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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0159.PDF
I MARCH 3, 1921 . This instruction is not intended to discourage the fitting of dual control, but merely to ensure that when a machine so fitted is used for passenger carrying the necessary precautions will be taken. (No. 5 of 1921.) N.B.—This Notice was issued in circular form to aircraft owners in October, 1919. Rolls-Royce "Eagle" Engines: Fitting of Epicyclic Gear ROLLS-ROYCE " Eagle " engines fitted with high com- pression pistons will, in future, not be regarded as airworthy unless fitted with the modified epicyclic gear, incorporating friction damped control to the sump wheel. Engines provided with the old type epicyclic reduction gear can be accepted only with standard low compression pistons. Engines in service which do not conform with the above conditions should be modified at the first opportunity. A number of engines with the old type reduction gear have already been modified by the makers by fitting low com- pression pistons ; such engines are stamped with the letter " K " on the name-plate above the maker's name (No. 3 of 1921.) Handley Page Service Stops As was to be anticipated as being the only solution to the subsidy methods of France, side by side with our Government's fool game, the Handley Page London-Paris Service closed down on February 28. Now that million more or less for Civil Aviation should come in quite handily for helping along our Continental rivals to complete their efforts in making this country a back number in Civil aviation for a decade or so. Some French Civil Flying Figures LAST week-end at a gathering of about forty French Senators at La Bourget at the invitation of the new Under- secretary for Aviation, M. Eynacr, during a short speech, said 1919 was a year of plans ; 1920 a year of trial, and 1921 would be a year of realisation. Some suggestive figures were given in a summary of the French air position by Colonel Saconnet, director of the aerial navigation service, who also spoke enthusiastically of flying in France. He detailed the following comparative figures showing the increase in traffic on the Paris-London-Brussels, Bayonne-Bilbao, Toulouse-Casablanca, Paris-Cabourg routes. Complete journeys, 1911, 173; in 1919, 4,473; in 1920, 4,428. The number of miles covered in 1919 was 333,823, and in 1920 989,272. The number of passengers carried in 1919 was 729 ; and in 1920, 6,697. Goods weighing 31,680 lbs. were carried in 1919, and 277,319 lbs. in 1920. Mails weighing 1,048 lbs. were carried in 1919, and in 1920, 13,581 lbs. He was also reassuring about the high degree of safety which had been reached, and pointed out that for 1,212,309 miles flown there had been only fourteen accidents and five deaths during the last two years. He also mentioned that one can fly from Paris to Warsaw via Strasbourg in twelve hours, whereas the train journey usually takes three days and two nights, and the price, when one includes the cost of sleeping-car accommodation, is no lower than the cost of going by air, which is about £20. And as to Britain ? With the last of our civil aviation services—the H.P.—closed down, best to draw the veil— or is it a shroud ? Air Mail to Morocco No doubt by reason of the generous subsidy by France to French civil aviation, our Postmaster-General is able to announce the reduction, beginning on March 3, of the special air fee payable, in addition to ordinary foreign postage, on packets posted in this country for Morocco, and intended to be forwarded by the French Air Mail Service from Tou- louse to Casablanca. The limit of weight per packet has, on the other hand, been increased. The new rates will be as follows :— For packets weighing up to | oz., 5^. ; from £ oz. to 3| oz., ii<2, ; for each additional 3^ oz.. an additional 6d., up to a maximum weight of 17A oz., and a corresponding fee of 2s. 1 id. The air mail is due to leave Toulouse at 7 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and to reach Morocco the following afternoon ; and the latest time of posting to connect is 3 p.m. (printed papers, commercial papers, and samples, 2.3° P.m.), at the General Post Office, London, on the pre- ceding Saturday, Monday, or Thursday, and at corresponding times elsewhere. The mail aeroplanes call at Rabat on the way to Casablanca. International Fares to be Reduced ANOTHER result of the Continental civil aviation sub- sidies is echoed in the following decisions, arrived at on February 28 in Brussels by the International Conference of the principal aerial transport companies there assembled :— (!) To make a substantial reduction in charges, par- ticularly in the case of passengers, so that they shall compare favourably with the maximum rates charged by the railway companies for international traffic. (2) To open on April 14 an aerial route between Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, with a subsequent extension to Copenhagen via Bremen and Hamburg. (3) To arrange for the London-Brussels service to call at Ostend during the season. The Bristol " Tramp " AMONG the few firms which are still busy on aircraft construction is the Bristol Company who, in addition to a large Air Ministry order for Bristol Fighters, are engaged on the construction of a new triplane, somewhat on the lines of the luxurious Bristol "Pullman," except that it is not designed to carry passengers. The fuselage is very roomy, so as to provide ample space for cargo. The power is to be furnished by four Siddeley " Puma " engines of 230 h.p. each, and the carrying capacity of the machine will be in the neighbourhood of 2J tons. The speed will not, of course, be as high as that of the Pullman, the power being much smaller. The Air Ministry are said to contemplate various uses for this machine, such as carrying spare parts from one air station to another. If desired, the machine could also be used for wireless experiments, photography, etc. A Vickers Red Cross Machine AT the Weybridge works of Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., a new machine is now nearing completion which is designed for Red Cross work. The machine is more or less on standard Vimy lines, but in place of the usual seats the cabin is fitted up to take four stretchers, and there is also room for a doctor, nurse, and orderly. Thus urgent cases can be transported great distances in a very short time and with a maximum of comfort. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft SIR W. G. ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH AIRCRAFT, LTD., is the title of a new company just formed by Messrs. Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., Ltd., for the development of their aircraft programme. The company is developing new- types of aircraft, and in due course will be in a position to supply various types of aircraft of entirely post-War design suited to meet varying requirements. The formation of this new Company will in no way interfere with the production and design of aircraft engines by Messrs. Armstrong Siddeley Motors, Ltd. Belgian Congo Waterplane Service IN connection with the inaugural flight of waterplanes up the Congo, recently referred to in FLIGHT, a correspondent of The Times writes that the difficulties confronting a newly- established air service in a remote part of the world are now illustrated by the actual experience reported in connection with this pioneer airway. The service, which uses seaplanes, and follows the course of the River Congo between Kinshasa and Stanleyville, is operated by the Syndicat National pour l'Etude des Transports Aeriens. One of the main difficulties encountered has been in con- nection with possible forced landings through mechanical trouble. Sections of this airway are so isolated, and ordinary communications are so bad, that there is a risk of a machine which has alighted involuntarily never being heard of again ; in any case, days may elapse, perhaps, before news comes through of what has happened. To overcome this difficulty, temporarily, the expedient had been adopted of dividing a load between two seaplanes, which then set off together and keep each other company during their flight. In this way, should one have to alight through any mechanical trouble, the other either flies on, or returns, and reports accurately and promptly the position of the stranded machine. A scheme is now being pushed ahead to establish wireless telephones along the Congo, and also in the aircraft, though the ground organisation will not be an easy matter. For one thing, white labour is so scarce that intelligent negroes will have to be trained to " listen in " at, and to use, the wireless telephone instruments. Another difficulty, ex- perienced in the afternoons, is that the tropical heat causes " atmospherics " which may interfere with the wireless. 159
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