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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0280.PDF
294 FLIGHT, 28 February 1958 Correspondence The Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns; the namesand addresses of the writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Deck-landing the FoxI N outlining the career of Mr. L. Massey Hilton, D.F.C., A.F.C.,A.F.R.Ae.S., in your issue of February 14, on the occasion of that gentleman's retirement from the board of the Fairey AviationCo., Ltd., you mentioned that among the trials he carried out were deck-landings with the Fairey Fox. I believe I am right insaying that this is the first mention of that event to have been made in print, and I for one should be glad to have details. London, W.I. Ex-F.A.A. PILOT. [Invited to provide particulars, Mr. Massey Hilton writes: — "The landings took place in June 1926 in H.M.S. Furious (CaptainPreston, R.N., and W/C. L. H. Busteed as Commander Flying). Two landings were made on June 3 in the area off the Isle of Wight. Windspeed over the deck was 35 kt and length of landing runs 92ft and 42ft. Six further landings were made on June 7, the deck airspeedvarying from 33 to 38 kt. "There were no wires or arresting gear of any sort on the deck and,with no brakes and a steel-shod tail skid, it was essential to keep the aircraft dead straight. The aircraft controls were good, right down tothe stall, although heavy at high speed. The view forward was very poor and the photograph I enclose [reproduced above] will illustratethis. The aircraft was Fairey's precious prototype, so you can well understand their absorbed interest in its safety!"I had long been claiming that there was too much 'black magic' surrounding deck landing, and given good controls and good view wecould accept a higher-performance aeroplane for general usage."—Ed.] Restrictions on the Private Pilot "DRIVATE pilots, I am sure, are grateful to you for opening your•*- columns to a most interesting discussion on the privations which they suffer in this country. But let me assure your readers thatindignation does not mean hate. If we look on the M.T.C.A. and their restrictive regulations repressively applied as the primaryreason for the poor state of private flying in this country compared with America or the Continent, I am afraid we have cause. Those of us who remember the days when Sir Sefton Branckerwas Director of Civil Aviation cannot help contrasting the active, practical and friendly interest he took in our problems with thecold, legal attitude of today. Lately, I am very pleased to say, there have been small signs of better tilings from Berkeley Square.The Joint Users' Scheme with the R.A.F. will long remain a monument to whoever planned it. Letters from the Ministry arewritten in a slightly warmer tone of Civil Service jargon. But, oh, what a long way these gentlemen have to go before they realizethat their job is not merely to "keep their yardarms clear" (a naval expression meaning thinking more about avoiding blame thandoing one's duty), but to carry out the injunction to encourage civil aviation as given in the preamble to the Act pf 1949, and toremember that civil aviation does not consist only of the big air- lines but also of the many little aeroplanes. They may even realizethat in the future it is just these little aeroplanes for which, one day, there will be a world market of the same relative importanceas that for motor cars today; and if, occasionally, they would get off their office chairs and go abroad, they would see it alreadydeveloping. Claygate, Surrey. NORMAN JONES. ""THE correspondence regarding restrictions on the private pilot,•*• and ultra-light aircraft development, emphasizes what restric- tive thought and practice can achieve in extinction of a sport—or,for that matter, anything else. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Why are there virtually no British ultra-lights or privatelyconceived aircraft flying today? There is a very good reason. Since the days of the Lympne trials, and a short subsequent era,the ultra-light has virtually been killed stone dead in Britain by the restrictive attentions of those who might have been expected The Fairey Fox (as famous for its good looks as for its speed) referred to in the note in column 1 by Mr. Massey Hilton. to help the movement by personal and official encouragement.Nowadays no one but a millionaire can build or produce his "motor cycle of the air" for just-fun flying, nor may he fly itwithout costly tuition, although it was proved in the early days that any average intelligent person can get the rudiments of slowflying in an