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Aviation History
1965
1965 - 0012.PDF
Hunting for a Way Out? Apparently hemmed-in by mountains, skyscraper flats and a hangar, Hunting Survey's Cessna 3I0G is pushed on to the Kai Tak tarmac preparatory to beginning a major mapping operation—the survey of Hong Knog and the New Territories, referred to on page 1105 last week WORLD NEWS. . . Division comprises the ex-DH Engines factories at Edgware, Leavesden and Hat- field. Mr Hugh Conway, who became BS managing director last October, will also act as divisional managing director of the Aero Division, and will be a member of each divisional board. Mr W. F. Saxton, previously production director of the company, becomes managing director of the Industrial Division. Mr G. L. Hack succeeds Mr Saxton as overall production director of the company and will be directly responsible for Aero Division production. Mr B. D. Blackwell is managing director of the Small Engine Division. "JANE'S": A SECOND LOOK Closer perusal of the 1964-65 edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft* (briefly referred to in our issue of December 17, page 1032) confirms the first impression of a more comprehensive compilation than ever before. Mr John Taylor, the editor, can claim to have produced once again the standard up-to-date reference to the world's aircraft, aero engines, missiles, space vehicles and ACVs. There are 18 more pages, and more words to the page— 4 FLIGHT International, 7 January 1965 deeper and wider columns—and a com- pletely new section on systems. The leading article attracted much atten- tion in the UK newspapers, in particular the passages about the effectiveness of the RAF's V-vomber deterrent. Most pointed, perhaps, is the passage on the need for greater international co-operation ("to have four V/STOL strike aircraft under development in Britain, France, Germany and Italy at the present time is clearly ridiculous"). Jane's has obviously had good co-opera- tion from the Russians, who are not noted for their response to western requests for aviation information. This is significant, because it gives a measure of the interna- tional standing of the work, the circulation of which is 70 per cent foreign. Interna- tional response to the engine section appears to have been very good, and the compilers of this special issue of Flight gratefully acknowledge the co-operation of Mr Taylor in this field. New are the detailed Victor, Vulcan and Hunter performance figures, and the pic- tures of the ingenious Steward-Davis Fairchild Skypallet (page 302) and of the highly original Transavia (Australia) Air- truk (page 526). This year's Jane's—the 55th—appears to perhaps twice as much information as the editions of ten years ago. *Sampson Low, Marston & Company Ltd,London, 8 gns. ROBERT BLACKBURN What journalists call a powerful piece appeared in the Daily Telegraph on December 30 under the by-line of the air correspondent, Air Cdre E. M. Donaldson: "Air crews no longer feel they are being properly supported by the Government or the air marshals at the Ministries. . . . Many officers I have spoken to are seeking other employment, discouraged at the out- come of years of futile arguments for up-to- date fighting equipment. . ." The story pointed out that "Britain is now the only major nation with subsonic strike aircraft." A Telegraph leader entitled "Biggies V. the MiG" continued the theme: "It is not only Indonesian aircraft that can fly twice as fast as our strike fighters. Egypt, Cuba, Finland, Hungary, Iraq and Jugoslavia can do the same." Evidently the leader writer had not seen the New York Times News Service report, quoted the same day by The; Times in London, that "a small but increasing number" of MiG-21s have been flown recently by the Chinese Air Force. It is surprising that until now Fleet Street has not made more of Britain's lack of supersonic strike aircraft. The ammunition has been lying around for some time. On August 6 last year, for example, Flight staff writer Bob Rodwell reported—after flying with the RAF at West Raynham—on the deficiencies of the Hunter FGA.9 and its equipment. "Even more remarkable than the missing generation of aircraft," he wrote, "are the two generations of close- support weapons development which have been missed in Britain." The result was that the Hunter's armament consisted of 30mm guns of anglicized Mauser wartime design, 1,0001b bombs or rocket projectiles designed 22 years ago, and a gunsight of not much more recent vintage. And trials had then only recently begun with a French armour-piercing rocket which had been available since 1956. On December 28 Mr John Stonehouse, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Aviation, left London for Rio de Janeiro. Several London dailies reported the next day that he was leading a new effort to sell Bri- tish airliners to South America. In fact, the Ministry had not disclosed any specific reason for Mr Stonehouse's journey, though it denied that he was leading a sales drive. Apparently the story was speculation. By January 1 the real purpose of the visit was clear. It was announced in Rio that the Brazilian Government had granted traffic rights for a weekly British United VC10 service to Rio de Janeiro. Up till then most of us had been unaware that BUA had not been permitted to pick up or set down any passengers at Rio. The Financial Times reported Mr F. A. Laker as saying "there is no doubt that Mr Stonehouse's inter- vention has helped a lot. The Government has given 100 per cent support." The case for retaining a strong and independent industry and the four major projects now under review has seldom been more succinctly put than by Mr Maurice Edelman, MP (Lab, Coventry N), in a letter to The Times of December 30. The correspondence columns of The Times provide a platform almost on a par with the Commons itself. Another MP, Mr George Currie (U.U., Down N), made news on December 29 in the Daily Mail with the reported claim that "130 passengers had to leave a long-delayed BEA Vanguard airliner at London Airport because a pilot collapsed from fatigue minutes before take-off." This was a Page 1 lead story. An inside page of the next day's Daily Mail carried a strong BEA denial of fatigue: a Vanguard captain had felt unwell and passengers were delayed while a replacement was found. The whole unfortunate matter was sparked off by a question which Mr Currie is to ask the Minister of Aviation about permitted duty hours of BEA pilots. The information he seeks is unlikely to cause any public concern and is, of course, freely accessible without any public action whatever. BEA duty hours are well within legal limits and pilot utilization rates are by world standards low. Finally, from the same day's Daily Mail, a thought for the week from Bernard Levin's column. He called the Concorde "a heap of aluminium-coated rubbish," but added ". . . if you think the Q4 is any better a proposition you are mistaken."
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