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Aviation History
1977
1977 - 0013.PDF
FLICHT International, I January 1977 Letters Contra-prop . . . gIR—A good engineering principle is that that which is not fitted cannot cause trouble. The propeller requires a governor, pitch locks, fuel/governor interconnection, devices to prevent simultaneous feathers of all propellers, synchronisers and so on, and is far from trouble-free. It is also susceptible to damage in the air and on the ground. A large multi-bladed, high speed device must surely worsen the situation, magnifying existing installa tion, vibration, weight and other prob lems. On the other hand, a simple turbo- fan—the ungeared and highly efficient RB.401, say—is a very good com promise between performance and economy over a wide subsonic range. It can be installed relatively easily, is quiet and of modular construction, and can be designed to resist bird- strikes and foreign-object damage. It would in my opinion therefore be a retrograde step to re-introduce all the problems inevitably associated with the propeller. Palmerston North, A. SMITH New Zealand . . . pro-prop SIR—The article "North Atlantic: a 30-year decision" (Flight, December 4) was counterpointed (intentionally?) by the piece on the last revenue flight of the Tupolev Tu-114. In its heyday this big propjet carried a load of 170-220 passengers or 33,0701b over 5,500 miles at a cruising speed of approximately 450 m.p.h. A modern, efficient propjet such as that projected by Lockheed would do much to conserve world fuel reserves if put into large-scale service. Large propjets could be used for charter and scheduled airline business, with Concorde-type SSTs for business men in a hurry. 10 Sandbourne Ave, s. E. CLOSE London SW19 Tax attack SIR—I read with interest the letters in Flight for December 18 about the recent Industrial Tribunal ruling on the employment rights of British long-haul aircrew. As a result, it seems that for the time being we are to be treated as foreign nationals. Until legislation catches up, aren't we airline pilots therefore entitled to significant tax rebates? 82 Laburnam Ave, K. J. MACBRAYNE Norwich NR8 6JZ Correspondence for this page should be addressed to the Editor, Flight International, Dorset House, Stamford Street, London SE1 9LU, and marked "For Publication". Letters should preferably be no more than 300 words long. 11 Letter of the week SIR—I would like to congratulate Capt* Peter Donaldson on his alto gether splendid letter in Flight for December 18. It is not only on. North Sea operations that the debate tends to be somewhat one-sided, and we are rarely without comment from a tiny but vociferous minority who are evidently unacquainted with President Truman's culinary aphor ism: "If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen". So how refreshing it is to have a public declaration from a British professional pilot, a member of a group whose personal standards, professional integrity and basic airmanship are second to none and enable them to take day-to-day decisions which must always in the last resort be their own. Contrary to popular belief, we have a number of such people working in the CAA, and many a time they would have liked to say what Capt Donaldson has said. But they are inhibited in what they may say publicly or under the CAA letterhead. May I add that we have no doubt about the role of the CAA in safety matters. Our task is the creation— through regulation, licensing and certification—of the safest possible environment. We also try to pro vide the pilot with a sound, authori tative basis for his decisions. Per haps we don't get it exactly right all the time, and occasionally there is a bit of catching up to do. But when we have taken all the advice, listened to all the opinions and done our level best, a lot of it is still up to the pilot, who does have a lot of the ultimate responsibility. Capt Donaldson clearly recog nises this and so, I am sure, do his professional colleagues. I am sure I am not alone in my gratitude to him for saying so. CAA, G. C. CHOUFFOT 129 King sway, London Hands off the Auster SIR—Thank you for an excellent article on flying the Auster (Flight, November 13). It was of great interest to our club members, particularly the tug pilots. At the Dorset Gliding Club we actually use a Lycoming-powered Auster (below) as our main tug. * - •aBBiKS*,WBBPTBa2 We also have a Gipsy-engined Auster, G-AJAJ, which we obtained when we were sorting out a problem with the Lycoming. Unfortunately, when the current certificate of air worthiness expires we will have to dispose of this aircraft. But at the moment we feel that we are well and uniquely equipped. 19 Coombe Avenue, J. LUCK Bournemouth SIR—I too had the same trouble as correspondent D. W. Owen (Decem ber 4) in starting my Lycoming Auster. But after some research I found it was fairly easy to start even when hot. The method was as follows: I turned the prop through 60° (one bolt-hole forward); it then came on to compres sion in a position easy for swinging. That helped hot or cold. When the engine was hot, I turned the petrol off and, since the mixture thus got weaker and weaker, went on swinging till it started. One then had to remem ber to turn on the juice before take off. I had another Auster, G-ALKI, which seemed to be the prototype for the Auster V with the Gipsy engine. There was no starting trouble with this and we ran it into third place in the King's Cup in 1950 at a lapping speed of 136 m.p.h. (after tuning and a bit of streamlining). In standard form it was about 20 m.p.h. faster than the Lycoming-powered version. It is now somewhere in New Zealand. In the Shuttleworth Collection we have an AOP.9 which operates very well except for a tendency to dip a wing after landing. Research into this problem seems to point to an under carriage oleo fault which causes one leg to pump itself down under cer tain circumstances. I am glad to say that my present Auster Mk VI, G-APRO, has no vices at all and is a wonderfully reliable and robust member of that family. AIR CDRE A. H. WHEELER Whistley Green, Reading, Berks SIR—It is high time that someone sprang to the defence of the much- maligned Auster. In the early 1950s air observation post trainees at Middle Wallop started on Tiger Moths and proceeded to Auster 5s and then to 6s and 7s, the latter being the dual version of the 6. The emphasis of the course was, apart from the direction of artillery from the air, on low flying and field landings, and the Austers
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