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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 1884.PDF
Correspondence Tfce Editor of "Flight" is not necessarily in agreement with the viewsexpressed by correspondents in these columns. Names and addresses of writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. The Hurricane and the Spitfire IN reply to Wg Cdr Beamont (Correspondence, August 26), mayI say that, before writing Strike from the Sky, I talked to some three dozen British, Polish, and German fighter pilots, and thatone of my "set" questions was precisely this comparison between Spitfire, Hurricane, and 109? A few, who had flown Hurricanesonly, tended to praise that aircraft, but an obvious and under- standable element of loyalty was present—they did not want torun down an old friend. The pilots who had flown Spitfires as well as Hurricanes, or Spitfires only, or 109s only, gave, withvarying degrees of emphasis, a generally agreed picture: that the Spitfire and 109 were so close in performance that it was hardlyworth arguing about, and that both were (I quote a Hurricane pilot) "infinitely superior" to the Hurricane. They did not place great value on the latter's manoeuvrability;after all, if that was the main criterion, then the Fiat 42 was the best fighter of the Battle of Britain. In their view, speed and climb(particularly at height) were the decisive factors in fighter v. fighter combat: ability in the first place to deliver an attack underfavourable conditions. To the German bomber crews these arguments were academic;if the Hurricanes got at them they were at least as deadly as Spitfires. Nevertheless, the Hurricane was obsolescent and didnot, as a front-line fighter, long survive the Battle of Britain, whereas the Spitfire, in various marks, was operational in itsoriginal role to the end of the war. That, I think, is conclusive. The two other Services do not find it necessary to maintain thattheir every item of equipment was at all times superior to the enemy's; and we do, somehow, still manage to win our wars. I feel that only casual reading could produce the statement thatlittle new light has been thrown recently on the battle; but, for my part, I would say that, disregarding the notorious soft-pedalling ofthe fate of the unfortunate Channel convoys, what is new concerns not so much what happened, but the perhaps more important"reason why." If I forebore to point out each occasion where a fresh and balanced interpretation was now possible, it wasbecause not only would this have smacked of Historian's Disease (backbitus furioso), but that anyway the list of corrections was solong that it would have required an additional chapter to itself. Rowlands Castle, Hants ALEXANDER MCKEE Jet Fuel and SafetyI T is a disappointment that no one has chosen to take issue withme over my article "Jet Fuel and Safety," published in Flight for June 10. The reason for the silence is not, I think, hard toseek: the airlines and oil companies concerned dare not risk public controversy in this matter. Indeed, an oil company official,in discussing the article with me, admitted that the subject was "much too hot" for his company to make any reply. Meanwhile, Lord Brabazon, chairman of the Air RegistrationBoard, has again denounced those airlines currently using JP.4 fuel, and has threatened to name them so that passengers candecide for themselves whether to accept the reduced standard of safety being offered by these operators. Things have come to asorry state when passengers have to be the arbiters on standards of airworthiness; but in these days, when prestige is being givenprecedence over everything else, it was never more important that public opinion be properly informed as to what is going on.Harpenden, Herts J. W. RICKAED Curtailed CorporationI N his admirable review [page 303, August 26] of an admirablework (A. J. Jackson's British Civil Aircraft 1919-59, Vol. 2) Mr Brooks finds it inexplicable that BEAC is referred to by itsproperly abbreviated title. Knowing Mr Jackson's deep regard for accuracy, it would be rather more inexplicable if the Corpora-tion was not thus described. What is more genuinely inexplicable is BEAC's renowneddistaste for its own title, for it is a standing joke that its use is practically guaranteed to provoke near-hysterics at "establish-ment" level in the Corporation! There is no similar evidence that the many thousands of other corporate bodies are so easily dis-tressed by the very sound of their own names. Nobody would deny the Corporation's right to use the abbre-viated BEA as an eye-catching trademark—indeed, it is quite accepted commercial practice to do so—but when one formallydescribes or addresses an animated body it is surely both correct and polite to do so properly? That is exactly what Mr Jacksonhas done. I don't wish to labour the issue, but it would be interesting to -.