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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0341.PDF
Official Organ of the Royal Aero Club First Aeronautical Weakly In the World Founded in 1909 THURSDAY 8 MARCH 1962 Number 2765 Volumne 81 Editor-in- Chief IAURICE A. SMITH DFC Editor H. F. KING MBE Technical Editor W. T. GU NSTON Air Transport Editor J. M. RAMSDEN Production Editor ROY CASEY Managing Director H. N. PRIAULX MBE Britain's Aeronautical Press T HE journal Aeronautics ceases publication this month, and its editor, Major Oliver Stewart, has written a leading article mentioning Flight International and The Aeroplane. He remarks that he finds it difficult to answer the question of why his own journal is closing. We can provide the answer: though of high editorial quality, Aeronautics was commercially unsuccessful. Major Stewart implies that it was the only journal for "grown-up people of wide-ranging and sophisticated outlook." We find ourselves in disagreement—more sorrowed than angered. In this context it is appropriate to refer to what Major Stewart calls "the new Aeroplane.'''' Here we agree with him. The air transport weekly newspaper which is to replace the former journal is absolutely new. It will endeavour to find a readership in the specialist field of air transport— one of many fields in which Flight International is recognized as a world leader. We ourselves intend to hold our course. These are facts which we think it right to print in view of the public interest now being aroused by the closure of Aeronautics and the change of The Aeroplane. In this issue World News 344 Air Commerce 347 Jet-lift Erosion 365 The Utmost Sale 357 In the Year of Jubilee 361 straight and Level 363 Sport and Business 364 The Production Morane Rallye 366 Vespa-Jet 367 Service Aviation 368 Letters 369 Missiles and Spaceflight 371 Industry International 378 lliffe Transport Publications Ltd, Dorset House, Stamford Street, London SE1; telephone Waterloo 8333 (Telex 25137). Telegrams Flightpres London Telex. Annual subscriptions: Home £4 15s. Overseas £5. Canada and USA (15.00. Second Class Mail privileges authorized at New York, N.Y. Branch Offices Coventry: 8-10 Corpora tion Street: telephone Coventry 25210. Birmingham: King Edward House, New Street, 2; telephone Midland 7191. Man chester: 260 Deansgate 3; telephone Blackfrlars 4412 or Deansgate 3595. Glasgow: 62 Buchanan Street CI; tele phone Central 1265-6. New York, NY: Thomas Skinner & Co (Publishers) Ltd, 111 Broadway 6; telephone Digby 9-1197. © Diffe Transport Publications Ltd, 1962. Permission to reproduce Illustra tions and letterpress can be granted only under written agreement. Brief extracts or comments may be made with due acknowledgement. The Rotodyne in Perspective THE Rotodyne is dead. Long live the compound helicopter—or at least the large transport helicopter. That is one theme of the formal statement on the cancellation issued by Westland Aircraft Ltd last week. They point out that since they took the project over from Fairey at the beginning of 1960 they have applied "considerable technical efforts" to improve the Rotodyne and to advance its development. What has not perhaps been fully recognized in the national Press (comment has been generally restrained in tone) is that the production- type Rotodyne would have been a very different vehicle from the chugging prototype familiar to Farnborough-goers. Not only was it to have been much larger, but its Rolls-Royce powerplant would have been basically different. Many millions of pounds, additional to something like eleven millions spent on the prototype and its Napier engines, would have had to be poured into the project before it came to fruition. It is conjectural if this saving might in future have become available for the development of further large transport helicopters of this class, in which Westland have "undiminished confidence"; for the state of the rotary-wing art has already reached a crucial phase. While it is true that the Soviet Union is developing, and breaking records with, the Kamov Vintokrulya convertiplane it may be significant that American thinking is along the lines of very advanced developments of the conventional heli copter. A top speed of over 210 m.p.h. has already been demonstraii d by a Sikorsky HSS-2 (the Rotodyne prototype achieved 191 m.p.h.), am! a possible civil "compound" development of the Vertol Chinook, cruisi g in autogyro configuration, is estimated to be capable of over 265 m.p I. The maximum cruising speed estimated for the Rotodyne was 230 m.p i. All this is hypothetical. Meanwhile, Government indecision is iv>t wholly to be blamed for the Rotodyne's demise, as has been suggest d. Faced with many imponderables, of which noise-level was not the least, prospective operators undoubtedly cooled in their attitude. Westhnd themselves point out that, following cancellation of the development contract, they will be able to free considerable sums of money for other purposes. For the present, a large compound helicopter is unlikely to be in mind.
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