FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0010.PDF
FLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS Those Fifty/Years A LL over the United States the 50th anniversary of powered flight was celebrated by meetings, air shows and din ners, each graced with eloquent utterance on subjects aeronautical. At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where the first flight was made, the hangar and living quarters of the Wright brothers were skilfully recon structed on their original site. As already recorded in our columns, F/L. Burton and F/L. Gannon, winners of the England to New Zealand race, flew their Canberra P.R.3 across the Atlantic to Kitty Hawk from Wyton; on this page is a photo graph of the aircraft passing near the Wright memorial. After landing at nearby Elizabeth City, the crew were then taken by helicopter to the celebration luncheon at Kitty Hawk. Later they laid a wreath at the foot of the memorial. At exactly die time of the Wrights' first flight (10.30 a.m.) Billy Parker flew his old 1912 pusher biplane over the Kill Devil sands, and aircraft of many types flew past in salute. In Washington, Gen. Eisenhower attended a dinner on the evening of the anniversary day, when Glenn L. Martin, himself one of the pioneers of American aviation, presented the annual Wright lecture. He predicted mat the next 50 years would see space ships with speeds of 25,000 m.p.h. He also said he had "no hesitancy in forecasting for the next half-century of flight": (1) giant 200-passenger jet aeroplanes crossing die continents and the oceans "in literally zero time in the westerly direction"—this would mean flight in the neighbourhood of 1,000 m.p.h. to keep pace with the sun; (2) aircraft powered by atomic energy—first as bombers—capable of "multiple non-stop circumnavigation" of the globe; (3) helicopters carrying all airline traffic over distances up to 150 miles; (4) fully automatic airline flight operations with electronic guidance and control equipment; (5) flying-boats with speeds matching those of landplanes, but with greater capacity for cargo, passengers or weapons; (6) reductions to bring the cost of air travel well below that of any other form of transport. Canberra's Two-way Cape Records WE gave brief details last week of the Canberra point-to-point record between London and Cape Town on December 17th. This stands, subject to official confirmation, at 12 hr 21 min 3.8 sec. Thus the 6,009 statute miles between the city centres was covered at an average speed of 486.6 m.p.h. Two refuelling stops were made, at Castel Idris in Libya and Brazza ville in French Equatorial Africa. The refuelling times at these places, respectively 18 min and 23 min, are comparable with those of the England to New Zealand race. This flight has reduced by no less than nine hours the previous record of 21 hr 25 min set up in 1947 by a Mosquito P.R.34 (S/Ls. Martin and Sismore). The record-breaking Canberra B.2 was to have returned to London Airport on Friday, December 18th, flown this time by W/C. A. H. Humphrey, with S/L. R. F. B. Powell and S/L. D. Bower as navigators. After some delay in departure from Cape Town because of fog at London Airport, the Can berra began the homeward flight on the 19th, reaching London in 13 hr 16 min 25.2 sec (454 m.p.h.). Subject to confirmation, this breaks a long-standing record over the route—Alex Hen- shaw's 39 hr 36 min established in a Mew Gull in 1939. Both the Canberra's flights were made against headwinds. Appointments from Cranfield TVTEW appointments for two members of the Department of J-^ Aerodynamics at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, have recendy been announced. Professor A. D. Young, M.A., F.R.Ae.S., head of the Department, is to become Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at Queen Mary College, London University, on October 1st next, and Mr. A. H. Yates, B.Se., B.Sc.(Eng), A.F.R.Ae.S., senior lecturer, has been appointed principal of Bath Technical College, and is to begin his duties there on April 1st. Professor Young has been head of the Department of Aero dynamics at Cranfield since October 1950. Educated at the Central Foundation School and Caius College, Cambridge, he PROGRESS: Could the famous brothers have looked into the future, what would have been their feelings on seeing a Canberra circling the Wright Memorial at Kitty Hawk? was engaged on research work under Professor Melvill Jones from 1935 to 1936, and was a member of the Aerodynamics Depart ment of R.A.E. from 1936 until 1946, when he became senior lecturer and deputy head of Department at Cranfield. He suc ceeds the late Professor N. A. V. Piercy, D.Sc.(Eng.), F.R.Ae.S., who, until his death in February last year, had been Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at Queen Mary College since 1949. From 1934 until 1949 Professor Piercy had been University of London Reader in Aeronautics. Mr. A. H. Yates—who is a regular contributor to Flight— has been a senior lecturer in Aerodynamics at Cranfield since 1946. He was joint author of Some Aspects of Noise Propagation from Supersonic Aircraft, a Cranfield report published last March. Fifty Years on Film T1 O celebrate the "Fiftieth Anniversary of Powered, Controlled * Flight," two outstanding films have been produced showing the history of aviation during its first half-century. Both pro ductions are the work of private firms, one British and the other American. The British production is entided Powered Flight—the Story of the Century and it is the work of the Shell Film Unit. The suggestion for such a film originated with the Royal Aeronautical Society, who quickly came to an agreement with the Shell com pany. B.E.A's two Peters, Masefield and his assistant Brooks, were then asked to plan and advise generally. Work began at the end of February 1953, under the guidance of a R.Ae.S. committee, of which Mr. Masefield was chairman. Initially, twelve "nodal points" were fixed, marking events or developments of great significance. Around these the film was built up in perspective; and, although a subtitle reads "A study of Britain's contribution to die conquest of the air," the story is truly international and impartial. Research for celluloid penetrated to the Air Ministry, Central Office of Information, Ministry of Supply, R.Ae.S., and many private collectors. Of the history itself, most of our readers—particularly those in possession of our issue of December 11th last—will need no further reminder. Our only comments and criticisms concern trivialities; sometimes, we felt, one development held undue sway while more could have been made of another; but the fact remains that this film provides all, and more than, we had expected. Dogfighting in the Kaiser war . . . barnstorming in the twenties . . . the beginning of real progress, in the thirties . . . the Battles of Britain and Europe . . . flying bombs and jet propulsion .. . and shots from recent Shell "Farnborough" films. Everything is here, properly related to die whole and treated in a truly authoritative manner. The film is in black-and-white on six reels of 16mm or 35mm sound film. Copies will be made available on loan to societies and other bodies on application to the Petroleum Films Bureau, 29 New Bond Street, London, S.W.I. The American film was to have been a joint effort by all the members of the American Aircraft Industries Association; in the event, the United Aircraft Corporation undertook the whole pro duction, to which they have clearly accorded immense expendi ture in time, man-power and money. Human nature being what it is, diis film bears little relation to the film described above. Entitled We Saw it Happen, the film uses as narrators most of the greatest pioneers in the American industry: Glenn Martin, Larry Bell, Donald Douglas, Chance Vought, Frederick B. Rentschler, "Dutch" Kindelberger, and such "top brass" as Generals "Hap" Arnold and Jimmy Doolittle.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
