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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1246.PDF
An outstanding air-to-air photograph of the first, second and fifth NA.39s. Their respective crews are: G. R. I. "Sailor" Parker and M. R. Bailey; Bobby Burns and D. Dunn; and Derek Whitehead and G. R, Copeman. The photograph was secured on March 26, the birthday of the late Robert Blackburn; the photographic aircraft was the Meteor NF.12, flown by Dick Chandler a year ago, the aeroelastic problems involved in designing an aero-plane to accomplish all types of attack mission at sonic speed at sea level are immense, and the NA.39 is singularly stiff.The first aircraft has already been through the A. & A.E.E. at Boscombe Down for pre-handling evaluation by Service pilots,and low-altitude, full-throttle performance (over the sea, for obvious reasons) and carrier trials will soon come up on the test-flying agenda. Derek Whitehead, the chief test pilot, said last week, "Now that the weather has improved and the days arelengthening, there has been a considerable increase in the number of flights per day. The programme has advanced enormously andprogress is very encouraging. With one aircraft at Hatfield and four at Holme the pilots are being kept pretty busy." This year's Navy Estimates state that the NA.39 is going intoproduction, and Blackburn are building up to a steady rate of output. Earlier this year authorization was received to purchasemachine tools and long-lead-time materials and parts, and it is logical to assume that the company have now established a high-capacity machine shop capable of turning out the big integrally stiffened panels which form so large a proportion of the NA.39'sstructure. The remainder of the first batch of twenty are on schedule, and the final pre-production aircraft may be expectedto form the Service test squadron. After the first flight on April 30, 1958: Bernard Watson, head of flighttest; Derek Whitehead; and Lt-Cdr. J. D. Glendinning, who at that time was project officer Contributors to th« NA.39. We understand that the following are among firms who have contributed directly or indirectly to the NA.39 programme:— Accles & Pollock Ltd.: Acton Bolt Ltd.; Aircraft Materials Ltd.; B. Attewell & Sons Ltd.; Auster Aircraft Ltd.; Aviation Developments Ltd.; B. B. Chemical Co. Ltd.; Belling & Lee Ltd.; Bell's Asbestos & Engineering Ltd.; Birmecals Ltd.; James Booth & Co. Ltd.; Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd.; British Aluminium Co. Ltd;. Bricish Insulated Callenders Cables Ltd.; British Thomson-Houston Co. Ltd.; Brown Brothers (Aircraft) Ltd.; S. G. Brown Ltd. Cellon Ltd.; Ciba (A.R.L.) Ltd.; de Havilland Engine Co. Ltd.; Docker Brothers; Dowty Equipment Ltd.; Dowty Seals Ltd.; Dunlop Rubber Co. Ltd. Aviation Divi- sion); Dzus Fastener (Europe) Ltd.; Electro-Hydraulics Ltd.; Elliott Bros. (London) Ltd.: English Steel Corporation Ltd.; Ferranti Ltd.; Firth-Vickers Stain- less Steels Ltd.; Flight Refuelling Ltd. General Electric Co. Ltd.; Graviner Manufacturing Co. Ltd.; Guest, Keen and Neulefolds (Midlands) Ltd.; J. J. Habershon & Sons Ltd.; Hellermann Ltd.; High Duty Alloys Ltd.; High-Pressure Components Ltd.; Hordern-Richmond Ltd.; Hymatic Engineering Co. Ltd.; Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. (Metals Division); William Jessop & Sons Ltd.; E. & E. Kaye Ltd.; Kenilworth Manufacturing Co. Ltd.; King Aircraft Corporation. Marston Excelsior Ltd.; Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd.; M. L. Aviation Co. Ltd.; Normalair Ltd.; Northern Aluminium Co. Ltd.; Plannair Ltd.; Plessey Group of Companies; Reynolds Tube Co. Ltd.; Rotax Ltd.; Rotol Ltd.; Rubery Owen & Co. Ltd. Sangamo Weston Ltd.; Sounders Valve Co. Ltd.; Self-Priming Pump & Engineer- ing Co. Ltd.; Shell-Mex & BP Ltd.; Simmonds Aerocessories Ltd.; Smiths Aircraft Instruments Ltd.; Standard insulator Co. Ltd.; Standard Telephones & Cables Ltd.; Sterling Metals Ltd.; J. Stone & Co. (Charlton) Ltd. T. I. Aluminium Ltd.; Teealemit Ltd.; Teddington Aircraft Controls Ltd.; Teleflex Products Ltd.; Thermo-Plastics Ltd.; Thorn Electrical Industries Ltd.; Triplex Safety Glass Co. Ltd.; Tufnol Ltd.; Venner Accumulators Ltd.; James Walker and Co. Ltd.; Ward, Brooke & Co. Ltd.; Western Manufacturing (Reading) Ltd.; Whitehouse Industries Ltd.; Henry Wiggin & Co. Ltd. The flight development programme of the NA.39 is at present based at the R.A.F. airfield of Holme, although later production aircraft will probably be flown from the 1,400 yd runway at Brough. Three NA.39s are here seen about to taxi out from a Holme hard-standing
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