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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0677.PDF
NOVEMBER 16, 1922 AIRCRAFT IN NEWFOUNDLAND Activities of the Aerial Survey Co. IN our issue of August 17, 1922, we published an illustrated description of a Martinsyde, type A, Mark II, biplane which had been ordered by the Aerial Survey Co., of 166, Duck worth Street, St. John's, Newfoundland. A few particulars of this firm's activities are now to hand, and these will, we feel sure, be read with interest, showing as they do the great possibilities and variety of uses of aircraft outside England. Before ordering the Martinsyde described, the firm alreadv had another machine of this type, which had given excellent results, and we learn that it was on account of the satisfactory experience with the first machine that a second was ordered. So far the new Martinsyde has not, of course, had an oppor tunity of showing what it can do, but it may be of interest to give a brief history of the earlier machine. In November, 1921, the first Martinsyde arrived from England, and was erected at Botwood. After various trial flights, first as a seaplane and then as a land machine, Mr. F. S. Cotton made his first flight to St. John's on January 1 this year. The distance of 150 miles was covered in two hours under arctic winter conditions, and a landing was made on Quidi Vidi Pond, where, apparently, the whole of St. John's waited to welcome the aviators. The machine had been fitted with ice skids, and considerable experiment was necessary before an entirely suitable type was evolved. Duiing the month of January and the early part of February a series of demonstration and mail-carrying flights were made in the neighbourhood of St. John's, and on several occasions mails were carried to outlying districts at times when all other means of transportation had failed, owing to the heavy fall of snow. Thus, on February 2 Belle Island was ice bound, but not sufficiently to make it possible for traffic to cross over. The difficulty was solved by flying the Martinsyde over, dropping mails, and keeping in communication with the inhabitants. On March 3 Mr. Cotton started on a flight towards Cart- wright on the Labrador, carrying mails for the Government. The machine met with very bad weather on the journey north, and a landing was made at St. Anthony for replenish ments. Then the Straits of Belle Isle were crossed, and aerial connection established with Labrador for the first time. Battle Harbour was the landing place, and the machine remained there for three days. From Battle Harbour a flight was made to Cartwright, one of the Hudson Bay Com pany's posts. Five days later the Martinsyde left Cartwright, and, stopping at St. Anthony and Botwood, made a flight through to St. John's in less than seven hours. The total distance was about 600 miles, and was covered in five hours' flying time. With the railway and steamship services disorganised, mails and passengers were carried to places otherwise inac cessible, except by the laborious andtedious dog team. On March 16, 1922, the first ice fields patrol was made from Botwood. The object of this was to assist the steamers in their search for seals. The seals were successfully located, but the steamship owners could not at first be persuaded to contract with the Aerial Survey Company to provide the information. It was not until the failure of their ships to locate the seals that the owners changed their minds, and by then it was rather late for effective results to be obtained. However, even at that several good catches were obtained. The Martinsyde made several flights while the ice lasted, including a special mission to report on a timber proposition on the west coast. On April 20, just as the ice was melting rapidly, the operations of the season were wound up with a mail flight from Botwood to Battle Harbour and return in one day. During the winter operations a Napier-engined Westland limousine (the one which won the Martlesham competition) was used in addition to the Rolls-engined Martinsyde, the two machines making a joint patrol over the ice fields. In July of this year floats were fitted to the Martinsyde, and considerable flying has been carried out over the inland water ways and timber areas of the country. Special photographic flights were also undertaken, and it may be mentioned that moving pictures, as well as " still" photographs, were obtained of the wreck of H.M.S. " Raleigh." On the return journey from this flight the machine landed alongside the Company's motor yacht in the Straits of Belle Isle, and the crew had breakfast on board, the seaplane floating astern the while. This made a considerable impression on the local fishermen, many of whom had never seen a seaplane before. This year the Aerial Survey Company hope to extend their activities considerably, and the work thus done should be excellent propaganda for aircraft. It is to be feared that the possibilities of aviation in such places as Newfoundland have not yet been fully realised at home, and the pioneer work done by the Aerial Survey Company merits the thanks of the whole aviation industry. We trust that the enterprise of this firm will reap its due reward. H m a m TWO NEW TEXT-BOOKS ON WIRELESS FROM the Wireless Press, Ltd., 12-13, Henrietta Street, W.C. 2, we have received two new text-books dealing with two impor tant subjects relating to wireless. The science of wireless is very intimately associated with aviation, and will play a very important, if not essential, part in the future develop ment of aerial transport—even more, perhaps, than it has in marine work. One of the text-books referred to above—" Direction and Position-finding by Wireless," by R. Keen gs.)—deals with a subject that has proved to be of immense value to aviation, and should therefore appeal directly to readers of FLIGHT. From our brief perusal of this book it appears to us to be the most complete work on this particular subject that has yet been produced. It not only deals with the principles and theory of the subject, but also with the constructional details of direction-finding installations for shore service and for the navigation of ships and aircraft. In addition, reference is made to the use of special maps for D.F. work, freak pheno mena which cause errors in bearings, faults peculiar to D.F. and how to eliminate them, etc. A chapter is also given to the thermionic valve in which the part this wonderful invention plays in D.F. work is briefly but concisely described. It should be mentioned that this book is not only intended for the engineer faced with this field of wireless work for the first time, and those in charge of D.F. installations, but should prove to be of immense value to the general student of wireless telegraphy. The second book referred to is entitled " The Wireless Telephone ; What it is and How it Works," and is by Philip R. Coursey. It is published at the modest price of zs. 6d. Now that .wireless broadcasting is about to start in earnest this little book should find a ready market—especially as directions for building a simple receiver for W.T. broadcasts is included in its contents. Apart from this, however, it should appeal to many in the aviation world, for wireless telephony forms an important item in the application of wireless to aviation, and this book places before the reader the essentials of the radio-telephone, and how it operates and is constructed, in a very simple manner indeed. Besides numerous diagrams, sketches and photographs of the different components and apparatus connected with wireless telephony are included in the text. In one of the chapters a very easily understood description of the " valve " is given, together with illustrations of the various types. m s H H "STAMPS OF THE FLYING POST."* UNDER the above title we have received a very interesting little book on this fascinating branch of Stamp Collecting. The author, W. E. Hughes, is to be congratulated on having tackled so completely the very difficult problem of collecting the various and scattered records of the earlier attempts of carrying mails by air, and arranging them so concisely. These early flights are given for each country in alphabetical order, and in addition to a brief description of each particular * "Stamps of the Flying Post," by W. E. Hughes, published by Alan Turton, 32, Great St. Helen's, London, E.C. 3. Price is. net. flight, details are given of the " labels," stamps or cancella tions used in each case. Apart from the various " Semi official " labels issued for these flights, all " regular " issues of air mail stamps that have appeared up to August, 1922, are described. " Stamps of the Flying Post " is certainly the most complete work on this subject we have seen, and should be of considerable value and interest to collectors—and non- collectors, for that matter. It is to be regretted, however, the author has not seen his way to include more illustrations of the various stamps, etc. ; but then, nothing can be absolutely perfect! 677
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