JANUARY, 1958 the INTERNATIONAL AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS' Monthly I 'FAIREY ROTODYNE Worldjs First Vertical Take-Off Airliner

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JANUARY, 1958 the INTERNATIONAL AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS' Monthly I 'FAIREY ROTODYNE Worldjs First Vertical Take-Off Airliner JANUARY, 1958 The INTERNATIONAL AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS' Monthly I 'FAIREY ROTODYNE WorldJs First Vertical Take-Off Airliner ·48 Passengers • 185 m.p.h. Cpuising Speed 400 Miles Maximum Range THE FAIREY AVIATION COMPANY LIMITED . HAYES • MIDDLESEX ENGLAND ' AUSTRALIA' CANADA Editorial Offices: 19 PARK LANE, LONDON, W.I Telephone: GROsvenor 1530 and 1382 Advertisement Manager: Derek Merson Assistant Editor: Proprietors: 2 BREAMS BUILDINGS EDWARD SHACKLADY AIR LEAGUE OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE LONDON, E.C.4 LONDONDERRY HOUSE, 19 PARK LANE, LONDON, W .I Telephone: HOLborn 5708 Vol. XX JANUARY 1958 No. 1 Other Roads • • • AST month's editorial "Away with Run­ too many variables to make a programme. opportunity here to combine business and L ways" aroused great public interest, and Worse still, the essence of the matter is cash research by designing a long-range jet exec­ the Air League has been warmly congratu­ and its allocation is in the hands of laymen utive to scoop the huge, lucrative U.S. lated on its attempt to get people thinking who cannot be expected even to grasp the market at present served by piston and about the future of this aspect of air trans­ most tenuous threlds of the arguments for turboprop. port operations, for it seems patently and against a project. All the interests, too, The National Gas Turbine Department's foolish to go on producing aircraft which are decidedly vested and there is no way of jet flap is a more recent invention, which require longer and longer runways of far differentiating between the honest but mis­ has now reached the stage where it should greater strength than today, costing enor­ guided enthusiast, the true genius, or even be tried in a specially designed aeroplane. mous sums of money which few countries the glib self-promoter. In this situation, and Due to its unfortunate title, the jet flap is can afford. Nevertheless, some of our faced with signing bills for millions, it is confused (even by aircraft designers) with correspondents have taken us to task on the scarcely surprising that the responsible flap blowing and jet deflexion- both devices grounds that we were encouraging too great politician usually adopts the advice of the which can be applied to conventional aero­ a technical "bite" by looking so far ahead. slow and steady expert. planes. However, although born out of a Therefore, we feel it is only fair to take a But, to return to our muttons; we have wedding of these ideas, the jet flap is, in look at the other side of the coin. had it pointed out that there is little point fact, an entirely new flight system and is the First, though, a word on the background. in crying "Away with Runways", since they first true integration of airframe and power­ The scientific and technical scene in general, are already there, and they will remain there plant. The Air League is strongly of the and the aeronautical one in particular, has because some hundreds of large, heavy, sub­ opinion that the jet flap flight system can since the war presented such confusing and sonic jetliners ordered by the world's flag only be evaluated on specially designed conflicting aspects as often to border upon carriers will require them well into the aeroplanes-turbojet and turboprop varic the chaotic. The greatest difficulty is to 'seventies-so why be extravagant and build ants would be significantly different-when establish a technical time-scale, to assess the the runway into the aircraft? To this we its abilities as perhaps the ideal STOL con­ lead-time required between scientific re­ reply that the M 2.5 VTOL jet-lift converti­ figuration could be established on a practical search and its everyday engineering applica­ pla ne is the first- and as far as we know­ operational basis. tion. One might instance supersonics. Dr. the only project for preventing the extension There is, even today, a vast world market Mach established his significant ratio away of runways and of getting a supersonic air­ for STOL aircraft that can carry a paying back in the 'nineties. Most countries had craft into and out of the air without a load of passengers and freight , as is being supersonic wind tunnels before World terrifyingly long, fast ground-run. The Air proved by the rising exports of the Scottish War H. Mach I was first exceeded by an League feel it is a scheme which should be Aviation Twin Pioneer-which has