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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1284.PDF
372 FLIGHT, 30 August 1957 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in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Miniature Controls MAY I say how interested I was to read Flight, August 9, page181) of Boulton Paul's success in operating an electrically signalled powered control in the Tay Viscount? I do not thinkthe significance of this event can be overstated. Such a strong case can be advanced for throwing away the mechanical linkbetween the stick and surface that it is surely only the need for proving an electrical system can be just as reliable, and quietingthe qualms of mistrustful pilots, that prevents its more ready acceptance—at least as a concept if not as a next-generation controlfact. I would, however, like to challenge your remark that "furtherdevelopment will obviously lead to a system where the pilot has only a very small control column ... which would offer finger-lightoperation." I do not think the advent of such systems is obvious at all; the few academic attempts to fly "no-force" control systemshave required such intense concentration that the onset of fatigue has been accelerated, to put it mildly. Some sort of feel system(which implies graded force per "g" or movement per "g" or a combination of both) will always be required, and the best-likedsystems still appear to be those which approximate to a constant stick force per "g." This means that the control column must belarge enough to allow the forces and movements to be applied. Besides, with a miniature control column, what would happen tothe multiplicity of buttons and slides that have so conveniently come to decorate the grip? London, S.W.I. STICKSHAKER. Pat Johnson's Reminiscences I WISH to say how much I appreciate the articles "Leaves froma Log-book" by Patrick Johnson and hope that one day he will write a full-size book from his log. Of interest is his belief that theBlackburn Lincock G-AALT, sometime after 1931, was the first aeroplane to do a complete "outside loop," which he performednear Mousehold Heath aerodrome. According to Quentin Rey- nolds' book The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, Jimmy Doolittle per-formed this on May 25, 1927, flying a 450 h.p. Curtiss P.I fighter. Birmingham 14. MAURICE AUSTIN. Modern G.C.A. HAVING just returned from five weeks in Europe and the U.K.,I have enjoyed reading two letters in your Correspondence section concerning G.C.A. Incidentally, we find your publicationinformative, accurate and beneficial. The initial communication from Mr. J. M. Wilde, in your issue ofMay 31, commented on our AN/CPN-4 G.C.A. equipment and the subsequent letter from Frank Taylor, appearing in your issueof June 28, properly emphasizes the equipment which he has designed at S.T.C. To put the record straight, it may be of interest to your readersto know that the R.A.F. have 34 of the Gilfillan AN/CPN-4 G.C.A. equipments in operation at R.A.F. stations for the past four yearsand the Royal Navy also use the AN/CPN-4 G.C.A. equipment at their stations throughout the United Kingdom. This AN/CPN-4 G.C.A. equipment, the latest version nomenclatured AN/ MPN-11, is the standard G.C.A. equipment of the U.S.A.F., theU.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Army, as well as the air forces and the navy establishments of 34 countries aroundthe world, including Canada, South Africa, Australia, etc. The CPN-4/MPN-11 equipment is a self-contained navigationsystem with three complete operating positions permitting the con- trol of three aircraft simultaneously by three G.C.A. operators.Each position provides a 12in search scope and a 12in final- approach displaying azimuth, elevation, and range information onthe single three-dimensional display. The search beam shows all aircraft to an altitude of 20,000ft and at a range of 40 miles withthe standard antenna tilt. The two mobile trailers provide com- plete communications equipment, air conditioning, heaters, powergenerators, spare components, test equipment and shelter. This complex radar system contains 1,500 tubes and 13 miles of cir-cuitry. Gilfillan is proud to have developed, produced and deliv- ered over 500 of these G.C.A. equipments which have found suchwide acceptance throughout the military and civil aviation organ- izations of the free world. Our latest contribution is automatic G.C.A. which is an acces-sory to the basic CPN-4 