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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0780.PDF
796 FLIGHT JET PROVOST T.3... Airirame and engine installation layout of the Hunt- ing Jet Provost T.3 as it will shortly be delivered to the R.A.F. Most major changes from early marks have been made in the cockpit and systems layout. course, 2,258 hours having been flown altogether; and the moststriking point made on the Jet Provost's overall performance by C.F.S. Examining Wing was that student flying ability had risen."The student standard," the report read, "reflects most favourably on the aircraft's suitability as an ab initio trainer: compared tothe average pupil, the jet-trained student has, in a shorter time in the air, achieved a more dexterous and better mental approachto the art of modern flying. His repertoire of aerobatic manoeuvres, for example, is much more extensive and flown with much morespirit and accuracy." When this first course progressed to the advanced stage onVampire T.I Is, conversion was straightforward and it was sub- sequently found that the number of flying hours necessary onthese aircraft could be cut, resulting in a considerable cost saving. A further two courses have since completed training at No. 2F.T.S., the final one finishing in November last year: by this time a total of 7,023 hours of Jet Provost flying had been logged,6,045 hours of which were by students. The lowest time to first solo achieved by one of the latter without previous experience was7 hr 5 min and the average was 10 hr 10 min. None of the students found it in the least strange to be sitting in front of the engineinstead of behind it; and out of a batch of fifty, of whom 35 had never flown before, only one—who had some previous flyingexperience on piston-engined light aircraft—failed to make the solo Stage. In this context, it is worth noting that the capacityof an ab initio jet trainer for detecting unsuitable students early in the course provides an all-round saying in expenses. Meanwhile, at Luton, work was going ahead with the Mk 2version, which was to incorporate many refinements omitted in the Mk 1 in the interests of production speed and economy. Thisaircraft, a development model to be used as a stepping-stone to the production version, was considerably cleaned up: fuselagelines were smoothed out, hydraulic services were substituted for pneumatic and undercarriage legs shortened by 22in. Later afashionable dorsal fillet was added. Armstrong Siddeley had been developing the ASV.8 Mk 102 engine giving an additional 100 lbthrust, and the result was an appreciable rise in performance. The first Mk 2 flew on September 1, 1955, and had completed143 hours' flying by mid-August 1956 in the hands of Hunting's test department; it was then delivered to Boscombe Down, andits release certificate was issued by the M.o.S. on September 6 after 45 hours' flying by the Experimental Establishment. A fortnight later this aircraft went off to join the Mk Is atHullavington and was subjected to intensive training flying, during which time it carried out 260 hours and just under 1,000 instruc-tional landings before being transferred to engine development. A further three Mk 2s were built for development and demon-stration flying, and have been kept busy on winterization trials in Scandinavia, and sales tours in Europe, Canada, the U.S.A. andLatin America. During these trips a remarkable serviceability record was turned in, the aircraft flying up to eleven sorties a dayin the hands of numerous pilots, and only the barest minimum of attention being necessary to either engine or airframe. AU.S.A.F. technician said that the Viper appeared to be able "to run for ever" with the most perfunctory daily inspections. One of these aircraft has been gradually modified to allow prac-tical flight testing to be carried out on as many of the production installations as possible, and thus speed up the eventual clearanceof the Mk 3 aeroplane. The contract for a production quantity was received last August and it is expected that M.o.S. release forgeneral R.A.F. use will be obtained around September this year, after the company and Boscombe Down trials have been com-pleted; by this time, 20 Mk 3s will have been produced, and a grand total of over 8,000 hours flown in proving the aircraft andtraining syllabus since the start of the whole project. This indi- cates the thoroughness with which the R.A.F. have investigated"all-through" jet training before committing themselves to it. Currently being undertaken at Luton by Huntings is a pro-gramme of realistic laboratory load testing. Because of the very wide intensity of loading to which training aircraft are subjected,and the need for long life in the interests of economy, this is being a prolonged and thorough investigation; the frequency and inten-sity of all types of loading on the Jet Provost will be established, Both undercarriage and fairing doors are mechanically actuated by the cable system here illus- trated. There is a single hydraulic operating jack located on the aircraft centreline. 26. 1 V.H.F. T/R 1987, Rebecca Mk 8 D.M.E., and U.H.F. in nose 2 Nosewheel box 3 Hinged nose cap 4 Oxygen bottles in this area 5 Oxygen charging point 6 Two Varley 24 V, 25 a-h. batteries in parallel 7 External battery socket (24 V) 8 Dowty Liquid Spring nosewheel unit 9 Doors mechanically operated 10 Dowty oleo-pneumatic mainwheel leg 11 Undercarriage actuating cable and spool 12 Undercarriage jack 13 Breaker struts 14 Door-operating sprocket and link 15 Master drum assembly 16 Dunlop tyres, wheelsand disc brakes (toe) 17 Cool air to cockpit 18 Rearward sliding clear-view canopy 19 E2B compass 20 Centre console (see cockpit draw- ing) 21 Martin-Baker Mk 4 light' ejection seats 22 Seat firing handle 23 Spring-loaded foot-step 24 Inttrument panel shroud 25 Armstrong-Siddeley Viper turbojet, 1,750 Ib thrust 16 Bifurcated intake 27 Boundary-layer bleed air 28 Engine trunnions on tubularn ing 29 Firewall carried on engine 30 Fixed firewall 31 Rotol accessory gearbox mo on firewall 32 Dowty Live-line hydraulic (1,000 Ib/sq in system) 33 Rotax electric starter 34 English Electric 3,000 W, generator 35 Generator cooling air 34 Access panel to accessories 37 Compressor tapping for cabin ing, demisting, fuel transfer 38 Methyl bromide bottle 39 Extinguisher spray ring
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