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14 December
1956
917
SUFFIX "A", ap-
pended to the
type - designation
P.I, distinguishes
this Armstrong
Siddeley Sapphire-
powered proto-
type of English
Electric's super-
sonic intercepter
from the produc-
tion-type Rolls-
Royce Avon-
engined P. IB. Re-
heat is fitted in
both cases.
j r
and the Far East. He was appointed to the command of 613
Squadron in 1949 and in 1952 was appointed O.B.E. for his
services to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. At A. V. Roe and Co.,
Ltd., he had undertaken some of the test flying on the Vulcan, and
demonstrated these aircraft in memorable fashion at the S.B.A.C.
flying display.
Bristol Chief Test Pilot
/ " \ N January 1 next year Mr. A. J. ("Bill") Pegg, O.B.E.,
v
- ' relinquishes his appointment as chief test pilot of the Bristol
Aeroplane Co., Ltd., to become general service manager at the
Weston-super-Mare works of Bristol Aircraft, Ltd. He will be
succeeded as chief test pilot by Mr. Walter Gibb, D.S.O., D F.C
"Bill" Pegg Walter Gibb
"Bill" Pegg, who is 50, joined Bristols in 1935 as assistant
to Mr. C. F. Uwins, who was then chief test pilot, and succeeded
him in 1947. In recent years he has been responsible for the
Britannia flight-test programme. In his new capacity, Mr. Pegg
will be responsible for after-sales service and training for all
Bristol helicopters and other products from the factory at Weston
and at Banwell.
Mr. W. F. Gibb, who as assistant chief test pilot of Bristol
Aircraft has undertaken much of the Britannia flight test pro-
gramme, holds the world's aeroplane height record (65,890ft)
which he set up in the Olympus-Canberra on August 29, 1955.
Alpine Operator
O
N December 6, a talk on Alpine flying was given before the
Ski Club of Great Britain by Capt. Hermann Geiger and
his associate, Max Stampfli.
After the showing of several short filmsemphasizing that
the magnificence of the scenery was in inverse ratio to its
suitability for aircraft operationsCapt. Geiger was introduced
by H.E. the Swiss Minister, and spoke shortly (in French) about
his work. Then slides and another film were shown, with a
commentary in English by Max Stampfli.
Hermann Geiger started flying in the Alps about 26 years
ago, and has since made over 7,000 mountain landings. His
STING RAYS: Skimming low over the sea are these three Douglas F4D
Skyray carrier-based intercepters of the U.S. Navy. A later develop-
ment, the F5D Sky/oncer, is larger and has a more powerful version of
the Pratt and Whitney J57 turbojet
present aircraft, a Piper Super Cub (150 h.p. Lycoming), has a
combined wheel and ski undercarriage, the skis being about 5ft
in length and lft wide. During the years he has developed a
special technique, based on a study of birds, which was described
in a review of his recent book Alpine Pilot {Flight, October 12).
The film and slides demonstrated that Nature's defences of her
mountain fastnesses must never be underrated. Landing strips
need to be surveyed in summer, and further careful recon-
naissance made before a landing, in order to estimate the angle
of slope and the state of the snow. The Fohn wind, whipping
snow off the mountains, can reduce visibility to a few feet.
Though Capt. Geiger is probably best known for his rescue
operations (to date, he has rescued 270 injured people), his
normal work includes a great variety of tasks. Based at Sion, in
the Rhone Valley, he has gradually built up a nucleus of aircraft,
trained pilots and parachutists. Items transported include
materials for the construction of mountain huts and other build-
ings, equipment for survey parties and food for isolated villages
and animals. When ski-ing and climbing accidents occur, Geiger
co-operates with the guides in bringing assistance. If people
are trapped in avalanches, parachutists, medical supplies, sledges
and skis are dropped on the spot. The parachutists (who have
to use large-diameter canopies by reason of the rarefied air)
receive their initial training with the R.A.F. at Abingdon before
working from Sion. It has sometimes proved impossible even for
Geiger to land a light aircraft near the scene of an accident, so
a helicopter is to be operated next year in addition to the fixed-
wing machine.