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Aviation History
1970
1970 - 0371.PDF
* RIGHT International, J March 1970 | y Two of the disadvantages of a floating airport are an imprecise knowledge of wave action and its effects, and a * similar lack of knowledge about wave attenuating devices. Operational problems concerned with the stable location of * buoys carrying approach lighting and, in particular, with ensuring the correct inclination of such lighting requires further * study. Civil landing aids and radar would, according to the report, require development if they are to be used at an airport which moves with wave action and tides. f The Roskill commission, investigating the merits of various sites for the third London airport, has not reported on the A floating airport concept in relation to the Foulness site. ' RAIL LINK DELAY •t THE cost-benefit study on the proposed rail link to Heathrow Airport, London, is taking longer than expected, Mr Frederick t Mulley, Minister of Transport, told the House of Commons on February 24. He said that, because of this delay, no official 4 view had yet been formed as to whether a Victoria-Heathrow connection or an extension of the Piccadilly Line from > Houhslow to the airport was the preferred method of achieving the link. Mr M. Lipton (Lab, Brixton), in a question to Mr » Mulley, had suggested that it was a fact that the latter alterna tive would be quicker and cheaper to construct. •t THE PRATT & WHITNEY YEAR FUTURE costs to Pratt & Whitney of modifying early JT9(Ds * (those delivered in 1969) to bring them up to specified perform ance win be "substantial," according to the 1969 annual report « of the United Aircraft Corporation:. Last year $21 million (£8.8 million) was set aside for such expenditures. The pro- * vision of $47 million (£19-6 million) in 1968 for fitting the JT9D to the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-20 is considered * adequate, and no additional provision has been made in 1969. Morfey spent on this programme during 1969 amounted to * $2.3 million (£0.96 million). Development costs absorbed by the JT9D last year were * $52 million (£21.6 million), and the same figure or more is likely to be spent in 1970, says the report. On the other hand, * it continues, the initially high launching and retrofitting costs would reduce as the year progressed. ' Up to 450 JT9Ds should be delivered during 1970 (168 were delivered last year) and this will compensate for a 50 per cent * reduction in deliveries of the JT3D and JT8D. The 1969 figure of 1,370 units for these engines was itself a 43 per cent reduction on 1968 totals. The company is. however, assuming * that present-generation transports will be built, albeit at - reduced rates, for many years. Orders for such aircraft totalled 183 in 1969 compared with 264 in 1968. Deliveries of the * JT3D and JT8D both passed the 5,000 mark in 1969 and 4 Pratt & Whitney produced its 12.000th commercial jet engine , during the year. , Sales by the whole of United Aircraft Corporation during 1969 amounted to $2,350.4 million (£989 million)—a $58 mil- ' lion (£24.2 million) reduction on those for 1968—but were , still the second highest in the company's history. Commercial sales were down $63.6 million (£26.5 million) to $1,003.7 mil- + lion (£418 million). Profits, at $50.9 million (£21.2 million) were down by $10.5 million (£4.37 million), but United Aircraft * are anticipating that profits for 1970 will be 20 per cent higher than those for 1969. ,• 4 VTOL QUESTIONS WHAT is the Ministry of Technology doing about vertical * takeoff and landing? The question, which received some dis cussion in Flight (February 19, page 258), also got an airing in f Parliament recently. Mr Tarn Dalyell (Lab, West Lothian), in a comprehensive series of written questions, endeavoured to obtain some indication of Mintech's current activity in this connection. The answers given to him by Mr Neil Carmichael, Joint Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Technology, con- T firmed that there was some activity, but there was little in the way of elaboration. 4 Mr Dalyell asked first what estimates had been made of the , long-term sales prospects of VTOL aircraft, of the cost of developing a VTOL engine and of the cost of a city-centre landing facility in London; and what was being done to deter- 329 mine the social benefits of VTOL. Studies were in "hand, said Mr Carmichael, but no estimates were yet available. Questions followed as to what studies had been made on various aspects of VTOL operations, including the range of such aircraft and relevant safety considerations; and what studies of the aircraft themselves had been commissioned. Mr Carmichael said that Hawker Siddeley and Westland had, at the Minister's requests, made studies which were now being examined by Mintech (see Flight for November 27, page 833). What discussions, asked Mr Dalyell. had the Minister had with France and Germany on VTOL aircraft? There had, replied Mr Carmichael, been informal exchanges of views between officials. In answer to other questions, Mr Carmichael said that the National Gas Turbine Establishment was studying the application of thick elliptical rotor blades to VTQL; and that the establishment was also looking into the general problem of toxic products of jet engines, and considering what studies of this nature should be undertaken with respect to lift engines. The basis adopted by Mintech for market evaluation of VTOL in comparison with the Channel Tunnel and the Advanced Passenger Train, Mr Carmichael told Mr Dalyell, was the value of the time saved by these and other transport modes. Questioned further about studies commissioned, Mr Carmichael said that Southampton University had been asked to study the views of business travellers as to the types of inter-city transport best suited to their needs, and to assess the possibility of siting VTOL airports in major cities in Britain. Brian Colquhoun & Partners, consulting civil engineers, were examining the feasibility and problems of VTOL sites in greater depth. Leeds University had been asked to study the factors determining travellers" choice between rail and air services on five major British routes. DC-10 Maintenance manuals will be issued to customers as much as a year ahead of delivery of the aircraft. At present such documents are only supplied about six months ahead of delivery. Computer techniques developed from those used for producing publications for the DC-9 have enabled the improvement to be made, according to McDonnell Douglas. Concorde Nozzle Modifications The Concorde management committee is to consider a proposal to integrate engine nozzles and thrust reverser buckets on the aircraft, thus possibly saving up to 5,000-6,0001b, 2,270-2,720kg of weight. The study will be made primarily by Snecma whose conclusions will be reviewed in the summer, if adopted, the modifications would not delay the introduction into service of the aircraft. Air Transport continued on page 331 A main landing-gear unit for the Lockheed TriStor is now undergoing ten weeks of drop-tower testing. It is being slammed into the ground at various simulated landing weights, forward speeds and sink rates. The two small wheels on either side of the tower spin uf> the main wheels to simulate forward motion, and weights on the platform, from which the leg is suspended, simulate aircraft weight
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