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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0668.PDF
RIGHT International, 12 March 1964 391 potential gust alleviator, in spite of the success of the Americans in developing at least one system producing alle- viation of the order of 50 per cent—that is, doubling the fatigue life. Rochester, Kent E. PRIESTLEY, Chief Aerodynamicist, Elliott Bros London) Ltd HS-BAC Collaboration SIR,—Your correspondent D. R. Wood of Dundee Flight International, February 20) refers to sub-contracting between Hawker Siddeley and BAC. I am glad to assure you that work is frequently exchanged between British manufacturers, and at the moment Hawker Siddeley is making wing com- ponents and some leading-edge assembly jigs for the BAC One-Eleven. London Wl j. K. CORFIELD, Public Relations Officer, Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd Lone Flying Outpost Threatened From Cllr S. R. Booth, BSc, Leominster Borough Council SIR,—Most people are surprised to find the slow rate of in- crease in young people learning to fly since the 1930s, par- ticularly in comparison with France, where the government have preserved the war-time airfields for the use of clubs and private flying. In Britain there are only 7,660 pilot's licences whilst in France there are over 11,500; in the USA, with only three times the population, there are 20 times the licences, over 150,000. If young people join a flying club and use the club aircraft, or if they form a flying group to use an aircraft jointly, the cost of its use is comparable with that of running a small caf; but such voluntary groups cannot in addition afford any high costs for the use of runways and hangars. The Government appears to give no help at all to the pro- motion of flying training in these voluntary groups; there is a rebate of Is 3d a gallon on the petrol used but, in fact, the purchase of petrol still includes a high percentage of tax. In Herefordshire we are particularly concerned about the fate of the war-time airfield at Shobdon, at present being used by a young flying club, which has repaired the deterio- rated runways and reconditioned the old control tower. This airfield is threatened by an auction sale and the area has even been provisionally divided into two or three "lots" which cut across the runway and approach road. The use of the runway and hangar by small aircraft in no way interferes with the farming of the main area and has so far been carried on in amity, but it would appear common sense that the Government should have the power to preserve the use of the areas essential for flying to continue. This airfield is 50 miles from its nearest neighbours— Staverton, Glos, and Elmdon, Birmingham; and has some advantages for training as it is not on any commercial airline route nor, in fact, near any concentration of houses. It is at present also used by Service personnel visiting camps in Herefordshire. Shobdon is the only existing airfield in Herefordshire in usable condition; indeed it is the only air- field between Halfpenny Green, Wolverhampton, and the Welsh coast. Situated as it is, surely this airfield should be preserved for future communication purposes with Mid and West Wales? Leominster, Herefordshire S. R. BOOTH It Was Worth a Gong: SIR,—I was saddened to read Dr K. R. Payne's letter headed "Was It Worth a Gong?" in your issue of February 27. It belittled the remarkable achievement of two very young men, Charles Masefield and Lord Trefgarne, in carrying out a meticulously planned and expertly executed tour of visits in 17 countries between England and Australia in a standard modern light aircraft. Certainly these two deserved their medal and one can only think that Dr Payne has no first-hand knowledge of what they did nor of why the medal was (presumably) awarded. Nowadays a light aircraft flight to Australia certainly has no great intrinsic merit or new value in itself. The trail was blazed many years ago by pioneers using the most elementary aircraft, and having none of the facilities which are available to the private pilot today. Australia in the jet air travel era is only two shaves and about a dozen dry martinis away, and the reliability of the modern light aircraft is deservedly taken for granted in the more sophisticated countries where such aircraft are used for workaday business travel. Nevertheless, the journey of these two young men with barely 45 years between them is remarkable as a demonstra- tion in the grand manner of the real worth of the modern British light aircraft for serious travel without limit or quali- fication. Not only did they pack into six weeks a wealth of human experience in far places which must make the grand tour of past generations seem like a trip to Margate, but they were able to keep with clockwork regularity to a tightly-arranged schedule of business visits, meetings and demonstrations carefully planned beforehand in collaboration with the Beagle company. Added to this, there was the very complete reworking and equipping of the Dragonfly which brought them home. This in itself was an expert piece of engineering enterprise and sheer hard work by two real amateurs (in the best sense of the word), which has won the admiration of all who have seen the result. This remarkable keeping to schedule and the amount of useful work done in the business sense are together a really splendid achievement, and nobody with any first-hand know- ledge of it can possibly think otherwise or begrudge these two their medal. What would Dr Payne have the Royal Aero Club do? Confine the granting of medals to those without titles or connections ? I think the Club's record of encouragement in every branch of aviation is such that Dr Payne's oblique slur on it can be shrugged off by strong shoulders, with no chips on them. North Lancing, Sussex RANALD L. PORTEOUS "V" Definitions SIR,—I am grateful to Mr R. C. H. White for his comment Flight International, February 20, page 296) on my proposed definition for the minimum control speed in the air (Vmca). I expect that he knows a great deal more about it than I do; at the same time, however, I do not feel inclined to accept his view as being suitable for pilots—at least until a good deal more explanation is given. In the first place, I do not see why a manufacturer who has "expended a considerable amount of time and money in the struggle to achieve a low Vs" should mind if this leaves Vmca "normally greater than the stall speed," as I have suggested in the "definition." On the face of it, it looks as if that is exactly what he must expect. Is there not therefore some non-sequitur in Mr White's argument here? Another difficulty I have is with the concept of extra- polating Vmca (as shown in Mr White's diagram) into weights at which it cannot be demonstrated because the air- craft stalls before control about the vertical axis is lost. To incorporate anything in the way of a notional speed in a set of definitions intended to aid pilots is entirely against the terms of reference which I have set: namely, to suggest a set of practical definitions. Nor do I find any corroboration of Mr White's view from reference to FARs or BCARs. These are being changed so rapidly these days, especially in relation to low-speed hand- ling, that one is never sure that one is using the latest edition; however, the following version is given in the US SR442 code and this certainly leads me to look for Vmca as a real speed above the stall and not as a notional speed below it:— "4T.112 (c) The minimum control speed Vmc, in terms of calibrated air speed, shall be determined under the condi- tions specified in this paragraph so that, when the critical engine is suddenly made inoperative at that speed, it is possible to recover control of the airplane with the engine still inoperative and to maintain it in straight flight at that speed, either with zero yaw or, at the option of the appli-
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