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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0728.PDF
744 FLIGHT A Meteor TT.20 streaming a sleeve target from beneath the rear fuselage. The winch is above the starboard inner wing. Jet Tugs for the Royal Navy ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH MODIFICATION OF THE METEOR NF.ll THE Meteor TT.20 seen above has been developed byArmstrong Whitworth from their NF.ll night fighter, tosatisfy the requirements of the Royal Navy for a high-speed target-towing aircraft for shore-based ground-to-air gunnery prac-tice at home or overseas. The TT.20 carries four 3ft by 15ft (or 4ft by 20ft) high-speed,radar-responsive sleeve targets, stowed in the rear fuselage and launched while the aircraft is airborne. An M.L. Aviation wind-mill winch, mounted on a pylon over the starboard inner wing, is used for paying out or hauling in the 6,100ft towing cable. Near-miss recording gear, together with conductive cable and target microphone, are carried in the targets. Hits and near misses aresignalled via the towing cable to an indicator on the control panel in the rear cockpit. The towing cable is routed from the rear of the winch to apulley at the trailing edge of the wing, through a tubular strut to a pulley beneath the fuselage, and thence through a cable cutterand buffer unit to the exchange/release unit. The four targets are contained in cylindrical canisters with a D-section mouth project-ing at the lower end through the fuselage skin. Each folded target is held in its canister between a trap-door in the mouth ofthe canister and a Tufnol disc attached to the sides of the canister by elastic cord. A solenoid-operated trip mechanism holds thetrap-door in the "up" position. When released the door opens downwards, and ejection of the target is assisted by the elasticcord. Ejection is notified on the control panel by indicator lights operated by microswitches. The exchange unit allows successive targets to be released andnew ones substituted in the air. There are two pairs of retracting pawls in the exchange unit, each pair, in the emerged position,forming an abutment for the jockey ring of the target bridle. When the exchange unit is wound right up to the buffer theforward pawls are out and the rear pawls retracted. The jockey ring of a launched target is pulled rearwards and comes to restagainst the forward pawls. As the cable is paid out the rear pawls emerge and the forward pawls retract: the rear pawls then becomethe towing stops. When the cable is subsequently wound until the exchange unit compresses the buffer, the rear pawls retractand the used target falls to earth. At the same time the forward pawls have emerged ready to receive the next jockey ring. Flighttrials of a new type of exchange unit, which will allow the opera- tion to be carried out in about two minutes instead of the present12 to 15 minutes, are imminent. Fitted immediately forward of the buffer is the cable cutter.Its principal parts are a cocked, spring-loaded cutting blade and an anvil, between which the towing cable is routed. The blade-trip mechanism is remotely controlled, an operating handle being provided in both front and rear cockpits. The blade is reset, aftera cut has been made, by means of a cocking key located in the rear cockpit. Some re-routing of the rudder and elevator control cables roundthe target canisters has been necessary and additional equipment is installed in the two cockpits. The four-gun armament has beenremoved. Deletion of this and other items such as tropical kit, water bottles, rations and signalling equipment allows the opera-tion of the TT.20 at comparable weights to the standard NF.ll aircraft, and hence similar airfield capabilities obtain. Perform-ance and general flight characteristics with target stowed are not greatly affected. Further systems, designed to allow an increase in both speedand endurance, are now under way; and trials should be com- pleted by the end of the summer.The Meteor TT.20 will make it possible for Naval anti-aircraft gunners to practise with a relatively fast target, providing anaccurate assessment of hits and near misses. Several targets can be streamed during each sortie and each target can be retrieved. X-15: EXPLORER OF THE OUTER ATMOSPHERE REPRODUCED here is a manufacturer's*^ artist's impression of the North American X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft. Thisnew official view clearly shows the pronounced wedge section of the vertical control surfaces, thelower of which is jettisoned before landing. The cylindrical section of the centre fuselageforms a series of integral fuel tanks, the control runs and other equipment being located in thelateral fairings. To mitigate the effects of kinetic heating all hydraulic pipe joints are brazed, toavoid trouble which might occur with conven- tional screwed unions. Propulsion is by a single-chamber Reaction Motors unit giving 60,000 lb thrust for about three minutes. Since the X-15 will operate for some of itsflight time outside normal atmospheric conditions, a stellar-inertial system will serve both for navi-gation and for operating flight instruments. Small "cold" rockets at nose and wing-tips will main-tain the X-15 in an attitude suitable for re-entry into the atmosphere after a ballistic sortie intospace. A capsule escape system is fitted and the pilot will wear a special full-pressure suit madeof silver material designed to reflect heat. Pilots of the X-15 will be Scott Crossfield, Capt.Iven Kincheloe and Joseph Walker.
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