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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1661.PDF
FLIGHT International, 12 September 1963 471 Qj Straight and Level (^ • When the technical prowess of the Americans is challenged, when they feel they are slipping behind foreign competitors, they become very American indeed. In 1949 Britain's Comet prompted an American technical exertion which, ten years later, had resulted in the operation of American jets by every major world airline. Likewise Russia's Sputnik 1 of 1957 accelerated the formation of NASA, and led to a US space programme which, in scope if not in spec tacle, has always surpassed that of the Russians. Now we Europeans are ahead, way ahead, with a short-haul jet and, at the other extreme, with a long-haul supersonic jet. The Americans are very cross about this. We would not be human if we didn't feel a bit smug; but I don't imagine that anyone considers it wise to feel smug about com peting with cross Americans. Even if we accept as a fact that the United States will never allow anybody— especially a friend—to accomplish a new technical development that has not pre viously been accomplished in the US, the Concorde programme presents its rivals with a big problem. It would be very foolish to assume that BAC, Sud, Bristol Siddeley, SNECMA or any of their carefully chosen subcontractors will fail to deliver reliable hardware on or before the contract date. An all-steel aeroplane would take very much longer to develop, and the customers would not welcome variable sweep or a similar major engineering innovation. As the saying goes: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." And that is what America is doing—or following suit, at least. • During World War 1 the Great McCudden wrote that in the recognition of enemy aircraft RFC pilots could "only go Sorry. Try Africargo by photos of Hun machines in the aero nautical papers." In World War 2 a colleague who was visiting France with a party of correspond ents witnessed the destruction of the first e.a. to fall to the guns of Cobber Kain and was able to talk with Cobber almost immediately after the combat. The victim was a Do 17, and, when asked of what sub-type, the dashing New Zealander replied that he couldn't be sure because it "wasn't stopping." He suggested that a glance through an intelligence file might clear the matter up. The prospect of this privilege, added to the thrill of being in the company of a hero so fresh from battle, was almost too much for my colleague (then young and impressionable); but, discover ing that the principal item on the file wl ?e,ev'dence °fthis camera gun shot of an F-105 from another F-105 (the mte dots are the reticule image of the sight tracking system) I am prepared to allow a probable appeared to be an article torn from Flight, and of which he himself was the author, he pretty nearly swooned with mingled shock and pride. Especially in the early months of World War 2, of course, a tremendous quantity of Flight material was specially printed for Service use, although official intelligence and recognition organizations were gradu ally able to take over. Yet today I find that numerous armed Services and military academies throughout the world, including Great Britain and the USA, utilize special issues of this journal (particularly those devoted to missiles) as official documents, and make no secret about it. Flattering of course. But what would McCudden have to say after nearly half a century ? • "The Hunter entered service with the RAF in the summer of 1954. It is a swept back mid-wing monoplane of clean earo- dunamic design." Exeter Air Display Programme "446 seemed sluggish this morning, Chiefy." "Wax in the intake, sir." • As recently as the beginning of this month, in a leaflet giving details of forth coming excursions, a Cambridge coach operator was announcing trips to the Farnborough show. I do hope it kept fine. • "The TFX, like the British TSR-2, is still on the drawing board." British newspaper I do hope they have good strong drawing boards at Weybridge. ROGER BACON
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