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Aviation History
1924
1924 - 0372.PDF
certain cases, already been attained in commercial aircraft, but he stated that from the standpoint of aerodynamical efficiency commercial aircraft were a long way behind some other machines, and the problems involved in cutting down resistance needed a thorough examination. The type of wing used, the shape of the body, the interaction of propeller and body and its important effect on the effective thrust, the cutting down of the resistance offered by the necessary engine-cooling system, and the elimination as far as possible of struts and wires, were all points calling for most careful consideration and treatment. Referring to the proportion of paying load to horse-power —which he gave as 4 lbs./h.p.—Col. Bristow indicated that a saving in the weight of the engine and /or structure of only 1 lb. per h.p. would add no less than 25 per cent, to the paying load, provided the alteration did not adversely affect the flying qualities of the machine. He then dealt with the problem of producing suitable engines having low weight per h.p. combined with long life, and also referred to the question of radial v. " in-line " or Vee, and to water and air-cooled engines. In connection with the latter he said he thought air-cooled engines seemed to offer certain advantages for commercial work, and that the present considerable rate of progress in the design of air-cooled radials might result in the production of an engine that would permit of an addition to the meagre paying load of 4 lbs. per h.p. The weight of the structure of the aeroplane, he continued, must also be attacked. The utilisation of metal, especially duralumin, in conjunction with the cantilever monoplane might, he thought, be expected to result in a definite saving of weight. There was also some hope that further research might lead to the development of a type of high-lift wing, perhaps in conjunction with some form of flaps or slots, that would enable the total load per h.p. to be increased. The Fairey and De Havilland wing flaps might lead to a distinct improvement in this respect. He thought there were good grounds for hoping that, in a few years, we would have machines, perhaps of the all-metal cantilever monoplane type, with wings of some type that would allow a maximum load of 20 lbs. per h.p. and a paying load of 6J lbs. per h.p. Fitted with three engines each of 500 b.h.p. and weighing about 1J lbs. per b.h.p., such a machine would have a total paying load of almost 10,000 lbs. or 50 passengers with luggage. If the engines were fitted with two-speed gears or variable pitch propellers the problem of getting off with this loading would be simplified and the all- round performance should be at least as good or even better than that of any commercial machine we had today. Col. Bristow next set forth some of the causes of the present high costs, together with brief notes as to the means that might be adopted for obtaining a reduction in the expenditure. Dealing with the cost of fuel—which he quoted at about 6d. per mile for an 8-seater machine—Col. Bristow referred to the promising field for development in the direction of the stratified charge and the work done in this connection by Mr. Ricardo. He also referred to the " Bi-fuel " system—in which the carburettor had two jets, the main delivering petrol in the ordinary manner, and the second, delivering alcohol from a small auxiliary tank, being drawn upon automatically when the compression pressure reached a pre-determined figure—and to the possibilities of crude oil. Under the heading of the non-permanent character of the aircraft structure. Col. Bristow touched upon the question of metal construction, with reference to the work carried out by Messrs. Boulton and Paul, Armstrong-Siddeley, and the Bristol Aeroplane Company. On the matter of high trip costs, he gave the opinion that machines must be increased in size in order to spread all the <S> <$> At Buckingham Palace State Ball THE following were present at the State Ball given by the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace on May 28 :— Air Chief Marshal Sir H. M. Trenchard, Wing Commander Louis Greig, Lieutenant Aviateur Chevalier Willy Coppens, Capitaine de Corvette Sable, Captain Silvio Scaroni, Com mander Don Egardo von Schroeders, Captain Juan Leguia y Swayne, the Rt. Hon. Lord Thomson, Secretary of State for Air, Air Marshal Sir Godfrey Paine, Air Marshal Sir W. H. G. Salmond, Air Commodore A. E. Borton, Air Com modore T. I. Webb Bowen, Air Commodore H. C. T. Dowd- ling, Air Commodore F. C. Halahan, Air Commodore T. C. R. Higgins, Air Commodore E. A. D. Masterman, Air Com modore D. Munro, Air Commodore C. R. Samson, Group Capt. F. V. Holt, Group Capt. C. L. N. Newall, Flight Lieut. C. M. E. Gifford, Flving Officer E. A. C. Britton, Flying