-.. v-.i':;.:••- - :• *'•:: ..',•• FLIGHT^ 9 September ?960 learn why BEAC is at such pains to labour it—even to the e;. ;entof enrolling the Press as accomplices in the glorious struggle for inadequacy! This would seem to be a suitable moment for thelong-awaited explanation, and nobody is better qualified to provide it than Mr Brooks himself. Why, Mr Brooks, is your Corpora ionso touchy about its corporation? Why does your unhappy con- dition not extend itself to BO AC, EAAC, New Zealand N AC, andwho-have-you? Where the "anti-nationalization elements" are supposed tc fitinto the argument is something I do not pretend to understand Mine is no more than the query of a simple, non-progressivenon-BEAtnik, fare-paying fuddy-duddy. ' Pinner, Mddx D. K. Fox The Shape of Echo XJAVE you slipped a decimal point or two? You quote [page*-*• 242, August 19] a total thickness for the skin of the Echo satellite of 0.0196in. Unless I err, this would make the skin of thecollapsed satelloon nearly 60 cu ft in volume; clearly impossible. It is inconceivable that the skin should be elastic; what, in fact, isthe true figure? And what, in passing, limits the expected life to a year? Theskin being inelastic, it seems likely to maintain the distension given it after launching. Will light pressure force it out of orbit? Or isthere sufficient air at 1,000-plus miles to brake it down? Ingatestone, Essex J. E. ENEVER [We are grateful to our correspondent for discovering this error. Theoriginal US report correctly gave the thickness of the Mylar polyester film of which the lOOft-diameter satellite was made as 0.0005m; but alater transmission corrected this to 0.5mm (0.0196in) and this was the figure accepted by Flight and most other publications. The weight ofMylar was 1361b, and its volume was 2,339.2 cu in; the folded envelope was packed into a spherical container with a diameter of 26in. The mostrecent NASA release confirms that the sphere was inflated by a sub- liming powder, although the original plan was to utilize the evaporationof water. Until August 24 (i.e., during its first 12 days) Echo 1 had been continuously in sunlight at a temperature of about 240 °F. Now itis in darkness for short periods, and at about — 80 °F the gas in its interior returns to the solid state, so that the sphere is partially collapsing;its irregular shape is evident from the sudden variations in its brightness during the past few weeks. It has already been riddled with micro-meteorites, and its ultimate fate seems uncertain.—Ed.] "SATCO Ready for Duty" /COMMENTING in your issue of July 22 on the impending use^-/ of the first version of the SATCO system at Schiphol, you mentioned that "during a recent visit to the Dutch company ahigh-ranking FAA official stated that the system is two to four years ahead of contemporary American development." Believing this assertion to be factually incorrect, may I inquirewhen and by whom such a statement is alleged to have been made? London W5 E. W. PIKE, Manager, Air Traffic Management Division, General Precision Systems Ltd [Th; correspondent who sent the report informs us that the VSS officialwas Mr James L. Anast, chief of the Bureau of Research and Develop- ment, FAA. The statement by Mr Anast, he says, has been quotedby Mr J. W. F. Backer, Director of Civil Aviation in the Netherlands. Our correspondent reports that he has checked on this informationwith the press office of the DCA, who have confirmed it. He states, moreover, that one of the officials of Hollandse Signaal gave him anidentical statement during a conducted tour of the installation and in the course of a private talk.—Ed.] SOS from Fiji "PROM far-away Fiji comes an SOS for maintenance and service± instructions for a Salmson radial Type AD9R (Serial 212). We cannot help from the library here, but one of your readers may be able to—in which case the writer is Mr Dallas Lee, c/o P.O. Box 207, Suva, Fiji. F. H. SMITH, London Wl Librarian, the Royal Aeronautical Society Sept. 5- II. Sept. 8-12. Sept. 9-12. Sept. 10-11. Sept. 11. Sept. 12-16. Sept. 12-18. Sept. 14. Sept. 21. Sept. 25.Sept. 28. Sept. 26- Oct. 1. Oct. 3-7. FORTHCOMING EVENTS SBAC Display and Exhibition, Farnborough. AGARD and Instituto Lombardo di Scienie e Lettere. Seminar on Propulsion for Astronautics, Varenna. Popular Flying Association Rally, Cranfield. Glamorgan Flying Club: At Home, Rhoose Airport. International Landing Contest, St Nicholas Maes. International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences: Secono Congress, Zurich. - j Battle of Britain Week: Exhibition, Horse Guards, Paroae, London; RAF Airfield "At Homes," September 17. Kronfeld Club: Film of German World Championships oy K°onfeldr Oub: "Flying in the US Nationals," by PI«f'P Wills.Milan Aero Club: Helicopter Rally. Kronfeld Club: Meteorological Discussion. AGARD Structures and Materials Panel Meeting, A*nen:;- AGARD meetings (including 10th General Assern.-?;. Istanbul.
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