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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1414.PDF
504 FLIGHT, 27 September 1957 Vulcans in Service ... cises, totalling 15i hr, in the simulator; and spend a further 7 hron the simulator during the remainder of the O.C.U. course. The simulator, it is claimed, is in many ways the most advanceddevice of its type. An outer shell surrounds the nose canopy and contains variable lighting in order to reproduce day or nightconditions, independently of the lighting in the simulator room. The instructor sits in an enclosed fuselage extension behindand slightly above the pilots. On his right and left are consoles with automatic map recorders of different scales, together withcontrols and switches for initiating a variety of emergency con- ditions and for adjusting such flight data as atmospheric con-ditions, fuel and armament loads, and e.g. position. The only flight sensation not reproduced is that of g. For the navigators and A.E.O.s, although there is no completesimulation of their section of the aircraft, separate ground instal- lations are used for training in the use of their respective piecesof airborne equipment. At Waddington we were not allowed to visit the electronics section (a well-designed, functional andisolated block), nor the radar/bombing training installation. In the O.C.U. ground school, however, we watched navigator/plotters hard at work (on their final practical examination) at mock-up positions in which their actual equipment was fitted;this equipment was seen to include Marconi AD.2000 Doppler units, on which the indicated groundspeed was 550 kt.The Service's favourable general opinions of the Vulcan have been quoted earlier in this article, and there is approval, too, forthe detailed points of the design. Power-operated controls are fitted, with no provision for manual reversion. Artificial feel isprovided by a boxed compressed spring (located between the control column and the flying-surface power unit) against theaction of which the pilot's fighter-type control column is moved. Changes in indicated airspeed are fed into the feel-box in order*o adjust the tension on the spring. In the event of failure of the feel system with the spring at maximum compression, low stickforces for landing can be obtained by operating relief feel buttons in the cockpit.The 14-tank fuel system is not unduly complex, and tank timers which control the fuel flow to the Olympus engines arefitted to assist in maintaining a correct e.g. sequence. A tapping from each powerplant provides an air supply for air-conditioning,heating, and anti-icing for engines, airframe and bomb-bay; and a variable degree of pressurization is available.Cockpit layout is compact. On the main instrument panel the blind-flying instruments are duplicated and in front of eachpilot. The engine control panel and the throttle quadrant are centrally located. Between the pilots' seats is a hinged armwhich carries the autopilot and fuel-selection controls; this is pulled out and back for use.Electrical power is an essential service, and there are 102 electric motors and actuators in the aircraft. Power c >i les fromfour generators (one working off each engine) giving a t ttal out- put of 90,000 Watts. In the event of three generators failing,essential services can be maintained on the remaining one. The comprehensive radar, navigation and bombing system ofthe Vulcan is a notable product of the weapon-system concept and was developed simultaneously and integrally with the aixraftitself. Details of the equipment are secret at present. It can be pointed out, however, that such an installation was made possibleby three factors: (a) advances in fundamental radar theory at the Royal Radar Establishment (previously T.R.E.), (b) similaradvances in navigation theory and bomb ballistic computation at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and (c) major developmentsin technological skill in the electronics industry. In the case of the Vulcan the work of developing, designing and producingthe equipment was shared by several leading firms, among whom were E.M.I. Electronics, Ltd.? who developed the radar system.On the aircraft servicing side, each Vulcan has its own crew chief, normally an aircraft fitter, who has undergone a longperiod of specialist training on the type. Advanced tradesmen in the servicing teams have completed courses with the manu-facturers, and the mechanic tradesmen have undergone train- ing at a special school at Waddington. To accommodate theservicing needs of a new and complex aircraft such as the Vulcan, comprehensive facilities and new techniques have been intro-duced. This side of the work at Waddington is the respon- sibility of the station's senior technical officer, W/C. WilliamGoodridge, M.B.E. Crews for the three Vulcans which (together with threeValiants from No. 3 Group) will be flown to the U.S.A. for the S.A.C. competition at Pinecastle, Florida, next month, havebean chosen from No. 230 O.C.U. and No. 83 Squadron. The three crews will be captained by W/C. A. D. Frank, D.S.O.,D.F.C., commanding officer of 83 Squadron; W/C. C. C. Calder, D.S.O., D.F.C., chief flying instructor of No. 230 O.C.U.; andS/L. D. R. Howard, £>.F.C, A.F.C., a flight commander of 83 Squadron.On the occasion of the WtKjdingtpn visit, the Avro company A Vulcan's five-man crew comprises captain, second pilot, navigator (radar and bomb-aiming), navigator (plotter) and air electronics officer. stated that official trials had given "good reason to believe" thatthe Vulcan was the fastest operational bomber in the world today. From the receipt of specification to the start of squadronservice, the company also stated, the time taken for the Vulcan was nine years and eight months, compared with nine years andfour months for the Boeing B-52. The V-bomber specification was issued in January 1947. Ingeneral terms this called for a bomber capable of carrying a nuclear war-load over unprecedented ranges while flying atextreme altitude and within a small fraction of Mach 1; and capable of operating from normal bomber airfields. First studiesmade by Avro on a swept-wing type to meet the specification implied an aircraft twice the weight and size demanded by theR.A.F. A modified design in which tail and rear fuselage were not incorporated led to a project which again was overweight,this time by some 50 per cent. It was decided to select a delta configuration, and this pro-posal was officially put forward in March 1947. During the summer of that year the original concept of an all-wing designhaving a rudimentary fuselage for the crew gave way to a new arrangement with a thinner wing and a full-length fuselage whichfaired in well with the delta shape. The tender for the Vulcan was accepted in November 1947. During 1948 the flying-control system was modified (elevonswere replaced by conventional elevators and ailerons) and wing- tip fins and rudders were replaced by a central fin and rudder.The basic configuration of the aircraft was finalized by September 1948. To reduce the amount of prototype testing and to prove thebasic concept of the tailless delta, it was decided to build and fly the Avro 707 series of small, single-seat research aircraft.The first of these, intended to explore low-speed characteristics, was designed and built in only 14 months. It first flew in Septem-ber 1949 in the hands of Eric Esler, who was killed in an accident which destroyed the machine during the following month. Modifications which flight-testing of the 707 had shown to benecessary were incorporated in the second high-speed machine, the 707B which Roly Falk flew for the first time in September1950. Three further 707 variants were built. The prototype Vulcan (at that time known only as the Avro 698) first flew inAugust 1952. The construction of the Vulcan prototype had been handledin an unusual way. Although the design was ready for detailed drawing-office work to begin in 1948, it was decided to wait untilmore of the basic theory was proved (the 707 programme being under way) before starting on such a large commitment. Thisbreathing-space provided time to work on secondary problems so that a peak force of nearly 200 draughtsmen was available for Vulcan Development, 1947-1956 Dote Jan. 1947 May 1947 Nov. 1947 Jan. 1948 May 1948 Sept. 1949 May 1950 Sept. 1950 July 1951 Aug. 1952 March 1956 May 1956 Aug. 1956 Occasion Receipt of specification Submission of tender Acceptance of tender Order for two prototypes Design of 707 started First flight of 707 First detail drawings for Vulcan issued First flight of 707B First flight of 707A First flight of Vulcan prototype First production Vulcan for trials Initial acceptance Vulcans enter service with R.A.F. Period from receipt of specification 5 months 11 months 1 year 0 months 1 year 5 months 2 years 9 months 3 years 5 months 3 years 9 months 4 years 7 months 5 years 8 months 9 years 3 months 9 years 5 month* 9 years 8 months
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