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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 2017.PDF
FLIGHT, 22 December 1949 7S3 After congratulating the entry on .the standard attained, theCommandant pointed out that there were now more applicants than places in the College, despite an intake which is nearlydouble that of the entry which was leaving. Sir William Slim then presented the prizes, having a iewmoments sincere talk with each recipient. In his subsequent speech, addressing his remarks mainly to the cadets, the FieldMarshal gave his definition of leadership. It was, he said, a projection of a man's own personality and required the qualitiesof courage, will-power, initiative and knowledge. We came of a race never short of courage, Sir Williamsaid, but it was jnst that extra ten minutes of bravery that was required. Will-power meant forcing people along whohad not quite the same degree of courage—but inflexibility of mind was a dangerous pitfall. Initiative meant not waitingfor things to happen, and always being ahead of the men under command, whether one was a flying officer or a fieldmarshal. In the pursuit of knowledge one should learn during the whole of one's lifetime. Finally, said Sir William, good leadership meant that self-sacrifice must dominate everything else. A good officer must be the servant of his men, and their interest must comefirst. "The men are all the same," he concluded, "and there are no good or bad squadrons—there are only good orbad officers." The King's Colour Party : Ensign, Fit. Cdt. Cpl. W. F. Knapper. Escort, Fit. Cdt. Cpls. A. S. H. Black and A. Turner. COMET ASSESSMENT Official Statement Based on the Measured Performance of the First Aircraft ALTHOUGH the existence of.,the de Havilland Comet,either under the manufacturer's designation 106 or- under the type name itself, was known for quite some considerable time before the aircraft was presented to publicview, the very fact that this debut did not occur until almost immediately prior to the aircraft's first flight, and after monthsof conjecture, invested the whole presentation with no incon- siderable dramatic value. It is, perhaps, not too much ofan exaggeration to state that the appearance of the Comet created a considerable flutter throughout the whole aero-nautical world, and not least in America. Since the first flight of the Comet, on July 27th, so swim-mingly have the main handling trials gone, and so spectacular have been some of the flights, that the already considerableinterest in this singular aircraft has, if anything, become emphasized. Now-, after four months of intensive work, thehandling trials and performance measurements have been com- pleted, and an analysis made of the results. Although a gooddeal of development will doubtless be built into those air- craft which are scheduled to go into service in 1952-53, deHavillands themselves feel that, in view of the importance which attaches to a realistic understanding of the aircraft,it is more satisfactory to issue a statement based on the performance achieved by the first aircraft in its first fewweeks of flight, rather than to publish estimates of future capabilities. It is officially stated that the Comet has a cruising speedof 490 m.p.h. at an all-up weight of 105,000 1b and, as a 36-seater, a capacity payload of 12,000 lb. With this maxi-mum payload its Still-Air Range (standard atmosphere, no wind, no allowances) is 3,540 statute miles. The correspond-ing Practical Range is 2,645 miles, i.e., with due allowance for ground running, taxying-out, take-off, climb and descent,navigational errors, airframe and engine variation and de- terioration, the Comet with 12,000 1b payload can fly to apoint 2,645 miles distant and, on arrival, have sufficient fuel left for 30 minutes of circuits and stand-off prior to approach,landing and taxying in. By reducing the payload to 6,000 lb, the practical range becomes 3,000 miles; with no payload,it becomes 3,220 miles. Additional allowances for head wind and diversion to analternative airport are necessary in order to arrive at the stage lengths that can be operated. For example, the practicalrange of 2,645 miles with 12,000 1b payload represents a stage length of 2,140 miles, plus 200 miles diversion allowance,all against a head wind of 50 m.p.h. These loadings to 105,000 lb call for a runway length of 2,175 yards, and atthis weight the Comet is stated to have a satisfactory three- engine climb gradient. In the October 27th issue of Flight, details were givenof the interior layout devised for a 36-seater version of the Comet, but de Haviilands now announce that, in addition to the 36-seat arrangement, a scheme has been prepared for a48-passenger version which, with a payload capacity of 14,000 lb, offers attractive possibilities for use over the shorterstage lengths. As an example, it is stated that, operating from a 2,000-yard runway in standard, atmosphere (the shorterrunway limits the take-off weight to 101,000 lb^, the Comet (furnished with 48 seats and carrying its full payload ot14,000 lb can, operate against a 50 m.p.h. head wind over a stage length of 1,750 miles, plus 200 miles diversion. Theaircraft is also economical for stage lengths down to less than 1,000 miles The fact that jet aircraft are particularly sensitive toambient temperatures and pressures means that they are somewhat more susceptible to adverse effects when operatingin severe tropical conditions than are aircraft powered with piston engines, although the somewhat greater power reservenormally associated with the turbojet offers some compensa- tion in this regard. It is, nevertheless, to cater for operationin the tropics that the Comet is designed to employ two Sprite rocket units housed between the Ghost jet-pipes inthe trailing edge of the wing. The Sprite (Flight, September 8th) is a liquid-fuel rocket with a maximum thrust of 5,000 lband it is, at the present time, undergoing test and develop- ment by the de Havilland Engine Co. Some impression has been given of what the Comet canalready do. The development work which is currently being conducted, in addition to that on rockets, is expected toyield increases in the thrust of the Ghost turbojet for take-off and emergency climb, a decrease in specific consumption forcruising, an increase in the all-up weight of the aircraft and an increase in the internal fuel capacity. De Havillandsare particularly anxious not to mislead potential operators of the Comet, but state that the developments mentionedare confidently expected to produce material improvements in the range, payload and other aspects of operationalcapability whilst the Comet is still in the early stages of its career.World interest has been concentrated upon the likely opera- tion of the aircraft on the North Atlantic route. The headwind at height on the westerly crossing is the over-riding operational factor; it varies, seasonally and otherwise, andthe payload varies with it. If no development advantages whatever are taken into account, the Comet in its presentform could carry a payload of 8,750 lb on the Prestwick- Gander crossing (2,116 miles) with a 50 per cent regularity.Whilst this means that on half the days of the year it could not carry such a load, it also means that on the remainingdays, it might well carry more than 8,750 1b and, in any case, it has been calculated that, on four days out of five,its payload would not be below 5,800 lb. These figures for the Prestwick-Gander stage take all allowances into account,including diversion to Goose, i.e., 395 miles.
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