FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1059.PDF
596 FLIGHT International, 16 April WORLD E W S Wesse&es for Iraq The first three Wessex 52 helicopters out of a total of 12 ordered by the Iraq Govern- ment last October (the order has not previously been made public) began their delivery flight to Baghdad from the Yeovil works of Westland Aircraft on April 7. Two are being piloted by Iraq Air Force pilots who recently completed a six-week training and familiarization course at Yeovil; the third is being flown by Westland test pilot Leo de Vigne. Powered by two 1,350 s.h.p. Bristol Siddeley H.I200 Gnome free-turbine en- gines, these machines have outstanding hot-and-high performance. They operate at up to 108kt, have a range of 270 n.m. and can carry 16 fully equipped troops. They will be capable of operating in varying roles from troop transport and casualty evacua- tion to tactical support and external load carrying. Including spares, this order is valued at approximately £3m; the remaining nine aircraft will be delivered during 1964. Twin-Gnome Wessexes are in production for the RAF, RN and Ghana Air Force; the Gazelle-powered version serves with the RN and Royal Australian Navy. Jet-assisted Raman A modified Kaman UH-2 Seasprite helicopter, with horizontal thrust aug- mented by a YJ85 turbojet, has repeatedly achieved true air speeds of over 200 m.p.h. in its flight-test programme conducted for the US Army Transportation Research Com- mand, Fort Eustis, Virginia. The research UH-2 made its fastest level flight at over 216 m.p.h., and Kaman and Army engineers believe the potential of an augmented UH-2 to exceed 250 m.p.h. General objective of this research is to advance rotary-wing technology by provid- ing data on rotors unloaded by the use of auxiliary propulsion and/or auxiliary lift. In addition to assisting in establishing pilot techniques to be used in the operation of future high-speed rotary-wing aircraft, this programme is providing data on perform- ance, stability and control, vibration, and structural and control loads at speeds previously unattainable. Pilots report that the UH-2's characteristic lack of vibration was maintained with the jet augmentation. Under a follow-on Army contract, Kaman will add wings to this aircraft and conduct further high-speed tests. "A-ll Exceeds 2,000 m.p.h." President Johnson announced last Saturday, April 11, that the new Lockheed A-ll Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft had repeatedly broken the world airspeed record by flying at more than 2,000 m.p.h. The current record is 1,665 m.p.h., held by the USSR. ARB Certifies Civil Viper Transport category (passenger) airworthi- ness approval was granted by the Air Registration Board to the Bristol Siddeley Viper 520 turbojet earlier this month. The Viper 520, development of which began in October 1961 with the military Viper II as starting point, delivers 3,0001b thrust and two are used in the Hawker Siddeley 125 executive transport. It is also specified for the Piaggio-Douglas PD-808 Vespajet. Initial BTO life of the 520 is 800hr— equivalent to 18 months flying by the average executive aircraft operator. Follow- ing completion of all statutory ARB tests, together with some additional tests devised by the company, two Viper 520s are at pre- sent undergoing a voluntary 500hr intensive flying trial in Bristol Siddeley's own HS.125. Kamov's "Ideal Helicopter" Nikolai Kamov is designing a new agri- cultural helicopter (as noted recently in these pages) which will be able to lift about 700kg of chemicals, or three times the load of the KA-15. Designated the KA-26, the new machine will have a speed of 190km/hr and is described by the designer as "an ideal helicopter for agri- culture, possessing all the virtues of the KA-15." Piper Buys Australian Trainer An extraordinary compliment has been paid to the Australian Victa Airtourer 115 —the first Australian-designed and built light aircraft to be produced in quantity. One has been purchased by Piper which, together with Cessna and Beech, has already felt the impact of the Airtourer on the previously US-dominated Australian light aircraft market. Piper has bought the aircraft for evalua- tion with, it is said, a thought for world manufacture and distribution should it come up to expectations. The Airtourer was designed by Mr Henry Millicer and is built by the recently established aircraft division of Victa Ltd, motor mower manufacturers. Fifty of the low-wing basic trainers were sold during the first 20 months and a further 72 orders have been booked. Some have already been exported. Widely Ranging Caribou A DHC Caribou demonstrator is now engaged in an extensive sales tour which will keep it away from the Downsview, Ontario, factory until early July. It is the second world tour to have been made by the type, and will involve civil and military demonstrations in Japan, Hong Kong, For- mosa, Malaysia, Borneo, Nepal, the Middle East, East Africa, Ethiopia, Libya and Western European capitals, before the trans-Atlantic return to Canada. Vintage Bombers Grounded Douglas B-26 Invader bombers, veterans | of the Second World War and the Korean War, have been grounded by the USAF. B-26s are still mainly used in the war in South Vietnam and those operated by the South Vietnam Air Force with USAF ] assistance are affected by the order. The j reason given is "flight deficiencies"; it is understood that there has been, recently, one or more instances of structural failure in flight. If B-26s are finally withdrawn from j service, it will add an element of urgency to the extensive USAF evaluations of a number of "counter-insurgency" aircraft, adaptations of existing trainer aircraft, Bound for Baghdad Departure from Yeovil of the first batch of Westland Wessex Mk 52 helicopters for the Iraq Air Force (see news item)
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
