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Aviation History
1924
1924 - 0239.PDF
• APRIL 24, 1924 THE "SWALLOW" 1924 THREE-SEATER COMMERCIAL BIPLANE A NEW three-seater commercial biplane, produced by the Swallow Aeroplane Manufacturing Co., of Wichita, Kansas, has recently been put through its tests with satisfactory results. The " Swallow " was designed with the following desirable commercial features in view :-—Small overall dimensions, ease of control, low initial cost, low maintenence cost, and good all-round performance for a Curtiss OX 5 engine instal lation. It is a biplane of the two-bay type, the top plane being in three sections with the centre section supported above the fuselage by two pairs of struts, and the lower plane being in two sections, attached direct to the lower longerons of the fuselage. The wings are" of conventional design, the spars being laminated and channelled inside, forming a very light and strong spruce box spar. The ribs are reinforced spruce with spruce cap strips. The internaV bracing consists of side by side, the seat being well upholstered, and measuring 32£ ins. wide. The pilot's cockpit is situated immediately behind, and large wind-shields are provided for both cock pits. The 90 h.p. Curtiss OX 5 engine is well streamlined, and the radiator, weighing but 27 lbs., is mounted below the fuselage, between the chassis struts. The entire cooling system contains only 4 gals, of water, yet is claimed to cool sufficiently on the hottest days. Water temperature is con trolled by means of shutters on the radiator. An aluminium petrol tank, holding 33 gals., is mounted inside the fuselage, while a reserve tank of 4 gals, capacity provides an extra half-hour's running. A V-cum split axle type landing gear is fitted, giving a ground clearance of 20 ins. at the centre. AN AMERICAN THREE - SEATER COMMERCIAL BIPLANE : The a 90 h.p. Curtiss OX5 engine. Swallow," 1924 model, fitted with four No. 9 wires in each panel. The control surfaces are built entirely of metal, the torsion members being steel tubing with steel ribs and duralumin trailing edge. The stabiliser is built up of spruce and is of the semi-cantilever type. Ailerons are fitted to both upper and lower planes. There are no exposed control wires on this machine, the elevator cables, which are doubled, running directly from the control stick to the elevator horn working inside the fuselage. The aileron control cables run directly from the stick control torque tube to a 4-in. pulley in the wing, thence to the aileron horn. There are only four pulleys in the control system. It is stated that the aileron action is sensitive and positive, even under the roughest conditions. The fuselage, of rectangular section, is of the conventional girder construction, with a detachable steel tube engine mounting. The passengers' cockpit, which is located for ward behind the main planes—or, more correctly speaking, in line with the trailing edge-—accommodates two passengers The principal characteristics of the follows :— Span Chord .. .. Area of main planes (total) Area of stabiliser Area of ailerons Area of elevator Area of rudder • . . Area of fin Weight, empty Weight, fully laden Weight, per h.p. Weight, per sq. ft. Speed range Endurance (full speed) Ceiling .. .. .. Swallow " are as 32 ft. 5 ft. 300 sq. ft. 21 sq. ft. 34-8 sq. ft. 16-6 sq. ft. 8-2 sq. ft. 3-5 sq. ft. 1,250 lbs. 1,950 lbs. 21-6 lbs. 6-5 lbs. 35-95 m.p.h. 4 hrs. 18,000 ft. • "'•'•"•'•• BRISTOL "JUPITER" TEST THE 400 h.p. radial air-cooled Bristol "Jupiter" engine has been recently submitted to a further type test, particulars of which we give below. Engine No. 878 was chosen at random from a batch of fourteen completed engines awaiting test and delivery, and with no special preparation was mounted on the dynamo meter, when power and consumption curves were taken. The engine was then mounted on the hangar, and a 20 hours' non-stop run at nine-tenths full power was completed, followed by three periods of ten hours' non-stop according to the approved schedule. At the end of each ten hours the engine was opened up to full throttle for a period of five minutes, except during the final period, when the last hour of the test was at full throttle. It is a fact worthy of note that the power developed by the engine was appreciably higher at the conclusion of the tests, when a further power curve was taken, than it was in the beginning. When the first curve was taken the engine developed 398 b.h.p. at its normal revolutions of 1,575 p.m. —16 h.p. above its normal rating. At the same speed at the conclusion of the tests the engine was giving 399 b.h.p., having picked up 1 b.h.p. during the 50 hours. Similarly at maximum revolutions 1,750 p.m., the 424 b.h.p. developed at the beginning had increased to 430 b.h.p. during the final period1—a gain of 6 b.h.p. The average fuel consumption throughout the endurance run was 0-59 pint per b.h.p./hour, and at full throttle was 0-582 pint per b.h.p.'hour. These figures compare very satisfactorily with those recorded., by the best engines of water-cooled type. The engine ran steadily and well throughout all periods of the test, and the distribution was excellent. • \ After the completion of the scheduled tests the engine was completely stripped, cleaned and examined, and was found to be in excellent condition. 239
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