From Airbus to Zeppelin E-Book

Norman Ferguson

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 169

Beschreibung

A must-have A–Z guide with fascinating facts, figures, quotes and statistics from the high-flying world of aviation, From Airbus to Zeppelin has it all. D is for Desert Island Discs: just what would Dambuster Guy Gibson have liked while marooned on his desert island? E is for Everest: did you know that two Scotsmen were the first to fly over the magnificent mountain? F is for Faster than the sun: which aircraft was the first to fly faster than the Earth's rotation? A must-read for anyone interested in the world of aviation – and may win the reader a pub quiz or two!

Leseprobe

Front cover: Airbus A380 go around/aborted landing at ‘Internationalen Luftfahrtausstellung Berlin 2006’ (Tino ‘Scorpi’ Keitel, Bearbeiter: Johann H. Addicks via Wikimedia Commons) People watching the landing of Zeppelin LZ 127. (Grombo via Wikimedia Creative Commons)

Back cover: Atlantis on Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. (NASA/Carla Thomas)

First published in 2016

The History Press The Mill, Brimscombe Port Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QGwww.thehistorypress.co.uk

This ebook edition first published in 2016

All rights reserved © Norman Ferguson, 2014

The right of Norman Ferguson to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN: 978 0 7509 6957 4

Original typesetting by The History Press

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

INTRODUCTION

When the Wright Brothers took to the air in December 1903, and Count von Zeppelin created the world’s first airline six years later, they could have had little idea of how quickly the aviation industry would grow to become the global transportation supplier that is a part of so many of our everyday lives.

The first powered aircraft could only go in straight lines, they suffered control and stability problems and could only fly in favourable weather conditions, but soon all these issues were overcome as experimentation produced better machines. They went faster, higher and further, being pushed on by competitive individuals and the commercial gains to be made. Eventually, they could fly high enough to earn their pilots astronaut wings. Aircraft grew in size from the wood and canvas structures of the first years of flight to the current giant Antonov An-225 transport, with a cargo bay 20ft longer than the Wright Brothers’ first flight.

Aircraft were used for a multitude of tasks: hauling cargo, carrying passengers, mapping the Earth below, rescuing downed flyers, researching the atmosphere, entertaining astounded audiences and of course in warfare, with machines able to carry weapons of unimaginable destruction.

With so many aspects to aviation and its history, an A–Z is an ideal way of presenting them (or at least some of them). To give an idea of the breadth of this subject, the first chapter includes the worst airship disasters: ace-in-a-day fighter pilot Jorma Sarvanto, an early accident at Juvisy in 1909, an account of an aerobatic display by Douglas Bader, details of the world’s first double-decker jet airliner the Airbus A380, and the flying career of the remarkable Amy Johnson.

Norman Ferguson Summer 2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks go to:

Chrissy McMorris and Amy Rigg at The History Press for making the creation of From Airbus to Zeppelin such a pleasant and professional experience. Edinburgh City Council libraries for that great idea of free books to take home. Robert Prest for allowing the inclusion of an excerpt from his masterful book on the F-4 Phantom. And especially to my family for their continued help and support (and the free books).

A IS FOR…

ACCIDENT AT JUVISY

At 5 o’clock the aviator M. Blanck in a Bleriot monoplane started from the aerodrome, but after he had risen to the height of the grand stand something appeared to have happened to his steering apparatus and the aeroplane dashed into the middle of the public, causing great consternation. The screw was broken into fragments, which flew in all directions. Three persons, including two ladies, were hurt.

The Times, 19 October 1909

This unfortunate event took place during the aviation meet called the Grande Quinzaine d’Aviation (Great Fortnight of Aviation) held at Juvisy outside Paris. One of the injured sued the organisers for compensation but judges decreed that as aviation was a dangerous business and there were no regulations for such events it was at the attendee’s risk. During the event the aviator Comte de Lambert flew his Wright biplane over the Eiffel Tower, a feat that caused much excitement.1

ACE-IN-A-DAY

The 1939 to 1940 Soviet–Finnish ‘Winter War’ is often forgotten, but one man’s aerial combat achievements deserve to be remembered. Jorma Sarvanto was a Finnish fighter pilot who on 6 January 1940 achieved a remarkable record by shooting down six enemy aircraft. He would have downed more but ran out of ammunition. His targets were part of a formation of eight Soviet Ilyushin DB.3 bombers that had attacked the city of Kuopio. They had already lost one of their aircraft to another Finn, Per-Erik Sovelius, when they were attacked by the lone Fokker D.XXI fighter flown by Sarvanto.2

ADOLPHE PÉGOUD

In September 1913 the French aviator Adolphe Pégoud gained much acclaim by flying manoeuvres not seen publicly before. At the end of that month he came to the United Kingdom where he performed over three days at Brooklands.

