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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0319.PDF
No 2714 VOLUME 79 THURSDAY 16 MARCH 1961 Editor-in-Chief MAURICE A. SMITH DFC Editor H. F. KING MBE Technical Editor W. T. G U NSTO N Air Transport Editor J. M. RA MSD E N Production Editor ROY CASEY Managing Director H. N. PRIAULX MBE IN THIS ISSUE From all Quarters 328 Missiles and Spaccflight 33O A Taste of the Talon 333 Better Small Turbines 335 Landing Fees—Plus 336 Civil Supersonics— Too Much Hurry? 339 System Survey 341 The Rainmakers 342 The Space Race 344 Straight and Level 346 Correspondence 347 Service Aviation 349 Sport and Business 35O Air Commerce 352 •litre Transport Publications Ltd, DorsetIlimsr. Stamford street, London, SE1: t el.-1.hour Waterloo :m;J. TelegramsFlitshrprcs London SKI. Annual sub- scriptions: Home £4 15s. Overseas tr>.Canada and USA SI5.00. Second Class Mail privileges authorized at NewYork. NY. Branch Offices Coventry: 8-10 Corpora-tion Street; telephone Coventry 25210. Hirniinghiini: Kins Kdward House. New-Street, 2; telrphonr Midland 7101. Man- chester: 2WI Deanssiate 3; telephoneWackfriars 44)2 or Deansgate 3595. Glasgow: 62 Buchanan Street Cl; tele-phone Central 12*15-0. New York, NY: Thomas Skinner * Co(Publishers) Ltd, 111 Broadway 6; telephone Digby 9-1197. © Ilitte Transport, Publications Ltd,1901. Permission to reproduce illustra- tions and letterpress can be granted onlyunder written agreement. Brief extracts or comments may be made with dueacknowledgement. AIRCRAFT, SPACECRAFT, MISSILES Official Organ of the Royal Aero Club First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 In the Cause of Safety IT is with no morbid predilection that in recent months we have devoted anincreasing amount of our editorial space to matters concerning air safety. In part the reason has been a series of major accidents, certain of which have emphasized that safety in air travel is not necessarily contingent on airframe, engine or system integrity; nor is it necessarily a matter of human fallibility. It may equally involve the environment in which today's commercial operations are conducted—as confirmed by recent collisions. Another reason for our preoccupation with safety has been the great professional and public interest in the jet fuel controversy, aroused first in this journal and latterly on television and in the national Press. This week we print a paper by Mr Bo Lundberg, Director of the Aeronauti- cal Research Institute of Sweden; his theme is that the development of the supersonic airliner should take second place to an intensive programme for enhancing the safety and efficiency of subsonic transport aircraft. As for super- sonic flying itself, Mr Lundberg draws particular attention to the problem of cosmic radiation. It is well known, he remarks, that so-called total ioniza- tion is at a maximum around 70,QO0ft, which he believes will be the height at which supersonic airliners will fly. Some authorities, he says, seem to main- tain that there is probably no danger at all; but others seem to be more dubious. These authorities are of the opinion, that the risk of developing cancer might increase among passengers who flew frequently at such heights, and that the danger might be greater to future children of such passengers. A Lesson from the Past It is with no alarmist intent that we reflect on these matters. And in reflect- ing we cannot escape the recollection of past apathy. We need only instance the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition of 1929. Its purpose was "to achieve a real advance in the safety of flying." The winner was the Curtiss Tanager, the runner-up the Handley Page Gugnunc—both fully slotted and flapped and both displaying remarkable low-speed handling qualities and speed range. Yet the subsequent application of high-lift devices was laggard and sporadic. The Gugnunc is now in the keeping of the Science Museum, where it is preserved not merely as a tribute to a brilliant piece of aircraft design but also as a monument to inertia and evasion. Handley Page them- selves are content to remark "Had the aircraft's latent possibilities been appreciated more widely, far greater speed in flying and far greater safety in landing would have been achieved earlier than they were." It is not perhaps without significance that even in this context speed is given priority over safety. This journal has never championed a cause or a policy lightly or expedi- ently. Certainly the cause of air safety is not one for glib comment or hasty judgment. Indeed, our remarks on the subject may often appear equivocal and tentative. Yet this is unavoidable, especially when an accident is subjudice. Nevertheless, just as we have helped to bring into focus the jet fuel controversy, and that concerning rearward-facing seats, so we intend to continue to illumi- nate the subject of air safety from every aspect. Our faith in the future of the aeroplane as a vehicle of public transport is one which could hardly allow us to do otherwise. The Cairns report, reviewed in Flight last week, is a valuable contribution. Public accountability and honesty of purpose in all matters of air safety must be of increasing concern.
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