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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0037.PDF
JANUARY 19, 1922 THE "BRISTOL" 10-SEATER 400 H.P. Bristol IN our issue of July 7, 1921, we published an illustrated description of the " Bristol " 10-seater commercial biplane in its original form, with Napier engine and a four-wheeled undercarriage. This machine, it may be remembered, was designed by Mr. Reid, who has now succeeded Captain F. S. Barnwell as chief engineer and designer of the " Bristol " Aeroplane Company. Since the building of the original machine certain modifications have been made to component details, such as the undercarriage. As it was found that, even without the front wheels, the machine handled remark ably well on the ground, it was' decided to do away with the extra weight of the two front wheels, which were consequently omitted. The machine has been to Martlesham for its tvpe-tests, and has paid several flying visits to the Croydon aerodrome. It has been found to handle very well both on the ground and in the air, and it is expected that it will be put into actual commercial use on the airways in the coming spring and summer. Lately the machine has been re-designed to take the Bristol " Jupiter " radial air-cooled engine. The result is shown in the accompanying photograph. It might have been thought that fitting a radial in the nose of the machine, and the absence of a radiator would have resulted in spoiling the appearance of the machine. This, however, i? not the case, as may be seen from the photograph. The manner in which Mr. Reid has run the covering from the comparatively small diameter at the front into the large section of the cabin leaves nothing to be desired as regards appearance, and also from the point of view of resistance the fuselage appears to have a very good shape. It may be remembered that the " Bristol " firm have carried out extensive experiments on engine mountings and fairings, and the present mounting represents the form found by experiment to be most efficient. This engine mounting was described and illustrated in our issue of October 13, 1921, and little need therefore be said about it here, beyond recalling that its distinctive feature is that it is swivelled or hinged along one side in such a manner that by undoing a few bolts the whole mounting can be swung laterally so as to give ready access to the rear of the engine without disturbing the petrol leads, which are so arranged that they run down along the hinged side and have sufficient flexibility to allow of a small amount of twisting and bending without requiring to be disconnected. The advantages of such a mounting for commercial work are obvious, as inspection is greatlv facilitated. This should result in increased reliability, as it is well known that a part which is difficult to get at is often left alone, whereas a part that can be readily inspected usually receives its fair share of attention. Apart from the alterations necessitated by the installation of the " Jupiter" engine, the 10-seater remains practically the same as before. The cabin has accommodation for eight passengers, of whom six are seated in upholstered seats facing forward, the other two occupying a cross-seat along COMMERCIAL AEROPLANE "Jupiter" Engine the front wall of the cabin and face aft. A ninth passenger, or a mechanic, can be carried in the seat in the pilot's cockpit. The chairs are designed to fold up when not in use, and should it be desired for a single journey to use the machine for carrying goods, the cabin is fairly clear when the seats are folded. When the seats are removed from the cabin, a space for cargo is left measuring 10 ft. 6 in. in length 5 ft. 9 in. in height (in the centre), and 4 ft. in width. The cabin is lighted by windows in the sides, and there is an emergency exit in the roof. For cold weather flying the cabin can be heated by means of hot air muffs round the long exhaust pipes. Aft of the cockpit there is a lavatory, and in front of the cabin, under the pilot's cockpit, is "a luggage compartment reached through a trap door in the floor. This luggage compartment measures 4 ft. 6 ins. in length, 4 ft. in width, and 2 ft. 6 ins. in height. The pilot's cockpit is placed between the engine bulkhead and the front spar of the upper plane. From this position he obtains an excellent view forward and downward while, being practically on a level with the top plane, he can also see fairly well backwards. A wireless telegraph and telephone installation is provided for in the cockpit, and this is so placed as to be completely accessible to the engineer_or navigator. y ; As a safety precaution against fire, there is a steel bulkhead aft of the engine, between it and the pilot's cockpit, and all control connections pass through glands. No petrol is carried in the fuselage aft of the fireproof bulkhead. The petrol system consists of two main petrol tanks slung under the bottom plane, where they are in a position easy of access for filling. The tanks have a capacity of 45 gallons each, and petrol is drawn from either of these tanks by two Yickers centrifugal pumps coupled in series, and delivered through a Yickers hand pump to the carburettors, m any surplus being returned through a 10-gallon gravity tank fitted high up on the fireproof bulkhead. Smith's capacity gauges for both tanks are fitted on the instrument board. As already mentioned, the undercarriage of the new machine is of the two-wheeled type. Rubber rings are used for suspension, and their carriers are so designed that the rings can be easily and quickly renewed. An oleo damper gear is incorporated, the special feature of which is the tapered needle valve so shaped as to give constant oil pressure through the whole stroke of the plunger (about 8 ins.). The main characteristics of the " Bristol " 10-seater are as follows : Span, 57 ft. 6 in. ; length o.a., 40 ft. 6 ins. ; height, 11 ft. ; weight of machine empty, 4,000 lbs. ; 90 gallons of petrol and 6 gallons of oil, 715" lbs. ; crew (2), 320 lbs. ; passengers (8), 1,200 lbs. ; luggage, 350 lbs. ; w*ireless, etc., 65 lbs. ; total loaded weight, 6,650 lbs. ; wing loading, 9-3 lbs./sq. ft. ; power loading (Bristol " Jupiter " at 400h.p.), i6-6 lbs./h.p. ; speed at ground level, 112 m.p.h. ; speed at 5,000 ft., no m.p.h. ; climb to 1,000 ft., i£ minutes to 5,000 ft., 13 minutes. THE BRISTOL lOuSEATER, WITH "JUPITER " ENGINE: The new Bristol standard swivelling mounting is incorporated in this machine, and greatly facilitates inspection and minor adjustments. 37
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