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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1505.PDF
FLIGHT International supplement, 13 August 1962 Air-Cushion Vehicles from the prototype D.l, launched last year, was the decrease in noise. The 'powerplant is four marine diesel engines, j he London company Thames Launches Ltd, which operates passenger services from Westminster Pier, hopes in the near future to have a D.2 in service. Trips to the Pool of London and back for a fare of £1 a head have been men tioned. Private Venture at Liverpool Now being completed in a hangar at Liverpool Airport by Mr Colin Camp bell, managing director of a carpet firm, is the sidewall air-cushion vehicle depicted on this page. The design is scaled up from that of a craft con structed by Mr J. Taylor-Medhurst of Chislehurst, Kent, which has an 18in diameter nine-bladed adjustable pitch impeller manufactured by Airscrew Weyroc Ltd, who have also manu factured the impeller for Mr Campbell's craft. The Kentish-built original is driven by a 1\ h.p. outboard motor. Mr Campbell tells a correspondent that, for lift power, he is installing a converted 10 h.p. Johnson outboard which will drive a 21 in nine-bladed impeller having a 15° pitch. For for ward drive two 18 h.p. outboards were originally intended, but Mr Campbell has now decided in favour of two 28 h.p. Johnson outboards because, he says, there is only a small difference in the cost for increased power. When Mr Campbell has time he intends to have a mechanically actuated flap in the transom so that the cushion will then be in the form of a plenum chamber and the handling of the craft on the beach will be rendered much easier. Built of marine plywood, the craft has cost something like £1,000. "I decided to build it originally," says Mr Campbell, "because 1 wanted a fast, economic craft. But now I can see it has a tremendous commercial potential." He foresees that "about eight people" will be carried. Recent visitors to the workshop have included fire-service officials, a city councillor and sailing enthusiasts. Saab 401 We are informed by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget of Linkoping, Sweden, that they hope to have their Saab 401 air-cushion vehicle ready for hovering tnals later this year. They have now started to test a full-scale rig of the Propulsion system and related structure. aince the drawing which appears over leaf was prepared slight modifications nave been made to the propulsion system and side ports. The 401 is an experimental vehicle j1™, if successful, will most probably lead to a much larger craft for naval Going Aboard the cargo vessel "Firth Fisher" at Southampton, hound for Birkenhead, is the Vickers VA-3. The craft was on its way to inaugurate the world's first service by air-cushion vehicle, the story of which is told in pages 32-38 of this issue amphibious warfare. The makers re port: "It is designed for a crew of two, but the cockpit will take an overload alternative of four persons or two per sons and a stretcher. The air intake is in the top, behind the cockpit, and has a vertical intake duct, account bsing taken of seaworthiness considerations and ice formation. The powerplant is farther aft, which makes for good accessibility. "The Saab 401 utilizes the jet curtain principle and has an essentially rect angular plan-form. Integrated lift and propulsion systems are used, with a flush air intake in the top of the super structure behind the cockpit and a propeller fan in a vertical intake duct, which supplies air under pressure to the lifting and propulsion system. The lift ing system consists of slots in the periphery of the vehicle and various stabilizing slots in the bottom surface. Pressurized air from the fan is fed to the slots via the plenum chamber formed by the space between the deck and bottom of the vehicle. The combined propulsion and control system consists of adjust able ports round an area between the high-mounted fan and the deck. The after part of the superstructure carries stabilizing fins. The 180 h.p. Lycoming 0-360-A1A engine is mounted in the horizontal position and the fan is driven through a bevel drive located immediately under the fan in the conical central body in the air duct. The hull is a composite con struction of sea-water resistant light alloy, laminated plastics and marine plywood. The flotation part of the hull is made of laminated plastics with a foam-plastic filling. Its forward end has three separate boat-like stems in the interests of seaworthiness. The vehicle is intended mainly for operation over water and ice and over fairly smooth Marine Plywood is the constructional material for this air-cushion vehicle, subject of the news item "Private Venture at Liverpool" on this page 25
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