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Aircraft Engineering THE MONTHLY SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ORGAN OF THE AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSION VOL XXI No 244 JUNE 1949 An Important Point Another point, that came to notice particularly with the Czech HE principal feature of this issue is the customary survey by stands, was the importance at these exhibitions of having at all times our Technical Editor of the eighteenth biennial Paris Aero on a stand representatives with a sound knowledge of the exhibits, TSalon—the second since the War. There is no doubt whatever so that they can answer questions and give really informative in our minds that French enterprise in reviving these historic answers on every detail. We hope we shall not be misunderstood if exhibitions not confined to national products but thrown open to we say that this is a matter which should be borne in mind by the the world's aircraft industries, and thus truly international in scope, members of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors when their is most admirable. They give what is in these days a unique oppor own Display opens at Farnborough on September 7. There is tunity for the collection in one place at the same time of the products nothing that is more irritating for a visitor than to be fobbed off of all such nations as care to take advantage of the facilities offered, with generalities by an obviously ill-informed attendant when serious which cannot but benefit all concerned. For visitors from other answers to serious questions are what are being sought. A still countries to be able to learn what types of aeroplane are being worse impression is given where a stand is left completely unattended developed in Czechoslovakia, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey, for for long periods. It is quite surprising how much business can be instance, as well as the more familiar productions of France, the lost through inattention to this detail and how reluctant callers Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States of America is often are to pay a second visit after once drawing a blank. essentially helpful to them. A Channel of Communication Varying Quality We are complimented that AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING should have been The technical interest of the exhibits, as is presumably inevitable, selected as the medium through which the report of the development varied enormously. Some, such as Great Britain, Turkey and the and flying tests of the Canadian tailless glider should be issued. United States, relied mainly or entirely on photographs or models, Following immediately on the article on the ARMSTRONG-WHITWORTH which naturally detracted from the importance of the displays; tailless research aircraft we published last month, this report gains though in the particular case of Turkey these had an added value added interest and both are noteworthy additions to the space we because they were the first indication that an attempt is being made have over a period of years devoted to this subject. in that country to develop a local designing industry as distinct from We are particularly glad to open these columns to accounts of the a repair organization and the construction of foreign types—mainly work done in the two great units of the Empire and the number of we are glad to note British—under licence. The American effort was occasions on which advantage of this facility is being taken is, we aimed primarily at publicizing the widespread use on the world's are happy to say, growing. The papers on aeronautical research in air lines of such commercial aeroplanes as the Convair and the Con Australia and Canada that appeared in our anniversary issue last stellation and very attractive displays with this end in view were month will be fresh in the memory and we would at the same time staged; though two aeroplanes of the 'personal' type were shown in like to recall the article on the tests on the weathering of moulded full scale. There was also a stand occupied by the U.S. Civil Aero plywood in Ontario that we published in June 1948 and the descrip nautics Authority, which did not, however, compare with the greatly tion of the ingenious tyre, brake and undercarriage testing machine superior British Government exhibits sponsored by the Ministry of built in New South Wales which was contained in our January issue Supply and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, respectively, both of this year. It is essentially, we feel, a part of our function to draw which well upheld the flag of British prestige and were extremely in together the threads of research and development from opposite formative and impressive. ends of the world in this way. We fully realize from our own knowledge that this is by no means Sound Development always easy to achieve, particularly by the small exhibitor of limited The general impression given by the Salon was one of practicality. resources and staff. At the same time, every effort should be made to The stands occupied by the French firms, in particular, confirmed have a stand manned as far as possible at all times by knowledgeable the view that we expressed last month that they are beginning to members of the exhibitors' staff. To put it no higher, it is a waste of emerge from the 'growing pains' of the immediate post-war period money to incur expenditure on the hire and fitting out of stand-space and getting down to realities and concentrate, in each instance, on a for the duration of an exhibition and then fail to provide information few promising types likely to be of real utility rather than dissipating for inquirers. There are few, if any, exhibits that are fully capable of their energies on too large a number of experiments. telling their own story and, in any case, it takes a human attendant to MR STEVENS reports that an almost universal feature in the aero give quotations and accept orders, giving such details as delivery dates. planes as exhibited was that they were in nearly every case shown completely covered in so that it was practically impossible for the The Matter in Hand serious observer to gather any information on the structural details. An ancillary matter is the recognition of the fact that exhibitions This would seem to be a shortsighted attitude on the part of the are not purely social occasions for the meeting of old friends and exhibitors as naturally the engineer would want to be able to having a chat with them. And yet how often has one seen a diffident examine the construction for himself and judge the standard of inquirer, and possibly potential customer, hovering patiently on the finish attained. fringe of a 'get together' party, awaiting notice.
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology – Emerald Publishing
Published: Jun 1, 1949
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