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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0465.PDF
9LIGHT International, 28 March 1963 Permission to develop disused aerodromes is, sadly, very rare these days. The location and condition of Blackbushe Airport prove extremely popular with club and private pilots. The airport is operated by "flying" men and therefore a "free" atmo sphere exists. All visiting pilots feel they are really welcome. The Blackbushe Aviation Group was formed by aviation enthusiasts a few years ago and its object is to encourage interest in aviation—modern and historical, civil and military. A club-room has been rented on a full-time basis for the use of any member at any time of day. A monthly news-letter is published covering many aspects of aviation. The members have played an active part in recent developments at Black bushe. I would like to take this opportunity of congratulating AVM D. C. T. Bennett, on behalf of the Group, on his success, which is well earned, as it was no easy task. But this is just typical of the air vice-marshal, who enjoys a light and is determined to win in the end. But let us not forget all the other people at Blackbushe, without whose individual efforts the airport would not now exist. Camberley, Surrey j. COURTNADGE Navigational Future SIR,—The report of the 13th Annual Convention of IANC Flight International, March 7) was generally very fair and accurate. Compared with the decorous silence (suitable for the internment of the specialized navigator concept, perhaps ?) maintained in other quarters, this merits congratulation. One or two points, perhaps, might be made clearer. For example, Doppler requires continuous monitoring, not only because of inaccurate heading references, but because all Doppler errors are self-perpetuating and accumulative. This is inherent in the system, and, as distinct from directional references, is not susceptible of modifying improvement. (The same basic objection applies to inertial systems devoid of astronomical updating.) True also, that the present TWA operation (it can still hardly be considered an "experiment," surely?) is not considered by this Council to represent the most remarkable advance in trans-oceanic navigational accuracy of this millenium, and the reasons quoted represent part of our objection to this concept. There are graver reasons for disquiet in this matter, however. For example, information in the possession of our Technical Committee indicates that during the months of June and July 1962, at a time when, with high-intensity maintenance programmes devoted to comparatively few TWA aeroplanes utilizing Doppler, in an all-out effort to gain final approval for the present operational policy, twelve aeroplanes experienced 91 Doppler faults necessitating removal of equipment. Now, so far as we have been able to ascertain, FAA approval for this operation was conditional upon the fulfilment of certain requirements, not the least of which was the relating of Doppler serviceability to the "go/no-go" requirement. All other operators' experiences with this equipment would indicate a prohibitive proportion of cancelled flights on this basis, but there is positive evidence that TWA do not seem to have experienced any involuntary reduction in services! It was also understood, at least by the unfortunate TWA navigators, that flights necessitating free gyro operation were explicitly excluded from the clear ance granted to non-specialist navigator operation. This requirement, in common with so many other requirements in the field of civil aviation generally, has, with its progressive increase in inconvenience to the operator, disappeared. It is also true that IANC is displeased at the tendency to utilize every advance in navigational equipment as a pro spective economic palliative to the consequences of ill- conceived financial policies, rather than as a means of improving standards. But our objections in this matter are not limited to navigational items, and in the wider field of operations generally we suddenly find other, more powerful, voices raised in condemnation of this attitude. (It is noted that C.C.J. has become a regular contributor to your 443 columns. It should not be long before a practical demon stration occurs!) Finally, isn't it just a little bit unrealistic that, since". . . the flight-deck mock-up [for the SST] is already in existence at Filton. . ." the whole question of crew complement, navigational ability, general handling requirements, et al, is apparently assumed to be settled for all time? This raises issues far too wide in implication to be discussed in a letter already over-long. The issues of designs evolved in ivory towers, far from the distracting influences of commercial requirements, and the subsequent "bending" of the resultant aircraft (and sometimes the regulations!) to meet the stern facts of airline economics. And the issues of the "economics" themselves, often as unrealistic as the aforementioned designs. IANC does not consider that there are immutable laws requiring the presence of a specialist navigating officer on the flight deck of each and every aeroplane. It certainly does not exist to protect or perpetuate the employment of a single navigator. This is a matter for their respective union or local professional body. Our interest is in the standards, development and improvement of the art itself, and in the inter-relation of matters navigational to other aspects of commercial flight. Whether the specialist disappears from the flight deck or not, at some time in the future, is not the point at issue. He will, in fact, disappear when the necessity for his presence disappears. This will occur when it can be clearly demonstrated over a reasonable period of time that the customary or improved standards, within the context of the requirements dictated by the existing and foreseen traffic density, can be maintained within a failure-rate figure no worse than that of the human, by any combination of automatic systems. The acceptance of anything less than this is unrealistic, retrogressive, pernicious and unsafe. INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE NAVIGATORS COUNCIL Ashford, Middx F. R. Gustin, Secretary, Technical Committee [Our original report stated only that, because the flight deck mock-up has apparently been prepared, the number of men on the flight deck was probably determined—and might or might not include space for a navigator. "Navigational ability, general handling requirements, et al" are assumed still to be flexible.—Ed] Assorted Engines SIR,—I was interested in the picture of the Fairchild C-123 with underslung jets (Flight International, March 7). Could not a series be made of "mixed powerplants past and present"? For that matter, what was the first aeroplane to have assorted engines? Birmingham 14 MAURICE AUSTIN FORTHCOMING EVENTS Mar 27-30 Society of Environmental Engineers: Symposium, "Environmental Testing: the Key to Reliability." Mar 29 Society of Environmental Engineers: a.g.m. Mar 29 RAeS Graduates' and Students' Section: a.g.m. and Film Show. April 1 Kronfeld Club: "More Advanced Meteorology,"part 1, by C. E. Wallington. April 1 RAeS, Derby: To be arranged. April 1 RAeS, Henlow: Student Members' Papers. April 1-5 AGARD Combustion and Propulsion Panel: "Super sonic Burning, Chemical Processes and Radiative Transfer," London. April 2 RAeS, Southend: a.g.m. April 3 Kronfeld Club: "Light-aviation Reminiscences," by Lt-Cdr Sproule. April 3 RAeS Air Law Group: "Noise," by J. E. Richards and H. Caplan. April 3 RAeS, Preston: "Building Aircraft for the World Market," by Lord Caldecote. April 3 RAeS, Swindon: "Experiences of an Airline Pilot," by Capt O. P. Jones.
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