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The magic of a name

The magic of a name Aircraft Engineering TH E MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING As if this reputation was not sufficiently remarkable, this month witnesses an OME years ago we were privileged to view a film describing the activities of occasion which endows the name Martin-Baker with a magic of its own. One Rolls-Royce Ltd. which had been given the particularly apposite title: 'The thousand lives have now been saved by Martin-Baker ejection scats. Magic of a Name'. Magical indeed! Named after The Hon C. S. Rolls, a pilot of not inconsiderable ability, and Sir Henry Royce, a mechanical engineer par For this reason we have devoted a substantial part of this issue to describing excellence, the company has grown and prospered until the name Rolls-Royce the development of Martin-Baker ejection scats—from the summer of 1944, jus t has become a byword throughout the world of aviation. A name which conjures twenty-one years ago when attention in the United Kingdom was first focused on up an image of quality engineering and reliability related to a range of aero the need for some device to facilitate the escape of aircrew from high speed air­ engines which are generally acknowledged to be the world's best and which by craft, to the summer of 1965 when the new rocket pack for ejections at zero virtue of their advanced design features and dependability have achieved tre­ height and at zero forward speeds as well as the novel underwater ejection system mendous success in the export markets. are entering operational service. Any suggestion that it is gilding the lily to impute magical qualities to the name Which brings us to the principal article in this issue and another company Martin-Baker can soon be dispelled by inviting the opinion of Air Force pilots whose name and reputation bear a strangely parallel relationship to the Rolls- Royce mystique. Named after Captain Valentine Baker, a skilful pilot who like who have flown high performance jet aircraft both with and without Martin- Rolls was destined to die in a tragic flying accident, and James Martin, a Baker ejection seats. Their reaction on seeing the familiar, angular, high-backed mechanical engineer who as Managing Director and Chief Designer is still the Martin-Baker scat on climbing into the cockpit, after a period spent in aircraft firm's principal source of inventive genius, this company too has grown and without one, is inevitably a feeling of pleasant reassurance. We speak from prospered until the name Martin-Baker has become a byword throughout the experience. world of military aviation. A name which is synonymous with engineering For a final view on the remarkable reputation which Martin-Baker have won, integrity and reliability related to a range of ejection seats which are recognized as we can do no better than consider the opinion of the members of that exclusive the best in the world and which by virtue of their performance and dependability fraternity whose lives have been saved by Martin-Baker ejection scats. To them, have sold in their thousands to countries overseas. above all others, there is magic in the name. THE FAMILY CIRCLE ITHIN recent months a number of new airliner projects have been pod mounted engine configuration at a time when every other contemporary launched—all of them based on, if not derived directly from, existing air­ airliner design is rear-engined. Boeing claim that the wing-mounted layout pro­ craft and all of them American. Even for companies the sizes of Boeing vides the 737 with a 1,500 lb. weight advantage over competitive rear-engined de­ and Douglas with their huge domestic market, it is extremely difficult to select signs as well as additional passenger cabin space resulting from the absence of new designs which will ultimately be profitable and consequently it has become engine support beams in the rear fuselage. The Boeing 737 owes a great deal to even more essential to derive the maximum advantage from previous experience other jet airliners in the Boeing family. The power plants are the same as those and well-proven structures, power plant and systems. used in the Boeing 727—Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofans of 14,000 lb. thrust, the fuselage width is the same as that of the 707, 720 and 727 family (12 ft. 4 in.), the The economics of aircraft design, development and manufacture—involving high lift devices are essentially modified versions of those on the 727—leading- as they do such factors as a realistic appraisal of the potential market, a competi­ edge slats outboard of the engine nacelle, slotted Kruger flaps inboard and tive price and an assessment of the related 'break-even' production run—are triple-slotted trailing-edge flaps, while all the 737's principal systems are similar complicated by the necessity to modify the design almost immediately production to those of the 727. begins, to meet the special requirements of a certain customer. Since the aircraft