FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0581.PDF
OCTOBER 5. 1922 in theory this would appear to be so, it was found in practice that to effect the necessary reduction in weight the longerons -and ply-wood would have to be of such small dimensions that they would become impracticable. Consequently a shallow box was chosen for the stress-resisting part, and the rest was built on in the lightest form possible. The ridge along the top of the fuselage is formed by a wire running from the rear wing bulkhead to the tail plane, and fabric covering is put over the triangular section top thus formed. The tail plane, elevators, fin and rudder are of very light construction indeed, and are covered, like the wings, with cambric. The elevator hinges are in the form of leather straps, similar to those used on draught screens, clothes- horses, etc., and provide quite the most light and efficient form of hinge possible. The angle through which the elevators can be moved is very great (i.e., go° each way), and the gap left between tail plane and elevator spars is always kept in the aft portion, the required depth of fuselage is provided by a light super-structure. The absence of " gadgets " in the cockpit makes one wish a similar simplicity were attain able in power-driven aircraft, where the pilot usually is so surrounded by instruments that one often wonders how he ever gets any time for piloting. The only instrument fitted at present is an air-speed indicator. This is one of the new instruments just put on the market by Smith and Sons, and is designed to give readings from 10 ni.p.h. upwards. Also the " lag " has been reduced to a minimum, so that the instrument should be a valuable asset on_ a glider which has to be flown at practically a constant speed. As already mentioned, the de Havilland glider is at present provided with a Vee under-carriage, but later a modified type, partly housed in the bottom of the fuselage, may be fitted. The present one has Vees of steel tube, with small scooter wheels carried on an axle slung on rubber cords THE DE HAVILLAND GLIDER : Photograph taken from below of a scale model of the machine. closed. The tail plane is mounted on a small transverse bulkhead reaching some 5 ins. above the flat top of the fuselage proper, and is secured to it by two eye bolts. The rear spar of the tail plane is bolted to the fin post. Incidentally it may be pointed out that the curved leading edge of the tail plane is formed by several laminations of spruce, which form of construction is very strong and has the advantage that curved members can be formed without steaming. The controls are of usual type, both the foot bar and the " joy-stick " being made from steel tube. The control cables pass to the tail on the outside of the fuselage, while those to the ailerons run up along the bulkhead behind the pilot, around pulleys, through the front portion of the wing and to the control cranks inside the wing. The pilot's cockpit is just in front of the leading edge of the wing, and here, as from the bottom of the Vees. A tail skid built up of several laminations of wood is mounted on the downward extension of the fin post, and is anchored at its free end to a leather strap screwed to the lower longerons. At the time of our visit to the de Havilland works the glider had not yet been weighed, but it was expected that the weight empty would be in the neighbourhood of 250 lbs., in which case the loaded weight will be approximately 400 lbs., or a wing loading of under 2 lbs./sq. ft. The machine is finished in black and white, the wings and tail being left the original colour of the fabric, while the fuselage and under-carriage are black. At the moment the glider has not been entered for the Daily Mail competition, but we hope it will be entered before the closing date, October 7. 13 H 13 M AIR TRANSPORT IN his opening remarks Gen.t Brancker briefly referred to the past history of air transport in England, and how, after the slump in 1920-21, when the Government came to the rescue with subsidies, the London-Continental air traffic developed to its present position, in which a new system has been organised whereby the three operating companies each run a separate service—to Paris, to Cologne and to Berlin. The superiority of the British pilot was, he said, the only thing of importance that stands out during that period. He next touched upon the advance made in the design of machines, from the converted D.H.9 of 1919, carrying pilot and 600-lb. load with 400 h.p., to the machines now in use, carrying eight or nine passengers with 400 h.p. Referring to the utility of air transport, he stated that there are two distinct usages of air transport: first, it provides a military reserve, and secondly, it is a means of quickening communications. " There have been rash statements," he said, " about the military value of air transport. To judge * Abstract from a lecture delivered by Maj.-Gen. Sir William Brancker> K.C.B., Director of Civil Aviation, before the Over-Seas League, October 2> 1922, Admiral Mark Kerr taking the Chair. from some of the statements made during the last year, you would think that if the Government gave me unlimited means I should next year produce a huge reserve for the Royal Air Force. That is wrong. " From a military point of view there are three classes of British air transport to be considered. First are the air lines running within the British Isles, and these do not exist at present. The second is the cross-Channel and lines operat ing on the Continent of Europe ; that we are just starting in the three services I have already mentioned. The third class is a form of imperial lines connecting up the Empire, which is most important. " The first category is much the best from a military point of view. All your engines, spares, pilots and all that is necessary for an air service, if they are running within the British Isles, are available at five minutes' notice and ready from a military point of view. Against that they are the most difficult to run from an economic point .of view; for this country is small, has a bad climate for flying and is well supplied with railways." 581 •'
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
