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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1066.PDF
FLIGHT International supplement, 24 January 1963 Air-Cushion Vehicles regarding permits to fly Hovercraft, and proposals for legislation to regulate their use. The Road Traffic Act, 1962, provides that Hovercraft shall be treated as motor vehicles. It is therefore an offence to drive a Hovercraft off a road on to common land or other land adjoining except for the purpose of parking within fifteen yards. "From experience of a test journey in a Hovercraft operating commercially it does not seem likely that the mere noise and spray of a machine on regular service need be unduly disturb ing, provided that colonies of resting, breeding or feeding birds or other animals are not unreasonably approach ed. The Conservancy are anxious not to embarrass the development of this invention provided that the dangers of its abuse are fully appreciated and guarded against." Learning to Drive SR.N2 The following announcement was made by Westland Aircraft Ltd on December 13:— "Only 2% hr on average were needed for the first non-Westland drivers to master the basic handling of the 27-ton, 76-passenger SR.N2. All were then fully competent to carry out turns and complex manoeuvre patterns at sea. Westland's chief test driver, Lt Cdr P. M. Lamb, cleared them to the stage at which they were ready for tuition in handling the big ACV in confined surroundings, and on slipways, beaches or ramps. "This very rapid training progress emphasizes SR.N2's straightforward handling qualities. Maximum ease of handling and control simplicity were two prime designs, aim to minimize the special aptitude and skill needed for safe operation. The craft's basic stabil ity is evident from the fact that drivers have changed over quite safely with the craft doing 50 knots! "The new drivers—four officers of the Joint Services Hovercraft Trials Unit at Lee-on-Solvent—recently at tended a short initial familiarization course at Cowes. It was not intended that this should be a full conversion course. The officers concerned were: Lt Cdr F. A. H. Ashmead, RN, Lt Cdr J. Hardwick, RN, Sqn Ldr J. E. Burton, RAF and Maj R. W. Holmes, RASC." Progress and innovation Titled as above, the Peter Le Neve Foster Lecture was delivered to the Royal Society of Arts on January 9 by Mr J. C. Duckworth, MA, MIEE, FinstP, FinstF, managing director of the National Research Development Corporation. Mr Duckworth said that hovercraft could have been invented—and built— half a century ago, on a much more practicable basis than the infant aero plane; but the "frontiers of knowledge" passed on and left this idea waiting for the inspired inventor to uncover. The following is a transcript of a section of the paper devoted to ACVs: "Cockerell conceived the idea of craft supported on a cushion of air through his efforts to reduce the friction drag on small boats. Through his own resources he was able to build simple equipment to demonstrate the principle and even a small model craft. In his efforts to find the necessary sponsor ship for further development, and later after the Corporation became involved, a number of difficulties became apparent of which the major ones were as follows: (1) There were doubts in expert minds as to the technical feasibility of the idea, particularly in relation to questions of stability and control. (2) There was no established 'operating industry' to whom hovercraft was a straight alternative to its existing craft. A new market would therefore have to be created and market surveys were diffi cult to carry out. (3) There was no industry suitably equipped or staffed for design and manufacture. Final produc tion costs per ton weight must be much less than for aircraft, but will probably be greater than for ships, and this fact has quite surprisingly large reper cussions on design techniques and even on organization. (4) If hovercraft are finally a commercial success, benefits must accrue to passengers, operators, manufacturers and (one hopes!) inven tors and developers of the craft. From the national point of view one can add these benefits, but from the point of view of any one of the parties mentioned (and bearing in mind that each party is dependent on action from the others) the toil and risk involved might not seem worth while. (5) The operation of hovercraft would even involve entirely new legislation, since the craft does not fit into the operating or safety rules of any existing means of transportation. "In addition one might mention such problems as lack of suitable motors proved in operation, and lack of reliable data on wave conditions and sea states for overwater craft." Denny Prospects Four Denny D.2s should be ready for service in the summer. Some diffi culty has been experienced with the propeller units, which were not intended for ACV use, and a flexible skirt has been added at the bow to reduce wave impact. Westland Go Ahead As we closed for press the annual report and accounts of Westland Aircraft Ltd were issued. The following are extracts:— "We have offered to negotiate with the Ministry of Aviation for the supply of a hovercraft to the Inter-Service Trials Unit for operational experiments. This craft will be a development of the SR.N2 to be known as SR.N3, and will have a capacity equal to 130 passenger seats. . . Arrangements are being made to demonstrate the SR.N2 to potential customers in various parts of the world during 1963. Planning and tooling for batch production is in hand to enable us to offer fixed prices and early delivery to our customers. "The world-wide interest in the hover craft is reflected in the many enquiries we have received from all parts of the world." One-sixth scale model of a CC-2 Cushioncraft development delivered last December to RAE Bedford for wind-tunnel tests. The full-size craft will be used for studying the behaviour of light ACVs at high speeds 3
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