In a Bleriot monoplane, Pégoud demonstrated several aerobatic manoeuvres which while now are commonplace, were sensational to the onlooking public and press at the time.

Flight Magazine called his flying ‘phenomenal’ and Pégoud’s mastery in performing a loop was described in The Times newspaper under the headline ‘The New Flying’ the following day:

At 4.45 Pégoud was off again, this time to ‘loop the loop’. He now climbed to about 4,500 feet and at 5.05, amid a great silence, dived until he was again inverted, and in this attitude performed a spiral volplane, concluding with an ‘S’ as before. On this occasion he must have been hanging head downwards for nearly three-quarters of a minute. Resuming his flight, he climbed again for a few moments, then the machine dived, carried on, stood up on its tail, carried on upside down, and dived again, completing the full circle. A quick descent brought Pégoud’s performance to a close. Another scene of enthusiasm followed, while his compatriots kissed him.

The Times, 26 September 1913

Pégoud became the first ace in the First World War but was shot down and killed in 1915.

AEROBATIC TEAMS

The RAF had given formation aerobatic displays before the Second World War and continued these aerial exhibitions of piloting skills in peacetime. In the 1950s named aerobatic teams appeared for the first time. They were flown by flying training units or occasionally by operational squadrons until the 1970s. Cost-cutting saw the gradual decline of such flying and now the RAF has only one jet aerobatic team.

RAF Aerobatic Teams and their aircraft 1950s–1970s3

Gemini Pair (BAC Jet Provost)

Linton GIN (BAC Jet Provost)

The Black Arrows (Hawker Hunter)

The Black Knights (Hawker Hunter)

The Blades (BAC Jet Provost)

The Blue Chips (de Havilland Chipmunk)

The Blue Diamonds (Hawker Hunter)

The Bulldogs (Scottish Aviation Bulldog)

The Cranwell Poachers (BAC Jet Provost)

The Falcons (Hawker Hunter)

The Fighting Cocks (Hawker Hunter)

The Firebirds (English Electric Lightning)

The Gazelles (Aérospatiale Gazelle)

The Gin Four (BAC Jet Provost)

The Macaws (BAC Jet Provost)

The Magistrates (BAC Jet Provost)

The Meteorites (Gloster Meteor)

The Pelicans (BAC Jet Provost)

The Pelicans (Gloster Meteor)

The Poachers (BAC Jet Provost)

The Red Arrows (Folland Gnat)

The Red Pelicans (BAC Jet Provost)

The Redskins (BAC Jet Provost)

The Skylarks (de Havilland Chipmunk)

The Sparrows (Hunting Provost/BAC Jet Provost)

The Swords (BAC Jet Provost)

The Tigers (English Electric Lightning)

The Tomahawks (Agusta Bell Sioux)

The Vipers (BAC Jet Provost)

The Yellowjacks (Folland Gnat)

AEROBATICS

There came a demonstration of combined aerobatics by Flight Lieutenant H.M.A. Day and Pilot Officer D.R.S. Bader, both of No. 23 (Fighter) Squadron, flying Gamecocks. This was without any doubt the finest exhibition we have ever seen. Their timing was perfect and their showmanship really good. They managed to keep well up wind and did not gradually drift across the aerodrome in the way we have so often seen, and were at all times just the right height to be seen comfortably. Particularly spectacular was their method of flying off up the aerodrome side-by-side after having done a dive and rocket opposing each other. This was accomplished by an aileron turn inwards while nose down after the rocket. The display was doubly interesting in that it was probably the last time these Gamecocks would be seen in public, as we were told that they had been kept on charge in the squadron, which has since been equipped with Bulldogs, solely for this display.

This was a report of a display organised by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Aero Club in Flight magazine on 28 August 1931. Three months later Douglas Bader was practising aerobatics in a Bulldog, at a lower altitude than was advised, when his wingtip caught the ground and he crashed. Although he survived, both legs were amputated. Despite this he returned to RAF operational flying and commanded a fighter squadron during the Battle of Britain.

AIRBUS A380

In the 1960s, Britain, France and Germany formed Airbus to build airliners capable of competing with the large US manufacturers such as Boeing. The first aircraft built was the A300, which made its maiden flight in 1972 and went into service two years later. Other types were built such as the four-engined A340 and best-selling two-engined A320.

In 2003 Airbus reached a milestone when it passed Boeing in the number of aircraft delivered. By the end of 2015 it had sold over 16,000 aircraft. That year it opened its first factory in the USA.

