FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1993
1993 - 0041.PDF
LETTERS Danger to Shannon SIR — Some of the points raised by Kenneth Gilmartin (Flight International, 9-15 De cember, P 72) regarding the Shannon stopover must be questioned. It should be clear, even to the most intransigent supporters of the policy, that Minister for Tourism, Trans port and Communication Ge- oghegan Quinn's decision to maintain the restrictions was motivated by short-term politi cal gain. Although it may have helped in her bid to win re election to the Dail, the deci sion demonstrated capitulation to lobbies which believe that waving a big stick saves having to talk softly. The sad irony is that, unless the in coming Gov ernment is prepared to re-examine the issue in a responsible and far-sighted manner, Shan non itself will be damaged. It is astounding that, in the 1990s, an Irish Government can suggest that growth in one area can be promoted by plac ing ill-considered and foolish restrictions on other areas. Finally, the suggestion that Aer Lingus cannot be trusted in relation to its transatlantic plans is unfounded, unfair and reflects a total lack of under standing of the airline's need to be flexible in the face of chang ing market conditions. JOHN FITZPATRICK Blachrock, Ireland Aer Lingus needs flexibility in a changing market HPHWIWIWIlfiin?1 Aer Lingus * im minimi AerUngus * |_J 1*1 H^L LJ °*~ Hki •8K~-',. . Right 767-200 flap position SIR .— The photograph of a LanChile Boeing 767-200 taking off using flap position one (Flight International, 22-28 July, 1992, P 9) was taken in 1990 at Paine Field in Everett, Washing ton, USA. Jonathan Ball (Flight International, 26 August-1 Sep tember, 1992) and Charles McCutchen (Flight International, 14-20 October) point out cor rectly the use of leading-edge slats, but no trailing-edge flaps. All 767-200s are certificated for take-off at flap position one. Some aircraft are certificated for take-off with no leading-edge or trailing-edge flaps. Flap position one is the 767 configuration which has the lowest drag, therefore providing the best climb performance. This can be useful at high-altitude airports or when taking off against certain obstacles from airports with long runways. Runways of 2,400-3,660m may be required, depending on the weight of the aircraft. On the 767, the take-off speeds used with flap position one are selected to provide ade quate tail clearance. Accelerating to high speed requires a fairly long runway, like the one at Paine Field. Deceptively, the photograph under discussion shows the tail very close to the ground because of a grassy bank between the camera and the aircraft. The 767 has not had recurring in-service problems with tail strikes. In short, flap position one is not commonly used in airline service. It is certificated, how ever, and safe for use on the Boeing 767-200. RICHARD JOHNSON, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING Everett Division Boeing Commercial Airplane Seattle, Washington, USA [Editor's note: this correspon dence is now closed.] A. 129 mission simulator SIR — In the Military Simulator Directory (Flight International, 28 October-3 November, 1992, P 38) Link-Miles is alleged erroneously to be the only sup plier of the combat-mission sim ulator for the Agusta A. 129 Mangusta helicopter. Actually, the combat-mission simulator development has been performed by Agusta, being prime contractor for the Italian army. Link-Miles and General Electric are members of a team led by Agusta. Within the framework of this contract with the Italian army, Link-Miles is the supplier for the basic simulator, General Electric is the supplier of the visual system and Agusta has re sponsibility for the integration and validation of the combat- mission simulator. Agusta is also the designer and developer of specific parts of the simulator — the data pack age, the simulated aerodynamics and the systems simulation, as well as the interface between the simulation computer and the on-board computer. P BARAGGIOLI Agusta Sistemi Tradate, Italy The ROC is not disbanded SIR — I was intrigued and happy to hear that the recent sighting of the US "Aurora" reconnais sance aircraft (Flight Interna tional, 2-8 December, 1992, P 4) can be treated as a reliable re port, because the witness was a former member of the Royal Observer Corps. I would like, however, to take this opportunity of correcting an error in the report by pointing out that the vast majority of the Corps was ceremonially stood down on 31 September, 1991, rather than having been totally disbanded. MARTIN SCHOFIELD Ex ROC 10/60 Post Hayle, Cornwall UK WHAT'S ON Royal Air Force Museum 2 February-2 May, The Man Who Was Biggies, photographic exhibition showing the work of the RAF in Italy and North Africa during the Second World War at the RAF Museum, Hendon, London NW9 5LL, UK. Contact: Sarah El- Doori; tcl: +44 (81) 205 2266. IATA Dangerous Goods by Air '93 Seminar & Exhibition 3-4 February, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Miami, Florida, USA. Contact: Lesley Williams, Con ference & Exhibition Serivces, 1ATA Geneva, Switzerland; tel: +41 (22) 799 2752; fax: +41 (22) 799 2683. Parts & Maintenance Symposium 4-5 Feburary, Toronto, Canada. Contact: Ryder Aviall; tel: +1 (214) 406 2022. Avmark Sixth Annual Aircraft Aging, Noise & Environmental Factors Con ference 7-9 Feburary, The Lansdowne Conference Resort, Leesburg, Virginia, USA. Contact: Arlene Berger, Avmark, 1911 N Ft Myer Dr, Suite 1000, Arlington, VA 22209, USA; tel: +1 (703) 528 5610; fax: +1 (703) 528 3689. Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS) Workshop 7-12 February, Singapore. Contact: Pang-Neo Guan Hwa; tel: +65 540 6216; fax: +65 542 9890. ACI Europe Second Airport Trading Conference 8-10 February, Quark Hotel, Milan, Italy. Contact: Airports Council Int'l, Conference Unit, 16b Rue du Luxembourg, B-1040 Bruxelles, Belgium; tel: +32 (2) 513 08 66; fax: +32 (2) 513 26 06. Tenth Annual Aircraft Cabin Safety Symposium 8-11 February, Westin South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, Cali fornia, USA. Contact: Southern Cali fornia Safety Institute, 3838 Carson Street, Suite 210, Torrance CA 90503, USA; tel: +1 (800) 545 3766 or (310) 540 2612; fax: +1 (310) 540 0532. First Jet Aircraft and Beyond Film Night 9 Feburary, Stratford upon Avon Civic Hall, Stratford, Warwicks, UK. Contact: Tryclops, 115 New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Glos, UK; tel: +44 (242) 234045; box office: +44 (789) 414513. Third Frankfurt Air Travel Sympo sium 9-10 February, Sheraton Frank furt Hotel, Congress Centre, Frank furt, Germany. Contact: Flughafen Frankfurt/Main AG, Airport Confer ence Center, D-6000 Frankfurt am Main 75, Germany; tel: +49 (69) 690 706 54; fax: +49 (69) 690 55 44. Int'l Conference for the Promotion of Advanced Fire-Resistant Aircraft Inte rior Materials 9-11 February, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, 100 Board walk at Virginia Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, USA. Contact: April Horner, FAA Technical Center, Fire Safety Branch, Building 203, Atlantic City Int'l Airport, NJ 08405, USA; fax: +1 (609) 484 5796. The opinions expressed in this page do not necessarily represent those of the Editor. Flight International cannot undertake to publish letters without name and address and reserves the right to select or edit letters. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 6 - 12 January, 1993 39
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
