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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0262.PDF
262 FLIGHT, 26 February 1960 FROM ALL QUARTERS Supersonic Airliners: Minister's Statement CO-OPERATION between the Government and the aircraftindustry in the development of a supersonic airliner was announced in the House of Commons last Monday by DuncanSandys, Minister of Aviation. Study contracts, he said, were being placed with the major airframe and engine groups. TheMinister's statement is given in more detail on page 290. Low-level Salute THIRTY-SIX Hunters of RAF Fighter Command appeared overTrafalgar Square at exactly 1300hr last Saturday, as planned, in salute to the Queen on the birth of her second son. In a messagesent shortly afterwards to the Air Minister, George Ward, the Queen said: "I and my husband greatly appreciated the saluteof the RAF this afternoon. Please thank all ranks and particularly all those concerned in the fly-past. Elizabeth R." It had been planned that the Hunters should fly at not less than2,000ft, but as the cloudbase was lower than this they actually came across at about 900ft. In all other respects, however, thefly-past went off as planned with three formations of 12 crossing London via Trafalgar Square and Westminster then turning east-wards near Streatham on a course to Hornchurch and Chelms- ford, after which the formation broke up, aircraft of the six squad-rons involved (Nos 1, 54, 56, 65, 92 and 111) returning to their home stations. Picture: opposite page. Edwardian Oration TRENCHARD was the underlying theme of Sir George Edwards'lecture at RAF Halton last Monday evening; and appropriately, for this was the third Trenchard Memorial lecture, a likeness ofthe great Marshal flashed on the screen at the beginning and end of Sir George's talk. Appropriately, too, since a large proportionof the Halton RAeS branch audience was made up of young apprentices from No 1 School of Technical Training, Sir Georgestressed Trenchard's great personal qualities: vision, conviction, courage and tenacity. On the basis of a well-founded Air Force, and with an audiencewho might be harbouring a future CAS in its apprentice ranks, Sir George hazarded a look into the future. He did this quitesimply, by commenting on diagrams showing what equipment the RAF has now—under five headings: transport aircraft; strategicsystems; tactical weapons systems; air defence; and maritime reconnaissance—and what it might expect to have over a 40-yeartime-scale. Some of his comments and prophecies were particularly interest-ing, for example on the Russian space-programme: "When the man at the top says let's go, they all help or get out of the way";on NATO: "I think an essential part of the strength of the West TECHNICAL TEAM who will assist the Indian Air Farce on Avro 748 production are seen here with S. G. Joy, company director and general manager, before leaving for Kanpur on February 17. L. to r.: William Stani forth, foreman, aero tooling; Ernest Turner, planning engineer; Mr Joy; Jack Wood, foreman'jig titter; and Harold Whittaker, technician. J. Turner (not in picture) is also leaving with the team, and W. W. Gibb, team leader, is already at Kanpur SUCCESS has recently crowned the efforts of Karl Weiland, the inventor of the Swiss hovercraft "lien," the prototype of which was destroyed by a storm shortly after launching on Lake Zurich. On February 13 the craft achieved an observed speed of 43.5 m.p.h. It is the largest ground-effect machine yet demonstrated will be a strong British Air Force"; on Transport Command, thatits Britannias and Comets would eventually be succeeded by M3 turbojets; on transport aircraft design concepts: "I think thereis a strong case for a vehicle that can do more jobs than just carry men"; and on the B-70: "There are ugly rumours going roundthat this aircraft is to be turned into a transport." Sir George was thanked first by Air Marshal W. H. Kyle,AOC-in-C Technical Training Command, and then (at a dinner in Halton House) by Peter Masefield. The president of the RAeSexpressed gratitude for the "Edwardian (or Georgian) oration" with his usual felicitousness, comparing the forty years over whichSir George had looked ahead with the forty during which Trenchard had guided the destinies of the RAF. New Fairey Directors DIRECTORSHIP changes have been announced by the FaireyCo Ltd. Geoffrey W. Hall continues as chairman but relinquishes his appointment as managing director, being succeeded byC. H. Chichester Smith. C. C. Vinson has been appointed an additional director, and L. S. Dawkins likewise, the latter retaininghis position as secretary. Mr Smith joined the Fairey Aviation Co board in 1942, whenhe was general manager of the Stockport group of Fairey Aviation factories. The following year he moyed to Hayes to become generalmanager and subsequently joint assistant managing director of the Fairey Aviation Co Ltd. When the parent company was C. H. Chichester Smith and L. S. Dawkins re-organized last year as a holding company (the Fairey Co Ltd)with eight subsidiary companies, he became chairman of its two new subsidiaries, Fairey Aviation Ltd (recently sold to Westland)and Fairey Engineering Ltd. Mr C. C. Vinson is re-joining Fairey after an absence of eight years, during which time he was a busi-ness consultant. Mr Dawkins joined the Fairey Aviation Co at Hamble in 1936, became chief accountant in 1948, commercialmanager in 1952 and secretary in 1956. Parliamentary Interest in Private Flying r IN spite of forbidding weather, sixteen aircraft arrived at LittleSnoring, Norfolk, for the opening 1960 rally arranged by the Fakenham Flying Group. This Popular Flying Association Groupstarted in a very small way some years ago and, by a combination of energy and enthusiasm, has now reached the point of being ahealthy concern operating eight aircraft. Thanks to the PFA co-ownership system, their Tigers cost under two pounds an hourto operate. The presence of two Irish peers and two Members of Parliamentat the meeting added an unusual flavour to the proceedings. The secretary of the Conservative Parliamentary Aviation Commtee'Gp Capt R. C. Collard, in whose honour the meeting had been
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