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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0455.PDF
228 FLIGHT AIRCRAFT IN AGRICULTURE ... enormous increase in aerial spraying in the last few years is some indication that the technique has real advantages to the fa/mer. In fact the advantages are numerous and have been described frequently elsewhere. The last two seasons, particularly, were very unfavourable for the use of heavy tractor-drawn sprayers, and there were many days when it was possible to carry out aerial spraying when the more orthodox machines were unable to move on to the flooded ground. With the very rapid increase in aerial spraying activity a number of new firms have come into being who have little or no technical background and rely mainly on the experience of the pilots they have brought in. Now, continual research is going on into new techniques of aerial spraying, as well as into improved agricul- tural spray chemical specially formulated for aerial application. Without extensive field trials to find out where the spray is actually going it is difficult for the operator to obtain a true picture of the efficiency of his technique. It is only after many years of field experience on a very wide range of crops under varying climatic conditions that an operator can build up the pros and cons of every available technique. He cannot do this and fly the aircraft himself—he, therefore, has to rely on technical staff in the field to tell him what sort of job he is doing and advise him on improvements, and today the aircraft spray operator is becoming more and more dependent on the backroom boys keep- ing him up to date with new techniques and new materials. Aircraft have undoubtedly proved themselves capable of carry- ing out agricultural spraying in competition with tractors, and the advantages to the farmer have proved economically worth while—sufficiently so for us to be confident that they have come to stay. Farmers are, naturally and rightly, sceptical of new tech- niques, and they can see that there is room for improvement. Those who are in the lead of this new industry are developing improved techniques and new uses for aircraft with a frequency that is quite astonishing. Hunters in Sweden COMMENTS BY OFFICERS OF TWO FIGHTER WINGS SIX squadrons of the Royal Swedish Air Force are equippedwith the Hawker Hunter fighter—in Swedish service bearing the name J.34 Hawker Hunter. All these British fighters are based at two wings just outside Stockholm—F 18 Tullinge and F 8 Barkarby. The first wing to get the Hunter was F 18, and there the fighter also initially saw service. F 18 has now had its Hunters nearly three years, and F 8 has had its own about two years. Thus the best Swedish source of information on the Hunter is F 18. The Wing Commander Flying of the wing, Major Sven Lampell, is beyond doubt the best individual authority. He did a good deal of Hunter flying before the aircraft were delivered to Sweden, and he also has experience on Sabres. Furthermore, he is leader of F 18's Hunter aerobatic team, which on several occasions (among them Queen Juliana of the Netherlands' arrival in Stock- holm for her official visit to Sweden) has given notable perform- ances. This is briefly what Major Lampell had to say about the Hunter when interviewed last year: "It is indeed a wonderful aircraft in all respects, aerodynamically. It is a very 'kind' 'plane; a pilot's 'plane. It has very fine low-speed abilities and (a vital detail) it is perfect for instrument flying. There are no troubles at all—for instance in putting the wheels out while flying in cloud. The Hunter also has very fine supersonic qualities; no trim altera- tions are necessary. The 'hit probability' of the armament is high, and we are able to fire our weapons over relatively long ranges. This means good protection, for we can keep sufficient distance and yet hit our targets." A point of criticism by Major Lampell was that he would like to have nose-wheel steering. "Maybe this is a special Swedish desire," he added, "but we do have some difficulties on icy runways." On the other hand, he said, the Hunter is remarkably easy to land on those icy runways. Cockpit demisting could be better, he thought, and although the high-speed effectiveness of the tailplane had improved a great deal since the aircraft was given the flying tail he "still felt he wouldn't mind having it even more efficient." At F 8 Barkaby Major Gerry Dyrssen had this to say: "The Hunter is the nicest aircraft we have had. It is easy to fly, and the training has up to the present been accomplished 100 per cent free from severe troubles due to the pilot handling. . . . I want to mention that we have never had an accidental spin in spite of the fact that the pilots really have taken the maximum out of the aircraft. The Hunter is very kind and 'says when.' Instrumention is good and instrument-flying qualities are excel- lent. It is remarkable that such an advanced aircraft has such good low speed qualities. It has full control efficiency even at lowest speed. Low-level navigation is easy, even with a cruising speed of 900 km/hr (560 m.p.h.) and we seldom miss the target by more than a few seconds. The time for refuelling and re-arming is remarkably short, and the time from 'scramble' till airborne is shorter than with previous aircraft—mainly due to the liquid-starting system. . . . Our only real problem with the aircraft is keeping all the electronic equipment working—a problem which I believe we share with other fighter units." A brisk impression of a pair of Hunters (Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet) getting airborne somewhere in Sweden
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