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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1250.PDF
78 BS55ggi VV Why the P.1127 Crashed The following statement was issued by Hawker Siddeley Aviation's Hawker Black burn Division at Kingston-upon-Thames on July 15:— "The investigation into the accident to the P.1127, XP831, at Le Bourget on June 16, 1963, has shown that the cause of the accident was the defective behaviour of the system which controls the movement and position of the engine propulsion nozzles. The nozzles rotated backwards, causing a loss of lifting thrust in the hovering pos ition; and the aircraft, already in a nose- down attitude and at low altitude, acceler ated downwards and forwards. The pilot was unable to arrest the motion before the aircraft hit the ground. Modifications, which are of a minor nature, will be carried out to prevent a recurrence of this incident." Engine thrust tends to rotate the nozzles rearwards and they are held in the position selected by the pilot by duplicated air motors run by bleed air at 801b/sq in, this pressure being controlled regardless of engine speed by a pressure-reducing valve. It has been shown that if the pilot slightly rotates the nozzles rearwards and the pres sure-reducing valve jams at the same time, excessive nozzle rotation can result. Such jamming has not been reproduced during bench operation of the actual valves re covered from the aircraft, which shows the unlikely nature of the event. Nevertheless, a fine filter is being introduced upstream of the reducing valve. Control can then only be lost in the unlikely event of both of the duplicated valves failing. First Viscount for China The first of six Vickers Viscount 843s ordered in December 1961 for the Commun ist Chinese airline CAAC left Hong Kong for China on July 14, having been flown from England on July 6. The aircraft is reported to have been painted all white and to have been flown by a British crew. New Jets Down Under An order for three Hawker Siddeley 125s for the RAAF is expected next month. The RAAF has been very impressed by the 125 and has completed a full evaluation. The aircraft would replace some of the DC-3s in the VIP Unit at Canberra. The RAAF also has a requirement for two or three jet transports to replace the Metropolitan 440s. An Australian corres pondent writes: "It definitely favours the BAC One-Eleven, but there is the political aspect to be faced. Should both Ansett and TAA favour the DC-9, the RAAF might find it difficult to justify its preference.. The Department of Civil Aviation will also place an order for a jet airliner within two O R L D years—probably next year. The Staff again definitely favours the British entry in the One-Eleven, but the same condition oper ates as in the case of the RAAF; more so, for the DCA could not operate a One-Eleven if the airlines bought DC-9s. Sikorsky Win USAF Competition The US Air Force has selected Sikorsky Aircraft's CH-3C helicopter as the winner in a competition for a long-range, rotary- wing support system. This is the same air craft bought last autumn to fill the USAF interim requirements for fiscal years 1962 and 1963. A fiscal year 1964 contract calling for additional CH-3Cs will now be negotiated. The twin-T58 helicopter, which is designated S-61R by Sikorsky, is a personnel and cargo transport, with pro vision for straight-in rear loading, It first flew on June 17, nearly one month ahead of schedule. First delivery will be made this month, and quantity deliveries to operation al Air Force units will begin early next year. Mr Marten's Tour A one-day aerial tour of sport and busi ness airfields in the south of England was made last Friday by MoA officials headed by the Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Neil Marten, in a Beagle 206 piloted by Mr J. W. C. ("Pee Wee") Judge, Beagle chief test pilot. The party started their tour at Biggin Hill, flying from there to Lympne, Southend, White Waltham and Kidlington before returning to Biggin Hill. Other members of the MoA party were Mr R. Goodison, Under Secretary; Mr C. M. Col- beck, Divisional Controller, Southern Divis ion, MoA; and Mr D. Hellings, secretary to Mr Marten, who is chairman of the Joint Standing Committee for Private Flying and Gliding. At the end of the tour, Mr Marten said: "If I can help civil flying as a result of this tour, I most cer tainly will; but at the moment I am merely getting acquainted with the aerodromes." More F-5s The US Department of Defense has increased the production of Northrop F-5 supersonic fighter/bombers by awarding a contract to the Northrop Corporation for approximately $60,750,000. This brings the present total vote for the F-5 to more than $80m. The initial contract was awarded to Northrop last October when the US Government announced it was beginning mass production of this aeroplane for cer tain countries participating in Mutual Security Programmes. Previously known as the N-156 Freedom Fighter, the F-5 is a 1,000 m.p.h. twin- engined (GE J85-5) aircraft carrying more than 6,2001b of armament for various FLIGHT Internal tonal, 18 July 1963 NEWS kinds of combat mission. Northrop designed it as "a versatile and economical weapon system that will greatly increase the military strength of air forces now equipped with F-84 and F-86 type aircraft which are becoming obsolete and difficult to maintain and operate." The current programme will provide both single-seat F-5A fighters, as well as two-seat F-5B aircraft. The latter can also be used for economical, high-performance pilot proficiency training. The first F-5A is about to fly. Parachute Champion Winner of the 1963 National Open Parachuting Championship, organized by the British Parachute Association at Sywell last week, was Staff Sergeant Michael Turner of the Sapper Skydivers Club. Tony Charlton of the RAF was runner-up. The team championship was won by the 22nd SAS Regiment "A" team, with the RAF team in second place. Lockheed Aerogyro Aerogyro is the term now used by Lock heed Aircraft to describe its new family of rigid-rotor vehicles, discussed in this journal last March 1. A pair of Aerogyros, built under a jointly funded US Army-Navy contract and designated XH-51A, are now under test. Designed to fly at 200 m.p.h., the XH-51A has already achieved 160 m.p.h., powered with a 450 h.p. United Aircraft of Canada T74 turboshaft. GETOL Continues General Dynamics/Convair will continue engineering studies on a ground-effect take-off and landing (GETOL) aircraft under a $128,000 contract awarded on July 11 by the Bureau of Naval Weapons in Washington. Under this new contract, Convair will conduct seven months of static testing with different planform models to determine the configuration with the best inherent stability and control character istics while in the ground-effect mode. The study contract is part of a long-range programme intended eventually to ascertain the effectiveness and economy of the GETOL principle. A GETOL aircraft would be supported on a ground-effect air cushion during vertical take-off (or landing) and during acceleration over an unimproved land or water surface; it would then cruise conventionally. A description appeared in our February 21, 1963, issue. XB-70A Roll-out Near First of the three XB-70A Valkyrie re search aircraft is now almost complete aftet being extensively rebuilt during the pas' six months. The manufacturer, Nortt
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