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36 | Flight International | 26 January-1 February 2016 flightglobal.com
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Tailsitter concept’s nothing newI note in your article (Flight International, 5-11 January) that
Northrop Grumman has won a US Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency contract to develop an unmanned
tailsitter to be operated from ships at sea, similar to the
Lockheed XFV-1 and Convair XFY-1 projects of the 1950s.
In a series of publications written by Jared A Zichek, the
writer tells us that Northrop did a similar project, the N-63
Convoy Fighter, back in November 1950. This was powered
by a twin-turboprop Allison XT-40-A-8 driving a 15.5ft diam-
eter contra prop. It was to have a 0-528kt (976km/h) perfor-
mance and a ceiling of 14,300m (47,000ft).
Other contenders in the project were the Martin Model 262
and the Goodyear GA-28A/B Convoy Fighters.
As you see, it has all been thought of before.
Geoff Hill
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must be no longer than 250 words.Manston’s future
lies as an airport
Military sets a
glowing example
I read about an airprox incident
on 16 July 2015 between a Royal
Air Force BAE Systems Hawk
T1 and a glider above Pateley
Bridge, North Yorkshire, UK.
I recall military aircraft with
day-glo panels.
A glider wearing these would
have been instantly spotted.
Anthony Atkinson
North Allerton, North Yorkshire, UKTaking command
of the cockpit
James Bowyer’s letter discussing
how the lack of piloting skills
resulted in the loss of AirAsia
flight QZ8501 in 2014 and Air
France flight AF447 in 2009
(Flight International, 12-18
January), gives rise to two
comments.
The first is that, as
demonstrated on AF447, an
on-flightdeck state of flawed
discipline, inter-crew
communication and panic is
utterly unacceptable and
unforgivable from a professional
aircraft crew.
Secondly, I would not have
thought it beyond the wit of man
to fit a system providing
synthetic feel and interaction for
Airbus sidestick controls. In
what one might hope is the
interim, there is a routine I
thought useless and pretentious
in the days when the movement
of flight controls were linked to
interact mechanically or by any
other means and so immediately
evident to two pilots side-by-
side, as opposed to in tandem.
It simply involves the person
taking the controls announcing:
“I have control!”
Richard Chandless
Creches sur Saone, FranceI totally share the despair of
Laurent John Ghibaut regarding
the lack of action in bringing
Manston airport back into use
(Flight International, 5-11
January). The enthusiasm of resi-
dents to see aircraft back is quite
phenomenal. Usually the anti-
flying groups are in the majority,
but the residents of this area who
are for reinstatement are well in
the majority. A petition signed
by 22,000 people was handed to
prime minister David Cameron
in favour of reinstatement.
When the airport was bought
by a well-known transport entre-
preneur there was a promise that
a two-year plan would be
initiated to improve business.
In fact after two months the
airport was suddenly closed,
leaving several freight carriers,
such as Cargolux, high-and-dry,
along with KLM – which pro-
vided a link to Schiphol Amster-
dam; a well established flying
school; a general aviation main-
tenance facility and several asso-
ciated businesses. The cargo op-
erators held the facilities in high
regard due to the 90min turna-
round provided; a recent report
by London Heathrow airport
stated that a main cargo compa-
ny there had to wait five days for
a slot.
Not surprisingly, a develop-
ment company now owns
Manston – presumably with the
intention of building unwanted
houses on the site – but for over a
year now a US organisation has
been trying to buy the airfield.
This would be completely
financed by US money, so there
would be no cost to the local tax-
payers, but the council is reluc-
tant to co-operate.
The latest plan is to overridethe council and get the airport to
be considered a matter of
national importance to get the
government involved, along with
the would-be buyer, which is
still committed.
The business plan of this US
firm is superb and would pro-
vide jobs in an area greatly in
need of employment.
As for the suitability of the
runway, need I say more than
Manston has been used for pilot
training on the Airbus A380 and
Boeing 777?
Let’s hope that some common
sense is brought into action.
Dave Hayfield
Acol, Kent, UKNorthrop’s unmanned TERN has a distinctly retro qualityDARPAIN ASSOCIATION WITHKeep track of the latest developments in
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honeywell.indd 1 16/12/2015 15:02