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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0344.PDF
344 The AEW3s are operational by night as well as by day. In this silhouette view the outline of the radome can be clearly seen, as well as external features like the retracted arrester hook "Flight" photograph GANNET AEW.3s *JOIN THE FLEET . .. of the aircraft on the Flight had done 670hr by the time of our visit, and another one 625hr; and there had been an average availability of two aircraft over the whole period of the trials. Each aircraft had been fully serviceable every time it was flown; certainly the Flight never took an aircraft into the air unless the radar was working. Summing-up reliability, the CO said quite simply: "Figures speak for themselves as far as maintenance is concerned." During the trials, a weekly report was compiled by all RN executives primarily concerned with the operational and technical aspects of the aircraft—700G's commanding officer, senior pilot, senior observer and engineering and electrical officers. These I JJJUI. reports have had a wide distribution, and partly account for the great interest which the AEW.3 trials have aroused. The Flight had many visitors during its time at Culdrose, and the information they were given often led to assistance in return. One manu- facturer's representative who was on holiday in Cornwall called in and said he had only a few minutes to spare, but stayed for four days. The trials provided not only a thorough work-out for the air- craft, which carries a most complicated electrical system, but also operational training for crews who are to fly the AEWJs from carriers. During these trials, the machines at Culdrose were flows within the Boscombe Down envelope but in that area all possible exigencies were investigated. Normally the AEW.3 is cruised on only one of its engines (which are entirely independent), power being changed to the alternate unit every hour. A measure of the crews' trust in their powerplants is shown by the fact that this single-engine procedure is now carried out impartially by day and by night. At Culdrose, all pilots concerned in the trials achieved well over 300 hours' flying and some of the observers more, one topping 400hr. Four aircraft were being taken aboard Ark Royd, one of them a veteran of 100 hours' flying, the others new recruits. 849A's aircrew complement is five pilots and ten observers, forming four crews and one spare crew. In the AEW.3s, the two observers sit side-by-side in the rear cockpit, and during Flight's visit to Culdrose the writer had an opportunity of sampling this situation during an air-to-air photo- graphic sortie. It is not permissible, for security reasons, to describe the equipment which faces each observer though one can say that this will provide the Fleet with much wider-ranging early-warning facilities than ever before. But it is possible to say that each observer's position provides comfortable working sur- roundings without an unduly high noise level; and it is fair to assume that from the assiduous character of their work-up— described by Fairey Aviation as "the quickest development and trials programme in recent years"—No 849A Flight will efficiently fulfil the duties exemplified in their motto, Primus Video (I see first), with a radar visibility as powerful in penetrating the sea depths as in searching the sky. H.W. Members of the former 700G, now 849A Flight, whose hard work in proving the AEW.3 is recorded on these pages. The two civilians in the front row are G. Richards, Bristol Siddeley representative (left), and G. R. Lansdowne (Fairey Aviation) One of the AEWJs, flown by Lt Cdr Hawley, demonstrating its energetic rate of roll with Faimouth as background "Flight" photograph
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