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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0141.PDF
Flight, March 12, 1925 AIRCRAFTBNGINEEFL First Aero Weekly in the World Founder and Editor : STANLEY SPOONER A!Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM No. 846. (No.. 11, Vol. XVII.) MARCH 12, 1925 fWeekly, Price 6d.L Post free, 7d. Flight The Aircraft Engineer and Airships Editorial Offices: 36, GREAT QUEEN STREET, K1NGSWAY, W.C. 2. Telegrams : Truditw, Westcent, London. Telephone : Gerrard 1828 Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free : United Kingdom .. 30s. id. Abroad .. .. 33s. Qd* These rates are subject to any alteration found necessary under abnormalconditions and to increases in postage rates • European subscriptions must be remitted in British currency CONTENTS PACEEditorial Comment Safety in Flying 141 " It Pays to Advertise" , 142 Aviation in Mexico 3 Pistolesi Variable-Pitch Airscrew .. .. ., ,, .. .. 145 Napier Lion Type Test 146 On Engine Failures and Forced Landings .. .. .. .. .. 147 Light'Plane and Glider Notes ,. 148 Light 'Plane Club Doings Aeronautical Research Committee Reports .. R.A.F. as a Career American Orders for Aircraft Aerodrome Wireless The Hawker F.ngineering Co. Royal Air Force R.A.F. Intelligence In Parliament 149 149 150 150 150 151 153 153 153 Correspondence .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 153 DIARY OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS Club Secretaries and others desirous of announcing the dates of important fixtures are invited to send particulars for inclusion in the following list:— 1925 Mar. 14 ... R.A.F. (India) Reunion Dinner. Mar. 19 .... Capt. F. Tymms : "Practical Navigation of Aircraft," before R.Ae.S. Mar. 28 Entries close for Schneider Cup Race. Mar. 28 ... Entries Close for Gordon Bennett Balloon Race. Mar. 25 .... Royal Aero Club Annual General Meeting. Mar. 26 .... Dr. Eckener (Managing Director, Zeppelin Airship Co.) : " Modern Zeppelin Airships," before R.Ae.S. (Society of Arts). Mar. 30 .... Royal Aeronautical Soc Annual General Meeting. Apr. 23 .... Colonel F. Searle : "The Maintenance of Commercial Aircraft," before R.Ae.S. Apr. 24 .... Commander C. D. Burney, C.M.G., M.P., R.N.: " The Position of the Airship in Aerial Transport," before I.Ae.E. Apr. 80 .... Wilbur Wright Lecture, Rear-Admiral D. W. Taylor : " Some Aspects of the Comparison of Model and Full-Scale Tests," before R.Ae.S. EDITORIAL COMMENT. ,T is by now agreed on all sides that if we are ever to make flying popular, we must make it safe, so safe, in fact, that it is looked upon as being a good deal safer than train or steamer. Until we convert the general public to that view, it will not matter how effi- cient our machines are aerodynamically and how economical in operation, the public will not patronise them to the extent necessary to success. We are now, of course, referring to the Safety form of civilian flying at present known Flying under the courtesy title " commercial." In order to attain that end, no effort should be spared and no expense allowed to stand in the way. If the statistics of flying accidents are examined, it is found that by far the largest per- centage of serious crashes are the result of stalling when near the ground. The causes of the stall may be various. The engine may fail just after the machine has left the boundaries of the aerodrome ; it may fail on a cross-country flight, and the pilot may accidentally stall it while attempting to reach a better spot for a forced landing than any within his immediate vicinity ; the pilot may accidentally stall his machine while landing, but cases of this appear extremely rare, and would probably never happen to an experienced pilot, such as those flying regularly on the air routes. From a superficial examination of the subject, it might appear that the obvious remedy would be to find a method of retaining control beyond the stalling angle. While this subject is of extreme importance, and is being pursued vigorously by designers and research workers, it does not afford a complete solu- tion, since a stalled aeroplane, even if under control, will descend at a fairly high vertical velocity, and no practicable undercarriage would be able to deal with the impact. The vertical nose dive at high speed would, probably, be avoided, and the " flat " landing might save fatal injury to occupants, but control beyond the stalling angle takes us only part of the way. It might be argued that.engines should not fail, and, as a matter of fact, it is very rare that a modern aero engine itself fails in any of its vital parts. It is usually some accessory or part of the installation which
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