manufacturer concerned cannot, on the one hand, load the whole of the develop­ Although the 'family circle' philosophy has been pursued in the cases of the ment cost for the variant on to the customer if his price is to remain competitive Douglas Series 60 DC-8 and the Boeing 737, it is interesting to note that when and, on the other hand, he cannot afford to let the customer airline go elsewhere Douglas launched the brand new DC-9 short-range airliner, they were forced to for his equipment, then the additional development cost must be spread over a negotiate agreements with the principal suppliers under which these smaller com­ larger number of aircraft and 'break-even' figure begins its inexorable upward panies assumed development costs not only for their own sub-assemblies but also spiral. This is probably the main reason why Boeing did not begin to make a for a share of flight test expense for these components. It has been arranged that profit on their Boeing 707 family of airliners until well over 300 had been sold. reimbursement of these initial costs will be included in the payments made by The thought of a break-even figure in excess of 300 aircraft is enough to send Douglas as DC-9s are delivered to the airlines. cold shivers down the back of any Chief Designer worth his salt so, paradoxically, As far as Britain is concerned, it is the development cost problem which is the tendency is to stay with the well-proven design as long as possible while con­ holding back the production of further developments of the One-Eleven, Trident tinually improving it. When it does become necessary to launch a brand-new air­ and VC10. It is true that there are already a number of versions of the One-Eleven liner then, to keep development costs to a minimum, it has become established under construction, including an executive type, but there appears to be a genuine practice to use every possible component or design technique that has already been requirement for a larger aircraft (500 Series) to match the larger DC-9 and 737, proven. as well as for a combined passenger/freighter variant. With the 'stretch' philosophy in mind, Douglas have announced three new ver­ In the case of the Trident, no doubt the problem of development costs has in­ sions of their DC-8. The first is the Model 61 DC-8 which at a maximum take-off fluenced British European Airways in their decision not to have an exclusive weight of 325,000 lb. and an overall length of 184 ft. is the largest airliner in pro­ version of the Trident for longer-haul routes but to order instead what is basically duction in the world. The Model 61 is essentially the current Series 50 DC-8 with the Trident 1E—a variant already in production. As far as the VC10 is concerned, additional fuselage sections inserted in front of and behind the wing. Powered by British Aircraft Corporation have, of course, already produced a major variant four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B turbofans of 18,000 lb. thrust each and capable on the original aircraft in the form of the Super VC10 but to remain competitive of accommodating 251 passengers, the Model 61 promises to reduce direct with the Series 60 DC-8 and the Boeing 707-820 there is a need for an even larger operating costs to less than 1 cent per seat mile. aircraft (our own impression of which is illustrated on p. 161). However, since The Model 62 is an ultra long-range transport with the wing span increased by production of Standard and Super VC10s has until now been on a comparatively 6 ft. to 148-8 ft. and the fuselage lengthened by 7 ft. to 157-4 ft. Apart from the modest scale, British Aircraft Corporation must hesitate before involving them­ reduction in induced drag offered by the increase in span, redesigned engine selves in further financial outlay. pylons are said to reduce interference drag, while revised engine pods augment One message that would appear to emerge quite clearly from the foregoing is thrust and further reduce drag. This aircraft, which is in production for Scandi­ that unless an entirely new generation of aircraft is involved—such as the step navian Airlines System, has a maximum range of 8,780 statute miles and can from turboprop to turbojet or from subsonic to supersonic—then it makes sound carry up to 189 passengers. economic sense to keep new developments 'in the family'. In short, we would Finally, the Model 63 DC-8 incorporates both the full 33 ft. extension of the suggest that if the British Government is considering financing the design and Model 61 and the aerodynamic and power plant improvements of the Model 62. development of a new 'airbus' it should look long and hard at the potentialities At the other end of the airliner scale, Boeing have taken the plunge with a new still inherent in the One-Eleven, Trident and VC10—and spend the money on type—the 737 short-range jet airliner. Surprisingly, this design reverts to a wing- developments of these aircraft instead. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology Emerald Publishing

