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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0541.PDF
SEPTEMBER 21, 1922 THE BOULTON AND PAUL P.9. BIPLANE IT has been maintained that the aeroplane, at present, cannot hope to make much of a success in connection with- regular air services within the British Isles, inasmuch as existing means of communication could only be but slightly improved upon Be this as it may, we are convinced that the aeroplane can be made to serve a very useful purpose here at home in another direction, i.e., as a " private " means of communica tion, either for business or pleasure. In fact, w,e. are at a or less hiding its light under the proverbial bushel, is the Boulton and Paul P.o which forms the subject of the accom panying illustrations and notes. It will be remembered that there were two of these machines flying in the recent King's Cup Race round Britain, in which their performance, though not of a spectacular nature, was none the less worthy of notice. Piloted by C T. Holmes and J. C. Tennant respectively, these machines left Crovdon THE BOULTON AND PAUL P.9. BIPLANE : Three-quarter front view. loss to understand why this side of aviation has not developed more than it has—if it can be said to have developed at all. Aerial taxi work, it is true, is becoming more popular, but the number of owner-pilots in this country is well under the half-dozen, in spite of the fact that " private " flying should be just the sort of thing that would appeal to the British sportsman. It is not that there are any great difficulties in the way to prevent the aeroplane being put to such a use— within five minutes of each other, and kept a very steady course, within a few minutes of each other, throughout the race, Holmes averaging 69 m.p.h. and Tennant 68 m.p.h. for the outward journey, the averages for the homeward trips being 85 m.p.h. and 88 m.p.h. respectively. The machine shown in the accompanying illustrations is the one flown by Holmes, and is used by Mr. F. T. Courtney when he wants to " flip " anywhere in a hurry. THE BOULTON AND PAUL P.9. BIPLANE : Side View. either for the owner-pilot or the owner with pilot-chauffeur, whilst it has been demonstrated on several occasions that the actual flying can be accomplished with as much safety as with motoring, and with but little, if any, extra cost. Neither is there any dearth of suitable machines, for during the last few years our constructors have produced several machines capable of giving very satisfactory results in this particular- cla^s of work. One of these machines, which has been more The P.9, which has been designed by Mr. J. D. North, is a two-seater tractor biplane of moderate dimensions, and is a plain, straightforward job both in design and construction. The outstanding features of this machine may be said to comprise low initial cost, low cost of running and maintenance and facility in handling both in the air and on the ground. , lit has -a very good speed range and climb, and is nice and easy on the controls—which, together with its general 541 C 2
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