Word: vulcan
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More than any British aircraft since the ill-starred Comet I, the delta-winged Vulcan bomber has stood as a symbol of Britain's ability to keep abreast of the jet age. One day last week the four-jet, 150,000-lb. Vulcan headed home from a 26,000-mile flight to Australia and back, and R.A.F. officials decided to give it a big welcome at London Airport, where all the world could see and applaud...
...lying clouds and a cold rain darkened the field, but by the time the first high whine of the Vulcan's Olympus engines could be heard above the overcast, the clouds had lifted enough to permit a safe landing by Ground Controlled Approach, the procedure by which operators "talk" a plane down onto a field. As London's GCA operator went to work, a respectful crowd of high-ranking airmen and their wives stood by to greet the Vulcan's distinguished crew of war heroes. The pilot was Squadron Leader Donald Howard, D.F.C., and his copilot...
...easing down toward the runway just over Farmer Joseph Philp's sprouts patch, 600 yards away. Suddenly he felt his wheels touch down-too soon. Ramming his throttles forward, he tried to climb skyward. At that moment the airport greeters had their first horror-stricken sight of the Vulcan, a monstrous shadow in the mists at the runway's threshold. It was in trouble. Pilot Howard passed the word, "Abandon ship!" He and Sir Harry, in their ejector seats, shot upward from the aircraft, and their parachutes blossomed in the mist. But for the other four members...
...moment both airmen were in the arms of their wives who had come to cheer their return. Farther down the runway, the other greeters watched in silence as airport firemen fought the flames, and experts prepared to investigate whether mechanical or human failure had struck down the Vulcan...
...finished picture does not altogether overleap convention; it looks staged, and has a flattering slickness. Yet its virtues far outweigh its faults. The Walnut Street backdrop gives a fresh-air feeling to what would otherwise be a Vulcan's cave. The young apprentice nicely complements Lyon's robust maturity. His big feet spread and firmly planted, his heavy arm and hand holding the hammer with negligent authority. Blacksmith Pat Lyon himself easily dominates the huge canvas. He seems truly at home in it-as the workingman has long since come to be in the nation...