FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1973
1973 - 0081.PDF
FLIGHT International, 11 January 1973 "As far as the weather was con cerned, there was more or less solid cloud cover with a base of about 2,000ft, although in places there were fringes of cloud which came down be low this. Visibility was good, however, and we estimated that only slight deviations from track would be neces sary in order to keep clear of the dark fringes, thus avoiding any need to reduce height. "All went well for about three quarters of the distance. We now were in the Cheddar area and had gone slightly to starboard of track in order- to dodge round some dark cloud that was hanging down to about our height. Suddenly my companion, who was in the left-hand seat, swore. Startled, I looked across to him to see what the matter was and there, just off the wing tip and extremely close, was a very large and very substantial-looking television mast. It was as close as I ever want to be to a television mast. "What had gone wrong? How was it that two experienced and qualified aviators could have come so near to disaster despite the most searching ?' and thorough flight planning? After all, we had done this together specific ally in order to provide a check on each other in the hope of avoiding any With testing of the BD-5 nearing completion, Bede Aircraft test pilot Les Berven has confirmed a top speed of 195 m.p.h. for the 13-5ft- wingspan, 40 h.p. version. The l9-5ft-span version shown here is also to be offered, as are 55 h.p. and 70 h.p. engines. The UK agent, Brookmoor-Bede of Shobdon, is now assembling its first demonstrator, which should be flying in the spring. Fuji seeking European production Fuji Heavy Industries may begin production of its single-engined Aero Subaru FA-200 in Europe. The com pany has been negotiating with un specified aircraft manufacturers in West Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands for knock-down produc tion. Fiji is also negotiating with a West German aircraft firm to estab lish a joint sales network in Western Europe to promote the aircraft-. By December 1972, Fuji had produced 207 Aero Subaru aircraft, exporting 110, including 85 to West Germany and 19 to Australia. It is understood that European assembly is intended to make the air craft more competitive with European aircraft. The revaluation of the yen by 16-88 per cent a year ago caused a comparable rise in the unit price of the FA-200. New owner for Fairoaks Fairoaks Aerodrome, Surrey has been bought from Mr Douglas Arnold by Burbank Ltd, parent company of the Fairoaks-based Mann Aviation. Mr Alan Mann, now airport director, expects to form a new company, Fair oaks Airport Ltd and has applied to obvious blunders. Definitely we had not gone below our calculated mini mum safe heights as recorded on the flight planning form. Then why? What? How? Could we have become lost without being aware of it? Let's have a look at that map. "Suddenly there was the answer staring us in the face. The truth struck as hard as we had almost struck that television mast. There on the map, right where we thought we were and exactly on track, was the symbol for an 'exceptionally high obstruction (lighted),' as the legend on the map proclaimed, 1,007ft of it above ground and 1,997ft above sea level. And we had been blissfully flying along at 1,800ft 'minimum safe height.' "How on earth was it that neither of us had noticed this monster ob struction during what we thought was a careful, methodical and thorough pre-flight preparation session? "Probably there are at least two reasons. First, we had drawn in our tracks using a red felt-nib pen and this obstruction and its height is -' marked on the half-million map in brown, a very similar colour to the red used for our tracks. As far as the quarter-million map is concerned, while it does not excuse our failure to build a 3,000ft tarmac runway on the airfield. Weather service numbers changed Changes have been made to two of' the telephone numbers for the new general-aviation weather forecast trial service reported in Flight for Decem ber 7, 1972, The Broughton (Preston) numbers have been re-allocated so that Broughton 863636 now applies to areas 10-16 covering north England and Broughton 863686 applies to the south England areas 17-30. The West Dray ton numbers remain unchanged. Achievement for new Piper dealer Spooner Aviation has been named 53 see the obstruction symbol and details, it is worth noting that the height of the mast is printed on this chart in black figures which are not as promi nent as those used for marking spot heights. Secondly, and, I suggest, probably of even more significance, the obstruction was very close to the track line, and both of us had been so busy looking either side of track that we both failed utterly to see what was right in front of us both metaphoric ally and almost too literally!" The GASC comments: This particu lar obstruction is called Pen Hill and it is about U4 n.m. due north of Wells in Somerset. This is by no means the only obstruction of this kind that reaches up to "normal cross country" height. The UK Air Pilot, pages RAC 327-335, lists no fewer than seven which extend above 2,000ft a.m.s.l., and a further 22 which go above 1,500ft a.m.s.l. Of course, many of these are located on high ground over which an itinerant aircraft should be flying well above 2,000ft a.m.s.l. any way, even when on a VFR flight plan. But the Air Pilot lists 13 which extend more than 1,000ft above ground level. So a useful evening's exercise would be to make sure that you know exactly where they all are! top UK Piper dealer for 1972 by CSE, the UK distributor. The Shoreham- based company sold 25 new aircraft in its first full year of operation as well as 59 used aircraft. New BLAC appointments The British Light Aviation Centre has appointed ex-Navy pilot and public relations officer Mr Harold Lipscomb as "its first full-time public relations manager. He will also edit the BLAC journal Light Aviation. Recently appointed as BLAC techni cal secretary is Mrs Janet Hoare, previously an air traffic controller at Biggin Hill.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