equipment and is capable of controlling six aircraft on final approach simultaneously.We are currently producing Quadradar, which is a lightweight, tactical G.C.A. equipment weighing 3,800 lb with a final approach range of 40 miles and altitude coverage of 50,000ft. This is the firstG.C.A. equipment capable of giving jet aircraft a straight-in jftt penetration approach from extreme altitude and range to touch-down. This equipment is currently in operation by our four U.S. military services and by the governments of Canada, Ireland,Argentina, Austria, France, Finland and Italy. An even lighter weight version of Quadradar is currently under development forthe U.S. Marine Corps. We deeply regretted the Vulcan crash on G.C.A. at LondonAirport. I refrained from commenting on your excellent coverage of this unfortunate incident, as it seemed to be inappropriate at thetime. It did seem obvious that the G.C.A. operators in London should not have been asked to control a high-performance modernjet aircraft with obsolete radar equipment designed in 1942 for slower-moving propeller aircraft—particularly when newer G.C.A.equipment is available at R.A.F. and R.N. stations in the area. Los Angeles, Calif. LEONARD DAVID CALLAHAN, Vice President, Gilfillan Bros., Inc. Turboprop v Turbojet QUITE a number of your correspondents seem to agree thattheir representative turbojet will cost 50 per cent more than the equivalent turboprop. When one machine is more expensivethan another, it pays to use the former more intensively, and it seems improbable that the assumption of the same utilization foreach aeroplane is correct. By increasing the utilization of an aeroplane costing £1.33mfrom 2,500 to 3,000 hours one would reduce the fixed cost per flying hour from £132 to £110, using Lord Douglas' figures. Ifthis was achieved wholly by spending more on direct engineering labour and supervision, the saving would be sufficient to pay abouttwice as much in overtime and night-shift premiums, and through working for short periods with large numbers of men. Theoperator would still be left with the extra profit earned, which might run at the rate of £40 per hour flown, or more. Similar results can be achieved by spending more on crewexpenses, and larger ground crews. One chooses the regime which extracts the maximum profit from the aeroplane; not the onewhich seems to minimize any particular item of cost. Crediting the turbojet with a higher utilization clearly narrowsthe cost advantage of the turboprop. The considerations outlined above might lead one to operate both types at a higher level ofutilization than some of your correspondents have assumed, which again benefits the turbojet. London, W.C.2. A. J. LUCKING. Status of the Technician so many technicians are leaving this country for theNorth American continent it is, perhaps, pertinent to ask whether the British aircraft engineer enjoys working conditionsin keeping with his professional status. We would say most emphatically "No." Compared with theother professions, the status of the engineer is little better than that of a junior civil servant. No professional man should be a slave to the time clock, yet inour particular aircraft firm, design staff must stamp a clock card three times a day. Furthermore, one must provide one's owncutlery for use in the canteen, and one's own crockery for the tea break. These are conditions which would be unacceptable in any otherprofession and they must certainly be considered by those who look to other shores for their employment. TWELVE AIRCRAFT TECHNICIANS •'.•..-. ..--'-•;r1-""..' (Names and addresses supplied). FORTHCOMING EVENTS Aug. 31. R.N.A.S. Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire: At Home. Sept. 1-15. Anglo-American Conference, London and Folkestone. Sept. 2-8. S.B.A.C. Show, Fqrnborough. (Public Days, 6th, 7th, 8th). Sept. 5. Helicopter Association of Great Britain: Annual Dinner, Dorchester Hotel. Sept. 9-15. Battle of Britain Week. Sept. 13. Royal Aeronautical Society: 45th Wilbur Wright Lecture: "Advanced Education and Academic Research in Aero- nautics/' by Dr. Clark B. Millikan, Hon. F.I.A.S., F.R.Ae.S. Sept. 14-15. Popular Flying Association: Rally, Sywell. Sept. 15. R.Ae.S. Garden Party, Wisley. Sept. 16-20 Institute of Metals: 49th Annual Autumn Meeting. Sept. 19-22. Austrian Aero Club: Innsbruck and Salzburg International Air Rally, Innsbruck. Sept. 21. R.N.A.S. Abbotsinch, Paisley: At Home.
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