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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0602.PDF
would make a single-seater fighter of the greatest value. Other firms would undoubtedly be very willing to turn their attention to the production of racing machines if the Air Ministry were to give financial assistance. Apart from the value as aerial propaganda, the mere flying of such machines by service pilots would provide a form of training which could not fail to be of the greatest benefit to the service. From the structural and aerodynamic point of view, practice in producing such machines would mean progress in our designing offices and aircraft works. Nothing tries out a design so thoroughly as having to attain speeds of over 200 m.p.h. Refinements which have never been considered worthy of attention before prove sheer necessities. Wide speed range is essential if a reasonably safe landing speed is to be retained, and altogether the strong and weak points in a design are nowhere brought out more clearly than in a racer. History has shown that the racer of today is the service craft of tomorrow. The Sopwiih Schneider machine was, in its day, considered somewhat of a racing freak. Yet what happened ? When war broke out this very type did a tremendous amount of extremely useful work in the R.N.A.S. The Bristol " Scout," designed by Capt. Barnwell, was the fastest machine of its day. During the early part of the war it was used as a single-seater fighter. And so one could continue giving examples of racing machines having proved their worth in the services. We strongly urge the Air Ministry and the Treasury to consider the matter, and at once. There is no lime to lose. If orders are placed with firms for racing machines, bearing in mind the possibility of conversion into service craft, and such machines be entered in all important air races, not only will the sport receive a much needed stimulus, but the in dustry wuTbenefit, and so will, ultimately most of all, the Royal Air Force. Our thanks to America for her excellent and practical example. It now rests with us to profit by it. • • • B There can be no doubt whatever that Raynham ! the British gliding competition for the Daily Mail £1,000 prize and several smaller subsidiary prizes has .already, after but two days, proved a great success. Probably not even the greatest believers in the possibilities of gliding as a sport had ventured to hope for such splendid per formances as have been attained during the first two days of the competition. Even among enthusiasts it is doubtful whether many seriously believed that the stipulated minimum time of 30 minutes would be attained, while we have spoken to very many who were firmly convinced that the competition would be a " wash-out." We had become so accustomed to remembering that the Germans had had several years of practice in the sport, and the relatively meagre results obtained by the French at Clermont-Ferrand seemed to bear out the general belief that a very great deal of practice both in the design and con struction and flying of gliders was necessary before results of any importance could be attained. Monday and Tuesday of this week proved such pessimism wrong. With the exception of the De- woitine and Aachen monoplanes and Fokker biplanes, all the entries were first attempts in designing gliders, and were flown by pilots who had had no previous experience on this type of aircraft. Yet look at the results already obtained. In his fourth or fifth flight OCTOBER 19, 1922 Raynham remained aloft for n| minutes, and in his sixth or seventh he increased his time to close on two hours. Gordon England, who has not flown any sort of aeroplane for four years, has also put up very creditable performances, whilst several other promis ing machines are " in sight " to carry on during the remaining four days of the competition and to raise the duration " record " for Britain. It is not now unduly optimistic to express the hope that the German record of three hours 10 minutes, established by Herr Hentzen on the Hannover " Vampyr," may be equalled or even excelled before the close of the meeting. Raynham himself could probably, had it not been for his somewhat awkward controls, have remained up considerably longer on Tuesday, and when he has had certain minor adjustments made he will probably succeed in raising his previous time, provided always that present weather conditions continue. Gordon England's little monoplane, the smallest of the bunch, is designed for flying in high winds, and we firmly expect him to challenge Raynham's wonder ful performance before the end. He may even have done so by th; tin e these lines appear in print. Other machinei are being tuned up, some of which are designed fot .ela ively faint winds, others for high winds, so that whatever the elements may produce during the nexc few days, the glorious sport should continue. The Sayers machine is very similar in general lines to the " Vampyr," and when Courtney has had a bit of experience it should prove a serious competitor to the Handasyde. The two de Havillands have not yet had an opportunity, owing to minor damages, of showing what they can do, except in a straightforward glide. Even so, they both exhibited great capacity for remaining aloft while the least bit of up-current remained to support them, and when they have been put right again they should also provide really good sport. As to the lessons already learned, it is too early to speak as yet; so many different types have not had an opportunity of being thoroughly tested out. Next week it should be possible to form certain definite conclusions. Already it appears that no one machine can be the " best " for all conditions. One type is at its best in strong winds. Another does better in medium winds, but it does not appear that there is a very great deal to choose between them. We rather think that improvements will be along structural lines, and more connected with the practical side of handling the machines on the ground. For instance, the type of undercarriage to fit, facility in dismantling the wings for transport, and features of this kind. Otherwise it appears, as far as it is possible to see at present, that any reasonably clean design of not too great weight should be capable of good performance. As we have constantly main tained, most of the success depends upon the pilot. The public interest in the competition is tremen dous, and we sincerely trust it will be found possible to retain the range of hills from Itford to Firle permanent ly, so as to establish there a gliding club where, during week-ends, pilots may enjoy this exhilarating sport. The place is within easy reach of London, both by road and rail, and those who are not in a position to take up the sport actively will at any rate be able to afford a week-end ticket to Lewes, and thus combine the enjoyment of pure air on top of the hills with watching what is undoubtedly one of the prettiest sports in the world. r
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