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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0734.PDF
750 FLIGHT, 30 May 1958 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns.The names and addresses of the writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Re-entry of a Gladiator (From W/C. R. F. Martin, chief test pilot, Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd.) V^OUR readers may be interested to know that our apprenticeA school has now nearly completed the task of rebuilding the last flying Gloster Gladiator.Previously this aircraft has been seen flying with a civil regis- tration, but as one of the principal aims of the rebuild has beento put it back to its original operational condition as far as possible, permission was obtained from the Air Ministry to use the Serviceand squadron markings of the era. As the Gladiators first went into service in the summer of 1936with Nos. 72 and 3 Sqns. we are proposing to put on 72 Sqn. markings. It has proved unexpectedly difficult to discover exactlyhow these markings were arranged relative to the roundels and aircraft numbers, so may we appeal for help from any reader whomay have a photograph of a Gladiator so marked? One further small point. What records we have show thisparticular aircraft number as L.8032. However, one batch of production aircraft was numbered K.7892-8077 and it seems pos-sible that the K has been corrupted to L. Were there in fact any L-series Gladiators?The cockpit equipment now includes the original reflector gun- sight, oxygen system, TR.9 wireless set, and cockpit lighting.The only principal cockpit items now missing are the two air-release valves and the reservoir and plunger for the gunsynchronizing gear. Gloucester. . RICHARD MARTIN. Eastern Prayer Wheels 'THE caption to the picture of the East German B.B.152 on-*- page 684 of Flight for May 16 refers to the adjustable rear truck which permits the aircraft to "pray" on take-off. Does thatmean it extends so that the nose goes down in the praying postures of the East or does it retract and allow the aircraft to "beg" for anadequate runway and a favourable "climate"? London, N.W.2. L. F. E. C. The Grade Monoplane T CANNOT understand one remark made by Mr. F. SmithA (May 16). He says: "I cannot accept for one moment that the Grade machine was intended to land upside down deliberately,as the tailwheel was not repeated above the fuselage." Surely, if your correspondent looks at Roger Bacon's page (February 21)both tailwheels could hardly be more clearly shown. I am sure that the three additional wheels were fitted to thisparticular Grade monoplane with the intention of landing the machine in the inverted position. It was to be a spectacle inmuch the same way that wing walking and climbing by ladder from one machine to another were performed as stunts in that era. In the normal Grade aircraft, the pilot sat beneath the wingsand the fact that he is located in the position shown in the photo- graph in question is, perhaps, another pointer towards a desireto make the machine symmetrical longitudinally. Note, too, that the "landing wires" (in the picture) are angled similarly to the"flying wires" and are as numerous. Further, in this picture the engine appears to be inverted (nota normal Grade practice) and it looks as if the pilot is going to make the take-off with the aircraft inverted and land it in thenormal configuration. I say "it looks . . ." and this is pure sur- mise, of course, but I have no doubt as to the purpose of theadditional wheels. Potters Bar, Middx. A. H. CURTIS. Government and the Industry ~|W"OW that the Government has finally pronounced its indif-•^•^ ference to the fate of our aircraft industry—last year its top dollar-earning source—I would respectfully suggest that theS.B.A.C. emulates the politicians' example and convenes its own summit conference. These talks, between the directors/chief designers, etc., of ourmajor companies could—without any assistance from Government subsidy—promote a concerted effort to produce airliners andcombat-aircraft exclusively for the North American market. Already, with their inquiries regarding the shelved "Swallow"project at Vickers, the U.S. defence chiefs have shown a prefer- ence for British design. With only their drawing-boards by which to feel the industry'spulse, many of my fellow aircraft-draughtsmen knew instinctively that 40 per cent of our best firms were en route for the doldrums.It was evident several