hour or two, just as a man can sail a dinghy in a very short period, polishing up the finer stuff by later experience. Yachting should have taught the apprehensive aircraft officialmind how unrestricted effort by enthusiasts can create a massive movement in experiment and vital interest, all to the good of thenation, with no officialdom to hamper it. This unrestricted boat movement has grown to vast proportions during the past few years,and has thereby created a huge trade interest and employment for many people. If some Ministry were to get hold of this movementwith the dead hand of petty restriction, "in the interest of safety," the movement would be killed. At one time, around the thirties, it looked as if the ultra-lightaeroplane movement would flourish in spite of the relatively unsuit- able motor-cycle engines available at that time, but unfortunatelyofficialdom stepped in, with many people employed to think up new regulations to protect everyone from possible risk, and thething died in Britain, but not in other countries. This danger bogy is quite absurd, for when an airliner crashes(and it does on occasion) a whole row of houses may be wiped off, whereas if a popbottle aircraft were to crash a slate or twomight be chipped on one house. The airliner must fly over houses because large airports are situated with buildings thick aroundthem; but the popbottle aircraft, for fun flying (like dinghy sailing), need not fly over crowded dwellings, nor need it fly in toughweather any more than a dinghy sailor wants to sail in really unsuitable weather miles away from home shelter. The wholeapproach of fun flying for the impecunious youngster has been approached from the wrong angle by the rutty-minded restrictivePowers that Be. I can never understand how it has come to pass that all thegreat aeronautical firms in this country were started off by enthu- siastic amateurs, and how these people could have then let theyears go by without taking a little time off, and spending a few pounds from time to time, to develop a safe baby as a study in thesadly neglected art of slow speed flight on low power, just for the pure fun and enthusiasm for flight. Bournemouth, Hants. C. E. BOWDEN, Lt-Col. [This controversy has had a generous airing and, unless anyletters of exceptional interest are received, no further space can be devoted to it—Ed.] "Armageddon—or ?" V^OUR correspondent J. Lawrence Pritchard [January 31] quotes•*• Henry Adams as prophesying the human race blowing up the world, being able to cruise in space, and changing the rotation ofthe Earth. Surely Henry Adams was drawing on his Old Testament know-ledge of what Nahum said in 713 B.C. about the mountains quaking and the burning of the earth, what Ezekiel said in 514 B.C. aboutliving creatures moving with four wheels with one likeness as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel, and what Daniel saidin 603 B.C about changing times and seasons. Holywood, Co. Down. A. HUGH FINLAY. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Mar. 1. British Interplanetary Society: "Guidance and Control of Long-ronge Vehicles," by Prof. G. A. Whitfield. Mar. 1. Society of Engineers: "The Saunders-Roe Pulsejet En- gine," by C. E. Tharratt. Mar. 5. R.Ae.S.: Eleventh Louis Bleriot Lecture, in Paris: "The Future of Aeronautical Research," by Prof. W. J. Duncan. Mar. 7. Helicopter Association: "Some Ways of Obtaining an Integrated Aircraft," by Dr. D. Kuchemann. Mar. 9. Nairobi Airport: Air Display for official opening. Mar. 13. R.Ae.S.: Main Lecture at Christchureh Branch: "Flight Tests of a Meteor Aeroplane fitted with Jet Deflection," by P. F. Ashwood and D. Lean. R.Ae.S. Branch Lectures (to March 13):— Feb. 28. Birmingham, Branch President's Night. Mar. 3. Cheltenham, "Investigation of Flutter and Vibration on Aircraft," by W. G. Moly- neau; Derby, A Propulsion Symposium; Henlow, "Nuclear Propulsion for I. S. Wilkinson. Mor. 6. Isle of Wight, "Transient High Acceleration nd the Human Body," by W/C. F. Latham. Mar. 10. Wo/ton, "Super- onic Aircraft and Missiles," by P. J. Duncton. Mar. 11, Boscombe Down, "Navigation and the Air Traffic Control Problem," by D 0 Fraser; Glasgow, "Next Generation of Civil Aircraft," by G H Lee Mar. 12, Chester, "Investigation of Aircraft Accidents," by E. L. Ripley- Gloucester "Problems of the Large Helicopter," by Dr. G. S. Hislop- Southampton, "Future Developments with Satellite Rockets," by L. R' Shepherd; Swindon, A.G.M and Viscount films; Weybridge, "Aircraft Production; Present and Future," by S. P. Woodley. Mar. 13 Christ- church, Main Lecture (see above).
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