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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 2342.PDF
FLIGHT International supplement, 26 Dect in strong winds. In the Solent winds exceed 35kt on one per cent of all occa- i sions, and 20kt on 7 \ per cent. j 4. Differential thrust is preferred for directional control, rather than control by rudder which is efficient only when the slipstream is passing over the sur face. 5. The driver should sit up in front and be given a good rearward vision. At low speed—for example, when approaching a beach—good view clear of spray is essential for the driver's peace of mind. 6. Wheels are desirable for manoeuv ring on land and might be used on the road if the craft is small enough to be towed by a wheeled vehicle. 7. Since we have predicted that the machine must not cost more than twice I LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . The Editor of "Air-Cushion | Vehicles" is not necessarily in agreement with the views express ed by correspondents in these columns. Names and addresses i *f writers, not for publication in detail, must in all cases accom pany letters. I Racing ACVs SIR,_I read David Stevens' article "Air- cushion Grand Prix?" in your Septem ber issue with great interest, i Until last August I was chief designer at the Cooper Car Company, racing car manufacturers, where 1 worked for fifteen years. I then left to set up on my own as a engineering design consultant. I am extremely interested in air-cushion vehicles and would welcome an oppor tunity to work on the design and development of such a craft intended for racing, as outlined in David Stevens' article. Anyone interested? 6 Alpha Road, OWEN MADDOCK Surbiton, Surrey That 90-knot Frigate SIR,—All of the basic requirements for a submarine hunter listed by Lt-Cdr Ashmead in his lecture reported in Air- Cushion Vehicles for November have already been met by the non-rigid air ships of the US Navy, with the excep tion of speed, and there is no reason to doubt that the 75kt of which existing blimps are capable could, in a new design with more powerful engines and a stronger Mylar envelope, be increased to 90kt if necessary. 1963 as much as a power boat, and most of this margin is likely to be used up on the lift system, the construction cost of the hull must not greatly exceed that of the boat. Are light hovercraft good business for the manufacturer? We believe that they will be. For one thing, the com mercial machines must be so large that with the exception of ocean-going craft it is probable they will have to be built within "narrow seas " range of their place of work. The small machines I have suggested can economically be exported anywhere in the world in the normal way. Although the light hovercraft must be simple to build, the wide range of In addition, crew efficiency must surely be improved by the absence of wave-produced motion with its con- commitant seasickness (or should it be "hover-sickness" ?). I am all in favour of the hovercraft in its proper place but doubt whether the stormy ocean is, or ever will be, IT. Why not hunt the Snark in the armchair comfort, peace and freedom from strain which the blimp is known to provide? Or must prejudice and ignorance about the airship and its mythical vulnerability to weather and enemy action remain invincible and continue to deprive us of the one vehicle of proved, repeat proved efficacy for the purpose. Since memories are notoriously short may I recall that neither in the First World War, when blimps were widely employed by the Royal Navy, nor in the Second, when they were even more widely employed by the US Navy, is there any record of a successful sub marine attack on a convoy escorted by these very useful small airships. In the last conflict, only one out of more than a hundred operational airships was lost through enemy action. Surely this record merits further consideration? Southsea, Hants F. P. u. CROKER (Lt-cdr, Retd) The Thames Service SIR,—I am delighted to see that Mr Godfrey Kingdon (page 76, November issue) took the opportunity of experien cing at least part of a run on D.2. Un fortunately he apparently chose one of the days when I was "suffering." Nevertheless, it is probably the first time Mr Kingdon had seen an outline of London's buildings through spray, a unique experience which I am sure he will not forget. There is an essential need for the spray to be cut down in the normal cir cumstances of operating; but as opera- Air-Cushion Vehicles technology required in the design will help to offset the damaging cut-throat competition that exists in the boat building world. And a good light hovercraft is more likely to be built in sufficient numbers to derive some economical advantage from series pro duction. It is worth remembering that in aircraft manufacture it is only the light- aeroplane constructors that have made consistent profits from their civil machines. Hovercraft are a new busi ness, and all their future applications are not yet known to us. I believe that the widest market of all will fall to the manufacturer of a well-engineered light hovercraft. tor of a new invention, I would have been hesitant to take too many steps to this end in the first service, in case the public gained an impression that the journey was far too ordinary. In every respect when D.2 was running at her best, her performance was extraordin arily good. In the normal conditions of a serious form of transport, spray would have to be cut down and indeed if the several general conditions had permitted D.2 at all times to run at her designed speed, the spray would not have been so evi dent. Great caution had to be taken on every run, due to the existence of drift wood. It is quite true that the vehicle was too hot inside, but it has to be remem bered that the craft is not yet fully developed; and, as I have said in my recent article, the necessity for "better ventilation is obvious and modifications need be made to bring about necessary improvement." I am glad to learn from Mr Kingdon that the sun was blazing through the large transparent area—for sunshine, too, in the past year has been almost a unique experience. Twickenham, Middx w. B. CAIS LEY Thames Launches Ltd Comparative Costs SlR,—I have read with interest Mr Trillo's reply to my letter and quite see some of the points he makes. How ever, at times we are not using the same terminology. The "utilization" of a passenger liner or any other ship is taken as the number of days per annum she is in commission. The "utilization" of an aircraft is the number of hours it is in the air. A liner such as France would expect to have a utilization of, say, 336 days and a tanker for example, of perhaps 355 days per annum. The aircraft utilizations mentioned
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