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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0393.PDF
28 March 1958 409 BRIGANDS' FAREWELL, MALTA ASSEMBLY: The last Bristol Brigands making a final flypast at North Luffenham on March 13 after being in R.A.F. service since 1946 and on Fighter Command navigator training duties since 1951; and below, all types of Rolls-Royce powered R.A.F. equipment based at Malta G.C. in formation with the Conway Vulcan on its recent visit to the island. draughtsman. Under these, George Stannard had a hand in theViking amphibian, Virginia, Victoria, Vildebeest, Viastra, Wellesley and Wellington, as well as other less famous aircraft.He became attached to the chief designers' project office about 1946, and has since been concerned with the many tendersoriginating there, including those for the Viking, Valetta, Varsity, Valiant and Viscount. He was project engineer in charge of the 800Series Viscounts and the Vanguard and the VC.10 are current types with which he has been concerned. Mr. Stannard organized the adoption by the Vickers-ArmstrongsAircraft design office of the elementary mould loft from the shops, and developed it into its present imposing form—over eight timesthe size when first taken over. The introduction of the photoloft was also conducted under his guidance, and for the past 20 years hehas been responsible for devising and organizing full-size mock- ups. Mr. Stannard represented Vickers on the Society of BritishAircraft Constructors' Full-Scale Layout Committee. D.H. Board Appointments A DIRECTOR of the de Havilland Engine Co., Ltd., since its**• formation in 1944, Mr. Hugh Buckingham has been appointed managing director; he also becomes an ordinary director ofde Havilland Holdings, Ltd., of which company he has hitherto been a specialdirector. Since January 1956, when he was appointed general manager of theEngine Company, he has undertaken the duties of its principal executive.Mr. Buckingham has been with de Havilland since 1926, when he joinedas a premium apprentice. He was com- missioned in the Reserve of Air ForceOfficers in 1928 and obtained his Com- mercial Pilot's Licence in 1929. In theyears 1930-1934 he was a demonstra- tion and test pilot, then continued asan executive of the sales department, flying a great deal overseas, until 1939.In that year he went to New Zealand to form a new de Havilland Company there, of which he wasdirector and general manager until 1943. The de Havilland Engine Company has also appointedMr. M. G. Ash as financial director. A director since 1955 and secretary since 1946, he will continue to hold the latter office. Mr. Buckingham. The Gnat Trainer Order AN order worth £2,500,000 has now been placed by the M.o.S.**• for a development batch of 14 Folland Gnat Trainers for the R.A.F. Further orders may be expected. The Trainer projectbegan as a private venture in 1956, and Ministry instructions to proceed with preliminary work were issued last August. Principaldepartures from Gnat fighter layout are set out below. The nose has been lengthened by nine inches and the equip-ment bay and 20-gal fuel tank immediately behind the single- seat cockpit have been eliminated in order to accommodate pupil(in front) and instructor in tandem Folland lightweight, auto- matic 80 ft/sec ejection seats. The canopy is a single-piece mould-ing opened and jettisoned with the assistance of a pneumatic ram. The Bristol Orpheus BOr.4 trainer engine of 4,230 lb thrust pro-vides longer overhaul life and lower fuel consumption than the BOr.3 of the fighter. Both fin and tailplane areas are slightlyincreased, the rudder being manually operated against centering springs and a yaw-damper. Tailplane and elevator are normallylocked to act as a slab unit moved by the standard Hobson double screwjack of the Gnat Mk 1. Manual reversion is achieved byunlocking the elevator and trimming the tailplane electrically. Structure purely designed to support gun-loads has been lightened,guns removed and the gun-bays arranged to accommodate fuel. Length and height of the Trainer are respectively 30ft 9in and8ft 6in. The most extensive change is in the wing, which has beenredesigned to provide the approach and landing characteristics required for training purposes. Span and area are increased to24ft and 175 sq ft respectively and t/c ratio reduced to 7 per cent; but sweep, 40 deg at quarter chord, remains unchanged. Ailerons,mounted outboard, are operated by Lockheed servos; and inboard split flaps are actuated (20 deg for take-off and 70 deg for land-ing) by a single jack in the starboard wing-root. Four channel- section spars are located at constant percentage chord and arecovered over each semi-span with single machine-tapered skin panels. The inner portion of each wing has three additional sparsand forms integral tankage for 50 gal on each side. General arrangement of the Gnat trainer, described here.
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