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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0036.PDF
FLIGHT, 2 January 1959 FLIGHT IN CANADA The badge adopted for Canada's Jubilee year FROM ALL QUARTERS . . . Canada's Fifty Years * * * DURING 1959 the 50th anniversary of powered flight inCanada will be celebrated at a number of special occasions in the Dominion. These will begin on February 23, the anniversary of J. A. D. McCurdy's flight in 1909, when the R.C.A.F. will fly a replica of McCurdy's Silver Dart at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, and commemora- tive dinners will be held in many cities and towns across Canada. The principal dinner that night will be held in connection with a special two-day meeting of the Canadian Aero- nautical Institute in Montreal, at which the Governor- General of Canada, Mr. Vin- cent Massey, will be the guest of honour. It is hoped that J. A. D. McCurdy himself will be able to attend both this function and the flight at Baddeck earlier the same day. The Silver Dart will carry a bag of airmail (containing greetings from the Canadian government to other governments) on its flight, and this mail will be taken on to Sydney Airport, Nova Scotia, by helicopter before coming under regular airmail hand- ling. Commemorative stamps and covers for general use will also be issued on the same day, February 23, 1959. The second main C.A.I. commemorative event will be the Insti- tute's annual general meeting at Keltic Lodge, Ingonish, some 50 miles from Baddeck, on June 15-17. On one of these three days a memorial will be unveiled at Baddeck. • . . Ryan Vertiplane Progress FOLLOWING three months of full-scale testing in the largewind-tunnel at Ames Laboratory, the Ryan Vertiplane has been somewhat modified in preparation for its first flight at Moffett Field. Powered by two turboprop-driven propellers mounted on pylons beneath a wing having extensive thrust-deflecting flaps, the machine is designed for investigation of vertical take-off for the U.S. Army. Modifications include the replacement of the sharply tail-down undercarriage by a nosewheel configuration and the addition of a ventral fin and anti-spin parachute. World Congress PlansW HEN the European representative for next year's World Congress of Flight, Mr. Gene Murphy, visited London last month he was able to give a clear picture of the purpose and form of the congress (preliminary details of which were given in Flight for December 19, p. 932). Mr. Murphy said that the congress, which was the first major event of its kind in the U.S., had the support of 90 per cent of the country's aircraft industry, and if successful would be held annually or biennially. Its objectives were, chiefly, commerce and national prestige; but he emphasized that if the "world" aspect were successful the U.S. industry would automatically benefit. Mr. Murphy said the congress—a U.S. "Paris Salon"—was being held at Las Vegas because the city has two airfields and a guided missile range, is building a $15m convention centre which would be finished in March and have congress participants as its first users, can offer 1,500 hotel rooms and has good weather. The period of the congress is April 12-19. The commemoration stamp C-133's 52-ton LoadW HAT was described as "the heaviest load in the history of aviation" was airlifted by a Douglas C-133 of the U.S. Military Air Transport Service at Dover A.F.B., Delaware, on December 16. The aircraft carried 117,900 lb of cargo (more than its own unladen weight of 111,715 lb) to 10,000ft after taking off in 4,500ft at a gross weight of 274,900 lb and climbing at 2,000ft/min. The previous heaviest weight airlifted was 78,089 lb, by a KC-135 of the U.S.A.F. in September 1958. As reported on p.~5, C-133s are being used, together with C-124s, in supplying the build-up of Thor bases for the R.A.F. A.R.B. Appointment NOMINATED as a representative of aircraft constructors, Mr.A. A. Rubbra has been appointed a member of the Air Registration Board to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Mr. A. G. Elliott. Mr. Rubbra, technical director of Rolls-Royce Ltd., is a member of the council of the Aircraft Research Association and of the automobile division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He is a Fellow of the R.Ae.S. and serves on the council, technical board and technical executive committee of the S.B.A.C. Indonesian Gannets: Australian View /COMMENTING recently in Canberra on the sale by Britain of ^ Fairey Gannets to Indonesia, the Australian Minister for External Affairs, Mr. R. G. Casey, said he was fully aware that if these or similar aircraft were not bought from Britain they were likely to be obtained from some other source. Indonesia, like other countries, wanted enough arms to maintain internal law and order and for her defences. Nevertheless, her neighbours were naturally concerned with any arms build-up that might disturb peace in the region; and concern must be heightened when some prominent Indonesians talked of using force in their relations with Holland and New Guinea. Vautour Century THE hundredth Sud SO.4050 Vautour has now left the Sud-Aviation factory for delivery to the French Air Force. All- weather fighter, attack and bomber versions are being built and the hundredth machine was of the Mark 2N all-weather type. Bomber and all-weather training are carried out respectively at Tours and Cognac. Squadrons of all-weather fighter and attack- bomber Vautours are serving with the Israeli Air Force. Other news from Sud-Aviation is that ground-running of their new 3200 three-turbine helicopter should begin shortly, and the first flight may follow during the second quarter of this year. They hope to have the machine flying at the Paris Show in June. Initial production machines are destined for the French forces, but a 28-seat civil version is also projected. Fiat G.91 Orders IT has now been announced that the United States is to order50 Fiat G.91s for use by NATO air forces. Earlier reports intimated that the U.S. would support orders from Italy, France and Germany for three batches—one each—of fifty G.91s, followed by a further 150 machines. Meanwhile, considerable licence-production is to be undertaken by a group of German companies, but little has been heard of firm orders from France. The G.91 will probably be replaced after a few years by an advanced version of the French Breguet Taon powered by the Bristol Orpheus 12 and some time after that by a tactical aircraft with VTOL or STOL capabilities. Many of the total of 25 prototype and pre-production G.91s ordered by the Italian Government have now been delivered and a special tactical squadron has for some time been carrying out operational trials. This unit will shortly move to Germany for tactical exercises in conjunction with NATO ground forces. Top-dressing Argument /CONTROVERSY has arisen in New Zealand over the govern- ^-/ ment's policy of awarding aerial top-dressing contracts by tender. The Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand recently protested that the "cut-throat competition" invited by the tender system led to neglect of maintenance and to pilot fatigue, overloading of aircraft, and flying in marginal weather. Government officials have stressed that their concern is to obtain the best price, on the taxpayer's behalf, and have denied thaif accidents have resulted from such competition. The Lands Department is allocating the remainder of this season's top-dressing contracts by negotiation with those operators who successfully tendered for the contracts last time. The Department will observe how this system compares in efficiency and economy with the previous tender method.
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