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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0043.PDF
FLIGHT, ]3 January 1961 41 MISSILE PLATFORM: Complete with four dummy Skybolt mis- siles (see page 44), the first B-52H was rolled out from Boeing's Wichita plant on January 5. The new bomber is powered by eight 18,0001b- thrust Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofans, and has a 20mm GE "Gatling" in the tail (far right) •\ outboard of the outer engines. The cause is believed to be corro- sion. CAA have suspended their remaining two Viscounts from ervice. Only aircraft with DTD 363 bottom booms—about 80 in all— are affected by the Vickers recommendation, but special ultra- sonic equipment is required to detect and measure such cracks. Arrangements are being made by the aircraft manufacturers to supply the necessary equipment in cases where it is not available locally. Some 13 airlines are involved, among them BEA, who have 23 Viscount 700s. A corporation spokesman said last week that there should be little difficulty in meeting traffic require- ments while the aircraft were withdrawn for inspection. New London Heliport? AS part of a proposed replacement for Covent Garden market, to be built over the sidings just north of King's Cross station, the Industrial Development Corporation, a private-venture con- sortium of major contractors, consultants and finance houses, has proposed a heliport to handle up to 1,000 passengers an hour. As a private venture the market is claimed to offer considerable advantages, both operationally and financially, over the Covent Garden annexe proposed as a Government project. The building would have combined road, canal and rail access right into the five- storey market and the flat roof would provide an area 800ft X 1,200ft on which helicopters could land and park. No fuel storage or major maintenance facilities are contemplated. Lifts would connect with road level and provide almost direct access to King's Cross, St Pancras and Euston stations and to the local transport services. Total cost of the market is estimated at £6,000,000 and the heliport, with basic installations, is estimated to add £1,500,000. Bad-weather approaches would be feasible, because the roof would be 120ft above ground level; and noise nuisance could be avoided. Access over built-up areas would be possible with multi-engined helicopters. Perishable produce could also be flown direct to the market. To deal widi the heliport proposal, Lord Sempill, as sole director, is reviving Central Airports Ltd, which he first founded in 1933 to build an airport over King's Cross. It was to have been capable of accepting fixed-wing aircraft. IN BRIEF The first Alize for the Indian Navy was officially handed-over at theBreguet factories at Villacoublay last Saturday. The aircraft are to be delivered at the rate of two a month. Maj-Gen E. Moore, who commands the US 3rd Air Force in Britain, relinquishes his command in February. He is 52. The retirement from the RAF of Air Marshal Sir Humphrey EdwardesJones, C-in-C RAF Germany and 2nd ATAF, was marked last Friday by a fly-past at Miinchen-Gladbach of 36 jet aircraft from five NATO airforces. The new C-in-C is Air Marshal J. Grandy. With the approval of the Minister of Aviation, the appointment ofMr C. F. Uwins as chairman and managing director of Short Brothers and Harland Ltd has been extended from January 1 this year, pendinga permanent appointment. A new women's world glider record for speed over a 300km triangularcourse was set up on January 8 by Mrs Anne Burns, flying a Slingsby Skylark 3 b from Kimberley, South Africa, at a speed of 68km /hr(42.25 m.p.h.). The world glider gain-of-height record of 34,300ft set up onDecember 16 by Dick Georgeson and described on pages 56-57 of this issue appears to have been short-lived. According to Polish reports,Stanislaw Jozefczak, flying a Mucha-lOOa on January 4 in a standing wave near Nowy Targ, in the vicinity of the Tatra mountains, reachedan altitude of 12,600m (41,340ft) with a gain of height of 10,900m (35,760ft). A Boeing C-97E took off from Goldsboro, North Carolina, onJanuary 5 on a round-the-world flight to inaugurate the USAF "talking bird" communication project. The aircraft is described as being "fittedout as a command post and communications centre to test airborne communications in remote areas," and an Air Force spokesman said it was hoped the flight would lead to improved aircraft control in emer-gency airlifts to areas with poor communications, such as those under- taken after last year's Chilean earthquakes. A Widgeon of British United Airways was being used last Tuesdayfor pipeline-laying across Cliffe Marshes, near Gravesend, Kent—the first use of a helicopter for such a task in Britain. Boris Cheranovsky, described in a Moscow announcement as designerof the first flying-wing type of aircraft, has died aged 65. His obituary speaks of him as the "initiator of the tailless aircraft" and the designerof a number of flapping-wing types. Turbomeca announce that they have recently shipped Marbore turbo-jets for installation in two Yugoslav twin-jet prototypes, the T-451MM Strsljen II (Hornet) and the S-451MM Matica (Queen Bee). The first-named is for close support; the second for training. Next Monday (January 16) the RAF are sending a team of eightofficers to compete in the 1961 bobsleigh events at St Moritz. Four two-man boblets and two four-man bobs have been bought, so thatthe team can compete on level terms on an international basis. Air Cdre F. W. Thompson has been appointed Director of GuidedWeapons (Trials) at the MoA in succession to Air Cdre W. R. Brother- hood; and Air Cdre H. M. Russell becomes Director of RAF AircraftResearch and Development (B) in succession to Air Cdre W. D. Distrey. They are taking up their new duties this month. The French five-year weapons programme, the law for which wasrecently passed in the French parliament, includes financial provision for 27 Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft. A recent news item inthese columns from a French source named these aircraft as Breguet Alizes, a type being procured in quantity under a separate programme. HELIMARKET: The Industrial Do velopment Corporation proposal tor a five-storey market built over the sidings at King's Cross, London, with an 800ft x 1,200ft heliport on the roof. The model shows a small section of the market and roof-top with control tower. York Way passes through the farther end of the building (see news-item above)
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