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SIR KENNETH KEITH, chairman of the merchant bankers Hill, Samuel & Co Ltd, has been appointed chairman of Rolls Royce (1971) Ltd and K. G. WILKINSON, previously chief executive and chairman of BEA, has been appointed managing director.

THIS article attempts to summarize the technical development of two‐seater sailplanes during the past thirty years. There is no attempt to contribute anything new to the art, but only to bring together information from various sources. It is also hoped that the data collected will be found useful to designers.

A sailplane designer will normally base a new design on his experience of the relative success of various earlier types in competitive flying and will be guided by a few simple performance criteria such as minimum sinking speed, glide ratio and the less precisely defined property of ‘penetration’ (this being, roughly, the ability to achieve a good glide ratio at a high forward speed). This empirical approach has resulted in the evolution of an aerodynamic form of considerable efficiency. It is not easy, however, to see precisely why the present form has proved so effective or what potential development lies ahead. One reason for this is that none of the criteria mentioned is an absolute index of efficiency nor does it represent the range of operations that a sailplane is called upon to cover in practice. A clearer insight demands a deeper analysis of the basic requirements for sailplane performance, to see whether a more effective index of efficiency can be found. Such an index is developed in this paper and the effectiveness of varying the main design parameters is examined with its aid.

SINCE 1945 discussion of international standards for the fundamentals of civil aviation has been going on in the divisions and council of I.C.A.O. A highly controversial part of the airworthiness and operational legislation has been the relatively small section dealing with performance requirements. A considerable amount of time and money has been spent in the study and development of these requirements, and it is opportune at this moment to review the way in which the work has progressed and its importance to civil operations for the future.

This I.A.T.A. Symposium held during the I.A.T.A. Technical Conferences at Puerto Rico in April 1953 had as its object the free exchange of views and experience primarily between helicopter manufacturers and civil aircraft operators. The helicopter has been in operation for about ten years. The types available have, however, been in the main small, single‐engined military aircraft, but technical developments now promise fairly large, multi‐engined helicopters suitable for public transport operation. At this juncture, therefore, a conference of this nature is particularly valuable. Of course, definitive conclusions could not be reached, but the results of such a gathering of the most knowledgeable people concerned with helicopter design and operation cannot fail to be of the greatest interest.

AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING was born in March 1929 of the belief that the emerging technology from which it took its title would become a fundamental element of engineering progress. The keystone of its policy was that it would attempt to meet the needs of engineers and students working in this field and that its contents should be ‘written by engineers — for engineers’. That this venture was fully justified has been amply vindicated by the achievements of the industry during the ensuing 41 years — as recorded in the first 500 issues of this Journal, the major milestone celebrated this month. This is a propitious occasion on which to review the record to date because, although aviation has always been about looking forward, history is instructive and it is the impressive performance of the aerospace industry to date that inspires and motivates confidence in its future.

The Minister of Technology, Mr Anthony Wedgwood Bonn, in agreement with the Secretary of State for Defence, has appointed Air Commodore J. S. Mason as Director of Aircraft Production, Ministry of Technology, with effect from 29th July 1968.

Prominent figures from the aviation industry named in the New Year Honours' List include H. BRUMBY, formerly chief designer (development), Hawker Siddeley Aviation, and G. R. HOLLAND, assistant flight test manager, British Aircraft Corporation, Commercial Aircraft Division, both awarded the MBE. J. POLLITT, chief test pilot (fixed wing), Rolls Royce, gained an OBE. Changes are announced among the Directors of British Aircraft Corporation Ltd.

Recent guidelines suggest that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has a pivotal role to play in the treatment of common mental health problems (CMHPs). There is a danger that we simply ask for ‘more of the same’ instead of looking at all the current limitations preventing individuals from accessing appropriate help. Doing this leads us to aim for a more radical and innovative approach to the CMHPs. This paper suggests that progress in primary care mental health has been much more limited than mental health workers and, in particular, researchers often acknowledge. It looks at the major obstacles barring the way to the development of services that could meet the needs of the very large number of people in our communities with CMHPs.