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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1409.PDF
FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD FOUNDED 1909 ^ -.••"• and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER No 2540 Vol 72 FRIDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 1 957 Editor MAURICE A. SMITH D.F.C. AND BAR Associate Editor H. F. KING M.B.E. Technical Editor W. T. GUNSTON Production Editor ROY CASEY Iliffe and Sons Ltd. Dorset House Stamford Street London, S.E.I Telephone • Waterloo 3333 BRANCH OFFICES Coventry 8-10 Corporation Street Telephone • Coventry 5210 Birmingham King Edward House, New Street, 2 Telephone • Midland 7191 (7 lines) Manchester 260 Deansgate, 2 Telephone • Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines) Deansgate 3595 (2 lines) Glasgow 26B Renfield Street, C.2 Telephone • Central 1265 (2 lines) Toronto, Ontario Thomas Skinner of Canada, Ltd. 67 Yonge Street, 1 Telephone • Empire 6-0873 New York, N.Y. Thomas Skinner and Co. (Publishers), Ltd. Ill Broadway, 6 Telephone • Digby 9-1197 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Home and Overseas • Twelve Months, £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, $14.00 Entered as second-class matter at Post Office, New York, N.Y. In this issue 502 Vulcans in Service . . ' 508 Two New Simulators \ $11 London's New Air Terminal 512 Victor B.I 514 Air Radio Developments 5? 7 Leader of "The Few" 9 The Folkestone Conference ' 6 Croydon Under Sentence An Experiment with TimeW E have often reflected that modern aeroplanes of the larger and more com- plicated sort take an unconscionable time a-flying — and still longer to become usable implements or weapons. The thought recurs on reading in this issue that the elapsed time between the Avro Vulcan specification being received at Manchester and the placing of the type in R.A.F. squadron service was nine years and eight months. Did any weapon in any era demand so lengthy a period of forging, tempering and proving as does, apparently, a modern bomber? Yet Britain as a nation, and Avro as a company, have small cause for apology, for the corresponding period in the history of the B-52 was only four months shorter—and this with all the immensity of Boeing's technical resources and their incomparable experience of B-47 production. To us in Britain such considerations are now academic—for the simple reason that the R.A.F. are to have no big bombers at all after the later Vulcans and Victors. What does concern us, and very directly indeed, is the possibility of speeding up the production and development times of our future transports. In this regard we shall do well to note that Lockheed, spurred by the prospect of lucrative civil and military business (and helped by the availability of the Bristol Orpheus lightweight turbojet) have produced their JetStar prototype—a baby Caravelle—in 241 days. It may be recalled that the first announcement of this aeroplane came at the beginning of the year, when it was declared that a prototype would fly on September 4. Lockheed's redoubtable "Kelly" Johnson had, in fact, scheduled the maiden flight for 9 a.m. on that day; and when the day came his prediction was more than fulfilled, for by 9 a.m. the JetStar had been in the air for two whole minutes! Admitting that P.R.O.-manship may have played a part in this achievement, it is an achievement none the less—and very much "An Experiment with Time," wherein we in this country may read a lesson. . ... STOL ChallengeO UR first abstract of Mr. A. E. Raymond's Plesman Memorial Lecture last week concluded with what amounted to a loud, clear challenge to the British aircraft industry. "Perhaps the most significant development [ia civil aviation] could take place," said Douglas's V-P Engineering, "with the arrival of medium-sized transports in the STOL class, equipped for operating in the less developed areas of the world." Mr. Raymond's further contention that the provision of sturdy, cheap-to-operate aircraft of "significant carrying capacity" could lend fresh impetus to the opening up of immense areas of the earth's surface is one which has previously been voiced in this journal—though we often wonder if its real significance has penetrated and permeated the industry as it might have done. It was in the further development of the theme that Mr. Raymond's paper took on a tone of inspiration as well as challenge. "Civilized and scientific exploitation of such great areas," he said, "in a world of increasing population and relatively decreasing food supplies, could go a very long way towards anticipating any increase of economic tensions in a world already over-tense." It was in this realm of development, and in the carrying of resultant produce to continental markets, he believed, that aviation yet has its greatest part to play. This, then, is the challenge to British constructors: to exploit and expand the market already being Pioneered with airframes from Prestwick and piston engines from Coventry. To combine our turboprop and high-lift experience in STOL aeroplanes of medium-to-large capacity. And, while so doing, to keep the wariest of eyes on American, Russian and French developments in the same immensely promising field.
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