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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0342.PDF
326 Seen here is El Al Israel Airlines' air cargo manager for the UK, Mr S. Carpenter. The company's new air cargo depot located in the West End of London is now in full operation AIR COMMERCE . . . A SECOND PILOT'S DUTY A RECENT Flight Safety Foundation accident bulletin made the point that many take-off accidents involving transport aircraft could probably have been avoided if the second pilot had been doing his primary function of monitoring the captain's take-off. Instead, Flight Safety says, second pilots are all too often engaged with such "non-flying" duties as raising the undercarriage, retract ing the flaps, changing radio frequency, jotting down departure directions, etc, and when an emergency arises they are too dis orientated to assist in controlling the aircraft. The bulletin con cludes by saying: "It is essential and even crucial to the flight that the non-flying pilot carefully cross-check all aspects of the take off up to an altitude of at least 500ft, preferably higher. He must not allow himself to be distracted from this important respon sibility." FOCUS ON KILLER BIRDS A FEW months ago a BEA Vanguard flew into a flock of birds immediately after a night take-off from Edinburgh. The No 4 engine failed almost at once and the temperatures of the other three rose above the maximum permissible. Forward vision was mo mentarily obliterated and there were multiple strikes on the air craft. With commendable skill, Capt D. P. Clifton and his crew managed to continue the climb, intercept the approach procedure, and make a successful landing despite a strong crosswind on the runway, low cloudbase, and only Nos 1 and 3 engines giving effec tive power. Over 100 dead birds were later picked up from the runway. This incident recalls the Electra accident at Boston two years ago, where the loss of the aircraft and 62 lives was attributed to flying into a flock of starlings immediately after take-off. The Flight Safety Committee, in a leading article in the January issue of their journal Focus, called for action on four points in an effort to reduce the hazard, one that has caused a number of other serious incidents in recent months:— Detection: Before any action can be taken to disperse birds from the vicinity of airfields or warn pilots, their presence must be known. Runway inspections are needed and these will probably have to be frequent, particularly at night, because disturbed birds often re-settle very quickly. Dispersal: Present experiments in making airfields unattractive to birds should be intensified. It is not known what attracts them to airfields and there is probably need for research into the habits of birds as a step towards the evolution of an effective deterrent. Airframe protection: The possibility of collision with isolated large birds may have to be regarded as a natural hazard against which complete protection is not possible. However, the effect of such a collision at the increased aircraft speeds now current is so serious that a possibility of strengthening key parts of aircraft structures may merit further study. FLIGHT International, 7 March 1963 Engine protection: Gas turbine engines are particularly vulnerable to sudden power loss as a result of bird ingestion and even a single small bird may result in damage requiring expensive repair work. They have nevertheless some capabilities of "digesting" foreign matter if they can be kept going. Research is required into the possibility of improvement of these "digestive powers" together with consideration of the advisability of retaining what power is available rather than automatically shutting down the damaged engine. THREE-WAY SIMULATION WITH the possibility of having three different versions of the DC-8 on their fleet strength, and all with important differences in their cockpit layout and handling characteristics, TCA have modified their $lm DC-8 flight simulator at a cost of $70,000 so that it can readily be switched from one version to the next. Apart from the original Rolls-Royce Conway-powered DC-8s, TCA are now opera ting the DC-8F powered by Pratt & Whitney JT3D, and which also has a revised wing leading edge. The third configuration built into the conversion will cater for the Conway DC-8s if they are fitted with the modified leading edge at a later date. Sir Leonard Isitt is to resign from the chairmanship of both TEAL and NAC on April 1. Sir Andrew McKee will succeed him. Mr G. N. Roberts of TEAL becomes deputy chairman of TEAL and NAC. Tyne-Tees DC-3s in Spain The Spanish independent Spantax is operating two DC-3s, G-AMNV and G-AJHZ, on charter from Tyne-Tees Air Charter Ltd. Skyways' Avro 748s have, despite the worst weather in Britain for many years, continued flying from the airline's snow-covered field at Lympne. Capt John Morgan, chief pilot, said of the 748's recent performance: "Without a doubt it is the finest short-haul aircraft in airline service today." A feature of all Airwork Services Training courses at Perth is their popu larity with foreign students. In this photograph, students from 35 nations are standing before two of the single-engine Cessna 175s used for commercial licence training and two of the Cessna 310s employed in twin conversions and instrument rating training
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