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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0466.PDF
AUGUST 17, 1922 THE BRITISH SEAPLANE VICTORY : Matched against the fastest seaplanes in the world, the Supermarir.e, with Napier Lion engine, piloted by Mr. Biard, has beaten its competitors, and won this year's Schneider race at Naples. As a result, next year's race will be flown in this country. Our photographs show the hull of the Supermarine flying boat and the Napier Lion ready for installation at the Supermarine works, Southampton, and, on the left, the complete machine on the slipways. Inset is a portrait of Mr. Biard, chief pilot of the Supermarine Aviation Works. With regard to the machine, this was described in detail in our issue of April 20, 1922, in its original form of an amphibian flying boat, with 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza engine. By removing the amphibian gear the weight was reduced, and the substitution of a Napier Lion did not add greatly to the total weight, while, of course, greatly increasing the speed. We believe that the wing area was also reduced so as to gain a further increase in speed, and certainly the machine must have been very fast to have beaten such formidable com petitors as the Macchi and Savoia boats, which are, or were, until the arrival of the Supermarine, probably the fastest flying boats in the world. A feature of the original Supermarine " Sea King, Mark IT," was that it trimmed equally well at all flying speeds, and with engine on or off. That feature has, we believe, been retained in the racing version, the " Sea Lion," and makes the machine exceptionally nice to handle. It is a feature difficult to attain in a machine of the flying boat type, but the Supermarine designers have succeeded in doing so in spite of the difficulties. It js of interest to note that the H H Anti- Aircraft Brigades LIEUT.-CGL D. H. GILL, C.M.G., D.S.O., has been appointed Commander of the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade (Territorial Army), and Col. H. S. de Brett, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., Commander of the 3rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade (Terri torial Armyl. These are the two brigades which are to be formed in London. Death of De Pischoff IT is with deep regret that we have to announce this week the death of M. Alfred de Pischoff as a result of an aeroplane accident. It appears that M. de Pischoff was flying one of his small, low-powered machines at an altitude of about 1,500 ft. when the machine suddenly dipped violently and M. de Pischoff was thrown out. An Austrian by birth, Alfred de Pischoff had worked all "Sea Lion" was doped with " Cellon," and that Smiths instruments were fitted. A feature for which the Supermarine boats have always been noted is their exceptional seaworthiness. It will be remembered that on one occasion one of these boats was deliberately stalled from a height of about 30 feet, and yet no damage was done to the hull. The mooring tests and navigation tests of the Schneider contest did not, therefore, present difficulties, and the main problem was whether or not the machine was fast enough. This she proved to be, and Mr. Scott-Paine and Commander Bird are to be congratulated upon a very fine design, Capt. Biard on his excellent piloting, and last, but by no means least, Napiers on the production of the engine which made the performance possible. The Schneider race has added yet another success to the long list already to the credit of the Napier Lion. It is jiow up to us to see to it that we are strongly represented for next year's Schneider Cap. One representative is certainly not sufficient, and it is to be hoped that so many machines may be forthcoming that eliminating trials will lie necessary. H H his life in France, and he was among the early aviation pioneers of flying, having as collaborator M. Archdeacon. In 1910 he built a small monoplane with E.Ts.V. engine, which was remarkable for its originality. The fuselage was very similar to the body of a motor-car, and the engine, placed in front, behind a nose radiator, drove a pusher screw, via a chain. A clutch was incorporated, and the engine was started with an ordinary starting handle ; having got his engine going the pilot got into his seat, let in his clutch, and away he went. Early in the War de Pi^choff went to Russia, where he joined the Army. When the revolution came he returned to France. Since the War he had been working on the produc tion of small, low-powered sporting aeroplanes, and a couple of years ago he produced a small biplane, which flew very well with a two-cylinder Clerget engine of 16 h.p. 466
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