Aviation Classics Issue 07

When the prototype Vulcan VX770 first appeared at Farnborough in 1952, it rightly stole the show! A four-engined Delta-winged jet bomber, it represented a massive leap in technology over its famous Lancaster predecessor which had been a war-winning aircraft only seven years earlier - the Vulcan could fly more than twice as fast, more than twice as high and more than twice as far. Considering that it soldiered on in operational service into the 1980s, the fact that it was conceived in 1947 shows how advanced its design was for the time. Specification B35/46 was issued in January of that year, and called for a high-performance, long-range, jet-powered bomber capable of carrying and delivering a nuclear weapon. Roy Chadwick's early design work was submitted just four months later, though sadly this great British designer never lived to see the Vulcan fly. Once into RAF service the type certainly made its mark, with, for such a large aircraft, performance and manoeuvrability that can still take your breath away to this day.

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Aviation Classics Issue 06

The Battle of Britain came as no surprise to those in command. Following the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, it was just a matter of time before Nazi-Germany made a bid for further territorial gains. Despite assurances given to Britain in the years leading up to war, Adolf Hitler had a plan for a great Germany that ruled Europe. That he wanted Britain to be his partner rather than his enemy is a matter of record, but the terms suggested could never be palatable to Britain or any other western European nation. While the government of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain debated the reality of another World War, Germany was rearming. However, some politicians and industrialists were firmly convinced that a major war was a matter of a few years away. Those who were of this opinion got on with gearing up for combat.

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Aviation Classics Issue 05

It was a balmy autumnal morning at RAF Swinderby in Lincolnshire on 17 October 1984. That was the date of my passing out parade from basic recruit training in the Royal Air Force, and while we were promised the customary flypast, you weren't told what aircraft it would be carried out by. I was hoping for something 'tasty'. After the reviewing officer had arrived and taken up his position on the dais, we were ordered to present arms for the General Salute. As I positioned my rifle and its shiny bayonet right in front of me, I heard a great roar and caught sight of two Lightnings flashing overhead - what a welcome into the RAF! And so it would seem to be that, while I never served on a Lightning unit, all the times that I came into contact with the superb jet fighter would be memorable.

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Electric Flight 07/2013

There are very few people who don't recognize the Chance Vought F4U Corsair, largely due to Its characteristically inverted gull wing design. The Corsair utilized the most powerful engine available at the time: the impressive Pratt & Whittney R-2800 Double Wasp, which produced 2,000 horsepower. Of course, immense power required an equally immense propeller. The designers of the plane were faced with a bit of a dilemma. They wanted to use an aft retracting landing gear, which benefited the folding wing design required for carrier operations, but to provide enough prop clearance, the gear struts would have been too long to fit within the designed wing chord. Their solution was to use an inverted gull wing, which raised the fuselage high enough to allow sufficient ground clearance for the propeller. The incredible power from that huge radial engine as well as its cutting edge aerodynamic advancements propelled the F4U into the history books as being the first single engine U.S. fighter to break the 400mph mark and into the hearts of airplane enthusiasts everywhere.

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