The magic of a name

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology , Volume 37 (5): 1 – May 1, 1965
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0002-2667
DOI
10.1108/eb034010
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Abstract

Aircraft Engineering TH E MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING As if this reputation was not sufficiently remarkable, this month witnesses an OME years ago we were privileged to view a film describing the activities of occasion which endows the name Martin-Baker with a magic of its own. One Rolls-Royce Ltd. which had been given the particularly apposite title: 'The thousand lives have now been saved by Martin-Baker ejection scats. Magic of a Name'. Magical indeed! Named after The Hon C. S. Rolls, a pilot of not inconsiderable ability, and Sir Henry Royce, a mechanical engineer par For this reason we have devoted a substantial part of this issue to describing excellence, the company has grown and prospered until the name Rolls-Royce the development of Martin-Baker ejection scats—from the summer of 1944, jus t has become a byword throughout the world of aviation. A name which conjures twenty-one years ago when attention in the United Kingdom was first focused on up an image of quality engineering and reliability related to a range of aero the need for some device to facilitate the escape of aircrew from high speed air­ engines which are generally acknowledged to be the world's best and which by craft, to the summer of 1965 when the new rocket pack for ejections at zero virtue of their advanced design features and dependability have achieved tre­ height and at zero forward speeds as well as the novel underwater ejection system mendous success in the export markets. are entering operational service. Any suggestion that it is gilding the lily to impute magical qualities to the name Which brings us to the principal article in this issue and another company Martin-Baker can soon be dispelled by inviting the opinion of Air Force pilots whose name and reputation bear a strangely parallel relationship to the Rolls- Royce mystique. Named after Captain Valentine Baker, a skilful pilot who like who have flown high performance jet aircraft both with and without Martin- Rolls was destined to die in a tragic flying accident, and James Martin, a Baker ejection seats. Their reaction on seeing the familiar, angular, high-backed mechanical engineer who as Managing Director and Chief Designer is still the Martin-Baker scat on climbing into the cockpit, after a period spent in aircraft firm's principal source of inventive genius, this company too has grown and without one, is inevitably a feeling of pleasant reassurance. We speak from prospered until the name Martin-Baker has become a byword throughout the experience. world of military aviation. A name which is synonymous with engineering For a final view on the remarkable reputation which Martin-Baker have won, integrity and reliability related to a range of ejection seats which are recognized as we can do no better than consider the opinion of the members of that exclusive the best in the world and which by virtue of their performance and dependability fraternity whose lives have been saved by Martin-Baker ejection scats. To them, have sold in their thousands to countries overseas. above all others, there is magic in the name. THE FAMILY CIRCLE ITHIN recent months a number of new airliner projects have been pod mounted engine configuration at a time when every other contemporary launched—all of them based on, if not derived directly from, existing air­ airliner design is rear-engined. Boeing claim that the wing-mounted layout pro­ craft and all of them American. Even for companies the sizes of Boeing vides the 737 with a 1,500 lb. weight advantage over competitive rear-engined de­ and Douglas with their huge domestic market, it is extremely difficult to select signs as well as additional passenger cabin space resulting from the absence of new designs which will ultimately be profitable and consequently it has become engine support beams in the rear fuselage. The Boeing 737 owes a great deal to even more essential to derive the maximum advantage from previous experience other jet airliners in the Boeing family. The power plants are the same as those and well-proven structures, power plant and systems. used in the Boeing 727—Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofans of 14,000 lb. thrust, the fuselage width is the same as that of the 707, 720 and 727 family (12 ft. 4 in.), the The economics of aircraft design, development and manufacture—involving high lift devices are essentially modified versions of those on the 727—leading- as they do such factors as a realistic appraisal of the potential market, a competi­ edge slats outboard of the engine nacelle, slotted Kruger flaps inboard and tive price and an assessment of the related 'break-even' production run—are triple-slotted trailing-edge flaps, while all the 737's principal systems are similar complicated by the necessity to modify the design almost immediately production to those of the 727. begins, to meet the