggin and Company, Ltd., Wiggin St., Birmingham, 16. These two types of Westland helicopter will be displayed and demonstrated: left, the Widgeon; right, the larger Whirlwind.
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