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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 2105.PDF
126 1FLIGHT International, 23 July 1964 < AIR COMMERCE... LORD BRABAZON'S LAST ARB REPORT BETWEEN preparation and final consideration of the AirRegistration Board's 1963-64 report its author, LordBrabazon, died. In the shadow of their deeply felt loss the Board's directors concluded the review, publishing it quietly and without the customary luncheon. They include an appreciation of their chief and of his 18 years' dedication to the cause of air safety as chairman of the ARB. "His vast and wide ranging experience and boldness of thought and speech," the tribute records, "have added greatly to the standing of the Board. His exceptional abilities, and his endearing qualities as a man, have well deserved the admir- ation and affection in which he is held by all his colleagues." In this, the 27th annual review of the Board's efforts as guardians of air safety and in providing inspiration for better standards, the year is reported as one of "rapid development and progress." Commenting on the changing shape of aircraft from the present swept-wing, rear-engined, tail-atop-the-fin airliner designs to the radically different Concord shape, the report regrets the passing of the day when everything on an aircraft was a fixed piece of structure and control was effected through simple cables. The intro- duction of each new device, it says, is often received with suspicion as being an unnecessary complication, but the Board does not take this view—provided—and this, it says, is a vital proviso—the devices are reliable and that, on the occasions when they fail, they do not cause a hazard in themselves. As a topical instance the report notes: "When new shapes of aircraft are developed there comes a point when it is no longer sensible to struggle to achieve satisfactory handling qualities by the traditional means of altering the detailed aerodynamic properties. At best, an unsatisfactory compromise emerges whereas the introduction of a device enables a better solution to be found. The stick pusher, which forestalls the some- what unpredictable and erratic behaviour of the natural stall by an organized gentle manoeuvre to prevent the condition occurring, may well be such a case." The Supersonic Airliner The year has seen a considerable increase in the ARB's work on supersonic airliners. The Board says that as the design of the Concord has progressed there has been a need for revised airworthi- ness requirements and the nature of the co-operation between the two countries engaged on the project has naturally led to these being prepared on an Anglo-French basis. Together they have worked on a set of requirements which are known as TSS standards for application to the Concord. These replace existing requirements and it is expected that in due course they will cover all aspects of airworthiness. So far publication of this material has been restricted to the two governments and constructors concerned but it is intended very shortly to release it to other organizations. With this system, the board points out, there is obviously a likelihood that the Anglo-French requirements may differ from those of BCARs and the recommendations of the Supersonic Aeroplane Airworthiness Committee. The Board intends as soon as possible to produce a new set of national requirements which will apply to all supersonic aircraft and this is being taken into account during the discussion of TSS standards. It is intended that the new BCARs will incorporate the material of TSS standards to a very large extent . . . "That the first two Concords to be built in Britain will be ordered by the MoA places a certain responsibility on the AID to ensure that the contract provisions are met. As the aircraft will require Cs of A, the Board's inspection requirements will also apply: although the fundamental task of AID as customer representative, and the Board as airworthiness authority, differ, there is a common need for inspection control. To avoid duplication of effort in certain areas of the inspection task, a joint project group composed of the AID, the Electrical Inspection Directorate and the Board has been set up. "The position is further complicated by the fact that parts of the aircraft will be made in Britain and France, and assembly will take place in both countries. In view of the complete identity of interests which each country has in the products of the other, a Franco- British working group on Concord inspection, of which the British joint project group is one part, has also been formed." The report speaks highly of the progress already achieved by the group. "Some thought has been given to the eventual method of certification of the Concord and it is anticipated that the Board, will have introduced a type certificate procedure by the time the aeroplane is eligible for certification. Use of this procedure for the Concord has many advantages and, as it is similar to that used in France, it will be possible for similar certificates to be issued at the same time by both countries. The fact that American operators have placed orders for Concords and that British and French operators have ordered the American supersonic aircraft emphasizes the need for the closest co-operation, both between the airworthi- ness authorities and between the operating authorities in the three countries. Two discussions in which general airworthiness standards were compared have taken place during the year, and a further Secretory and chief executive of the Air Registration Board is Mr R. £. Hardingham, CMG, OBE, FRAeS. He has occupied the post since 1947 meeting has been arranged at which airworthiness and operational standards will be compared." ™ ; A new appraisal of defect reporting systems was begun by the Board during the year. The annual report emphasizes, however, that there is no reason to suspect that the present system is failing to bring to light defects which might have a primary influence on safety, but that the study is simply to determine whether greater benefit could be derived from defect reporting in the way of long- term safety or improved aircraft reliability. Other new duties taken up by the Board during the year include: participation in an MoA working group to study the implications of the wider use of flight simulators for training and competency checking of flight crews; and participation in the European Civil Aviation Conference Study Group set up to standardize the form of aircraft type certifi-,*. cates and their data. Among the current operational problems and their effect on design which the Board is studying are the hazards of flight in turbulence, and slush on runways. In connection with the former the Board is anxious that some research be undertaken on the composition of turbulence particularly in or near storm clouds, and in the response of pilot/aircraft combinations to these conditions. Of the latter, during the year progress was made in developing slush test methods and the possibility of testing a number of representative aircraft with the eventual aim of scheduling slush data for all major types of civil transport. During the year under review four important transport aircraft prototypes—Trident, VC10, HS.125 and Beagle 206Y—received or were about to receive full transport category Cs of A. The Belfast and Turbo-Skyvan reached the flight test stage during the year and, although the former is primarily for military use, it is also designed to civil standards and is being cleared by the Board.
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