weeks before Supply Minister Aubrey Jones made his statement in the House. Our drawing-boards are becoming markedly bare—althoughthe production side of most firms have some three to five years of work left en existing contracts. Unless something on the lines of our own summit talks areevolved, the only likely alternative for an industry skilled in light alloys must be railway-carriages, caravans, refrigerators or kitchenfurniture. It is obvious that if our motor industry can thrive and exportmore in the face of an American recession, the aircraft industry can do the same. St. Albans, Herts. WILLIAM RICHARDSON. Retractable Wings AMONG recent Press comment on the Swallow aircraft, as-'*• designed by Dr. Barnes Wallis of Vickers-Armstrongs, is a statement that retractable wings for aircraft are not a completelynew conception, and that an aircraft embodying the principle was first flown in America in 1951. (The broad idea, of course, is theprovision of a larger wing area, or increased angle of incidence, or both, for take-off and landing than is required in normal flight,as yet another contribution to the perennial search for added safety.) Yet again that old adage: "There is nothing new under the sun"inexorably crops up. The present writer conceived this idea as long ago as 1917. It is illustrated, described and claimed in hisBritish Patent Specification No. Ill, 691, Improvements in and relating to Variable Wing Surfaces for Aeroplanes, applied for onApril 26, 1917, and accepted on December 13 of that year. In 1917 there was no Air Ministry. An "Air Board" (broughtinto being by the exigencies of the 1914-18 war) was the Govern- ment department that officiated in connection with the theninfantile aircraft industry. Naturally, the writer submitted the invention to that body, and a'so to committees and panels ofexperts set up to examine war inventions—with the usual result, on which he does not propose to comment. One of the commonest occurrences in connection with inventionis that when some device is hailed as the latest marvel, be it in aeronautics, automobile, submarines or what-not, a little delvinginto patent specifications of the past will frequently disclose the fact that the basic principle of this new device is, metaphoricallyspeaking, as old as the hills. London, S.W.17. E. V. HAMMOND. May 25-June 1. May 29-June 1, May June JuneJune June JuneJune June June JuneJune JuneJune JuneJune 31 1. 1-3.4 (,, 7-8.7 8. 8. 14.14-15. 15-2918 19-28.20-23. June 20-23.June JuneJune JuneJune June June JuneJune JulyJuly July JulyJuly July July Sept. 21.22 2527-29. 28.28. 28. 28-29.28-30. 5.5-6. 5-7. 88-11. 10-12. 12-14. . 1-7. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Aero Club de I'Ouest: d'Angers Gliding Competition. R.Ae.C: International Invitation Rally, Shoreham.R.Ae.S.: Chester Branch: Aeronautical Show and Garden Party, Broughton.Royal Belgian Aero Club: International Balloon Meeting. Aero Club de France: Helicopter Rally.Kronfeld Club: Lecture bv David Ince. Helicopter Association: "Turbine Helicopters," by D. L.Hpllis Williams. Aero Club de France: Normandy Rally.Helicopter Association: Garden Party and Rally, Duns- borough Park, Ripley, Surrey.Royal Dutch Aero Club: Balloon Trophy Competition, Rotterdam.Wolverhampton Aero Club: Members' Competition Day. Plymouth Aero Club: Air Display.Popular Flying Association: Rally. Rhoose, Cardiff. World Gliding Championships, Poland.Kronfeld Club: "The Early Days," by F. N. Slingsby. OSTIV: Seventh Congress, Osieczna, Poland.Lerida Aero Club: International Tour of Pyrenees. Palermo Aero Club: Tour of Sicily.R.N. Air Station Ford: At Home. R.Ae.S.: Garden Party, White Waltham.Kronfeld Club: Polish film, "The First Start." Royal Dutch Aero Club: International Rally.Exeter Aero Club: Flying Display, Exeter Airport. R.A.F.A. (Cheltenham and Gloucester Branches): AirDisDlay. Staverton Airport. R.N. Air Station Abbotsinch: At Home.Flers Aero Club: Normandy Rally. R.Ae.C.: Private Air Rally, La Baule.NATO Air Display: Soesterberg, Holland. Aero Club de I'Ouest: Anjou Wines Rally.R.Ae.C.: Private Air Rally, Deauville. Kronfeld Club: Welcome home to British gliding team.Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences: National Summer Meeting, Los Angeles, Cal. R.Ae.C.: National Air Races and Lockheed InternationalAerobatic Competition, Baginton. Royal Dutch Aero Club: Camping Rally.S.B.A.C. Display and Exhibition, Farnborough.
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