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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0446.PDF
• 424 FLIGHT International 28 March 196 Fifty-five Civilian Passengers, or 68 battle-equipped troops, or 48 stretcher cases, can be carried in the detachable van developed by Sikorsky for their S-64 Skycrane, here seen carrying the new container for the first time. With interior measurements of 34ft 9in long by lift 6in wide by 6ft Sin high, the van could be used on the ground as (for example) a field hospital or command post from the Voluntary Society for Assisting Army, Air Force and Navy, and covered a rather extensive programme. The testing proved a great success. Discoplan I put up excellent performance in aerobatics. Ar important feature was that it was absolutely, spin-proof." C-130s for Pakistan The first two of four Lockheed C-130 Hercules being supplied to the Pakistan Air Force by the United States under the mili tary assistance programme arrived recenth in Karachi. Two more are expected to be delivered before the end of the month. BAC Luton Factory Re-opening The English Electric Aviation factory at Luton, which closed down last year fol lowing cancellation of the MoA contrae; for development of Blue Water (Flight International, August 23, 1962), is being re-opened as a general machine shop for components for the BAC One-Eleven. Hunting Aircraft, the BAC company responsible for producing One-Eleven wings, said on March 20 that additional orders for the aircraft [41 have so far been ordered; this page, last week] have led to a demand for the extension of existing facili ties. They add: "New plant will be in stalled during 1963 and, as this comes into operation over the next 18 months, we shall be requiring about 200 extra employees." WORLD NEWS Russia's Discoplan II The character of the "air-cushion glider" illustrated in our March 7 issue is partly clarified by a Soviet statement:— "A circular-wing glider—Discoplan II— was successfully tested on an airfield near Moscow last autumn. The machine slowly taxied [presumably it has an engine—Ed] to the start of the runway and stopped. Then almost without any run-up it took off, re sembling the notorious "flying saucer." The trials were conducted by a test crew led by M. V. Sukhanov. "The circular wing has neither ribs nor longerons. The prototype for the wing was a bicycle wheel. The light-alloy edging around the perimeter of the "wheel" serves only to give a streamlined form to the tip. The glider is controlled by a rudder and ailerons. The wing diameter is 5m (16ft 5in), while the gross weight is 240kg (5291b). Thus, the specific load on the wing is the minimum—only 12kg/m2 (2.46 lb/sq ft). Discoplan II was piloted by Vladimir Ivanov, a glider expert. "One of the main features of the machine discovered during tests was the aerodyn amic effect of the 'air cushion.' Owing to the proximity of the wing to the ground, and thanks to its circular form, the influ ence of the cushion on the landing and take off characteristics proved most beneficial. At a height of 1.5-2m (59in-79in) Discoplan II automatically stabilized both in the lateral and in the transverse directions and could fly without the pilot touching the controls. In gliding down to land the pilot also felt how the discoplane was 'padded' by the air cushion. Thus, the landing was also of an automatic nature. "Some experts believe that the advan tages of the discoplane can be used to full advantage at high speeds in VTOL craft. The high manoeuvrability, combined with the anti-spinning properties and safety of take-off and landing, may prove exceedingly useful for training and other purposes. "In recent years a number of countries have been concentrating on the design of flying machines with a circular wing. The increased interest in them is explained by their structural and aerodynamic advan tages in a very wide range of airspeeds. "The first aeroplane with a circular wing, the Spheroplan, was built in Russia by A. G. Ufimtsev in 1909-10. According to Prof V. P. Vetchinkin, Ufimtsev practised controlling the Spheroplan in numerous runs on the ground, but the tests were never completed because of the damage done to the apparatus by a sudden storm. "Forty years later (1949-50) Master of Technology M. V. Sikhanov built an experi mental single-seater glider having a wing and control surfaces circular in planform, which he called Discoplan I. The wing diameter was very small—a mere 3.5m (lift 6in), and the gross weight was 230kg (5071b). The flight trials of Discoplan I were carried out under the direction of the designer by a team of young engineers Farewell to AM "Works" Tribute to the Air Ministry's "Works and Bricks" was paid by the Chief of the Air Staff, Marshal of the RAF Sir Thomas Pike, at a dinner at Fighter Command HQ last Thursday, March 21, to mark the transfer of the AM Directorate-General of Works to the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works on April 1. Sir Thomas said the venue was appro priate because the Directorate's greates; challenge came in the Battle of Britain, when Fighter Command depended upon them absolutely for the quick recovery of airfields. During the war, the Directorate had the task of increasing the number of stations from 190 in 1939 to 1,093 in 1944. They had supervised the construction of an area of runways and hardstandings equivalent to 10,000 miles of road. International Plastics BOAC, Lufthansa and SAS are among exhibitors at this year's international plas tics exhibition and convention, Interplas 63, being held at Olympia, London, from i June 12 to 22. It is organized by Ilift'e j Exhibitions Ltd for our associated journals j British Plastics and International Plastics Engineering. For Ford Car Owners All owners and prospective owners of i Ford cars will find information of interest and value in next week's (April 5) issue of Autocar.
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