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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0640.PDF
OCTOBER 18, 1923 THE SAYERS-HANDLEY PAGE MONOPLANE PASSES HER TRANSPORT TESTS AT LYMPNE : Inset,the machine in flight. Note the small opening in the roof through which the pilot is supposed to look. The addition of a periscope to the equipment of this machine seems to be called for. can see two bits of sky, but for looking down at any sort of anangle so as to see the ground he has to cock his head on one side, looking through one of the openings. How Olley wasable to find his way around the course is a mystery, and probably it was just as well that there were jiot at the timevery many machines in the air. The machine was " bunjied " off, and seemed to fly fairly well, although it wobbled a gooddeal. The engine was obviously not running well, and the somewhat erratic flying may have been due to the pilot beingbusy with his engine controls. After completing three laps of the course Olley was forced to land, his engine constantlylosing " revs." although he had the throttle wide open. When the machine was brought back it was found that thepillar carrying the rockers of one of the cylinders had worked loose Judging from the amount of fuel used during thethree laps and a bit, and taking into consideration that the engine had been running badly practically the whole time, itappeared that the fuel economy would have been extremely good had Olley been able to complete the necessary numberof laps. Forced landings were the order of the day, but it speakswell for the light aeroplane as a class that in no instance did damage to either man or machine result. The R.A.E. AeroClub's monoplane, the " Hurricane," was among those forced \f> land, a broken rocker arm having put the engine out of commission for the time being. She was, however, put downsafely by Flight-Lieut. Bulman. Mr. Maurice Piercey had to make a forced landing on one of the A.N.E.C. monoplanes,,owing to a sooted plug. He borrowed a spanner from a passing motor-cyclist, and, after having cleaned the plug,resumed his flight, the motor - cyclist swinging his propeller and keeping inquisitive cows away from the machine. Mr.Piercey later stated that it was quite a pleasure to force-land on the A.N.E.C. ^ It is of interest to state, and is a fine testimony to theBlackburne engine, that although forced landings have had to be made on one or two occasions by machines fitted withthis engine, the trouble has usually been nothing worse than sooted plugs. On the A.N.E.C. the change of plugs was theonly one made to this engine, while Hinkler's Avro mono- plane got through without a single forced landing. Whetherthis is due to the fact that the engine in this machine is. mounted normally, while in the A.N.E.C. it is inverted, isdifficult to say. It seems unlikely that the inverted position, with the altered oil channels, should be any worse, andprobably the freedom from plug trouble enjoyed by Hinkler's engine is due to other causes. In the Gnosspelius "Gulls"the Blackburne engine seems to have been least happy. This may be due to the position of the engine in the centre sectionof the wing. SAYERS-HANDLEY PAGE LIGHT 'PLANE •'-• \ 398c.c. A.B.G, ENGINE 7 SPAN . »•>.': •• -56'-6" LENGTH .... 21'-O" MAX. CHORD .. . 5-O" WING AREA .- . 161 • OScj.Fr. o g 4. 6 8 ip Feet" o i ' i.' 3 Metres THE SAYERS-HANDLEY PAGE MONOPLANE (No. 25): General arrangement of drawings to scale. 640 ". :
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