special requirements of a certain customer. Since the aircraft manufacturer concerned cannot, on the one hand, load the whole of the develop­ Although the 'family circle' philosophy has been pursued in the cases of the ment cost for the variant on to the customer if his price is to remain competitive Douglas Series 60 DC-8 and the Boeing 737, it is interesting to note that when and, on the other hand, he cannot afford to let the customer airline go elsewhere Douglas launched the brand new DC-9 short-range airliner, they were forced to for his equipment, then the additional development cost must be spread over a negotiate agreements with the principal suppliers under which these smaller com­ larger number of aircraft and 'break-even' figure begins its inexorable upward panies assumed development costs not only for their own sub-assemblies but also spiral. This is probably the main reason why Boeing did not begin to make a for a share of flight test expense for these components. It has been arranged that profit on their Boeing 707 family of airliners until well over 300 had been sold. reimbursement of these initial costs will be included in the payments made by The thought of a break-even figure in excess of 300 aircraft is enough to send Douglas as DC-9s are delivered to the airlines. cold shivers down the back of any Chief Designer worth his salt so, paradoxically, As far as Britain is concerned, it is the development cost problem which is the tendency is to stay with the well-proven design as long as possible while con­ holding back the production of further developments of the One-Eleven, Trident tinually improving it. When it does become necessary to launch a brand-new air­ and VC10. It is true that there are already a number of versions of the One-Eleven liner then, to keep development costs to a minimum, it has become established under construction, including an executive type, but there appears to be a genuine practice to use every possible component or design technique that has already been requirement for a larger aircraft (500 Series) to match the larger DC-9 and 737, proven. as well as for a combined passenger/freighter variant. With the 'stretch' philosophy in mind, Douglas have announced three new ver­ In the case of the Trident, no doubt the problem of development costs has in­ sions of their DC-8. The first is the Model 61 DC-8 which at a maximum take-off fluenced British European Airways in their decision not to have an exclusive weight of 325,000 lb. and an overall length of 184 ft. is the largest airliner in pro­ version of the Trident for longer-haul routes but to order instead what is basically duction in the world. The Model 61 is essentially the current Series 50 DC-8 with the Trident 1E—a variant already in production. As far as the VC10 is concerned, additional fuselage sections inserted in front of and behind the wing. Powered by British Aircraft Corporation have, of course, already produced a major variant four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B turbofans of 18,000 lb. thrust each and capable on the original aircraft in the form of the Super VC10 but to remain competitive of accommodating 251 passengers, the Model 61 promises to reduce direct with the Series 60 DC-8 and the Boeing 707-820 there is a need for an even larger operating costs to less than 1 cent per seat mile. aircraft (our own impression of which is illustrated on p. 161). However, since The Model 62 is an ultra long-range transport with the wing span increased by production of Standard and Super VC10s has until now been on a comparatively 6 ft. to 148-8 ft. and the fuselage lengthened by 7 ft. to 157-4 ft. Apart from the modest scale, British Aircraft Corporation must hesitate before involving them­ reduction in induced drag offered by the increase in span, redesigned engine selves in further financial outlay. pylons are said to reduce interference drag, while revised engine pods augment One message that would appear to emerge quite clearly from the foregoing is thrust and further reduce drag. This aircraft, which is in production for Scandi­ that unless an entirely new generation of aircraft is involved—such as the step navian Airlines System, has a maximum range of 8,780 statute miles and can from turboprop to turbojet or from subsonic to supersonic—then it makes sound carry up to 189 passengers. economic sense to keep new developments 'in the family'. In short, we would Finally, the Model 63 DC-8 incorporates both the full 33 ft. extension of the suggest that if the British Government is considering financing the design and Model 61 and the aerodynamic and power plant improvements of the Model 62. development of a new 'airbus' it should look long and hard at the potentialities At the other end of the airliner scale, Boeing have taken the plunge with a new still inherent in the One-Eleven, Trident and VC10—and spend the money on type—the 737 short-range jet airliner. Surprisingly, this design reverts to a wing- developments of these aircraft instead.

Journal

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 1, 1965

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