Good-bye to the Lanc A farewell ceremony marked the departure from R.A.F. St. Mawgan, Cornwall, on October 15, of the last Lancaster in R.A.F. service. Air Marshal Sir Bryan Reynolds, A.O.C.-in-C. Coastal Command, recalled in a speech the great record of the Lancaster in Bomber and Coastal Command service since 1941. A.V-M. G. A. Walker, A.O.C. No.1 Group, Bomber Command, said "We feel moved in saying farewell to this very faithful friend." Routine Ejection Last Friday, at Chalgrove airfield, Bucks, Warrant Officer M. Tournier of the French Air Force made a test ejection in a Martin-Baker Mk 4 seat from a Meteor 7/8 at 420 kt E.A.S. at 1,500ft. The seat was part of a routine demonstration designed mainly to gain experience of the physiological effects of escape at high speeds. The seat and parachutes worked perfectly and Tournier received only minor abrasions. Tribute to Sir Richard More than 1,000 people attended the memorial service to Sir Richard Fairey at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on October 19. Giving the address, Lord Brabazon, a lifelong friend of Sir Richard, said of him: "Enthusiasm, concentration, independence and originality were his, whatever he was doing. He was a pioneer in the early days and he was a pioneer right to the end. The world speed record by his firm made him very proud." Hunter at Ciampino On its way to Italy, for its qualities to be demonstrated to the Italian Air Force, a Hawker Hunter T.7 gave an impressive demonstration of its capabilities by setting up - subject to confirmation - a new record for the flight from London to Rome. The T.7, flown by A.W. ("Bill") Bedford, Hawker deputy chief test pilot, and Frank Murphy, now R.A.F. liaison officer and formerly production test pilot at Dunsfold, covered the 891.67 miles on October 20 in 1 hr 34 min 28.5 sec, an average speed of 566.1 m.p.h. Supersonic Simulator Contracts worth over £1m have been placed by the U.S.A.F. with Links Aviation, Inc., for a quantity of simulators for the Convair F-106A interceptor. The F-106 is the developed F-102 powered by a J75 turbojet with afterburner. |
Source: Flight International
