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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1862.PDF
976 FLIGHT, 28 December 1961 Military Herald AN OUTSTANDING SHORT-FIELD CLOSE-SUPPORT TRANSPORT LIKE most aeroplanes of basically sound design, the Heraldhas shown itself amenable to a considerable amount of"stretching," and for at least two years it has been clear that the present civil transport could form the basis for an excellentmilitary close-support and freight aircraft. Under the direction of the main Handley Page project office at Cricklewood, staff at bothCricklewood and Reading roughed out the basic form of the H.P.I 24 Military Herald during 1960, and by the middle of 1961 had com-pleted most of the actual design work. By this time extensive discussions had been held with variousfighting services. According to unofficial reports the Royal Air Force have established a requirement for a substantial number ofMilitary Heralds (a total of 45 aircraft has been mentioned), principally in order to meet a global close-support commitment tothe Army. Last week Flight commented briefly upon the numerous statements which have appeared to the effect that the Minister ofAviation is unwilling to order these aircraft, for the sole reason that Handley Page Ltd is still a single company rather than a member ofsome giant consortium. This may or may not be the case; but no doubt surrounds the basic specification of the aircraft concerned.In any evolutionary step of this nature it is obviously desirable to keep all changes to a minimum: yet, conversely, the introduction oflater design techniques and equipment can obviously lead to a superior brochure performance. In the case of the H.P. 124 asatisfactory compromise appears to have been reached, for although the aircraft differs very considerably from its predecessor in severalimportant respects, most of the major portions of airframe and equipment, as well as more than 80 per cent of the jigs and tools,are common to both. The company examined a wide range of high-lift devices, all of which were rejected; and it is nothing lessthan the truth to assert that the entire Herald design was investigated in the most minute detail in the evolution of an optimized militaryversion. Principal differences between the Military Herald and the civilHerald 200 are shown shaded in the three-view drawing. The most obvious is the entirely new rear fuselage and raised tail unit, toprovide for rear loading and air-dropping of vehicles and other heavy stores. Construction of the freight floor is also revised, andit extends right forward to the flight deck. Gross weight is increased, requiring minor modifications throughout the airframe to improvelocal strength factors, particularly at points where fatigue life is critical. Finally, performance (especially take-off performance)at the increased weight is markedly improved by the installation of the advanced Rolls-Royce Dart 640/10 engine. As a diagram shows, the freight floor has an effective width ofjust over 80in, and it incorporates roller tracks at 30in pitch for handling standard pallets. Outboard of the tracks are deep metalsandwich strips on which vehicles can be driven, and down the centre the floor is made of metal/balsa sandwich. Details of theloads which can be carried are listed later. Throughout its 40ft length the floor is level at a height of 36in A civil Herald demonstrates short take-offs from an unprepared surface A manufacturer's model of the H.P.I 24 Military Herald above the ground line at an aircraft weight of 40,0001b. Most ofthe interior is 104in wide internally and 83in high, but these values are reduced to approximately 90in and 7l.5in by the two sparframes. The rear door, the design of which can be clearly seen in another drawing, consists of an upwards-hinging rear portion and aforward section which folds downwards to form a loading ramp, which can be extended by two 7ft lOin bridge-pieces stowed above therear part of the door. The nominal size of the rear-door opening is 88in wide x 76in high. The door is power-operated, can beopened in flight for air delivery, and incorporates novel locking and sealing mechanisms to bear the 4.21b/sq in cabin pressure-differen-tial. At the rear are a pair of paratroop doors, each 72in x 44in. These open outwards and forwards to provide an aerodynamicshield. They also serve as airbrakes. Apart from local strengthening, the wings and tail unit are standardHerald components. To increase drag during the assault-landing case and to hold the floor level in paratrooping, the flaps can belowered to 35 , and aileron travel is increased to -i-15 —20" to provide greater power at low speeds. Fin and rudder effectivenessis enhanced by the longer moment arm and additional area below the tailplane, and the same factors increase elevator power to matchthe new flap setting. Dimensions of the H.P.124 are: span, 94ft 9.45/n; length, 80ft; height, 30ft 6in. BOW, without role equipment, is 25,8951b; gross weight, 46,0001b; max ZFW, 39,3001b. Engines are Dart RDa.10 Mk 640/10, derated to a civil rating of 2,750 s.h.p. to give a long life
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