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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0234.PDF
222 FLIGHT International, 14 February 1963 A model of the new terminal building at Schiphol Airport, to be completed in the spring of 1966. The building is seen here from the end of one of the two outer piers, with the airport authority office and the control tower in the background AIR COMMERCE... PLAIN WORDS ON RADIATION AT the recent IATA public relations conference in Washington, Mr J. T. Dyment, chief engineer of TCA and chairman of the IATA Supersonic Transport Advisory Committee, gave a full and frank account of airline opinions on the supersonic transport. Many of the points he made at that meeting he voiced again at the RAeS symposium on airline engineering, reviewed in Flight International for January 31 and concluded on page 204 last week. It was very apparent at the symposium that firm airline interest in the SST is inextricably bound up with an adequate solution of a number of basic technical problems, not least amongst these being the sonic boom, cosmic radiation, and the effect of high-temperature soaking on the fatigue life of materials. In his lecture to the IATA meeting Jack Dyment gave a clear explanation of the cosmic-radiation problem. Because many people are still unaware of its implications and the effect it will have on the design and operation of supersonic airliners, his remarks on the subject are reproduced here in full:— "Of all the problems confronting the designers and operators of an SST only two may not be solvable by merely spending more money on development. These are the possible effects of the sonic boom and cosmic rays. They may turn out to be not serious problems. We just don't know yet, nor will we know until the B-70 starts flight tests in the near future. The answers to these two unknowns might be available by next summer. "Some time during the next thirty seconds a tiny bit of matter will zip through your body at a speed of many thousands of miles per hour and finally stop several thousand feet in the ground. This invisible, painless bullet is called a secondary cosmic ray and is the remnant of an atmospheric atom which had a collision with a space particle more than a hundred miles overhead. The space particles, called primary cosmic rays, are the nuclei of hydrogen or helium atoms stripped of their single electrons and hurled from a star or our own sun by a giant explosion or solar flare. Cosmic rays are the most powerful radiation known. The low-energy particles of the cosmic-ray beam are the most significant biologically. "The action of radiation on living cells is not completely under stood, other than the cell appears to starve to death as a result of the water in it becoming ionized. Also, the nuclei of the cells can be destroyed and the chemical bonds holding the proteins together can be broken by radiation. Certain body cells are more easily affected than others by cosmic radiation. Brain cells appear to be least affected; sex glands, bone marrow and the foetus most affected. "Fortunately for all of us, the charged particles in the Earth's magnetic field are deflected in such a manner that the low-energy particles cannot reach lower latitudes above the atmosphere; they are cut off by the geomagnetic field except near the magnetic poles. It may be necessary for instance to fly at altitudes below 50,000ft in the polar regions instead of at the 70-75,000ft normally expected with a supersonic transport. "Information available two years ago indicates that a crew of a supersonic transport would not expect to run into any radiation trouble within two to three months of normal operations. There were insufficient data and flights of sufficient duration to provide a basis for evaluating radiation effects for longer periods. Similarly, there were insufficient data for determining the effects of solar flares or the increased radiation during periods and years of high solar activity. It is known that the intensity of the lower-energy cosmic rays varies appreciably with solar activities. Events of potential radiation danger occur two to four times a year and at the present time it is not possible to predict these events more than 10-15min in advance of the onset of the increased radiation. With such a short warning it is not practical to divert to lower altitudes without always carrying a prohibitive load of reserve fuel for such an emergency. Major solar activities occur at four- to five-year intervals which increase the potential hazard and could prohibit routes being flown above about 50° of latitude. "In spite of these potential hazards as they appear today, it is hoped that experience will show that the small number of hits per cubic centimetre of tissue per day and the relatively short time at the higher altitudes will not result in important biological damage. Only time will tell—particularly in relation to the possible damage to the foetus in early pregnancy." This small camionette with a removable cabin was made by the Pretis metal works in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It can carry 500kg and is very practical for delivering the goods. The first have been bought by Belgrade airport and if they prove practical they will be mass produced. In the background is one of Adria's DC-6Bs
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