Sir James Arnot Hamilton ~ aircraft designer
PENICUIK GREATS exhibitions in
The new Academy (now Penicuik High School) was not long finished when
James Arnot Hamilton (born in Penicuik in 1923)
became Dux of the school and stood for a photograph on the steps outside. He
later joined
High speed Gloster
1929
LNER streamlined locomotives linked
Flying Boats from
Imperial Airways services to the
Early Years
On completing his school education in Midlothian James Hamilton
attended the
Short Sunderlands then and now. As they circle and land, their huge form and
graceful but lumbering flight is awe-inspiring.
American-designed PB2Y Coronados
a Float Spitfire
Towards the end of the war in Europe a
specification was sent to the Morris Furniture company in Glasgow by the
Ministry of Aircraft Production on behalf of the Marine Aircraft Experimental
Establishment at Helensburgh. Morris were to deliver three prototypes models by road to Felixstowe. The first, which appears to have been a
one-third scale model, had the small tail characteristic of Saunders Roe types.
The latter two Morris model prototypes had the high slab tail as found on
production aircraft. The model fuselage had a model engine bay for the Beryl
engines as found on the production aircraft. The clear value of such combat aircraft in
the Pacific war against
Much later, both Dennys
and Saunders-Roe took part in developing the hovercraft.
An Expert in
Flight
James Hamilton’s aptitude in understanding the
characteristics of diving and flight had been recognized in his appointment as
Head of Flight Research when the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment
returned to its prewar base at Felixstowe in 1945. He
was there for seven years before moving to the Royal Aircraft Establishment
Farnborough in 1952 to research the aerodynamics of high-speed flight. An important role of the RAE in the 1950s was
the investigation of the early crashes of Comet airliners and the lessons then
learned about structural design and metal fatigue. As the decade progressed,
financial constraints intensified. Increasing international attention to the
development of unmanned missiles made it clear that the political appetite for
high speed combat aircraft was waning and a number of promising and not so
promising projects were cancelled. Among
the projects that failed to gain acceptance was a 1962 proposal for a
supersonic jet trainer and light tactical strike aircraft.
Jaguar
With so much at stake, choosing the right projects for
British aircraft development was vital. In 1964 James Hamilton became Head of
new Project Assessment at RAE. Soon after the prospect of a collaborative programme
with
Concorde
Co-ordinated work on
a British supersonic airliner had begun as far back as 1956. After prolonged
design and testing, there was an agreement to share development with
James Hamilton had specialised in wing
design, and the wing for the supersonic Concorde was the peak of his achievement. In some ways it fulfilled ideas first
sketched out by Roy Chadwick in his 1947 long-range jet proposals for the
Manchester-based Avro company.
Avro’s Roy Chadwick pioneered
designs for the Vulcan bomber and Avro Atlantic Jetliner
in 1947. He crashed later that year.
The ultra slim delta wing on Concorde gives the appearance of total
simplicity. But probably no other part of the aircraft had so much time and
attention given to its design. On a traditional wing there can be well over 50
moveable parts to control and trim the aircraft and complex flaps and leading
edge slats to generate extra lift at slower speeds. Concorde has none of this.
The Concorde delta wing only has 6 trailing edge "elevons"
to control the pitch and roll of the aircraft.
James Hamilton was an expert in the practicalities of design for high
speed flight. As flying speeds have increased, more "sweepback" has
been seen in wing designs. The slender delta wing on Concorde takes this a step
further. Looked at head-on, the Concorde wing does not just sweep back by 55 degrees, it twists and droops, apparently simple yet very
complex in reality.
This design gives Concorde lift at low speeds by increasing the angle
of attack of the wing. And it gives efficiency at high speeds during the
supersonic cruise where the delta wing's long chord, narrow profile and short
span generates very little drag.
On a traditional aircraft wing a swirling vortex forms only at the wing
tips. On a delta wing at low speeds and a high angle of attack, the vortex
forms along the entire wing surface, giving the lift required for reliable take
off and landing. Over 5000 hours of wind-tunnel testing were carried out to
modify camber, droop and twist, to ensure the wing surface vortex would be a
stable and dependable source of lift. As the delta wing gets closer to the
ground, the downwash of air creates a cushion and landing is made very smooth
even though the plane descends at much higher speed.
Delivering Concorde was an immensely complicated
logistical, management, design and human relations exercise and there were many
vitally important contributors, including Morien
Morgan, Director of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and John Hawkins of Alcan who helped to develop the heat resistant alloys
required for high-temperature supersonic flight.
The Civil Servant
After
the success of the Concorde project, Sir James moved into government, becoming
Deputy Secretary for Aerospace in the Department of Trade and Industry between
1971 and 1973. Here, with his Minister
for Aviation Supply and Aerospace Frederick Corfield,
he oversaw the cancellation of the Black Arrow rocketry programme
and provided financial help to Rolls-Royce (whose Filton,
Bristol factory was in Corfield’s constituency) when
it ran into difficulties that hampered its defence
commitments. The assistance included the nationalisation
of the strategically significant aero-engine part of RR. He also oversaw from government the first
full scale roll-out of Concorde.
In
1973 James Hamilton moved to the Cabinet Office as Deputy Secretary under John
Hunt, serving first under Prime Minister Heath and then during Harold Wilson’s
last administration. From May 1976 until
May 1983 he moved to head the Department of Education and Science as Permanent
Secretary.
Industry and Education
On
retiring from government service Sir James Hamilton took up a series of
positions in the aerospace industry and related business. He was a Director of the Hawker-Siddeley Group from 1983 to 1991; of Smiths Industries from
1984 to 1994 and of Devonport Royal Dockyard from 1987 to 1997. In 1992 Sir James was executive member of the
steering group studying the organisation of the
engineering profession in the
Sir James was Vice-chairman of
the Council of University College, London from 1985-1999, President of the
Foundation for Educational Research 1983-1999, a Trustee of the Natural History
Museum from 1984 until 1988, Vice-president of Reading University Council
1983-95 and President of the Association for Science Education 1985-86. He has
also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the