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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0097.PDF
FEBRUARY IO, 192I The following figures of results, supplied by Dr. Keilhau, are of interest;— Number of journeys planned .. .. 212 Number of journeys made .. .. 200 Percentage of technical reliability . . 94.4 per cent. Number of journeys accepted by postal authorities as being to satisfactory schedule .. .. .. .. 196 Percentage of postal reliability .. 92.5 per cent. Number of kilometres flown (approx.) 22,000 Number of passengers conveyed .. 64 Flights prevented by weather .. 5 Flights prevented by lack of machines 7 Flights interrupted by weather .. o As regards reliability, there is thus no fault to find with the first Norwegian air-mail service. When, nevertheless, it was discontinued, the reason was to be found, as in certain other countries which we could mention, in the lack of public support. The saving in time was very considerable, and but for the fact that the surcharge fixed by the postal authorities was so high as to bring the cost up to practically the same as that of a telegram, there is little doubt that a better finan- cial result would have been obtained. Also it would appear that the service was not advertised as well as it might have been. Thus the Norske Luftfartrederi shared the fate of several other pioneer firms, and decided to cease operations. As the figures indicate, the fault cannot be ascribed to tech- nical shortcomings, and it is quite possible that, had the firm been in a position to carry on for a considerably longer period, success might ultimately have crowned their efforts. As it is, probably in time to come some other firm will step in and reap the benefit of the ground-work done by the original company. This, unfortunately, has been the fate of many pioneers. GERMAN AERONAUTICAL MATERIAL AT ANTWERP IN view of inaccurate statements which have appeared in the Press regarding the receipt, examination, and disposal of German aircraft, engines, and other aeronautical material assigned to Great Britain under the terms of the Peace Treaty, the following information is placed at the disposal of the Press by the Civil Aviation Department of the Air Ministry :— Aeronautical material surrendered by Germany under the terms of the Peace Treaty is collected by the Inter-Allied Aeronautical Commission of Control, which arranges for its allocation to the various Allied Powers. The material allotted to Great Britain is despatched by rail to Antwerp in sealed cases, which are opened in the presence of Belgian officials. The material is taken on charge by the Royal Air Force Port Detachment, and is carefully surveyed by special officers of the Research Department of the Air Ministry, who select those articles which appear to be of technical or scientific value. The Air Ministry is also informed direct by the Inter- Allied Aeronautical Commission of the material which will arrive at Antwerp, so that the Director of Research may be fully informed of the position. No material is considered surplus until it has been carefully inspected and rejected by the special technical officers of the R.A.F. A further survey is then made for articles suitable for War trophies and museum exhibits. All material selected is shipped to the Royal Air Force experimental stations, where a considerable amount has already been collected and is now undergoing the most minute inspection and test at the hands of experts. Several machines of various and important types are expected to be ready shortly for actual flying trials in the air. Many- types of aero engines are at present undergoing running tests on the bench, and it is anticipated that very complete data will be available as a result of the experiments conducted upon them. All supplies of the special types of Maybach engine required for the purposes of research are being transhipped from Antwerp to the experimental stations in England. The material remaining at Antwerp, after the process of selection, is handed over to the Disposals Board of the Ministry of Munitions. In accordance with the orders of the Supreme Council, no aeronautical material received from Germany may be disposed of unless it is reduced to scrap. This surplus material will, therefore, be reduced by the Disposals Board in situ, and sold locally. Hitherto, however, no reduction has taken place, as the arrangements of the Disposal Board are not yet completed. It has been decided that the reduction and consequent sales should take place in Antwerp, first to save the cost of shipment to England, and, secondly, to meet the views of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors with regard to the introduction of German material into this country. No stores have been tampered with while in transit to Antwerp, but thefts of material are known to have occurred at earlier stages. In all cases the stolen articles have been of little commercial and of no technical value. It is also certain that pilfering took place during the period between the Armistice and the institution of the Aeronautical Commission. The work of the Inter-Allied Aeronautical Commission is still proceeding, and full advantage is being taken by the A.ir Ministry of the material allotted to Great Britain. Afghanistan Campaign, 1919 THE Air Ministry announces that the " India General Service Medal, 1906," in silver, with clasp, "Afghanistan N.W. Frontier, 1919," will be granted to personnel of the Royal Air Force who took part in operations against Afghani- stan in 1919, and who served :— (a) West of the Indus, exclusive of the Province of Sind, between May 6, 1919. and August 8, 1919, both dates inclusive. (6) Under the orders of the General Officer Commanding the Baluchistan Force, on the East Persian lines of com- munication between May 6, 1919, and August 8, 1919, both dates inclusive. (c) In North-East Persia under the orders of Maj.-Gen. Malleson, C.B., C.I.E., between May 6, 1919, and August 6, 1919, both dates inclusive. Officers and airmen who took part in the campaign and are no longer serving should apply direct to the Air Officer Commanding, Headquarters, Royal Air Force, Ambala, India, giving details of their qualifying service, with dates, and the permanent address to which the medal and clasp may be sent. The claims are subject to approval by the Air Council. Brussels Air Mail Change THE Postmaster-General announces that the latest times of posting for the air mail to Brussels will, until further notice, be the same as those for the air mail to Paris, and at certain post offices in London where letters for the service can be specially handed over the counter, the latest time3 will be about fifty minutes earlier than formerly, namely:— G.P., 10.40 ; Threadneedle Street Branch Office, 10.25 ; Lombard Street, 10.25 ; Parliament Street, 10.05 ; Charing x 37 Cross, 10.25 ; W.C.D.O., 10.45 ; W.D.O., 10.25 ; S.W.D.O. 10.20 ; and S.E.D.O., 9.0, all a.m. Registered letters must be handed in five minutes earlier in each case. The latest times of posting in the provinces remain unchanged. Well Known Pilots Retire THEIR many friends will be sorry to hear that Mr. L. R. Tait-Cox and his colleague, Mr. J. H. James, both Nieuport , pilots, have retired from-aviation. Both are very fine pilots, and their loss to aviation is greatly to be regretted. We wish them both the best of luck in other spheres. Weight of Aveline Stabiliser WE are very pleased to find that in our last issue we made, through a misunderstanding, a mistake in the figure for the weight of the Aveline stabiliser. The weight was given as 300 lbs., whereas in point of fact it is only 150 lbs. as fitted in the Handley Page. This figure includes all extra cables, frames for mounting, etc. The mistake arose through the figure of 150 lbs:, which we took to be that of one set only, whereas it included both sets (elevator and ailerons). On future installations the weight will be reduced to 100 lbs. for large machines, and possibly an intermediate set will be standardised which weighs about 70 or 80 lbs. For small machines (single-engined single-seaters and.two- or three-seaters) M. Aveline's patents cover the use of light servo-motors of the friction-disc type, operated by a small windmill. The electrical part of the installation will remain the same in principle, but the friction-discs will take the place of the compressed air reservoir and cylinders. Such an outfit, it is estimated, can be built for a weight of about 20 lbs. or so. The future owner-driver who is not a par- ticularly good pilot should benefit from this set.
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