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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1394.PDF
214 FLIGHT International, 8 August 1963 The French Have a Flair For It Letters The Editor of" Flight International" is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed by correspondents in these columns. Names and addresses of writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accompany letters. Brief letters will have a better chance of early publication. When Accidents Occur SIR,—Flight safety statistics are difficult to obtain unless one has access to restricted or confidential information. In pub lishing civil accident data Flight International is performing a real service to those who do not. Two recent articles, "World Air Safety" and "5,000,000 Jet Hours" (May 30) confirm a commonly overlooked fea ture: the severity of an accident depends on the phase of flight in which it occurs. Thus, although for all classes of aircraft most accidents occur during the take-off and landing phases, few of these are fatal; while of the few that occur in other phases a high proportion cause fatalities. The result of this (see table) is that, in general, landing accidents damage aircraft, while en route accidents kill people. This conclusion can also be drawn from Service accident statistics. The table shows the minor effect of the class of aircraft. A further deduction from more detailed records of accidents is that pilot errors are far more likely to cause a serious accident than technical defects. Extending this to more minor incidents, it does appear that the causes of un reliability are not the same as the direct causes of fatal acci dents, though obviously unreliable equipment increases a pilot's work load and so increases the danger of his making a mistake. Weybridge, Surrey c. G. B. MITCHELL Class of aircraft British light a/c 1959-61 Civil big jets 5 x I0«hr Selected civil 1953-62 Flight Inter national May 30) Total all accidents 238 83 ~- En route accidents 78 22 ~~ Landing accidents 160 61 En route fatal accidents 15(19%) 18 (81%) 168 Landing fatal accidents 3 (2%) 8(13%) 103 (Note: "Landing" covers take-off, final approach, landing and overshoot) Transatlantic "Irresponsibility" Sm,—Roger Bacon's sympathetic comments on Mr Englund's trans-Atlantic "navigation" (Straight and Level, August 1) are entirely misplaced. For several years, irre sponsible attempts to fly the Atlantic in light, under-equipped aircraft have plagued the rescue and ATC services. The Canadian authorities actively discourage such enterprises, and pilots take off from the neighbouring French islands of Miquelou and St Pierre. There is no untoward risk in making a single-engined crossing if it is properly planned, with adequate equipment, as Walter Moody, Max Conrad and others have effectively demonstrated. But any pilot who attempts the flight with the apparent irresponsibility of Mr Englund—assuming that the Royal Navy's description of the circumstances was cor rect—is risking untold trouble and expense to the ATC and rescue services, queering the pitch quite unnecessarily for the properly equipped and planned flight and, least important of all, risking his own neck to no avail. London SW10 FLIGHT PLANNER SIR,—Your extremely interesting account of the Breguet 941 STOL aeroplane Flight International, July 11) prompts me to point out that the French seem to have a flair for this kind of thing. At the Paris Aero Show early in 1914 the Paul Schmitt variable incidence biplane, which had been under develop ment for some years, was shown. Later it was, I think, pro duced in some numbers in the 1914-18 War. It was a large tractor biplane of 160 h.p. with a weight (loaded) of some 2,6001b. Its mainplanes could be adjusted in flight from 0° to 12° incidence, and thus the fuselage was kept horizontal, with minimum drag. Unusually powerful controls (an all-moving tailplane of large area and ailerons of 20ft span) made possible controlled flight from 74 m.p.h. down to around 20 m.p.h. Wing loading was 51b/sq ft and useful load about 1,0001b. Ipswich H. J. PARHAM Maj-Gen,Ret Wanted: Gipsy III Engine . . . SIR,—I am earnestly searching for a Gipsy III engine to replace a similar powerplant—long since lost—used for the only example of the Cierva C.24 Autogiro. This interesting aircraft, subject to certain conditions, may come into my hands for restoration to an airworthy condition in the near future. This is a task which I have taken upon myself. There is therefore no fund of cash for the purchase of such items as the essential engine, and I can offer nothing more than gratitude in repayment, should an engine be discovered. Any clues or other aid from any of your readers would be thankfully received by the undersigned. "Barnwood," Grove Road, NORMAN HILL Tring, Herts . . . and World War 2 Aircraft SIR,—We are interested in acquiring for static display at our airstrip any World War Two aircraft that some of your readers may know of that are lying around in an unwanted state. We will take great care of them and restore any damage due to neglect that they may have suffered. Unfortunately, we are unable to pay for them—but will handle all transportation charges and organize shipment from wherever they are. All correspondence and leads will be followed up promptly. Reading Aviation Service, JOHN E. TJNDERHILL 11-12 Gun Street, Reading, Pa, USA FORTHCOMING EVENTS Aug 10 Royal Naval Air Station, Lee-on-Solent: Open day. Aug 14 Kronfeld Club: Film, "Target for Today." Aug 18 Tiger Club: Air display, Shoreham. Aug 21 Kronfeld Club: "Bomber Command during the Hitler Regime," by Vivian Varcoe. Aug 24-31 Aviation Union of Yugoslavia: International parachut ing competition, Portoroz. Aug 25 Waveney Flying Group: All-day fly-in, Seething, Norfolk. Aug 28 Kronfeld Club: "History of the Glider Pilot Regiment," by Philip Cooper. Sept 7-15 Aeronautical Exhibition, Cristoforo Colombo Airport, Genoa. Sept 8 Private Flying Association and Tiger Club: Rally, Rochester. Sept 9-15 FAI: Aviation and Spaceflight film festival, Deauville. Sept 14 Royal Air Force: "At home" day. Sept 20 Aeronautical Inspection Directorate: 50th anniversary dinner. Sept 29 Tiger Club: Air display, Fair Oaks.
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