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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1923.PDF
1064 LETTER8 . . . associated primarily with the high-aspect-ratio outboard panels, an effect which remains broadly true for a sub- stantial spanwise variation in pivot position. As the aircraft goes supersonic and wing sweep is increased, the fixed part of the wing comes into its own as a lifting surface and takes over a substantial portion of the total lift. Since the fixed part of the wing is relatively well forward, the net result is an effective forward transfer of lift. Thus the pivot point must be chosen so that this transfer of lift on to the fixed part of the wing approximately cancels the effect of both (a) the rearward shift of centre of area and (b), the rearward shift of centre of lift (due to Mach number) through the transonic speed range. London SYV15 K. HECKS Poor Attendance at Lectures From Dr A. M. Ballantyne, TD, use, PhD, FRAes, FAIAA, Hon FCASI, secre- tary of the Royal Aeronautical Society. SIR,—Nobody was more disappointed than I at the poor attendance at the lecture by Captain Kelly-Rogers. Let me say at the outset that more than 200 posters and letters (over and above the normal publicity) were distributed, and I believe that the publicity was adequate. I have no wish to argue about days and times of days when lectures should be held. Publicity, day, time—these come up with the persistence of weeds. But everyone can produce figures for each day of the week and for times ranging from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. which have produced satisfactory attend- ances. Personally I have heard the matter of poor attendance discussed in many committees and in many societies, but no one has ever produced an answer to guarantee a full house. Certainly, to change the day and time is not a complete answer. May I assure Mr Cain ("Letters," June 4) that the members of Air-Britain are welcome to attend any lecture given under the auspices of the Historical Group of the Royal Aero- nautical Society. I should like to add one small comment to Mr Cain's ultimate paragraph. His suggestion is by no means new; it was begun by the Society more than ten years ago. The "Living Voice" collection has been growing over the years. If Mr Cain has any "voices," or "faces" in the form of film, and he wishes to present them to the Society, I shall be very pleased to accept. Finally I should like to thank Mr Cain for his phrase "audience-paucity headache" and to assure him that the Society is seeking the aspirin continually. London Wl A. M. BALLANTYNE Landsmen's Neglect of Naval Air Power SIR,—Mr Hurren, in your April 16 issue, presupposes a great deal when he tut-tuts Lord Trenchard as the father who attempted to strangle his infant Air Force. It may surprise Mr Hurren to know that something indeed was strangled— the Fleet Air Arm. The story is a little shopworn now: the Royal Navy, while in the midst of pioneering carrier avia- tion, was stripped of roughly. 3,000 aircraft and 100 aero- dromes. The same navy, after 21 years of apathy by a land oriented Air Arm, was catapulted into the Second World War with an impossible collection of aeroplanes. This pitiful handful, 232 operational types, was mostly biplanes, skeletal vestiges of an era once glorious with promise. All this might have been only of academic interest had it not been for the lamentable results which quickly followed. The Royal Navy, without adequate air power, suffered re- buttal in Norway, defeat in the Mediterranean, disaster in the Pacific and disgrace in the Indian Ocean. Then the U- boats. Britain, with her commerce strangled, was within two weeks of disaster in May 1943. The tardy introduction of carrier aviation into the North Atlantic finally turned the tide. We tend to forget all this. But the Royal Navy, and Britain's imperial fortunes, never really recovered. FLIGHT International, 25 June 1964 The contrast in the course of carrier aviation in the United States Navy is interesting. The allies should thank God that the Americans silenced their Billy Mitchells and founded a new fleet with air power as its core. They contended that the air battle is after all merely an extension of the surface con- test. Lord Trenchard apparently saw this. As the first postu- late of bi-Service aviation he emerges with even greater lustre. What does Mr Hurren say to that ? RCNAS Shearwater j. K. KENNEDY NS, Canada Lt Cdr, RCN Beagle's Sales SIR,—Your article in the May 21 issue on the chairman's report to the Pressed Steel Company's shareholders seems to reveal a very interesting situation regarding Beagle's aircraft production. It was stated that 266 aircraft had been delivered since October I960, of which 162 had been exported. How- ever, in your issue dated February 27 you reported that Beagle had delivered 244 aircraft, including 192 exported. Surely something here must be incorrect ? It appears also that included in these figures are some of the Auster D4 and D5 aircraft now being produced in Portugal under licence, but the contract for these 150 aircraft was concluded by the former Auster Aircraft Ltd before Beagle was created. I would suggest that a true total of air- craft sold and delivered by Beagle should be only 160, of which 54 have been exported. Your May 21 issue also stated that Beagle have 77 aircraft on order. If the 22 B.206s for the RAF and the MoA are deleted from this figure the remaining 55 must be made up largely of B.I 17s and B.218s. It is now three years since these aircraft were first announced, and so far only one B.218 prototype has been produced. How much longer have these 55 potential customers to wait before they either receive their aircraft or change their minds and buy an American Cherokee, or a Twin Comanche, or even a Baron ? Blaby, Leicester N. H. ELLISON Invited to comment, Mr Peter Masefield, Beagle's managing director, points out that the contract with Portugal was con- cluded by Beagle on November 9,1960, after its absorption of Auster Aircraft Ltd. There were two discrepancies in a release made on February 20, on which the figures given in our Feb- ruary 27 issue were based; 247 and 192 should have read 217 and 162 respectively. Including assembled aircraft and complete sets of compo- nents and spares supplied for assembly in Portugal, whose value almost equals that of complete aircraft and whose num- ber Beagle are not at liberty to disclose, the total number of aircraft sold between the date of the company^ formation and April 30 this year was 357, of which 289 had been de- livered and 68 were on order. Of the 357 sales, 219 had been made in the export market and 138 at home. No Beagle 117 or 218 aircraft are involved in these totals. Mr Masefield adds: "The development of a new range of aircraft unfortunately, and inevitably, takes longer than one would wish—especially when the rate of spending on a private- venture basis must be limited. We are, however, pressing on . . . in what is certainly going to be a seven-year programme. After Farnborough the civil sales programme for the 3.206 is planned to get into its stride, with deliveries coming forward while we shall, I trust, be bringing forward the follow-up in the range."—£rf] Vi, Mi and All That SIR,—Congratulations to C.C.J. on his V3 article and its excellent illustrations Flight International, May 4). I am sure this will become obligatory reading for all who wish to initiate themselves into the mysteries of "balanced field lengths," and it is for this reason that I wish to raise a number of secondary points in which I find the article a little misleading. In the parlance of the office in which I work "fixed Vx" means a constant value of V! (kt i.a.s.) for all take-off weights and runway lengths, and thus invariably means that the
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