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Aviation History
1982
1982 - 2266.PDF
STRAIGHT AND LEVEL Nephew Bryan Cambray sends me this after seeing my piece on 1914-18 fighter-pilot parachutes. The observers were no less brave, he says—and they didn't even have seatbelts. That's his old Dad, aiming one of F.E.2 A6516's three 1,000 round Lewis guns • A Soviet military attache was seen at Farnborough photographing the B-l, watched warily by a mem ber of the USAF crew. "Quite an aeroplane," the Russian said, introducing himself. "I hope you never have to use it." "That depends on you," the American replied. The same Russian was shown a slide display at one of the chalets—and promptly dashed off to look for the projector maker. • At the recent Financial Times aerospace conference in London a Scandinavian airline pilot listened to a Boeing man holding forth on new technology, and said: "Despite all our technology we are still making approa ches to JFK watching the lights on the highway and with all our triplicated auto pilots switched off." The Boeing man replied: "The mismatch between air borne and ground systems is the mismatch between the decision-making efficiency of private industry which makes the aircraft and the decision making inefficiency of bu reaucracy which makes the ground systems." The solution I suppose is either to privatise the ground system, which is what the British Government is doing with BAA, or to nationalise the aircraft manufacturers, which is what Bob Carlson of Pratt & Whitney says the American Government will do unless industry gets more orders. Mismatch continued? • Jack Pateman, Marconi Avionics managing director: "Thanks to the microproces sor, every schoolboy has a computer which is as useful to him as his books, and in some cases cheaper." Thanks to the micropro cessor, every schoolboy doesn't know the Multiplica tion Tables which Miss Brodie parrotted into me. Ask young Johnny "what is 7 X 8?" He'll reach for his pocket calculator instead of coming straight out with the answer, as I would— "64". Bit of all right was Miss Brodie. • Bob Allnutt, associate deputy administrator of Nasa: "Forecasting the fu ture of aviation is the most disreputable form of public utterance." Nevertheless Bob predicts that we shall soon be approa ching what he calls "Space Phase III". Phase I was ex ploration. Phase II, which we're in now, has a lot of military motivation behind it. Phase III, he says, is when Don't switch on the reheat yet . otherwise I'm in big trouble the commercial motive is the driving force. Human activity really prospers when, after exploration and defence, the driving force becomes "hu man greed". How sad to think that Neil Armstrong's "one small step for man" will eventually be come a giant upfront pay back for mankind. • Sweet young thing: What are those white pads on your knees? Flight man in Real Men's flying suit: For writing notes on. Sweet young thing: Gosh, how super! Can you fit them to tights? I The Iraqi Airways: nas maintained different types of plances its foundation including 'De Heavy Land' of five planes ending with the giant 'Jambo' ones. Baghdad Observer, August 15 • "It is now conceivable that many expensive elements like avionics could have prac tical lives equal to those of the major structure. The ideal would be 'refrigerator technology', where every thing is sealed for life and works until the outside falls apart from rust."—Roger Be* teille, Airbus Industrie. Since aircraft outsides are going to be made of non- corroding plastics, is Roger Beteille going to put us all out of business? • Strathallan's Lancaster has had all four Merlins running for the first time since 1975. "No problems," chief engin eer Dick Richardson tells me. The museum is going to paint the aircraft in its original wartime 405 Sqn markings, but Dick needs someone to glaze its gun- turrets. Anybody got any ideas? Please get in touch with him direct on Auchterarder (07646) 2545. He also wants to locate a mid-upper turret, a Glenn Martin electric type as fitted to all Canadian-built Lanes. Everyone to search the attic tonight without fail. &^^*~ 948 FLIGHT International, 25 September 1982
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