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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 1425.PDF
LETTERS WINGLETS CORRECT TITLE SIR—With regard to the item referring to the formation of the Aerodromes Protection Agency (Flight, 7-13 March, P 12), we would point out that our new name is the Air port Operators' Association and not as reported. R. P. GADD, (Chief executive and secretary), Airport Opera tors' Association, Bristol AHEAD OF HIS TIME SIR—Sqn Ldr M J Kemp (Let ters, 28 March-3 April) should remember that, while the autopilot was invented some decades ago, the auto-ground engineer has not yet been de- veloped.ROGER HARNETT (TriStar flight engineer) Crowthorne, Berkshire ROLE PUZZLE SIR—Reference to the letter from Sqn Ldr M J Kemp (28 March-3 April). We found great difficulty in determining whether the squadron leader was a pilot or an engineer. Having re-read the letter, how ever, we concluded that he was neither. Or is Roger Bacon using a different pseudonym? J J WALKER (pilot), Cyprus; A J JONES (engineer), New York FAIR PLAY WANTED SIR—All members of the Eu ropean Community are affili ated to Paris-based Association Europeene des Constructeurs deMateriel Aerospatial (AECMA), which oversees and monitors the development of the aerospace industry within the EC. One of its regulations states that, if a class of aircraft is manufactured by an AECMA member country, other member states are obliged to purchase that class of aircraft from that source. The French Air Force, then, should purchase Tucano train ers from the Belfast produc tion line. Britain has always met, and paid in full, for its AECMA obligations. Surely it is not too much to expect other members to do the same? R. A. COLE, Barnet, Hertfordshire Satellite launch date SIR—In the listing of commer cial communications satellites (Flight, 21-27 February, p 48), the scheduled launch dates for 1NSAT IIA and IIB should be November 1991 and November 1992 respectively. The payload, in addition to the 18 C-band and two S-band transponders on each satellite, includes a meteorologi cal Earth-observation, data-colle- tion and search-and-research package. P RAMACHANDRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR INSATII Test Spacecraft Project ISRO Satellite Centre Bangalore 56017 India Not so stealthy fighter? SIR—By now we have all seen photographs and read descrip tions of the B-2 and the F-117, or what has been dubbed the "Stealth Fighter". The hard facts are on the scant side but suffi cient enough to cause some thought. The question is raised: why has it been built? It is obviously not a bomber, for its big brother, the B-2, fulfills this profile far better. Supposedly it is a fighter. I have always understood that a fighter engaged other aircraft at the maximum range possible. Once the target has been de stroyed the enemy is aware that there is a predator within a cer tain area and since the F-117 is a subsonic aircraft, this area of possible position would not en large as quickly as if it were, say, flying at Mach 3. Although such speeds are likely to cause detec tion by sonic pick-ups, these are far less accurate than high-densi ty search patterns by other aircraft. This leaves an obvious fault with the role of the F-117 be cause, at such speeds, the term "Stealth Fighter" is a contradic tion. Surely it would have been better to concentrate on a fast, supersonic, propulsion unit that gives a low infra-red signature rather than an aircraft that only It may be dubbed the F-117 but is it a red herring? has a small chance of escaping once it has made its first kill. Either the USA has mis-spent $2 billion, or the appropriate departments are telling us far less about the aircraft. It could be called an expensive way of making a very small stealth bomber with the capability of defending itself, or it might be a red herring in the development of a new spy aircraft (a replace ment of the SR-71, perhaps) or it may be just a work bench for the production of stealth techniques. Whatever, it is no Stealth Fighter. SIMON POTTS 17 Riverside Close Lower Hellesdon Norwich NR6 5AV WHATS ON 5-7 June SAL seminar "Hypersonic Propulsion", by Frederick Billig. Mun- chen Park Hilton, Am Tucherpark 7, 8000 Munchen 22, West Germany. Also at: (20-22 June) Hotel Ambassador, Paris, (25-27 June) Mount Royal Hotel, Marble Arch, London Wl. Contact: SAL HP Seminar, Victoria House, Suite M9, Southampton Row, London WC1B 4EF; tel: 071-404 3341; fax: 071-405 6203. 11-14 June ASME international gas turbine and aero-engine congress and exposition. International Conference and Exhibition Centre, Brussels, Bel gium. Tel: Marcus Stone "(Inco Alloys International), Bristol, (0272) 292311. 11-15 June Astelab 90, international symposium and exhibition, -."Industrial Tests, European Co-operation". Pare des Expositions, Porte de Versailles, Paris. Contact: Association pour le De- veleoppement des Sciences'et Tech niques de l'Environnement, ASTE, 8 Rue Roquepine, 75008 Paris, France; tel: (1) 42 66 58 29; fax: (1) 42 66 12 06. 12 June ISSC seminar, "International Simulation and Training Market—re quirements, specifications, applica tion". Holiday Inn, Brussels Airport, Belgium. Contact: Erika Maier, Heils- bachetracco 36, D-5300 Bonn 1, West Germany; tel: +49 (0) 2 28 64 83-168; fax: +49 (0) 2 28 64 83-174. 12-15 June 1ATA conference and exhi bition, "Information Technology: how successful is information technology's contribution to airline productivity and cost control?" Hotel Plaza Concorde, Nice, France. Contact: David Durward, International Air Transport Associa tion, PO Box 672, 1215 Geneva 15 Airport, Switzerland; tel: 022-799 2713; fax: 022-799 2683. 14-17 June Cayman Islands Annual Aviation Safety Seminar. Grand Cayman. Contact: Charlotte Latham, Cohen Associates, 250 Catalonia Avenue, Suite 801, Coral Gables, FL 33134, USA; tel: (305) 443-1151. The opinions expressed in these pages do not necessarily represent those of the Editor. Flight Inter national cannot undertake to publish letters without name or address, and reserves the right to select or edit letters. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 16-22 May 1990 •17
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