Officer P. Harris .Flying Officer O. J. F. Jones-Lloyd, Flying Officer A. H. Paull, etc. « JUNE 5, 1924 various charges over a greater load. Now that wireless telephony was in a more advanced state, it might, he said, pay a large company to buy its apparatus and undertake its upkeep—little profit, if any, had been made by Messrs. Marconi in return for the excellent service they had given. The " housing " problem for aeroplanes was also mentioned bv the author, who suggested that the machines should be housed on the edge of the aerodrome, and a raised hot and cold water tank provided close at hand delivering softened water direct to the radiators. A similar provision should be made for filling up with oil, thus facilitating the starting up of the engine and saving time and petrol. In connection with depreciation and obsolescence Col. Bristow stated that past experience indicated a reserve of 30 per cent, per annum on the total value of the machines and engines was not too high in respect to these factors. Dealing first with obsolescence, it was obvious that, for some time to come, this must remain a serious factor, as, with every new type of apparatus, it was usually many years before the rate of improvement slowed down sufficiently to enable the obsolescence to be completely overshadowed by depreciation. Speaking generally of European aerial transport companies, it could be said that, in some respects, all their machines were obsolete, i.e., it was possible to build today very much better machines, safer, carrying more useful load and cheaper to run. Machines should, therefore, when ordered, embody as far as possible all the latest sound and tried-out ideas and improvements which are most likelv to coincide with the future trend of development. He did not mean by this that they should be of a semi-experimental character. During the next few years the rate of reserve necessary to cover absolescence would depend mainly upon two factors, the rate of progress in design and the prevision shown in the ordering of machines. The latter factor would probably have the most effect on the result. The question of deprecia tion was, he pointed out, closely interwoven with that of maintenance. Concluding, Colonel Bristow said a summary of the various factors appeared to reveal the following position :— 1. That, in 1923, the seven months' spring and summer passenger traffic showed an increase of 44 per cent, over that of the same period in 1922, and other facts confirmed that the public were quite willing to travel by air. 2. That, at both ends of the year, various causes combined to reduce the traffic to such extremely attenuated proportions that the cost of handling it was increased to an extent that could be borne. 3. That the causes of this seasonal shrinkage of the passenger traffic were almost impossible of removal, at all events in the next few years. 4. That it would, therefore, appear essential to build up the freight traffic in order to provide a more constant load for the whole year. 5. That already a few months' experiment, which was not quoted as being altogether conclusive, had shown that there was a considerable demand for the aerial transport of freight, the carrying of which did much to ease the difficulties of the position. 6. That, even if. the traffic is available in a steady stream, it would be next to impossible to carry it on a profitable basis until aeroplanes could carry more than 4 lbs. of paying load per b.h.p. of power-plant installed. 7. That improvements were already in sight by which this paying load margin could be increased. 8. That both engines and aeroplanes could and would be made more suitable for commercial purposes during the next five years, and that the machines by that time might be radi cally different in many respects to those of today. <s> <•> At the Levee THE following were amongst those present at the levee held by His Majesty the King on June 2 at St. James's Palace : Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard, Principal Air Aide-de-Camp ; the Rt. Hon. Lord Thomson, Secretary of State for Air ; Air Vice-Marshal Sir W. S. Branckcr Maj.-General E. Ashmore, C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O., General Officer Commanding Territorial Army Air Defence Brigades; Group Capt. C. L. N. Newall, Sqdn. Ldr. E. B. Beauman. Wing Commander J. B. Bowen, O.B.E., Sqdn. Ldr. W. B. Callaway, the Rev. S. L. Clarke, Chaplain, R.A.F., Pilot Officer C. K. Coggle, the Rev. J. F. Cox, B.A., Chaplain, R.A.F., the Rev. T. Crick, M.V.O., M.A., R N., Chaplain, R.A.F., Flving Officer C. A. Goatcher, Air Commodore F. C. Halahan, C.M.G., C.B.E., D.S.O., M.V.O., Sqdn. Ldr. R. Leslie. D.S.C., D.F.C., A.F.C., Flight Lieut. P. Mackworth. D.F.C , Wing Commander J. Smyth-Pigott, D.S.O., Sqdn. Ldr. N. C. Spratt, Flight Lieut. C. Potts, etc.
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