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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1185.PDF
FLIGHT International, 4 July 1963 II POSTSCRIPT TO PARIS Notes on VTOL Performance at the Show and Sundry Activities in the USA < public way possible. As these words are written, it seems very likely that the cause was not failure of the Bristol Siddeley Pegasus engine. The court of inquiry is still in session as we gc%$£ press, but it is noteworthy that the aircraft came to rest with its nozzles rotated slightly rearwards. The crucial question of survival of an engine failure in jet-supported flight does not appear to have arisen, though the results of such failure have, of course, been a major point of discussion. Of more than passing interest is the fact that, even after a failure resulting in considerable forward transition during the final plunge to the ground, the pilot escaped unhurt, though understandably shaken. Observation of the newsreel film indicates that there was not reasonable time for the pilot to have appreciated the extent of P.1127 versus Balzac The Hawker P. II27 manoeuv ring, above, and the Dassault- Sud Balzac V, at right, soon after landing on concrete "Flight International" photographs THE Paris show saw the first physical confrontation of the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 and Dassault-Sud Balzac V, which are respectively the prototypes of what, for better or for worse, have become the first European rivals for NATO VTOL strike aircraft orders. The arguments for and against the single- and multi-engined lift formulae have been reiterated frequently during recent months, and it has never been this journal's wish to support one and "knock" the other. The British aircraft is the classic example of the single-engine vectored-thrust concept, while the French machine is a perfect example of a composite layout, with eight lift engines. Yet it is worth recording some of the operating characteristics of the two aircraft which became evident during the Salon. In so far as these might be limiting to one of the types, it should be appre ciated that the lone Balzac, though it has progressed remarkably rapidly, has not accumulated anything like the same number of flights as the Mo A batch of P. 1127s—which have flown some 200hr in several hundred sorties—and certain of the Balzac's apparent limitations may well disappear during coming months. It was a bitter blow to Hawker's prestige, if not morale, that the original first prototype—one of two P. 1127s flying during the dis play on Sunday, June 16—should have come to grief in the most the trouble and to have ejected before the P.l 127 struck the ground. With heavier aircraft or higher transition heights, some form of shock-absorption in the seat mounting to lessen the impact on the pilot during a "flop" from the hover might in due course become desirable. In case of fire, the Martin-Baker "zero-zero" rocket ejection seat, attaining a height of several hundred feet after ejec tion and having an inclined trajectory, is a considerable asset. Some of the P.l 127s and the Balzac already have this seat. When Bill Bedford first arrived at Le Bourget, some days before the display, he flew direct from Dunsfold in poor weather, making a let-down controlled by the military base at Creil, near Paris, and continuing VFR below cloud to Le Bourget. There, without land ing or refuelling, he gave a highly spirited display of manoeuvra bility at the hover and then landed on the end of the main runway. There was a pause, during which the traffic control instructions were apparently rather confusing. Bill decided to take matters into his own hands, lifted off, turned smartly on the spot and flew right up to the static aircraft park, past the flag-poles, chalets, parked helicopters and considerable crowds of spectators, to land on the taxi way close to where his aircraft was to remain on static display. This performance was highly impressive. So much for the ability of the P.l 127 to operate from unprepared
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