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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0456.PDF
AUGUST IO, 1922 THE NEW AVELINE AUTOMATIC PILOT SINCE our description in FLIGHT for February 3, 1921, of the Aveline Automatic Pilot considerable progress has been made with this extremely ingenious and successful instrument, and Auto Controls of 10, Heddon Street, W. 1, have just produced a new model, which is a considerable improvement on the original type. It is not, at the present moment, our intention to give a detailed description of this instrument, as the article referred to above provides all the necessary information on this point. We will, however, just briefly outline the fundamental principle on which the Automatic Pilot is based. Primarily the Automatic Pilot is composed of three princi pal components : (1) A windmill air compressor, with air reservoir, pressure gauge and safety valve. (2) Compressed air-operated cylinders containing pistons operating the aileron or elevator control. (3) The brim of the instrument, comprising what is practically a mercury inclinometer necessary equipment, including air tank and air pump, weighs approximately 50 lbs. A complete set comprising lateral and longitudinal stabilisers comes out at about 88 lbs., as against 145 lbs. in the case of the larger type. Besides numerous minor improvements and adjustments which simplify its operation by the pilot, all electrical mechanism, wiring and tubing are easily get-at-able, and at the same time are out of the way, so that they are not liable to be damaged in the aeroplane. The following comparative overall dimensions of the large and small types may be of interest: Length, large, 2 ft. 2f ins. ; small, 1 ft. 11 ins. Width, large, 3| ins.; small, 6 J ins. Height, large, 7! ins. ; small, u£ins. This new model has satisfactorily stood a very severe bench test, and the one fitted to a Vickers " Vimy " with which the Air Ministry are carrying out tests has so far proved satisfactory. That the Automatic Pilot is a thoroughly practical inven- THE AVELINE AUTOMATIC PILOT. Three views of the latest model, which is about half the weight of the earlier and larger type. which, through the medium of electric relay and electro magnetic circuits, brings into operation the power cylinders and pistons operating the controls when the attitude of the machine calls for correction. It may be added that, as the machine inclines, and, therefore, the semi-circular tube containing the mercury, the latter establishes electrical contact on the side to which inclination takes place and the corresponding coil of the relay is energised. The latest model of the Automatic Pilot is suitable not only for large machines, such as the Handle v Page, or Farman Goliath, but, owing to its reduced weight, can also be used on smaller three or four-seater machines. The weight of the main unit is 25 lbs., as against 43 lbs. for the large size, and a single installation, with all the tion is borne out when it is stated that the earliest models made under the Aveline patents were tested by the British Government during a period of two years, and the Air Ministry then bought twelve stabilisers for further trials, now being conducted on different types of aircraft. The official reports describe the stabiliser as satisfactory for the purpose for which it was designed, and as the best appliance of its kind now available. Furthermore, Automatic Pilots for trial in military aviation have been bought by the French, Japanese, and U.S. Governments, whilst it has been satisfactorily applied to large commercial aeroplanes, both in England and France. The Farman Goliath which recently made a night trip between Paris and London was fitted with an Aveline Automatic Pilot. H m H H APRIL-JUNE AIR TRAFFIC RETURNS THE returns of air traffic on the cross-Channel routes to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, during the three months April-June, are now available from the Air Ministry. During this quarter 764 machines departed from the London Terminal Aerodrome, Croydon, and 768 machines arrived, the total number using the aerodrome on Continental services being 1,532. This is a considerable increase on the figures for the same period last year, when 506 machines departed and 495 arrived. The majority of machines were of British nationality, belonging to the Handley Page Transport, Ltd., the Instone Air Line, and Daimler Hire, Ltd. The figures by nationality are :—British, 915 ; French, 228 ; and Dutch, 189. Last year British machines numbered only 246 out of a total of 1,001 machines using the aerodrome. The total number of passengers carried during the period was 3,128, and is a slight decline on the total of 3,565 carried a year ago. The proportion carried by British companies has, however, greatly increased, 2,402 travelling in British machines against 1,653 in the same period last year. British traffic therefore amounted to 76.8 per cent, of the total, whereas last year it was only 46.4 per cent. The total weight of goods carried by aircraft to and from Croydon was 144 tons, which is a large increase on last year, when the figure was 56.9 tons. Half of this total was carried by French machines, but the British share of the traffic shows the largest proportionate increase, 53.6 tons having been transported by British machines against 4.9 tons a year ago. The efficiency of British air services continues to be of a high standard. In April the efficiency of flights made and completed within four hours by British machines on the London-Paris route was 92.3 per cent. For May the figure was the same, and for June it rose to 95.2 per cent. The figures for French machines during the same period on the same basis were :—April, 71.3 per cent. ; May, 85 per cent. ; and June, 79.1 per cent. Notwithstanding these figures it has to be noted, however, as stated in the last half-yearly report on Civil Aviation, that a considerable increase in traffic is essential if Air Transport firms are to obtain a commercial basis of operation, the passenger accommodation occupied on British machines being only 37 per cent, in April, 30 per cent, in May, and 31 per cent, in June, and the useful cargo capacity used only 44 per cent, in April, 44 per cent, in May, and 40 per cent, in June. 456 •
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