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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1328.PDF
416 FLIGHT, 6 September 1957 COR RESP0N D E N C E 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in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the names and addresses of the writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Left Wing UpmanshipL IKE many other readers, I was very grateful to Mr. CliveJenkins for his most interesting series of articles on Aeroflot. But an intriguing question remains: to what extent will theRussians imitate Western methods of salesmanship when Tu-104s are operating the direct London-Moscow route? To satisfy the jaded palates of all those bloated capitalists travel-ling on expense accounts, something pretty hot in interior design will be needed. How about a basic colour scheme of Intellectual(or Bloomsbury) Pink, adorned with murals depicting prominent left-wing politicians and sympathizers, or buxom Soviet ladyathletes, or stern-faced chess champions intent on liquidating their enemy in three moves?And what about names for the London-Moscow services? The current vogue for names with a political/aristocratic connotation(B.O.A.C.'s "Monarch" and "Coronet," T.W.A.'s "Non-Stop Ambassador," Capital's "The Legislator"), although perhaps para-doxical in an industry which depends so much on a mass market, gives the Russians a golden opportunity.How about "The Proletarian" for Aeroflot's London-Moscow Tu-104 service? Even "The Commissar" might not be unaccept-able. But best of all would undoubtedly be "The Fellow Traveller." Intellectuals of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose butyour safety-belts! Rustington, Sussex. M. J. HARDY. Height Separation WE would like to suggest an alternative to the existing systemof quadrantal height-separation which we consider to be both simpler and safer.When flying under the quadrantal rule, aircraft at the same height can approach each other at angles as large as 89 deg and,further, the aircraft tend to be located in layers at 5OO-ft intervals of height The system we propose is another method of directional/height separation. In this system the height at which an aircraft must fly is directly proportional to its course. Flying a magnetic track of N degrees, then the altitude of theaircraft has to be maintained at an odd number of thousands of feet plus H feet, where H is given by: —N X 2,000 H = ===5.56N360 Hence an aircraft flying a track due north must fly at oddthousands of feet. Another aircraft flying due east will fly at odd thousands of feet plus 500ft, etc., as with the quadrantal rule.However, an aircraft flying at, say, 036 deg will fly at a height of odd thousands of feet plus 200ft.This system gives a height separation of approximately five feet per degree and hence this eliminates the risk of a collision exceptfor aircraft that are flying on courses within a couple of degrees or so of each other, thus giving pilots a maximum chance of avoidinga collision. Although the system sounds complicated in theory it can bemade extremely simple in practice with the aid of a new instru- ment, a combined altimeter and compass. In this instrument thereare two needles, one showing the compass reading and one showing the altitude. The altitude scale is graduated so that one revolutioncorresponds to 2,000ft. Thus for any given course the pilot must adjust his altitude so that the needles coincide. This simplearrangement saves the pilot mental effort and also eliminates the risk of error.The system does not necessitate an additional instrument in the cockpit as the altimeter needle can be incorporated into the existing compass. A. D. BRAMHALLBirkenhead, Cheshire. .. C. E. METCALFE. Bread-and-butter Aircraft f HILE the complex and costly turboprop and turbojet airlinersattract the lion's share of the effort and attention directed to air transport development it is, nevertheless, evident that plentyof scope remains for advances in the fields of economical load- carrying over short and medium distances and of operation fromairfields of very limited dimensions. The application of the high-aspect-ratio wing, such as the Hurel-Dubois, exemplifies die former trend; and the use of full slots and flaps, as in the Pioneer family, the latter.The optimum design for a STOL aircraft is unlikely to be identical with that for the most economical transport operatingfrom an unrestricted airfield, but in practice it is suggested that the two may be found to overlap to an extent that makes possible a single design combining both these qualities without incurringthe losses which are so often characteristic of compromises. Specialization, on the other hand, means increased design,production and running costs and less operational flexibility, so that, unless the advantages are pronounced, they may proveillusory. If this is agreed, may we expect to see the emergence of atransport aircraft type incorporating as many of the features whose purpose is to increase lift, reduce drag and improve slow-flyingperformance as the designer can persuade to work together? Hitherto there seems to have been a tendency for such featuresto be used separately in different designs, but surely, the time has now come for a co-operative approach. For example, could notfull slots and flaps (blown, perhaps) be usefully employed with a high-aspect-ratio wing? The object should be to improve theeconomics of the STOL rather than to improve the STOL performance of the economical transport, since the virtue of STOLis rapidly forfeited when watered down. In civil and Service aviation at home and abroad there is anever-growing requirement for the economical and flexible weight lifter. May we not hope to see British aircraft predominant inthis vital and profitable field? Nicosia, Cyprus. F. P. U. CROKER. Too Insular ?F OR many years the S.B.A.C. have emphasized that their annualflying display and exhibition is "a trade show," designed primarily to cater for foreign buyers, or potential buyers, of theproducts of the Society's members. It is not, they say, fair to compare it with an international show, such as that organized bytheir French counterpart. Nevertheless, I feel—and I am sure I am expressing the opinionsof many—that the Farnborough occasion has become rather too insular. It seems to be impossible for any manufacturer to demon-strate any aeroplane with a foreign engine; but where is the dividing line drawn? Austers may not fly the Atlantic; but theycan have one on the static-show stand. One can enter an all- weather fighter, even though the operational aircraft may becrammed with American radar. A British company can licence- produce equipment designed in any country in the world, andshow it at Farnborough if they so desire; but they may not enter anything containing a single foreign part (or can they?). Thisyear I understand we shall see the Miles Student, which is powered by a French engine specifically excluded from the terms of thelicence-agreement held by Blackburn. I would welcome a statement on the rules which govern accept-ance of an aeroplane or engine or piece of equipment, since I am at the moment quite baffled. Obviously we cannot go aboutdisplaying foreign aeroplanes at our own trade show, but are we not erring in the opposite direction? And, for the record: is anyfull member of the S.B.A.C. prepared to state categorically that his aeroplanes are 100-per-cent British (I mean literally 100 per cent)? Edgbaston, Birmingham. INNOCENT. f Airframes and engines of foreign make are admitted if they arethe subject of licence-agreements with an S.B.A.C. member—Ed.] Sister Ann T HAVE read with interest the correspondence concerning R.A.F.-*• Dakota FL.510, because on looking through my records I find I saw the aircraft at Gatwick on March 12,1949. According to mynotes it still carried Pacific-type markings (i.e. azure blue and dark blue roundels); but I can't say for sure whether it was camouflagedor not. I noted the name Sister Ann on the nose. Edenbridge, Kent. ALBERT H. C. JEFFREY, C/Obs., R.O.C. The Mysterious M. Bellamy 'THE recent reunion at Brooklands, and the unveiling of the-*- Brooklands memorial, recalled a number of personal memories which, the writer feels, may be of interest to Flight readers.Sir AUiott Verdon-Roe (then plain Mr. A. V. Roe) was sole experimenter there with a biplane in 1907, whilst the writerfollowed him as sole experimenter with another biplane, at the same place in 1909. However, the pioneer, the "grand old man"of all Brooklands aviators preceded us both, in the year 1906, whilst Brooklands track was still in course of construction by itsowner, Mr. Locke-King. In that year the writer observed a large photograph in a motoring journal which bore the caption "Mons.Bellamy makes his bow to London with his aeroplane mounted on a cab." The photo depicted a bearded man, very obviously
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