no aeroplane in 1947. Yet only in the last two explored to the uttermost of its possibilities, present rivals although several imitators are years has level supersonic flight become with all-out backing from the Exchequer. on the way. practical-and that for relatively small There are, however, other roads along Does it pay to be radically difrerent? Yes, aeroplanes for a few minutes at a time. which Great Britain has equally outstanding provided your basic assessment of the It would not be too sweeping to say that leads in invention and initial research, but situation is sound and you have the the actual rate of progress to true super­ where the lead is in danger of being lost determination (and cash) to hold on grimly sonic flight confounded all the prophets. entirely because of lack of development until events prove you right. The Twin Mostly it was slower than expected, but effort-i.e. cash. Pioneer is one recent instance, the Conway some few of the speculators were proved to It is strange that, when the dream of the by-pass turbojet is another. Based upon a be pessimistic. The reasons for the diffi­ pioneers, removal of the turbulent boundary brilliant twenty-year-old concept of Sir culties of forecasting are because of the layer, is within reach of realisation, there Frank Whittle, the by-pass principle was many "arts" concerned; not aerodynamics should be no apparent interest in halving praised by theorists, but eschewed by all alone, but powerplants, structures, special the fuel costs of an airliner or of doubling aero-engine manufacturers, save Rolls­ materials and so on. A hold-up here, such the range of a bomber. Or. G . V. Lachmann Royce, whose tenacity, personalised by as the unexpectedly slow development of of Handley Page Ltd. has been doing Lord Hives and imaginatively backed by reheat, which took almost ten years research on a shoestring for years. His the M.o.S., has triumphed to the infinite although it appeared to be workable in system has been flight-tested on an experi­ advantage of our jet airliners and bombers 1945, a "breakthrough" there, such as the mental section of wing, special ducted and -and in the end to the Public Purse. so-called area rule which eased the tran­ perforated structures have been evolved, sonic drag "bari"ier" (just as engines became numerous global-range paper aircraft have so powerful that its dimensions had shrunk been designed ; but nothing seems to be THIS MONTH'S COVER to those of a little fence) can completely forthcoming for the only possible worth­ THE Zlin 126 Trener II is used extensively change the estimated time scale. while development-a trial batch of aero­ by the Czech Air Force and flying train­ Thus the picture is very, very complex planes designed and built to get the most ing schools. Tt is a tandem two-seater and it is, as always, one where the judgment out of laminarisation and to prove the powered by a I05-h.p. Waiter Minor of the human mind is supreme, for the proposition in practice. engine, and has a maximum speed of answers cannot be computed since there are The Air League believes there is a great 127 m.p.h. speed (18,000 m.p.h.), but the direction of projection was incorrect. It is obviously The ~ommonwealth necessary to attain quite a high degree of precision in both projection velocity and elevation to achieve a circular orbit, and for that reason elliptical orbits have been used of Satellites by the Russians and will continue to be employed. By G. V. E. Thompson, B.Sc. (Eng.), A.R.C.S., F.R.I.C. If t he project ion speed is as grea t as 25 ,000 m.p.h. then the orbit becomes para­ HE space age has begun! The launching satellite in such a n orbit it is necessary to fix bolic, i.e. the body is no longer a satellite, T of the two Russian Sputniki is an indica­ the velocity precisely. The Sputnik must but escapes from the pull of the earth. This tion that emphasis is passing from aero­ obviously be travelling in the circular path is true spaceflight, and we are obviously well nautics to astronautics. Having mastered the when the power is cut off, and the necessary on the way to achieving it with small pay­ air man is now taking the first steps towards speed is fixed purely by the geometry of the loads. Indeed, the U .S.A.F. have claimed th ~ conquest of space- a much more diffi­ problem, i.e. by the altitude. It does not that they have fired two small aluminium cult task. As we shall see, the difficulties are depend on the size or mass of the satellite. pellets out into space, but the evidence for such that it is unlikely that manned space In the vicinity of the earth the speed needed this is not conclusive. flight in even its simplest aspects will take for a circular orbit is 18,000 m.p.h., or place for some years yet.
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