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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0819.PDF
DECEMBER 8, 1921 mast, comfortably, in winds up to 60 m.p.h., riding through hail and snow squalls. .It was demonstrated that a ship could, with ease, leave a mast in a 40 m.p.h. wind. It was demonstiated that a ship could land at a mast in winds up to 32 m.p.h. It was shown that necessary running repairs could be undertaken on a ship at the mast with safety. It was shown that the hull deterioration, at a mast, is not heavy, the outer cover and gasbags were not so satisfactory : but as a result of sample tests carried out in Egypt, I think we can confidently say that the cure for this trouble is well in sight." The mooring mast considerably increases the value of an airship where used for naval or for commercial purposes, as thg. airship can leave the mast regularly at schedule time in the case of the commercial ship, and can slip its moorings in any weather at short notice where it is a question of taking part in some naval operation. Furthermore, the number of men required to handle an airship is reduced, by the use of a mooring mast, from 300-400 to about 10. On the subject of handling airships in the air, Maj. Scott pointed out that in most modern airships the engine cars are so arranged as to have one power car on the centre line right aft, and that this is better than a pair of cars aft, as in " K.80 " and " R.38," as it gives better control at low speeds, owing to the slip stream acting on the rudder. Thus in the " R-33 " class it is possible, he said, to swing the ship about on her rudder without losing or gaining ground, by running ahead on the after car and astern on the two wing units. The lecturer also referred to the increase in speed with size of ship, and to the effects of superheating. Regarding navigation, Maj. Scott stated that the general degree of accuracy that can be obtained is such that under most conditions the true position can be estimated to within 30 miles. In conclusion the lecturer summarised the technical position of the airship today as follows :— " An airship of 2,500,000 cubic ft. (75 tons) can be built without introducing any experimental and untried features. The hull would last, in continuous service, for at least fiveyears, and would have a useful lift for freight of 12 tons (passengers 5 tons, mail, etc., 7 tons) for non-stop journeysof 2,400 miles, i.e., England to Egypt. A journey of this distance could be completed in 48 hours or at a speed madegood of 50 m.p.h. " The ship would be of a rugged construction, built forlong life and low maintenance cost, and with a factor of safety at least equal to the ' R.33 ' and 'R.34," which ships,as you know, have shown themselves capable of standing up to the worst weather conditions, both in flight and atthe mooring mast. The ship could be operated to meet commercial requirements, that is to say, arrivals to anddepartures from a mooring mast could be made to scheduled times and regularity on passage equal to that of steamshipswould be possible. In regard to future development, those actually in sightnot only considerably improve the performance I have taken above, but also materially reduce the present cost of manu-facture and operation. " Finally, 1 would like to emphasise three further pointswhich appear to me most important :—(1) An investigation into the present commercial requirements on Imperial routesindicates that some 5 or 6 tons of mail and freight and 30 to 40 passengers would be available weekly. (2) The per-formance of the commercial airship which could be built today, and which I have given, would meet these require-ments. (3) The urgent need for speeding up Imperial com- munications is acknowledged by every one throughout theEmpire, and an examination of the possible means by which this demand could be adequately met, with due regard tocost, points, in my opinion, to the use of the airship. " As a point of interest, 1 would like to mention that fromrecent publications in Germanv, it is quite clear that a con- siderably more optimistic view is taken in that country bothas regards the present technical position of the airship and its future possibilities than that which 1 have given in thispaper." THE AIR MINISTRY SAFETY TANK COMPETITION Tests Commenced on December 5 IN our issue of August 25, we published the announcement of a competition arranged by the Air Ministry in order to encourage the production of a fuel tank which should be safe and reliable for service and commercial purposes. The prizes offered aggregate £2,ooc, allotted as follows : First prize, ^1,400 ; second prize, /400; third prize, £200. The competition, which commenced at the Royal Aircraft Estab- lishment, Farnborough, on Monday, December 5, and which will continue on alternate days until the tests have been completed, is open to the world, and has brought in 26 entries, of which 19 are from Great Britain, 3 from France, and one each from America, Belgium, Italy and Japan. The Judges Committee is composed as follows : Wing- Commander E. F. Briggs, O.B.E., D.S.O., Deputy Director of Research (Design), Major J. H. Ledeboer, M.B.E. (Research Department), Major B. C. Carter, D.I.O., A.R.C.Sc. (Research Department), Mr. C. G. B. Cockburn, O.B.E. (Accidents Investigation Branch), Major J. P. C. Cooper (A.I.B.), and Mr. H. H. Weight Vowden (Assistant). As the rules for the competition have already been published in full (in our issue of August 25, 1921), there is no necessity to do more than mention a few of the most important points. Tanks should be so constructed as to prevent so far as possible leakage or ignition of the fuel when subject to stresses similar to those to which the tank would be subjected in a crash. Also, they should, if possible, prevent leakage and fire when subject to machine gun fire, using incendiary, armour-piercing, or explosive ammunition. The maximum weight, which would only be justified by very exceptional qualities, should not exceed 1 • 75 lbs. per gallon capacity, complete with fittings. Relinquishment of R.A.F. Station THE land and buildings comprising the R.A.F. station at Coal Aston have been passed to the Disposal and Liquida- tion Commission, for disposal. Royal Air Force Pageant, 1921 THE Royal Air Force Pageant Committee wish to announce that as a result of the Royal Air Force Pageant held at Hendon on July 2, 1921, the sum of ^8,274 175. id. was handed over to the Royal Air Force Memorial Fund, .in aid of which the Pageant was held. This is an increase of £1,545 IIS- iod- over last year's balance. The relative importance of other characteristics will be considered in the following order of merit : Light weight; durability under service conditions ; indifference to extremes of temperature ; adaptability of design to large capacities ; simplicity of construction ; adaptability of design to various shapes : accessibility of fittings ; cost of production. As to the actual tests, these will consist chiefly of crashing tests and firing tests with machine guns. In the former tests, each tank will be mounted in a wooden structure, and will be located behind a dummy engine made of concrete. The tank will be released down a guideway, approximately 100 ft. high, so arranged that the structure will strike the ground at an angle of not less than 45 degrees from the hori- zontal, and will be free to turn over, imitating as far as possible the conditions prevailing in a typical aircraft crash. In the firing tests the tanks will be subject to machine gun fire with ammunition capable of penetrating the ordinary type of mild steel fuel tank, exploding and igniting the fuel either on contact or after penetration. A series of bursts of five rounds each will be fired at a range of 50 yards, the tank being examined after each burst. The angle of fire will be at the discretion of the judges. On the first day of the competition (December 5) three firms competed in the shock tests. These were Beasley- 3ims and Morris of Birmingham, John Gibson of Edinburgh, and Eramson of Gironde, France. The Air Ministry does not wish any comments made upon the condition of the tanks until the end of the competition, when a full official report will be published. France-Morocco Air Mail Service THE Postmaster-General announces that in consequence of an alteration in the time of departure of the aeroplanes from Toulouse it is now possible to post up to 6.30 a.m. (printed papers 6.0 a.m.) at the General Post Office, London, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, to connect with the air mails for Morocco which leave Toulouse on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday respectively. The mails are due to reach Casablanca on the following day in each case. Postal packets sent by this route on any day of the week will be greatly accelerated.
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