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Aviation History
1924
1924 - 0636.PDF
m CHT OCTOBER 2, 1924 o o o 0 0 0 0 o o o o o o o o o o Running - up the engine of No. 5, the Westland " Wood Pigeon." oooooooo No 7, the A.N.F..C. monoplane, failed to get off the ground with its full load, although it got off easily with part load and appeared to climb well. The reason is not quite clear, and does not quite seem to be accounted for by the extra power loading caused by the weight equivalent to the second occupant. The Anzani appeared to be running reasonably well, but in one attempt to get oft' a valve broke, and when this had been replaced the machine flew well without a passenger. After that the engine could not be got to fire at all. It AT LVMPNE : The A.N.E.C. II away on a test flight. monoplane well Supermarine flew so well when its engine would let it that the failure caused very keen disappointment to all. The Avro " Avis " proved another disappointment. The geared Bristol " Cherub " was not received until a short time before the competitions, and there had been no time to find out the various small " snags " in connection with mounting, etc. After working hard during Saturday and Sunday morning, the machine was got ready for flight on Sunday afternoon, but the engine could not be coaxed into giving its " revs." Bert Hinkler made numerous attempts to get the machine off, but was unsuccessful. Finally, he did manage to get it to take off, but it was obvious that it had not sufficient reserve of power to make it safe to fly around the course. By a piece of very excellent piloting, he made a few circuits of the aerodrome, without, however, being able to gain any height, and in the end he had to land. It was stated that at ro time could the engine be made to give more than about one-half its power, so that the feat of getting the machine into the air at all was a considerable achievement. There is little doubt that had the engine been working properly, the Avro would have flown very well indeed. The Vickers " Vagabond," No. 16, never got as far as making an attempt to get off, the work on the engine and its installation taking up the whole time available, and so Sunday evening came without Squadron-Leader Payn having had a chance to fly the machine over the course. It was noticed that the vibration when the engine was being run on the ground was terrific for some reason, and before the trouble could be located and a remedy found, the time limit was up. " And then there were eight " was the sad chorus by 6 o'clock on Sunday evening, and out of the 18 machines originally entered, seven had failed for one reason or another to pass their tests. No. 12, the Blackburn " Bluebird," has not put in an appearance, it having been found impossible to finish the machine in time. There are but two Parnall machines in the competitions ; both are being flown as biplanes (it will be remembered that the Parnall machines are con vertible from monoplanes into biplanes and vice versn) ; and seems possible that if the undercarriage had been a little higher so as to give a slightly larger angle on the ground, the machine might have been got off, and when once in the air it would probably fly very well. At any rate, what with trying to get off and trying to get the engine to start, the day- passed, and when the official closing hour of six came the machine had not gone through its tests. A somewhat similar fate befell No. 8, the Short monoplane. This machine flies very well with pilot only on board, but when carrying full load appears to be too heavy for its engine. The machine is a very pretty piece of work, and its failure to get through the eliminating tests was a great disappointment. In the case of No. 9, the Supermarine " Sparrow," the trouble was not overloading, nor any fault that could possibly be ascribed to the machine. Capt. Biard had made one lap of the circuit and the prescribed figure-of-eight, and had changed into the other cockpit. He just missed getting through his tests with flying colours by a connecting rod smashing through the crank-case. In spite of frantic efforts on the part of the Supermarine crew it was not found possible to get a new engine fitted in time for Biard to make a second attempt. Commander Bird worked like a Trojan, got his coat off and his shirt sleeves up, and was at one time prac tically unrecognisable on account of the oil with which he was smothered. In spite of heroic efforts, however, the second Blackburne could not be got to run properly in time for the two laps of the course to be completed before 6 p.m. The 636 The Short " Satellite " monoplane, making a flight at Lympne. trial
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