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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0710.PDF
716 FLIGHT, 24 May 1957 AIR FREIGHTING . . . Latest addition to the ranks of large-freighter projects is this four- turboprop (Lycoming T55) successor to the Fairchild C-123. to be known as the Turboboxcar. Boundary layer bleed will be employed. scheme or the universal pallet in which the floor only was removed.In other important aspects of design the freight aircraft is achieving a character which makes it distinctive from the passengertransport. One example is the position of the wing. Design experience over a number of years has shown that the high wingis rather less efficient from a structural and weight aspect. On the other hand, the view has been expressed by Mr. Peter Masefieldthat the high wing has a distinct advantage in passenger appeal. It is unfortunate that the freight aircraft is better fitted to utilizethe high wing than is the passenger aircraft. In practice clever design can minimize the weight penalties in the high wing andthe long undercarriage associated with it. In the United States, for example, the undercarriage has been attached to the fuselagewith good effect (Lockheed Hercules C-130, Fairchild C-123 and Douglas C-133).Prime consideration in the design of freighters must be given to the fuselage and to the design of the hold. It is upon theoptimum combination of size, capacity, weight and drag that the economy is established. In the low-level floor and wide loadingaccess we find characteristics which differentiate the passenger transport from the freighter. But it is equally important to con-sider the size of the hold required to carry a given cargo load. A passenger vehicle has requirements contradicting in many waysthose of the best freight aircraft. Normal freight-loading density of passenger aircraft is between 5 and 6 lb/cu ft. In general, fulluse cannot be made of the full height of a passenger cabin and loading in commercial operations above 6 or 7ft—depending onthe weight of the cargo itself—is rare. Hence the cross-section of a passenger aircraft may be too high for freight. Furthermore, the density of the passenger payload (including the weight of seats,furnishings, catering and service loads) is seldom above 4j lb/cu ft, so that a major revision of design is called for.When designing from scratch for load carrying without con- sideration for the passenger or for abnormal consignments ofawkward size, a reduction of the height of the hold to 6^ or 7ft is permissible. This height enables most types of vehicles andanimals to be carried. The overall dimensions of the hold should be roughly constant in all directions where practicable. Therectangular-sided volume is ideal from all points of view. It is simplest to load, stands accelerations more easily and exertsminimum forces on the restraints. Moreover, the maximum usability of the available volume can be achieved. For ease ofloading a wide floor area is desirable. Width should be at least 9ft, so that an 18in or 2ft gangway can be centrally arranged ifrequired. The long and narrow tube-like interior, especially when loaded from the side, is to be avoided. Fore-and-aft loading accessto a single hold of width not less than one-third to one-quarter the overall length approaches to the ideal.For maximum utilization of the load-carrying capacity a proper relationship between load and volume is essential. This is not easyto establish, but already some important work has been done (Ref. 5). However, the high density of freight loads gives to thepure freighter some advantage in fuselage weight and size for a given gross aircraft weight. Often in the past the special require-ments of military transports (due to the carriage of large low- density equipment and vehicles) has deflected both U.S. andEuropean designers from the optimum layout for civil use. With the advent of shallow, wide holds with high loading density willcome the economic air transportation of freight. If the low-level floors with wide access can then be imaginatively linked to pre-loading schemes and mechanical conveyance the true air freighting system will be inaugurated. References (1) "Aviation and the Development of Remote Areas," H.R.H. TheDuke of Edinburgh, British Commonwealth and Empire Lecture, 1955. (2) "Some Problems and Prospects in Civil Air Transport," Masefield,Mitchell Memorial Lecture, 1955. (3) "The Well-tempered Aircraft," Raymond, Wilbur WrightMemorial Lecture, 1951. (4) "All-cargo Aircraft Requirements for Efficient Ground Opera-tion," Arata, A.S.M.E. annual meeting, 1956. (5) "Air Freighter Suitability," Stoessel, S.A.E. National AeronauticMeeting, April 1956. (6) "Layout and Operating Characteristics of Modern Cargo Aircraft,"I.T.A. Research Paper No. 280-281, November 1955. (7) "Intra-European Air Cargo Traffic," Air Research Bureau,Brussels, 1955. HELICOPTERS IN THE JUNGLE HIGHLIGHTS of the helicopter operations in Malaya weredescribed at the final meeting of the Helicopter Association's 1956-57 lecture programme, held in London on May 10. Thelecturer was W/C. W. R. Williams, O.B.E., D.F.C., and he began by outlining the topographical and political situations in thecountry which explained the need for, and the character of, the anti-terrorist operations. The helicopter, he said, was the onlyvehicle which permitted the most advantageous deployment of military forces in this highly specialized form of "warfare," byeffectively increasing their strength and mobility. In spite of some shortcomings—associated with reduced carrying capacity underthe extremely adverse climatic conditions—the machines (which included squadrons of Whirlwinds and Sycamores) had beeninvaluable. From wing headquarters at Kuala Lumpur, helicopter detach-ments were located at strategic points in the north-western, north- eastern and southern sectors of the country to reduce the amountof "dead" flying. Fuel dumps had been established at some 50 positions up and down the country so that the helicopters couldalways carry the maximum possible payload. The frequent refuel- ling involved little serious delay; the technique had been reducedto a fine art and could be accomplished in only a few minutes. Work on which the helicopters had been employed includedtroop movements, casualty evacuation and the supply of stores and equipment to jungle forts manned by Malayan police. Theyhad also been used to great advantage in the preparation of jungle landing strips for use by Austers and Pioneers. Beginning byflying dismantled tractors and other heavy equipment into small clearings, they were of great assistance throughout the preparationof each site. In particular, they were able to fly slowly down the "fixed-wing" approach-path to the strip, indicating to the R.E.sexactly where further clearance was necessary to remove dangerous obstructions. Surprisingly, the helicopters had been found most suitable forthe dropping of parachute troops and had done much work of this kind with the Special Air Service Regiment. The best forward speed for such operations was approximately 10 kt, and at thisspeed they displayed considerable advantages over fixed-wing air- craft when dropping troops into small clearings or on to thetree-tops in the jungle. There was no danger of the parachutes becoming entangled in the helicopter's rotors. Among a number of spectacular tasks mentioned by the lecturerwas an S-55's lifting piecemeal of another S-55 which had force- landed in a rice paddy field. Carried thus to a trailer on the nearestroad, the damaged machine was back in squadron service within two weeks. Another S-55 had retrieved from the jungle a com-plete Brigand mainplane, which was wanted for examination at R.A.E. Farnborougn; and on one occasion even a baby elephantwas carried. POLAND'S CLUB MOVEMENT TN a recent interview on Warsaw radio, Mr. T. Rejniak, Secretary-*• General of the Polish Aero Club, stated that since the end of the "Stalinist period" in Poland a rapid development of Polishsports flying had taken place. There were now 35 aero clubs, of which 12 had been formed during the last few months. Eightwere licensed to give flying instruction. During the past few weeks, also, the Polish Aero Club had received 50 CSS-13 aircraft,and a number of grass airfields had been released for use by local clubs. Mr. Rejniak went on to point out that Polish glider pilots nowheld eight world gliding records, compared with nine held by France, eight by the U.S.A., four by the U.S.S.R. and two eachby Britain and Yugoslavia. Out of 59 Gold Badges with Diamonds, 25 were held by Poles. A Polish pilot, flying the Polish-designedBies light aircraft, set up a world class height record of over 23,000ft, and the world height record for spherical balloons undersub-class A-9 (3,001 to 4,000 cu m), set at 10,853 m (35,600ft approx.) some 20 years ago by I. J. Burzinski, still stood.
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