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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1311.PDF
JULY 2IST, 1949 FLIGHT 75 THE NATIONAL AIR RACES R.Aux.A.F. Race Entries : Colours to be Carried DETAILS of the seven entries for the R.Aux.A.F. race, tobe contested on National Air Race Sunday (July 31st),for a bronze trophy given by W/C. G. Cooper, M.P. for Middlesbrough West, have now been announced and are set forth below. For the purposes of the race, the Auxiliaries are retaining their Reserve Command group designations, though they are in process of being re-absorbed into Fighter Command. Various methods of selection of pilots have been employed. Nos. 61, 63, 65 and 66 Groups held informal eliminating races in their own areas; 64 Group drew squadron numbers from a hat, and the CO. of the lucky squadron—No. 607 (County of Durham)—then selected a pilot. In the case of R.A.F. North- ern Ireland and 62 Group, pilots were selected by the A.O.C. Competing aircraft comprise a Meteor 3, Vampire 1, three Spitfire 22s and two Spitfire 16s. The race will be a handicap over four laps of the 20-mile Elmdon circuit, and the aircraft will fly fully equipped except for ammunition. Details of the entries are as follows: — No. 61 (Eastern Reserve) Group.—S/L. H. C. Kennard (Meteor 3). S/L. Kennard, who is CO. of No. 500 (County of Kent) Sqn., won an eliminating race in which one other pilot of his own squadron and two from No. 615 (County of Surrey) took part. No. 62 [Southern Reserve) Group.—F/O. E. B. Smith (Vampire 1), of No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Sqn. No. 63 (Western Reserve) Group.—F/O. A. B. Mercer (Spit- fire 22). F/O. Mercer, of No. 610 (County, of Chester) Sqn., was the winner of an eliminating race in which one aircraft was entered from each of the following squadrons: 605 (Warwick), 611 (West Lanes), 613 (Manchester), 614 (Glamorgan). No. 64 (Northern Reserve) Group.—F/O. I. Baxter (Spitfire 22), of No. 607 (County of Durham) Sqn. No. 65 (London Reserve) Group.—S/L. H. S. L. Dundas, D.S.O., D.F.C. (Spitfire 16). S/L. Dundas, who is CO. of No. 601 (County of London) Sqn., won an eliminating race between himself and F/O. K. Hazelwood, of No. 600 Sqn. No. 66 (Scottish Reserve) Group.—Pit. I Royan Yule (Spit- lire 16), of No. 612 (County of Aberdeen) Sqn. R.A.F. Northern Ireland.—F/L. John Newell (Spitfire 22), No. 502 (Ulster) Sqn. A late addition to the supplementary regulations for theRaces is one that should add in some measure to their spec- tacle value, though that is not its true purpose. This is to theeffect that aircraft are to carry racing colours in addition to their numbers.When the entry lists were complete it was realized that there were a great many machines of identical or very similarappearance and colour and the race committee felt that it would be a difficult task for the judges to distinguish themquickly by their racing numbers alone. Competitors have therefore been requested to paint 36mvertical bands round the tails of their machines, either one band of one colour or two of contrasting colours. Elevenshades have been selected, and each competitor has been allotted his own colour or combination of colours. Certainaircraft of an unusual or distinctive appearance, represented by only one entry in each race, have been exempted fromthe new rule; among them are the Comper Swift, D.H. Chip- munk, Short Sealand, Mosscraft and Hornet Moth. Therequirement has also been waived in the case of several other- wise similar machines completely finished in differing colourschemes. The Miles Whitney Straight entered by H.R.H. PrincessMargaret, and to be flown by G/C Peter Townsend, will be among those without tail-bands. Apart from being the onlyrepresentative of its type, it is already distinctively finished in blue and gold.It is typical of the extremely thorough organization of the Races that the eleven colours are explicitly specified by theirnumbers in the British Standards Institution scale No. 38iC, 1948. Competitors are also advised to use paint speciallymade for such purposes by the well-known aircraft-finish manufacturers ; it can be easily removed after the race with-out damage to the finish beneath. Disappointment will be caused by news of scratching^ fromthe all-jet race for the S.B.A.C Challenge Cup: The Vickers- Armstrongs 510 is not to compete. The reason, given by themakers, is that official flight-trials will be in full progress at the time and these, of course, must have precedence. TheMeteor 7, which was to have been flown by the late F/L. Dry- land, will not take part and there also seems some doubtwhether the Hawker P. 1052 will put in an appearance. FULLY FASHIONED SECURITY WELL known as specialists in locknut design and manu-facture, Simmonds Aerocessories, Ltd., announce thedevelopment of the Simmonds Nylon Nut as a variant of the essentially similar and well-established Elastic Stop Nut.Nylon has been introduced as an alternative to the elastic fibre used in the manufacture of the special insert.Comparisons with the endurance characteristics of the all- metal nut show that the nylon nut has considerable advantagesin its ability to adjust itself to thread irregularities. The nut, it is claimed, possesses good dimensional stability undervarying conditions of temperature and humidity extremes, while at the same time being impervious to all oils and boilingwater. Nylon nuts have been fully approved for use in aircraft construction and are interchangeable with, or alternative to,the existing A.G.S. range of all-metal self-locking nuts. An interesting development is the production of the nylonnut in cap form. The self-locking insert and cap are an integral moulding which affords a completely leak-proof seal,an important advantage for special applications such as pres- surized chambers, fuel tanks, and so forth. ILLUMINATED LETTERING AN addition to the interlaminate printed and standardengraved signs made in Traffolyte, a laminated plastic by Thomas De La Rue and Co., Ltd. (Plastics Division), is nowavailable in the form of translucent engraved material. Used mainly for signalling and electrical equipment, naviga-tional instruments and signs in dark rooms, lettering in this material is engraved so that it appears against a contrasting-background when lit from behind. Engraved Traffolyte is available in black or white for theopaque section with contrasting translucent lettering in ivory, red or green. BI7 • ' MET. FOR THE MASSES. "Signpost to the Weather." By D. and K. Bartlett. EdwardStanford, Ltd. Price 3s (id. Tj*ORECASTING the weather for the general public still-F appears to be anybody's game. To say this would, per- haps, be unkind to the Bartlett brothers were it not for thefact that they themselves have set out to demonstrate that truth in this little book. Indeed, they say to the reader: " You canmake a long-range weather forecast. It is easy." They go on to explain the "Bartlett Weather Expecta-tions l!; the general trend of the argument is that if the present weather is unlike these expectations it is going to be differentfrom them for some time; but that slightly more often than otherwise the weather does conform with the expectations,which are based on an analysis of conditions within the last 50 years. Now, we all agree that it is warmer in summer than in.winter, but when it comes to implying that the second week in August is likely to be more free from thundery showers thanwas the first, the differences involved arc of such a magnitude that it will need more than 50 years' records to prove it—andat least that much expectation of life left in the reader to derive appreciable benefit from it. The Meteorological Office uses a projected analysis of synop-tic development, but until such time as the forecasts which they produce for popular consumption show themselves to beoutstandingly superior there will be thriving private enterprise. One of the great difficulties in getting a forecast across isthat, although the topic is never far from their lips, the public know little about the weather elements and their workings.This little book presents many facts in a simple language and with workable accuracy. On this score alone, and in theabsence of a comparable official publication, it is to be com- mended. J. C.
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