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Aviation History
1978
1978 - 2348.PDF
1296 RIGHT International, 7 October I97B The blimp's tea party THE first commercial airship to be built in Britain for nearly half a cen tury is being readied at Cardington, Beds, for a maiden flight later this month. Built by Aerospace Develop ments, the non-rigid airship is the first of 22 such craft for a Venezuelan advertising company, Aerovision of Caracas. Aerovision reasons that airships will be ideal for aerial advertising over Caracas by night. During the day the company plans to explore the use of airships to improve communications within the Venezuelan hinterland. Many communities can be reached only on foot, and fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters are too expensive. The two roles should provide enough work to keep utilisation at an economic level. The first airship will be certificated initially in the single-pilot, public- transport category, with full IFR certi fication following later. The gondola on the initial craft has accommodation for 12-15 people, and its normal pay- load is 2X2 tonnes. The lifting medium is helium gas, and power comes from two 200 h.p. Porsche 911SC motor car engines driving ducted Hoffmann multi-blade fans. Vectored thrust will allow the ships to take off heavy and land light without venting gas. Managing director John Wood tells Flight that little or no credit could be given to previous experience in design ing the airship, and the envelope, gondola, propulsion system and avionics are all fundamentally new. New applications have been investi gated since development began, in cluding military or para-military operations such as coastal patrol and fishery and. oil-rig protection. After trials the first airship will carry an airborne sonar interrogation system made by Rank and CDC for demon stration to the US Navy. A visit to Australia is planned, and ADL has made presentations to Britain's Ministry of Defence. The company has a contract for the second airship, to be supplied through Aerovision to Multiprogrammos, an Argentinian concern which is understood to have military surveillance interests. Other countries, including South Africa, are also believed to be interested. Guggenheim award for IMasa's Kraft DR Christopher Kraft, director of Nasa's Johnson Space Centre since 1972, has been awarded the Guggen heim international astronautics award for 1978. The $1,000 prize is awarded annually to the individual who is judged to have made the most out standing contribution to space re search in the preceding five years. Dr Kraft has directed the planning and operational control of every US manned spaceflight programme, from Mercury to Space Shuttle. He played an important part in initial Shuttle design, and was closely involved with the approach and landing tests last year. Dr Kraft is best known for his work on alternative procedures to cope with system failures and emergencies. He was presented with the award during the 29th congress of the International Asfronautical Federation, held in Dubrovnik, Jugo slavia, last week. French Navy's first Lynx THE first Lynx anti-submarine heli copter for the French Navy was for mally handed over in a ceremony at Aerospatiale's Marignane factory last week. More than ten French Navy air craft have been completed, and at least one has gone to the naval air base at Hyeres for operational trials. The French order for 26 naval Lynx is soon to be increased to 40. First hang-gliding Silver awarded AUSTRIAN Ernst Reichholf, flying a Seagull 7, is the first pilot to gain the Federation Aeronautique Interna tionale's Delta Silver hang-gliding badge. As reported in Private Flight last week (page 1239), the require ments for this award are identical to those for the long-established gliding Silver C: 50km distance, 1,000m height gain, and five hours duration. On April 2 Reichholf flew 55km from the 2,100m-high Wildkogel Berg to Taxenbach in Z^hr. Although the thermals were good and took him to 3,300m above sea level, he flew most of the time between 2,500m and 2,800m because he was extremely cold. It was for this reason rather than lack of lift that he landed. Reichholf's five-hour flight was carried out more recently in warmer weather. The Seagull was equipped with prone harness, variometer, alti meter and ASI. Scandinavia and UK try again BRITISH and Scandinavian officials opened fresh talks in Copenhagen last week in an effort to break the current impasse over a new air service agree ment between the UK and Scan dinavia (Norway, Sweden and Den mark). The present agreement ex pires on December 31. Earlier talks in June and August failed to produce a new agreement because of the two sides' diametrically opposed views. The UK wants to open up air ser vices to independent airlines (B.CAL, Dan-Air and Air Anglia have all applied for Scandinavian routes), re duce fares and increase the number of destinations served. The present talks are open-ended and both sides have prepared for some tough nego tiations. If no agreement is reached, air services between Britain and Scan dinavia will cease after December 31. Flight-test efforts at Learjet's Wichita plant centre on these three aircraft fitted with the "Longhorn" wing. Nearest the camera is the first production Model 28129, while the other two aircraft are conversions used during development of the wing. Certification, due before the end of the year, will include approval up to 51,000ft. At this height, where indicated airspeed in the cruise is low, the winglets come into their own in improving overall efficiency by cutting down induced drag J0: • «
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