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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0780.PDF
790 FLIGHT,8 June 1961 SFERMA's Marquis prototype, powered by Turbomeca Astazous, about to touch down outside the exhibition area One Man's Week BY MARK LAMBERT MAINLY "FLIGHT" PHOTOGRAPHS EVEN after attending four Paris Salons, ] still marvel at thefriendly multilingual turmoil, the roar and buzz and the struggling and chasing of the mid-week days, particularly in the air. It was ifanything more intense this year, because it was harder to get the control tower's permission to fly and more people got it on the "oldboy" basis, especially for helicopters. You had to live with it from the beginning and get to know theform because, once airborne, the radio channel was virtually swamped by continuous calls in French and English—someonetrying to take off, another man lost east of Paris, another calling for clearance to leave the zone, and dozens of others unintelligiblycalling, asking, talking. A Westland pilot, arriving late in the week, was appalled when told that if someone hit him while he was givinghis demonstration it would be the other pilot's fault; but he was lucky to be told. Yet it was only really sticky when someonebecame excited, and that was not often. I heard of only two emergency landings. Once the Griffon on its long take-off runnarrowly missed a Super Connie landing on the other runway. The Talon burst a tyre when landing in a hurry after running short offuel. Press conferences were legion this year and the cinema was almostcontinually in use. (Northrop and Republic had even imported for the children a full-scale science-of-fiight class lasting severaldays); but such sessions are rarely as valuable as the hurly-burly of the open field. All through the week more aircraft arrive and everyone, it seems,tries to break some record or other. The ill-fated Hustler's great crossing is now well known. But it was to have attempted to beatthe sun across the Atlantic on its way back. The Belvedere dashed off a London-Paris record. A stout effort was by CGTM's chieftest pilot Ferrigno in the Epervier, which he took to very nearly 39,000ft on a single Bastan 3. Incidentally, I have never seen asingle-engined aircraft feather and relight its engine before, as the Epervier did during the display. There are always some hot competitions for orders going on.This time it was the effort to sell a trainer to those air forces buying the F-104G. Northrop were right in there with the Talon, mount-ing a major sales and propaganda operation. Four Dutch Air Force pilots flew in the Talon during the show, roaring up into theterminal area without taking much notice of traffic instructions. Northrop are also excited about strong USAF and US Armyinterest in the N.I56 Freedom Fighter. The ATC system daunted Fiat and they kept their G.91T on the ground after once being heldpointlessly at 3,000ft for half an hour. Neither the Fiat nor the Gnat Trainer seem to be very seriously involved, partly becausethey cannot carry the Nasarr attack radar and this seems to be a requirement. Northrop are confident that they can, and Canadairhave already mooted the CL-41R (page 806). But the best placed seems to be the evergreen Hunter Trainer, in which Hawker claimthey, and only they, can install a complete F-104G cockpit—a most intriguing venture. On the subject of orders, we did Heinkel-Potez an injustice inlast week's report: their four-seat jet is intended for the civil mar- ket as well as for the military, and it has all the background of theMagister. Canadair are wondering, with many other people, what willhappen in the proposed exchange deal for all-weather fighters with the USA. A replacement for the ageing CF-100 is urgently needed,but a "secondhand" type such as the F-101B must be acquired because no new aircraft could be bought when Canada's ownCF-105 Arrow was cancelled. In exchange for selling F-lOlBs, the US would buy some Canadian product. The CL-44 has beenrejected and the chances seem to be that additional CF-104s would be ordered for presentation to NATO countries. Not until this situation is resolved can the RCAF decide whether they want theCL-41 trainer. An intriguing absentee was the Republic Fokker VTO fightermodel, banned on security grounds at the last moment. Fokker simply displayed an explanatory label on a bare pedestal. Theyhad several other bare pedestals, because the light-fingered gentry were extremely active this year. Models and equipment vanishedregularly and the prudent moved their wares out of reach. A small but expensive precision motor was even torn from its clamps onone instrument-manufacturer's stand. The less venturesome youngsters trooped from stand to stand competing to see who couldcollect most kilos of brochures—an expensive hobby for the ex- hibitors; but it might add to the propaganda fire as well as to thekitchen fire. SEPR held a press conference to reveal their first plasma engine.I heard that the crane helicopter being proposed by a European group including Sud, Italy and Germany will be a "Super SuperFrelon." The Weser-Sikorsky WFS-64 will be rather more expensive, but Sikorsky are already building two prototypes forWeser, the "fuselage" of one being exhibited. 1 met Max Holste again and he told me that he has for sometime had a design team down at Cagnes working on a VTO project; but he would tell me no more. He is a dedicated aircraft designer,an enthusiast who has been making aircraft since he was 18 and now runs a tidy industrial concern. He was sorry to have to handthe Super Broussard programme to Nord, because he has very personal feelings about his aircraft, but the future of the SuperBroussard is now assured. Holste will make 30 per cent of the air- frame. The Broussard Major was an interesting exercise, especiallyin locating the undercarriage in relation to the loading door and the propellers in relation to the pilots. M. Holste said it was"significant" that the Broussard Major carried Moroccan national colours, but he would not say why. Some 49 per cent of Holstecapital is, of course, now held by Cessna and M. Holste had his own Cessna 310 at Paris. As soon as conditions are right, he willstart to assemble, and then build, Cessnas at Reims, using Rolls- Kaman's Huskie, with intermeshing, tab-controlled rotors and Lycoming free-turbine powerplant. Note quadruple fins and turned-down tailpipe
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