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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1233.PDF
FLIGHT International, 19 July 1962 [09 Letters The Editor of "Flight International" is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. Names and addresses of writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters Training at Tucson SIR,—For a number of years we have been enthusiastic subscribers to your publication for many reasons, one of which is that we see items of interest to us appearing in your pages before they are noted in domestic aviation publica tions; and in many instances, whether or not you have "scooped" the American press, your reporting has been much more detailed and explicit. We were delighted, therefore, to note a brief mention of our facilities here at Tucson Municipal Airport in the May 10 number of Flight International, on page 758, where you cited Cunard Eagle's Boeing training at Tucson when that carrier completed 160hr and 454 landings in 18 days last March. You are, of course, aware of the fact that BOAC, Irish International and Lufthansa have seen fit to use our facilities and to avail themselves of our most advantageous weather, and we hopefully expect to see more "foreign flag" carriers coming and returning to us as they begin to appreciate the many advantages we can offer in transi tional training and maintenance of proficiency programmes. Tuscon, Arizona R. w. F. SCHMIDT, AAE Executive Director, Tuscon Airport Authority Naming the ACV SIR,—In the search for a descriptive appellation for the new ground-effect vehicle, must we really depart from the logical illogicalities of the English language which so endear us to those who cannot claim it as their mother tongue? True to type, these machines should be called "featherstone- haughs," for they are lifted by fans; their first commercial application is from shore to shore; they float like feathers; but with engines off they drop like stones. On water, surely they must be moored through the haughspipe. Alter natively, we could call them "floats." Wiveliscombe, Som CHUM LEE Pull-up Pools? SIR,—You may be interested in a little idea that, if tried out, might reduce the loss of life due to aircraft overrunning runways. At the end of the runway, say for about 500ft, there is a waterway of a depth increasing from zero to about 4ft. The slope of the bottom is gradual, in order to promote the same sort of resistance from full speed to zero speed. At the commencement of the waterway, where the water is A sketch depicting in sectioned form Mr Jackson's idea (see accompanying letter) for reducing risk to aircraft overrunning on take-off or landing IA)V»ct»r depth Depth 4rt shallow, the runway section is slightly curved upwards at the edges, this curve increasing towards the far end as the bottom lowers. This serves not only to keep the water in, but also the aircraft. If an aircraft overruns on take-off or landing, the risk of break-up or fire should be slight. Great Shelford, Cambs D. JACKSON [We believe that a similar scheme has been under considera tion for some time by NASA in the United Stales, with the principal difference that the water is further contained by a rubber-sheet covering to inhibit spray damage to flaps, and to keep the water from becoming stagnant.—Ed.] Missile Moves and Counter-moves SIR.—It was with considerable interest that I read your article "Titan I Operational" (June 14). Was not Iain Pike, however, rather putting the cart before the horse when he stated: "there must be a mad scramble of countermove on the part of the Soviet Union; and frankly, thoughts of this make many of us squirm." Surely what is happening in the United States is but a countermove to the declared objective of world domination on the part of Russia's leaders. The American people have never appeared on the world scene as aggressors, actual or potential, although they have long had the potential. I for one would squirm far more than at present if the United States had not evolved the weapons so admirably described in your article. Bristol 2 L. GAY Alec Ogilvie SIR,—I was interested to read your notes on the late Lt-Col Alec Ogilvie. I recall that the machine on which he did much of his flying at Camber Sands was his own version of the Wright biplane, which he called the Wright Baby. It had a smaller wing span than the more usual Wright biplane, and he entered it for the Gordon Bennett Race at Eastchurch in 1910, securing third place. Alec Ogilvie was the sole survivor in the accident to the four-engined Handley Page V.1500 which crashed at Golders Green in 1918. His escape was due to the fact that he was sitting in the rear gunner's cockpit in the extreme tail of the aircraft. The consulting business he founded was Ogilvie & Part ners, in which he was associated with the late Lt-Col W. A. Bristow and with Maj R. H. Mayo. His was a most valuable organization and did much to assist those air transport companies who started operations when civil aviation com menced in England in 1919, in the way of giving technical advice and assistance in procuring licences both for the aircraft and the pilots. He was, as you rightly point out, one of the true pioneers of British aviation. Coventry R. E. NICOLL Martin-Baker MB-5 SIR,—Although somewhat overawed by the authoritative utterances of our popular air historians—who, albeit any thing but unanimous, hasten to assure me that, without question, the finest fighter produced by any of the belliger ent powers during World War Two was the Spitfire/Mus- tang/Thunderbolt/Bf 109—I am determined to produce as comprehensive an appreciation of the Martin-Baker MB-5 fighter of 1944 as possible. Both the parent company and de Havilland, and the various government departments I have approached, have been extremely helpful; but, odd to relate, no one has as yet been able to shed any light on the ultimate fate of the sole prototype. I would be indebted to your journal's good offices if 1 could launch, through this column, an appeal to your readers for any information, or anecdote, concerned with this elegantly engineered fighter. I hasten to stress my desire to maintain historical fidelity, rather than to brandish super-
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