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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0894.PDF
892 FLIGHT International, 7 June 1962 Short SCI Westland Wessex I (Marine Commando assault version) VTOL SURVEY engines will be fitted later. They are mounted under the car-type bonnet and drive co-axial two-blade rotors. Yaw control is by differential application of collective pitch between the rotors, applied by operation of the rudder pedals, the vee- stabilizer at the tail being fixed. After the first flight—in March of this year—the test pilot, Mr Basil Arkell, reported a lively response to control. Following one minor control adjustment he was able to hover steadily at a height of several feet and to perform all the usual helicopter manoeuvres] such as backward and sideways flight and 360° axial turns. Several more flights have since been made. Short Brothers & Harland Ltd Queen's Island, Belfast, N Ireland SC.l A detailed description of this highly successful VTOL research aircraft was given in the June 10, 1960, issue of this journal. Briefly, it was built to continue the pro gramme of direct jet-lift research initiated with the historic Rolls-Royce "Flying Bedstead" test rig. In addition to four vertically-mounted Rolls-Royce RB.108 lift turbojets (each of 2,1301b thrust), it has a fifth RB.108 mounted horizontally in its rear fuselage for forward propulsion. In cruising flight, the delta wings provide all required lift, the vertical engines then being shut down. The first of the two SC.l prototypes (XG900 and XG905) flew for the first time on April 2,1957, using conventional take-off and landing techniques. The first transition from vertical to horizontal flight was made on April 6, 1960, and in May 1961 the SC.l made history by becoming the first jet-lift aircraft to fly the English Channel, en route to the Paris Air Show. Major achievements of the SC.l pro gramme have included complete proof of the practicability of this type of VTOL con figuration, using multiple lift-engines, and the development of a satisfactory and reliable autostabilizing system. The next stage is to apply the results of the pro gramme to production-type aircraft. Last October the manufacturers an nounced that they were collaborating with Lockheed on a VTOL version of the F-104 Starfighter, with batteries of lift engines in wing-tip pods. More recently, in conjunc tion with Hawker Siddeley Aviation, they have received an MoA study contract to determine the feasibility of fitting batteries of lift engines and autostabilization equip ment on a Noratlas transport. Projects by other companies that will benefit from the pioneering done by the SC.l include the 85-passenger Focke-Wulf Fw260 VTOL transport, and a host of European military strike and transport aircraft. • Span, 23ft, 6in; length (over nose-probe), 29ft 10 in; height, 10ft 8in. Westland Aircraft Ltd Yeovil, Somerset Belvedere With the formation of No 66 Sqn on September 15, 1961, the Belvedere HC.l became the first twin-engined heli copter to enter operational service in the RAF. The 26 aircraft on order will even tually equip three squadrons. One of these will operate with the Far East Air Force, the second will be based in Aden and the third will remain in the UK as part of No 38 Group, Transport Command. Westland Belvedere Powered by two 1,650 s.h.p. Napier Gazelle 101 shaft turbines, the Belvedere has a basic payload of 19 troops, or 6,0001b of internal or external freight, or 12 stretcher cases plus two sitting casualties and a medical attendant. In an emergency, such as air/sea rescue or urgent combat-area missions, up to 30 passengers can be carried. Range varies from 75 miles with full payload at normal take-off weight to over 700 miles with two 266gal ferry tanks at an overload weight of 20,0001b. Servo-boosted controls and metal rotor blades are standard on the production Belvedere, which is fully equipped for instrument flight by day or night, with provision for autopilot and dual controls. In the event of engine failure, both rotors can be driven by either engine through a synchronizing shaft, the change to single- engine operation being made completely automatically in two seconds. • Rotor diam, 48ft 11 in; length of fuselage, 54ft 4in; height, 17ft 3in; normal gross weight, 19,0001b; empty weight, 11,6341b; max cruising speed, 138 m.p.h.; cruising speed for max endurance, 75 m.p.h.; max vertical rate of climb at s.l., 480ft/min; hovering ceiling out of ground effect, 6,000ft; max range (standard tankage), 445 miles. Wessex 1, 3, 31 Like the Belvedere, the Wessex 1 entered service last year, the first operational unit being 815 Sqn of the Fleet Air Arm, which reformed at Culdrose on July 4, 1961. Another link is that both aircraft are powered by the Napier Gazelle shaft turbine, that in the single-engined Wessex HAS.l now in service being a Gazelle 161 of 1,450 s.h.p. The basic air frame and rotor system are similar to those of the Sikorsky S-58 from which the Wessex was developed. Primary duty of the HAS.l is anti submarine search and strike, for which it carries dipping asdic and is to be arm:d with Nord SS.ll missiles, homing torpedoes, guns and 2in rockets. Auto-stabilization and auto-hover equipment help to make it the Navy's first helicopter capable of full all-weather and night flying. Alternative payloads on secondary duties include 12-16 passengers, eight stretchers, or 4,0001b of freight carried internally or externally. The Wessex 31, of which 27 have been ordered for the Royal Australian Navy, will be generally similar to the HAS.l except for its 1,540 s.h.p. Gazelle 162 engine. The later Wessex 3 will also have a more power ful version of the Gazelle. The following figures are for the HAS.l: • Rotor diam, 56ft; length, 65ft 9 in; height, 14ft 3in; gross weight, 12,6001b; empty weight, 7,6001b; max speed 132 m.p.h.; econ
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