In the 1980s plans were devised to make an aircraft able to compete with Boeing’s 747, its famous four-engined ‘jumbo jet’. The result was the A380, the world’s first twin-deck and twin-aisle airliner. The world’s largest airliner made its first flight on 27 April 2005.

Emirates Airbus A380 approaching Manchester Airport. (Norman Ferguson)

A380 in facts and figures

0.89

Maximum Mach number

22

Undercarriage wheels

79

Height (ft)

130

Speed of toilet flush (mph)

220

Number of cabin windows

261

Wingspan (ft)

330

Length of cabling (miles)

853

Maximum passengers

8,200

Range (nautical miles)

77,000

Thrust per engine (lb)

84,600

Fuel capacity (US gallons)

1,268,000

Maximum take off weight (lb)

432,600,000

Average list price (US dollars)

The aircraft suffered delays going into service as it was discovered during installation that the aircraft’s cabin cabling was too short. With miles of wiring inside the aircraft this presented a major problem.

As Airbus is a collaborative venture, its partner countries each make component parts, which are then assembled to form the final aircraft. The cause of the short cabling was put down to different versions of software used by German and French facilities. Each version worked out the amount of cabling required to bend around corners in a different way. It was this incompatibility that resulted in months of delay and billions of euros lost.

The A380 entered service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines. Up until December 2015, 319 had been ordered.4

AIRSHIP DISASTERS

In the early years of the twentieth century airships were the main method of carrying aerial passengers, but as with other methods of human flight, there were inherent risks. While thousands of miles were flown safely, an airship’s loss could be a spectacular and potentially disastrous event. The major non-wartime airship losses were:

Airship L.2 falls in flames. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division LC-USZ62-74678)

AMY JOHNSON

The foremost British female pilot of the ‘Golden Age’ was undoubtedly Amy Johnson, who earned her place in aviation history by becoming the first woman to fly solo to Australia in 1930.

Johnson, who was 26 years old, was attempting to break Bert Hinkler’s record of sixteen days but failed, her journey taking twenty days. She was delayed by having to have repairs carried out on her plane, the small de Havilland Gipsy Moth biplane Jason, and having to land in the desert on the way to Baghdad due to bad visibility and strong winds.

Amy Johnson’s Route to Australia

Day

Overnight Stop

Daily Distance travelled (miles)

1

Vienna

775

2

Constantinople

800

3

Aleppo

575

4

Baghdad

460

5

Bandar Abbas

850

6

Karachi

700

7

Jhansi

750

8

Calcutta

650

9

Rangoon

650

10

Rangoon

-

11

Rangoon

-

12

Bangkok

350

13

Singora

450

14

Singapore

465

15

Tjomal

760

16

Sourabaya

240

17

Sourabaya

-

18

Atamboea (Timor)

925

19

Atamboea (Timor)

-

20

Port Darwin

485

Her achievement was made all the more remarkable as she had never made a long-distance flight before setting off (her longest flight before was from London to her hometown of Hull) and she had less than 100 hours flying time. These epic distances were achieved in an aircraft with a maximum speed of 90mph.

Both the press and the public fêted her, when she arrived back in Britain. At a luncheon given in her honour at the Savoy in London, among the guests were pioneers Louis Blériot, Arthur Whitten Brown and Claude Graham-White as well as the writer Noel Coward and songwriter Ivor Novello.

Johnson flew several other long-distance flights including:

Johnson joined the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1940, but died in January 1941 after bailing out of an Airspeed Oxford over the Thames Estuary.5

AUCTION

At an auction in July 2015 Spitfire Mk1 P9374 sold for £3.1 million. The fighter had been painstakingly restored after being recovered from the beach at Calais where it had lain in the sands since crash-landing in 1940. Part of the money from the sale went to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

B IS FOR…

B-52 BAIL OUT

Getting out of a stricken aircraft has always presented problems to aircrew. In the First World War, pilots and observers were not generally issued with parachutes and had to crash-land their machines or die in them. Some pilots carried pistols in case their aircraft caught fire and they were unable to escape in time. In the Second World War, aircrew had parachutes but with enclosed canopies had lost the advantage of escaping more easily from their predecessors’ open cockpits. In bomber aircraft they had to make their way to small hatches to jump out – made all the more difficult in the dark in aircraft often on fire.

As aircraft speeds increased, ejector seats were developed and these provided an effective way of having crew escape, although a mixture of the old and the new technologies lived side-by-side in 1950s aircraft like the B-52 Stratofortress. The pilot, co-pilot and electronic warfare officer had ejection seats (upwards firing) while the two navigators who sat on a lower deck had to eject downwards, which was suited more for high-level egress than low-level. The gunner in the early marks of the bomber sat on his own at the rear of the aircraft, below the tail fin, and had to jettison his turret before escaping.

