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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0283.PDF
.':• MARCH II, 1920 V - ' ~ • •: '. a-'.: ' • " linked up with the safety of the Empire and for which he is equally responsible, tend in the direction of dangerous economy. The clear inference is that the Minister has allowed himself to be swayed by the brass hats of the War Office, while the officials of the Air Ministry, with less opportunity for access to the Ministerial ear, have not been as fortunate. ZEIS CantileverWings One of the most remarkable phases of German aeroplane design during the last year or so of the War was the ever- increasing employment of thick tapered wing sections without external bracing. At first this form of wing was employed on the relatively small Fokker triplanes only ; but later it was adopted in a somewhat different form for much larger machines, such as, to mention only a few, the Fokker D VII biplane, the armoured Junkers biplanes and monoplanes, and the Hansa Brandenburg mono- plane seaplanes. In spite of the growing popularity of this type of wing in Germany our own authorities paid little or no attention to it, probably because the wing was not considered sufficiently efficient for war purposes where the last ounce of efficiency often meant the difference between success and failure. For civilian use, however, other considerations may well outweigh extremely high efficiency, and viewed from this standpoint the subject of "the cantilever wing assumes a rather different aspect. Elsewhere in this issue we publish the first instalment of an article by " Marco Polo," in which he attempts to arrive at figures for a tapered cantilever wing, basing his estimate on figures taken from R. & M. No. 322, relating to sections suitable for airscrew design. Although these sections may not be the best possible for a cantilever wing they should give a fair indication of the results that may be expected from a wing of this type, since an airscrew is virtually a cantilever wing, although its sections travel along a spiral path instead of a straight line. Later in his article, " Marco Polo " indicates some uses of the cantilever wing which would appear to render it especially suitable for small and medium- sized machines, and we would welcome the views of designers on the opinions and suggestions put for- ward in the article, since the subject is one which may well have considerable influence upon future wing design for small sporting machines. To our way of thinking the greatest advantage of cantilever wings is that they will probably not require the same amount of trueing up as do the ordinary braced wings. This is an advantage which will count heavily with the owner-pilot of the future, who will certainly not wish to be bothered by constantly having to go over his wings with spirit level and plumb line to check the truth of his planes and to tighten up or adjust flying and incidence wires. Mr. Handley-Page recently visualised the small, low-powered machine which one keeps in the coal shed and wheels out of an evening or week-end to go for a flip. It may well come about that this machine will have cantilever wings which pivot in the manner suggested by " Marco Polo," since this cer- tainly appears to be one of the simplest methods of " folding " which have so far been invented. Not only this, but, as we have already said, the com- parative absence of trueing-up worries should be a strong point in favour of this type of wing. As to the actual detail construction of such a wing, there is ample choice. Some will doubtless adhere to the wood construction which has stood the test of time and experience in the ordinary wing, while others will see in the cantilever wing a new field for metal construction. It is on matters such as these that we would welcome the opinions of practical designers and constructors, and we shall be pleased to open our columns to a discussion of the merits and drawbacks of the various points in the design, construction and practical utilisation of the cantilever wing. THE AIR SERVICE ESTIMATES THE Estimates for the Air Ministry and the Royal Air Force for the year 1920—21 were issued as a White Paper on Monday. It is impossible to repro- duce the Estimates in full, but in the fallowing tables will be found details of the various Votes which will show how the total of £21,056,930 is to be dis- tributed. ABSTRACT OF AIR ESTIMATES, 1920-21. Net Pages. Votes. — I.—Numbers : 3 A. Total number of officers, war- rant officers, non-commis-- .- sioned officers, airmen and boys on the Establishment ofthe R.A.F., exclusive of those * - serving in India II.—Effective Services : 4 1 Pay, etc. of the Air Force9 2 Quartering, stores (except tech- nical), supplies and transport12 3 Technical and warlike stores .. " 15 4 Works, buildings and lands 21 5 Air Ministry32 6 Miscellaneous effective services 37 8 Civil aviation44 9 Experimental and research ser- vices - " " Total effective services III.—Non-Effective Services :JH y Half pay, pensions and other „ ' .. . non-effective services Estimates, 1919-20. NetEstimates. Votes. 1919—20. 29,730 £4,661,000 150,000 £ 21,051,000 2,005,000 6,103,000 6,172,850 19,322,850 3,647,000 6,402,000 877,000 692,000 110,000 203,000894,540* t 2,575,540* § - A. 20,942,930 53>773>85° H4,ooof 257,000 7 21,056,930 54,030,850Total effective and ieffective services .. - * Includes certain non-effective charges in respect of these services. t Excludes certain non-effective charges in respect of Civil Aviation andExperimental and Research Services. These are included under Votes 8 and 9 respectively.t Provided under Votes I to 7 in 1919-20. § Provided under Votes 1 to 7, under the Votes of the Ministry of Munitions,and for part of the'year I9ig-2o_under Navy Votes. VOTE A.—Number of Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers. Airmen and Boys on the Establishment of the R.A.F., exclusive of thoseserving in India. Under which Vote Rank, etc. Total. .provided. 1920-21. igrg-20 fAir officers . . .. .. .. 12 I Commissioned officers .. . . . . 2,880I Cadets .. .. .. .. .. 152 Vote 1 < Warrant officers .. .. .. .. 324 I Non-commissioned offiers . . . . 2,900I Airmen .. .. .. .. .. 19,760 [ Boys . .. 3,480 Vote 5 Vote 9 Total, Vote 1fAir officers • Commissioned officersL Other ranks Total, Vote 5f Commissioned officers \ Other ranks Total, Vote 8Commissioned officers Total, Vote 9 Number to be voted 29,508 7 144 43 194 18 IOJ 150,000 29,730 150,000 VOTE I.—Pay, etc., of the Air Force. Estimates. 1920-21. 1919-20 £ A.—Pay and personal allowances of officers.B.—Pay and personal allowances of men C.—Separation allowanceD.—Miscellaneous allowances .. . E.—Women's Royal Air Force .. . F.—Civilians .. .. .. .. . 1,409,000 1,558,000 566,000 7,000 5,000 750,000 £ 4,600,000 6,400,000 2,250,000 500,000 900,000 1,601,000 283 •-X. D 2
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