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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0455.PDF
FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD FOUNDED 1909 ^^ and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER No 2568 Vol 73 FRIDAY 11 APRIL 1 958 Editor-in-Chief MAURICE A. SMITH D.F.C. AND BAR 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.1 Telephone • Waterloo 3333 Telegrams • Flightpres Sedist London 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 • Blackjriars 4412 (3 lines)Deansgate 3595 (2 lines) Glasgow 26B Renfield Street, C2 Telephone • Central 1265 (2 lines) New York, N.Y. Thomas Skinner and Co. (Publishers), Ltd. Ill Broadway, 6 Telephone • Digby 9-1197 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Home £4 15s Od, overseas £5 Os Od. Canada and U.S.A. $15.00. Second Class Mail privileges author- ised at New York, N.Y. In this issue 474 Twin Pioneer Progress Report 477 Helicopter Fly-by-Nigtat 478 Radio Aids Discussed 479 High-Altitude Facility 483 A.W. (Hawker) Sea Hawk 484 Hunter 486 Handling the Piaggio P.136-L 490 Origins of the Modern Airliner 498 Private Pilot's Dilemma Private Preference — or Imperial?T HE B.E.A. short-range jet controversy having for the present subsided, a similar rumpus is brewing in Australia. Briefly, Ansett-A.N.A. (privately owned) have expressed a requirement for four American Electras; and Trans-Australia Airlines (government-owned) have a penchant for a pair of French Caravelles. To which the Australian Government has answered "Viscounts or nothing." The reasons behind this seemingly cavalier ruling—some incontrovertible, others contentious—are set out on page 495 of this issue. Spokesmen for the Australian Air Pilots' Association, who claim that the decision is based on economic considerations, believe that the Australian Cabinet has made up its mind without being fully apprised of the facts, or of the requirements of the airline industry; and they declare their intention of appealing to the Federal Government to reconsider the refusal. A first-class Australian rough-and-tumble seems certain, and with only sparse facts available it would be both impertinent and imprudent for this journal to interfere. In a February editorial the editor of our Australian con- temporary Aircraft declared that although his own journal did not normally deal in rumours (the present facts not being public at that time), and though it held no brief for either the Caravelle or Electra, it was nevertheless concerned with the question of rationalization extending even to the field of competitive choice of equipment. This, it was remarked, was not provided for under the Civil Aviation Agreement Act or its recent amendments. This is informed, straight-from-the-shoulder Journalism, and we hope that all the punches will be as fairly aimed. The reported statement by the A.A.P.A. spokesmen that "the structure of American aircraft has longer life than that of British, and American flight-deck layout is better" does seem a shade below the belt. It is, in any case, a blind swipe. Saleable SentimentT O read the air-test report of the Piaggio P.136-L on pages 486-488 is to read a little of the Odyssey. The lines are caulked with the salt of adventure, and the warm sun of the Cyclades glows down on the wintry prospects of Thames and Medway. To attest that this little web-footed amico, as we called it the other week, is the world's first successful amphibian would perhaps be over-generous; but we can recall no ©ther machine of this notoriously exacting class in which the ingredients of success were so obviously present. There is impressive testimony to this in the award of an American Certificate of Airworthiness and the licence-assembly of the type by the Trecker Aircraft Corporation of Milwaukee. Here, beyond doubt, is another of those aeroplanes on which we in Great Britain may well reflect ruefully, "If only we had built it ourselves"; for of all the erstwhile famous European constructors of marine aircraft, those at Cowes and Belfast should, by every tenet of experience and craftsmanship, have been the last to (literally) remain afloat. A tight little craft such as the P. 136 might well have kept one or both waterborne, whereas only Piaggio has perpetuated the amphibian flying-boat (or, for that matter, the pure flying-boat) in this part of the world. We have already remarked how this has redounded to their greater fame and profit in other parts; and the order book is far from closed. Clearly, if a market exists for a general-purpose amphibian today it will exist tomorrow; and if the British aircraft industry does not build the required machine our friends at Piaggio will doubtless oblige. Already they are at work on a far bigger amphibian which, if NATO support is forthcoming for military service, will be produced—with British turboprops—for civil use. It is often said that there has been altogether too much sentiment about the flying-boat. But if dollars are sentimental, then by all means let us get good and emotional.
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