B-52 in flight. (USAF/Master Sgt Kevin Gruenwald)

The procedures for the gunner were laid out as follows:

Gunner’s Bailout Procedure

1. Fasten safety belt, shoulder harness, oxygen mask and chin strap. Helmet visor down.

2. Pull up turret-drag chute interconnect knob upon pilot command only.

3. Pull jettison handle on pilot’s command. Notify pilot ready to bailout.

4. Pull bailout bottle release cord.

5. Unfasten safety belt. WARNING: Pull integrated harness release handle only when using modified B-5 parachute.

6. Leave the airplane with arms and legs held close to body.

7. Pull parachute arming lanyard knob.

Bailout From Right Rear Wheel Well

Airspeed 275 knots (Indicated Air Speed) or less. If turret does not jettison request pilot to lower right aft landing gear – follow alternate bailout procedure.

The tail gunner was later given a seat next to the other crew and operated the guns remotely.6

BEAUTIFUL AIRCRAFT

Aircraft are not specifically designed to be beautiful but to fulfil a function. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder then what makes a beautiful aircraft is as subjective as any oil painting or a sculpture.

The choices here are based on a combination of balance, poise and other unquantifiable elements that create an object proving the adage ‘if it looks right it’ll fly right’.

Concorde

The fact that Concorde is thought of as a graceful machine, despite the brute strength of its four reheated Olympus engines, shows the sheer beauty of its design. Many delta-winged aircraft are attractive shapes but Concorde’s long and thin fuselage, set within two gently curving delta wings, makes it number one.

de Havilland Comet

de Havilland’s next Comet was the world’s first jet airliner. Its beauty stems from its sleek lines unencumbered by engines that were embedded into the wings, close to the fuselage. Its broad wings were swept back and the whole design was well balanced.

de Havilland DH.88 Comet

The 1930s saw many gorgeous looking aircraft, but the DH.88 was perhaps the best of them all. The twin-engine monoplane was built for speed, to take part in the UK to Australia MacRobertson Air Race of 1934. Needless to say it won. The winning machine, Grosvenor House, was painted in a bright red and white scheme, which added to its attractiveness.

Hawker Hunter

The Hunter derived from a specification for a high-level interceptor with an additional ground-attack role and first flew in 1951. Its single engine, mid-set swept wings, thin fuselage and swept-back tail planes mirroring the tail fin in shape, all combined to produce Britain’s finest looking fighter of the decade.

Lockheed Constellation

The ‘Connie’ would face few dissenting voices as to its physical appearance. Its long, subtly curved fuselage, finished with triple tail fins, sets it out as one of the most appealing airliners ever built.

BISMARCK

The Air Ministry published We Speak From the Air – Broadcasts by the RAF in 1942. It featured select transcripts of radio broadcasts made by serving RAF personnel. These ranged from night fighter pilots recounting their successes against German bombers attacking London to accounts of low-level raids on occupied Europe.

One of the broadcasts – the speakers were kept anonymous – entitled ‘We Shadowed the Bismarck’ – tells of how a Coastal Command Catalina flying boat tracked down and was then spotted itself by the renowned German battleship Bismarck.

As first, as we weren’t sure that it was an enemy battleship, we had to make certain. So we altered course, went up to about 1,500ft into a cloud and circled. We thought we were near the stern of her when the cloud ended and there we were, right above her. The first we knew of it was a couple of puffs of smoke just outside the cockpit window, and a devil of a lot of noise. And then we were surrounded by dark brownish black smoke as she pooped off at us with everything she’d got. She’d only been supposed to have eight anti-aircraft guns, but fire was coming from more than eight places – in fact she looked just one big flash. The explosions threw the flying boat about and we could hear bits of shrapnel hit the hull. Luckily only a few penetrated.

The Catalina was able to report the ship’s position and another Catalina took over the shadow duties. Eventually the Bismarck was put out of useful service by Fleet Air Arm Swordfish torpedo bombers. It was also attacked by Royal Navy ships and then was scuttled by its own crew. It sank on 27 May 1941.

Blue Angels at Sea and Sky Spectacular in Jacksonville Beach, USA, in October 2015. (US Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class, Timothy Schumaker)

BLUE ANGELS

The US Navy’s Blue Angels (officially the US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron) are renowned for their close formation flying, with some of the manoeuvres being flown with wingtips only a few feet apart. The team, whose name stems from a New York nightclub known by one of the original members, fly with US Navy and US Marine pilots.

Since their inception in 1946 they have flown the following aircraft:7

Aircraft Flown

Dates

Grumman F6F Hellcat

1946

Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat

1946–1949

Grumman F9F-2 Panther (During the Korean War the team saw action as VF-191 Satan’s Kittens squadron)

1949–1950