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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1466.PDF
•-' -»r- -rs. 570 FROM ALL QUARTERS Military V/STOL Aircraft UNDOUBTEDLY the most keenly contested military-aircraftcompetition outside the United States is that which is to provide NATO countries with V/STOL aircraft for a variety of tacticalpurposes. The competition is in two parts: submissions for a general-purpose transport have to be made by November 15;submissions for a strike and reconnaissance aircraft must be com- pleted by December 31. Little is known regarding the runners in the "NMBR-4" transportrace, although a clue is provided by the design of an essentially similar aircraft for the US Air Force, Navy and Army which wonthe recent tri-Service competition in the USA. Successful contenders were Ling-Temco-Vought, Ryan and Hiller, and their proposal is afour-turboprop, tilt-wing machine of most attractive appearance. The 67ft 6in wing tilts through 100°, and is entirely "blown'" by the15ft interconnected propellers turned by four 2,850 e.h.p. General Electric T64-6 turboprops. Combat radius with full payload of8,0001b (32 troops) should be at least 250 n.m., cruising at more than 250kt. Maximum speed will be about 400kt, and ferrying range withextra tanks as much as 2,600 n.m. Ryan Aeronautical Co, one of the partners in this design, nowannounce that they are submitting bids for both sections of the NATO competition (in each case associated with one or moreEuropean manufacturers). British V/STOL transports, except for a proposed Argosyderivative, appear to be tailored to the global requirements of the RAF, rather than to the battlefield-type operations of NATO.Unofficial reports continue to suggest that the British Aircraft Corporation's 222 (described in our June 1 issue, page 732) is out ofthe running. This was to have been a derivative of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with a hold increased in depth from 9ft to 10ft tomeet Air Ministry requirements. Propulsion would have been pro- vided by four Rolls-Royce Tynes, with Rotodyne-type auxiliarycompressors for blowing the flaps and control surfaces. One reason for the apparent demise of this project is that, as reported onSeptember 6, the Rotodyne may not now use such auxiliary compressors. According to several unofficial reports, the two aircraft now|competing for MoA sponsorship are the Bristol 208 (British Air-! craft Corporation) and the Armstrong Whitworth 681 (HawkerSiddeley Aviation). Both aircraft will be powered by four Bristol Siddeley lift/thrust engines; sketches published by the enginemanufacturer show four separate nacelles as on a Boeing 707, though control problems would be eased by grouping the engineswell inboard. If the powerplant is to be the Pegasus, both designs may have gross weights in the neighbourhood of 80,0001b, andspeeds comparable with current jetliners (they would probably be over-powered in the cruise regime). These aircraft will not becapable of true VTOL until more powerful engines become available, or until batteries of specialized lift engines are added. Designation of the strike aircraft competition is BMR-3, whichthe Daily Telegraph interprets as standing for Basic Military Requirement. Manufacturers are undoubtedly left to decide forthemselves whether to employ lift/thrust engines or composite propulsion (separate lift and propulsion engines, probably with fulldeflection on the latter). According to the American journal Aviation Week, BMR-3 stipulates a minimum sea-level speed of FLIGHT, 12 October 196 M0.92, but it is clear that contenders are expected to do better thajthis. Derivatives of the Hawker P.I 127 would be obvious Britisientries, and virtually all the power specified in the submissions wouh be provided by Bristol Siddeley or Rolls-Royce. Especial!intriguing is the Republic/Fokker contender, planned around single Bristol Siddeley BS.100 lift/thrust engine. Unofficial reportstate that this impressive powerplant will have a thrust in excess o 35,OOOlb, and that its development is being partially financed througithe Mutual Weapons Development Program. The only facts knowi about the Republic/Fokker are that it has variable geometry, ancthat the thrust of the engine chosen releases it from crippling weigh restrictions and may enable it to score on range. Other entries are: the Dassault-Sud Balzac, essentially a MirageIII provided with four Rolls-Royce RB.162 lift engines between th< intake ducts to the propulsion engine; the Messerschmitt/HeinkelBolkow VJ-101, which is believed to have a quartet of RB.162s a, each wing-tip and an engine of some 20,0001b thrust for propulsionand the Fiat G.95, with two pairs of unspecified Rolls-Royce lif; engines and two Bristol Siddeley propulsion turbojets. Notes on theFiat aircraft were given in Flight for June 1 (page 737). Napier Aero Engines' Board NAMES have been announced of the board members of NapierAero Engines Ltd, the new company owned jointly by D. Napier and Son Ltd and Rolls-Royce Ltd and formed to carry on theNapier aero-engine business. They are as follows: Mr J. D. Pearson (chairman), the Hon George Nelson (deputy chairman),Mr H. E. C. de Chassiron (managing director), Viscount Caldecote, Mr F. T. Hinkley, Sir Archibald Hope (director of sales), Mr A. A.Lombard, Sir John Paget (works director) and Mr A. J. Penn. Concurrently, the board of D. Napier & Son has been recon-structed as follows: the Hon George Nelson (chairman), Mr G. A. Riddell (deputy chairman), Mr P. J. Daglish (managing director).Viscount Caldecote, Mr H. E. C. de Chassiron and Mr P. Horsfall. Beagle and Shoreham OUTLINING plans for the development of Shoreham Airport. Mr Peter Masefield, managing director of British Executive and Genera] Aviation Ltd, said last week that the new Beagle aircraft factory there would ultimately provide employment for 800 people. Construction of a runway to facilitate the use of the air- port by airlines, including car-ferry services, was being discussed with the local authorities. H. R. Vaughan-Fowler WE regret to record the death of Wg CdrHugh Raymond Vaughan Fowler, of Bombay, editor of Asian and Indian Skywaysand a number of other aeronautical publications in India. Born in England in1899, Wg Cdr Vaughan-Fowler served in the RNAS and RAF in the closing years ofthe 1914-18 war and was a pilot with Handley Page Transport in 1920-21.A Martlesham Heath test pilot from 1924 to 1927, in the following year he foundedthe Far East Aviation Co Ltd and then the Hong Kong Flying Club. DuringWorld War Two he was appointed Senior Areodrome Inspection Officerof the RAF in India, and since that time had remained largely in India, doing much valuable work to encourage aviation there andto bring the Indian and UK industries closer together. His death, from heart failure, took place suddenly on the nightof September 24, when he was staying in London, at the Royal Aero Club, on his way back to India from America. AMONG THE BOARD MEMBERS of the new Napier Aero Engines Ltd (see news-item above) are, left to right, Mr J. D. Pearson, the Hon George Ne/son, Mr H. E. C. de Chassiron, Viscount Caldecote, Mr F. T. Hinkley and Mr A. A. Lombard
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