FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0351.PDF
JUNE 28, 1923 THE SUPERMARINE "SEA EAGLE" Rolls Royce " Eagle IX " Engine As believers in and champions of the commercial seaplane, itis with considerable satisfaction that we are able this week to announce that the Supermarine Aviation Works, Ltd., ofSouthampton, have now completed and tested the first of their modern commercial flying boats, the " Sea Eagle,"intended for use on the new Cross-Channel Air Services. The shops at Woolston have always been devoted to the pro-duction of seaplanes, and the firm's designers have concen- trated on this type for a matter of ten years or more.Persevering, often in spite of scant official encouragement, buoyed up by their belief in the ultimate success of theseaplane, and especially the flying boat, Mr. Scott Paine, Commander Bird, and those associated with them, haveresisted the temptation to switch over to aeroplane con- struction, although to have done so might, and probablywould, have resulted in considerable immediate gains. It is an unfortunate fact that so little interest has the Air Ministryof the past had in the flying boat that it has been much easier for a firm to get an aeroplane design accepted than a designfor a new type of flying boat. It is, therefore, all the more to the credit of the Supermarine Works that they have retainedtheir faith in the seaplane and, by careful management, have the commercial seaplane, and we have so often pointed outthe advantages of this type of machine that there is no need to repeat the arguments here. Suffice it to say that in thesupermarine " Sea Eagle," which has just completed its trials in the air, on land, and on the sea, we have the first modernflying boat specially designed for commercial conditions. The trials have shown the machine to be seaworthy, to handleexceptionally well on the ground (the machine is an amphi- bian), and to be as good a flying machine as one could wish,regardless of type. The Supermarine Works have turned out some very fine flying boats in the past, and it will be recalledthat one of their boats was the first to obtain an airworthiness certificate after the war, while another type won the SchneiderCup last year, but everything goes to show that never have the Woolston Works turned out a boat which combined tosuch an extent the desirable characteristics of the seaworthy boat hull with the general good behaviour in the air and onthe ground, as does the " Sea Eagle." As the accompanying photographs will show, the new boatdiffers materially from previous Supermarine flying boats, notably as regards the shape of the bow, which has beendesigned with a view to enable the machine to plough into a The Supermarine " Sea Eagle Three-quarter front view. Note the retractable undercarriage, and the anchor lashed to the side of the boat. been able to carry-on with their development work on typeswhich offer far greater problems than does any new type of land machine.Fortunately there are signs that the present Air Ministry is beginning to realise the vast possibilities of the seaplane,but there is still a great deal of reorganisation to be done in the Air Ministry departments before one can be certain that theseaplane will be given the attention it merits. It is no longer a secret that there are precious few, if any , officials left in thetechnical departments who have special knowledge of sea- planes, and there are instances of technical men with specialisttraining in seaplane work who are now occupied in depart- ments where their knowledge is of no use to them, nor to theAir Ministry. Knowing this, one can the better understand why units working with the Navy have to go to sea on landmachines when, according to all common sense, they ought to be equipped with proper seaworthy seaplanes. Whenfleet spotters are mentioned in these days it appears that the technical experts at the Air Ministry can only think in termsof land machines. Yet it would appear obvious that this function should be performed as a matter of course by sea-planes. However, as already mentioned, there are signs that indicate a realisation in official quarters of the absurdity ofthis policy, and consequently we may hope in the future to see the seaplane receive the fair share of development whichin the past has been denied it. Incidentally, when this happens there will be less cause for complaint by the Navy oflack of understanding of its particular requirements. For several years FLIGHT has made itself the champion'of head sea without cutting under and without swamping thehull. At the same time, the fore part of the deck has been raised to form a cabin for the six passengers, who are installedin comfortable seats, and who tsbtain an excellent view through thick windows capable of withstanding the shock of any sprayof water that might be thrown up as the machine is taking off. It is of interest to note that the cabin roof finishes somelittle way aft of the extreme stem, and that thus not only are the passengers enabled to obtain a good view straight forwardwhen the machine is flying with its tail well up, but also for picking up moorings the pilot is able to walk forward on thesloping sides of the fin chine, a hand rail being provided for him to hold on to just under the cabin windows. It should benoted that a hefty anchor is provided so as to enable the machine to come to anchor, if necessary, in a locality wherethere are no mooring buoys. In one of the photographs this * anchor, with its rope coiled up, may be seen on the starboardside, just under the coaming around the pilot's cockpit. A land undercarriage of special design is fitted to the sidesof the hull and to the lower wing. The shock-absorbing gear is of the oleo type, and what with the exceptionally widetrack and absence of " bucking," the " Sea Eagle " handles extraordinarily well on the ground. In this connection it isof interest to note that the " Sea Eagle " has been entered for the King's Cup Race around Britain. Thus we shall betreated to the rather extraordinary sight of a seagoing flying boat taking part in a land machine competition and travellingfor nearly the whole of the course over the land. The result should be that a vast number of people will be brought to 351
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
