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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0784.PDF
FLIGHT International, 23 May 1963 755 test flying for C of A purposes has been done at Cranfield and Bicester. Rigging is quite straightforward and can be done by three men, although it is easier with four or five. Ground handling, even in the snows of Cranfield and the mud of the Mynd, proved very easy. There is plenty of ground clearance and the two-wheel arrangement has proved well worthwhile. Take-off is quite short and straightforward; the aircraft lifts off in a level attitude with neutral controls, and no difficulties were encountered on winch or aerotow. Controls are well harmonized, light and powerful. The time required to change direction of a 45° banked turn is 4Jsec—better than with many single-seaters. Friction is low, because the use of pulleys has been avoided. The aircraft seems to "sit" well in a thermal, i.e., it does not need constantly flying, and the lively response and high rate of roll make centering painless. Good all-round visibility is a design feature, which is a comfort when the air is busy. The cockpit is quiet and comfortable. The behaviour at the stall is quite docile, ailerons and rudder remaining effective in the correct sense, although the ailerons tend to overbalance somewhat. At aft e.g. there is a tendency to drop the right wing, but this can be checked with aileron. Entry into a spin is smooth and, at aft e.g. with ailerons neutral or into the spin, the rotation will continue until recovery action is taken, when normal flight is regained in one-quarter to one-half of a turn. At forward e.g. the speed builds up so that after about one turn the manoeuvre is more a spiral dive. The aircraft will not spin with the ailerons against the direction of rotation. The spoilers limit the speed in a vertical dive to about llOkt. They do not produce any significant change of trim and are extremely powerful, enabling a very steep approach to be made. Landing is perfectly normal, all controls being fully effective. The large main wheel has plenty of energy absorption, and the internal expanding brake is very effective in keeping the landing run short. The nosewheel makes the aircraft equally suitable for runway or grass operations. A certain amount of redesign has been done to aid production, and work on the jigs is in progress. It is hoped that it will soon be possible to give delivery estimates. H. U. MIDWOOD 1 Transport Joint 2 Birch pi/ 3 Spoiler operating levers 4 Aileron operating lever 5 Forward-sliding Perspex canopy 6 Glass-fibre seat unit 7 Instrument panel 8 Canopy jettison levers 9 Canopy slide rails 10 Glass-fibre nose fairing 11 Rudder pedals 2 Nosewheel 13 Trimmer control 14 Spoiler control lever 15 Main wheel 16 Fabric 7 Tailplane, trimmer and rudder cables 18 Spruce stringer 19 Steel-tubular fuselage structure 20 Spruce/balsa ribs 21 Anti-balance and trim tabs 22 Removable rudder 23 Glass-fibre fairing 24 Removable centre-section fairing in glass-fibre and Perspex 25 Fabric aft of rear spar 26 Spoilers 27 Aileron operating lever 28 Fabric-covered aileron
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