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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 0001.PDF
f LIGHT Internatioral, 5 January 1967 Test-flying farewell J. W. C. johnny) Squier (left) and Desmond de Villiers, respectively chief crew station liaison pilot and chief produc- tion test pilot at BAC Preston Division, whose retirement from test fly- ing is announced. They are seen about to make their last flights as test pilots, Mr Squier in a Canberra and Mr de Villiers in a Lightning. The former has made over 3,000 Canberra flights since 1949 and the latter over 1,000 Lightning flights since !9S4. Both remain with the Preston Division in the then Fighter Command; there fol- lowed a spell with the Fleet Air Arm, during which he did more deck landings than any other pilot at that time. "Posted to Farnborough as a test pilot, he was engaged on many exacting trials, particularly on the earliest Spitfires; but his most spectacular exploit was piloting the first Wellington bomber fitted with a huge electrified ring designed to explode German magnetic mines by flying over them a few feet above the sea. On his first operational flight with this device, in the Thames Estuary, its success was instantaneous: a mine exploded under the tail of his aircraft, luckily without causing undue damage. For ihis exploit he was awarded an immediate DFC, and after the device had been developed he was given command of a squadron of these aircraft, which virtually eliminated this menace from our coastal waters. "At the end of the war he became a permanent test pilot at Boscombe Down. His knowledge of all types of aircraft was such that he continued test flying there, after leaving the active list, until he was finally retired—much against his will—in 1963 at the age of 59. He is reputed to have flown over 250 different types of aircraft." Dunlop Without "Rubber" One of the best-known names in the industry underwent a slight but signifi- cant change on January 1: the Dunlop Rubber Co Ltd now becomes "The Dunlop Co Ltd." The new name reflects the modern image of the organisation, the range of whose products now extends far beyond those on which its reputation has been built. Fatigue Symposium The fifth ICAF symposium on aircraft fatigue, which forms part of the tenth meeting of the International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue (ICAF) will be held in Melbourne from May 22 to May 24. The title of the symposium is: A ircraft Fatigue — Design, Operational and Economic Aspects. Twenty papers have been selected to form the provisional programme. They include six from the USA, three from Britain, two each from Australia, France and Switzerland, one each from Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand and West Germany, and one combined Anglo- French paper. Details of the symposium are available from Mr J. Y. Mann, Secretary of the Organising Committee, Fifth ICAF Symposium, c/o Aeronautical Research laboratories, Box 4331, GPO, Melbourne, Australia. Registrations must be received by February 28. Stress Analysis Papers Invited A three-day conference is to be held at the Royal Aeronautical Society in March on advances in stress analysis and appli- cation techniques, and papers are invited. Details may be obtained from Mr R. L. Penning, Engineering Sciences Data Unit, Royal Aeronautical Society, 4 Hamilton Place, London Wl. Synopses should be submitted by January 31. Exports and Manpower Up The number of people employed in aircraft manufacturing and repair in Sep- tember 1966 is stated by the Ministry of Labour to have been 250,400. This was 1,900 more than the previous month's figure and 1,000 above the September 1965 total. New Year Reading Some good reading in this New Year for motorists, photographers and yachts- men and others: Autocar is publishing its Racing Car Show Guide today, January 5, Show Report and Monte Carlo Rally Guide (plus a holidays- abroad feature) on January 12, and Rally Reports on January 19 and 26; Amateur Photographer for January 4 contains a beginners' guide to figure and portraiture work; and the January issue of Yachting World is the International Boat Show Number. Regular readers of Autocar will see from the above dates that the journal is now being published on Thursdays instead of Fridays. A feature of the January 13 issue of Stock Exchange Gazette is a special * supplement on the electronics industry in Britain. SENSOR Gen Puget's removal and his replace- ment by a former Paris police chief is regarded with apprehension by the British side of the Concorde project. Gen Puget was chairman of the industrial side of the programme and enjo/ed the closest personal relations and trust of his British colleagues. His post has now been given, without consultation, to a completely unknown non-aviation man. A further disconcerting event is the sudden switch of Sir James Mackay from the MoA to the Home Office after only about a week as chairman of the joint Governmental Concorde committee. Mr F. Doggett takes charge as his replacement in the MoA (soon MoTech) and will be Deputy Secretary overseeing all civil aircraft projects; Mr W. Geraghty comes in from the MoD to be the Deputy Secretary in charge of military projects. The departure of Gen Puget, a strong protagonist of the airbus and (though a Sud man) in charge of the French airbus effort by Breguet/Nord/ Snecma, is a further blow to the airbus, following rejection of the £130 million cost estimate. If the AFVG goes ahead this will also mean less of the French aviation budget to spare for the airbus. Now that the Boeing has won the American SST competition Lockheed is likely to go ahead with its airbus project. The earlier departure of another top French protagonist of collabora- tion, M Rene Bloch, is not causing as much concern as was felt at first. His replacement. Gen Bonte, appears if anything to be even more convinced of the need to make collaboration work. Expected soon, too, is a joint affirmation of faith in co-operation by the industries of the two countries. There are renewed hopes that the AFVG will go ahead as originally planned as a joint venture with the French, following concessions by the British side to help the French with their budgetary problems. This month the RAAF is to stage a fly-off contest of aircraft being con- sidered for the Army to replace the Cessna 180. Favourite to date is the Turbo-Beaver, with the Turbo-Porter close behind and the Helio Stallion a possibility. The winner will not be made or assembled in Australia as the order will be for only two or three dozen. UK air traffic control may have to warn the airlines that noise-abatement procedures are likely to have the effect of reducing the capacity of the ATC system. Indian Airlines estimates that it will need 40-50 pilots a year and is con- sidering with Air-India the possibility of re-opening India's pilot-training academy.
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