NATO Air Meeting
The second general assembly of the Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development, a military agency of NATO, has just been concluded in Rome. Delegates from twelve nations were present: Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Turkey and the United States.
Topics discussed included pilots' resistance to the effects of high-altitude flight, the development of high-speed aircraft, and combined training among NATO pilots. No official pronouncement was made on the degree of scientific co-operation achieved amongst the participating nations, but the president of the group, Dr. Theodore Von Karman, reported considerable headway, especially in consideration of the fact that the group had only been formed in May, 1952.
B.E.A. Viking Accident
Twenty-seven passengers and three of the crew lost their lives when a B.E.A. Viking crashed at Nutt's Corner, Belfast, just after 9.30p.m. last Monday, January 5th. The steward and seven passengers were injured. The aircraft, G-AJDL Lord St. Vincent, was an Admiral-class machine converted to carry 36 passengers; it was operating Flight BE 556, a scheduled service from Northolt to Nutt's Corner.
According to reports, it hit an obstruction while on final approach and crashed a short distance from the runway. Shortly after the the accident Mr. Peter Masefield and other B.E.A. officials flew to Belfast for a preliminary investigation.
Do They Mean Dollars?
According to a United Air Lines publicity release, a San Francisco bank employee flies to Los Angeles and back (a 1,000-mile journey) five nights a week, carrying cancelled cheques and other non-negotiable materials. The statement adds that "...he has spent 300,000 hours aloft in the past 18 months - and loves it." The method by which he has whiled away some 34 years in 18 months is not revealed. Perhaps the hour has been devalued.
Bombs In Its Delhi?
Caption to a photograph (reproduced upside down) in an Indian transport journal: "An air picture of the Gloster G.A.5 Javelin Delta all-weather fighter which appeared at the S.B.A.C. Display at Farnborough.This Atom Bombay-Destroyer is the only aircraft capable of over coming the vision barrier".
Source: Flight International