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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0357.PDF
FLIGHT, 18 March 1960 357 CALLED YETI after the elusive and abominable snowman, this ski- equipped Pilatus Porter has been specially prepared for the forth- coming Swiss expedition to Dhaulagiri in the Himalayas to have included 20m lb of ground support equipment flown inC-124s and C-133s from the Douglas/JSAF Thor supply depot at Long Beach, Los Angeles; 50ft liquid-oxygen tanks each weigh-ing 34,0001b ferried in C-133s from Massachusetts; and bulky diesel generators flown from Dover, Delaware. The USAF plant representative at Santa Monica told Flighton this occasion that 677 flights had been made in the Thor delivery programme, of which 600 had been by C-124 Globe-masters. The amount shipped by surface transport totalled 18m lb. No official statement was made on the subject of the delivery ofThor warheads, but Flight understands that none has been carried by MATS. "Indignant Frustration" in Gliding PRESENTING his report as chairman of the British GlidingAssociation, at the a.g.m. in London on March 12, Philip Wills said: "Never in the 28 years in which I have been in the glidingmovement have I experienced such a general feeling of indignant frustration. Our difficulties are exactly what they were a year and ten years—ago, and our new Government has shown neitherunderstanding of them nor any desire to help solve them." After pointing out that Germany had re-established over 500civil gliding clubs since the war, compared with Britain's 41, Mr Wills paid a tribute to the work of the Kemsley Flying Trustand suggested that the Government should "assume as a duty" the provision of a similar revolving interest-free fund, to ensurethe growth of sporting flying at "trivial cost" to the nation. During 1959 a total of 27,384 hours was flown from 157,540launches at club sites—both considerable increases over last year's figures. The excellent weather produced a record cross-countrydistance of 78,892 miles; the number of pilots was now 4,286 and there were 294 gliders currently operating. VTOL Ejection WHEN the Ryan VZ-3RY Vertiplane deflected-slipstream VTOLaircraft crashed at the beginning of the month, the test pilot, Glen Stinnet, escaped by using his Martin-Baker Mk VRN.4 ejectionseat. The successful escape was not made at zero speed and altitude, but the seat is designed for such a contingency.The Martin-Baker Mk VRN-4 seat is also installed in the Short SCI flat riser and the Dornier Do29 tilting-propeller pro-totype. Probably the first successful escape from a VTOL machine at near zero speed was Auguste Morel's from the SNECMAColeoptere tail-sitter last summer. He used a Sud Aviation ejec- tion seat at a height of something over 100ft. The actual heightand speed at which Glen Stinnet escaped have not been specified. Boscombe Down AOC NEW AOC the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Estab-lishment at Boscombe Down is Air Cdre J. F. Roulston, CBE, DSO, DFC. He has been Task Group Commander of the ReinforcementParty at Christmas Island in the Pacific since February 1958 and in his A & AEE appointment succeeds Air Cdre A. E. Clouston,whose tour of duty ends this month. A South African, Air Cdre Roulston came into the RAF on ashort-service commission in 1936. During the war he com- manded at different times Nos 223 and 55 Sons and No 232Wing, Desert Air Force. He won the DFC in 1940, was mentioned in despatches in 1941, awarded the DSO in 1943and made an OBE in 1945. Replacing the V-Bombers V-BOMBER replacements and the advantage of mobile bases weretwo subjects touched on by AVM H. A. V. Hogan, Senior Air Staff Officer of Flying Training Command, at the SouthamptonUniversity Air Squadron dinner last Friday. Within the context of the manned aeroplane "coming back into its own again" he NO WHEELS, NO WINGS: New picture of the Bell air scooter (first news, "Flight," February 5). The handlebars do not, as originally surmised, serve only to carry engine controls: they may well be con- nected to the shutters of the control ducts at each corner re- pealed in this picture NEW CONFIGURATION of the Lockheed JetStar-^with four Pratt and Whitney JT12s, reversers, high-lift wing and dual-wheel undercarriage. Customer deliveries will begin in January 1961 said he was convinced that the RAF would be "calling for replace-ments for the V-bombers"; and with the TSR.2 as well the RAF would be in the flying business "for a long time to come." AVMHogan summed this up as implying that the dust was settling on the Defence White Paper of 1957; and from his personal experienceof FAA operations went on to stress the advantages of mobile bases like Q-ships or submarines. IN BRIEF Vertol Aircraft Corporation is to be acquired by the Boeing AirplaneCo on March 31 and will become the Vertol Division of Boeing. We regret to record that Capt D. A. Templeton of Scottish Aviationwas killed at Johat, Assam, on March 10 in an accident to a Twin Pioneer he was demonstrating. Three more D.H.C. Otters are to be delivered to Indonesia thisyear, following successful evaluation by AURI (the Indonesian Air Force) of two Otters delivered in 1958 and a further two last year. Bristol Siddeley have been permitted to disclose that the Olympus 21has a dry rating of 20,0001b. The low-pressure spool has a zero stage (intake diameter 42in). This engine may power later Vulcan 2s, andrepresents a stage in powerplant development for the TSR.2. A BOAC Comet 4 (Captain N. A. Mervvn-Smith) with 24 passengerson board was severely damaged at Madrid last Monday evening when, it is reported, the undercarriage collapsed on landing. No one wasinjured A memorial service for the late C. C. McCarthy-Jones, a former COof No 601 Sqn, RAuxAF, who died suddenly in Lagos on February 17 (.Flight, March 4), will be held in the RAF Church, St Clement Danes,at noon on Saturday, March 26. A Dassault Etendard IVM, powered by a SNECMA Atar 8, isnow at RAE Bedford undergoing catapult and arresting trials. Such tests are a preliminary to actual carrier operation and Bedford is oftenused by foreign aircraft because of its extensive facilities. A civilian airframe fitter at No 15 Maintenance Unit, RAF Wroughton,has been awarded the Queen's Commendation Tor Valuable Service in the Air. The fitter, Hugh Reid, took over the controls of a Canberraafter the pilot had blacked-out through oxygen failure at 35,000ft. He brought the aircraft down to 12,000ft, when the pilot recovered. "FLIGHT" NEXT WEEK—a special issue on sport and business flying in Britain and America. Usual features will also appear.
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