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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0417.PDF
JULY 2, 1925 15 FLIGHT Entered by Col. M. O. Darby, the Airdisco Martinsyde " A.D.C. I," which will be piloted by Sqdn.-Ldr. W.H.Longton, is fitted with a Siddeley "Jaguar " engine of 395 h.p. II19 £ B 8 f 1 \J |T is now close upon a year since the AircraftDisposal Company decided to re-design the Martinsyde F.4 biplane, so as to take theSiddeley "Jaguar" engine. The services of Mr. J. Kenworthy had been secured sometime previously, and he, consequently, set to work on remodelling the F.4. The resultwas the Airdisco-Martinsyde " A.D.C. I," one of which has been entered for the King'sCup Race by Lieut.-Col. M. O. Darby, O.B.E., who is managing director of the Aircraft Disposal Company.It might be mentioned incidentally that this company'has taken over the goodwill of the Martinsyde firm of Woking,and that therefore the choice of the F.4 for remodelling was a very natural one. The " A.D.C. I." has proved a great success, and themachine has been found to have an excellent speed and climb. No actual figures are available, but it is believed that thetop speed is at least 160 m.p.h., and probably a little more, so that it should be among the fastest machines in the race.In aircraft circles there is considerable speculation as to which is the faster, the " A.D.C. I." or the Armstrong-Whitworth " Siskin V." Both machines have the same engine, but the Siskin is probably somewhat the smallermachine in the matter of wing area, which should give it some advantage in point of top speed. Both types will beflown by pilots of acknowledged skill, so that provided all the engines are equally free from trouble, there should bea very close race between the two Siskins and the A.D.C. machine. The pilot of the " A.D.C. I." will be Squadron-Leader W. H.Longton, D.F.C., A.F.C., who is one of Great Britain's finest pilots. He won fame in years gone by with his " crazyflying," which appeared to defy all the accepted theories of flight, but which was, in reality, merely the result of superbskill and judgment. Longton knew exactly how far he could go with any given machine, and he could, therefore, withimmunity, perform manoeuvres which would have ended in disaster to a pilot of less experience. It is not, however, asa stunt pilot only that Longton shines. He is now at the head of a bombing squadron. REFERENCE has already been made to thefact that the Avro 504 appears to be immortal. The first Avro of this typeappeared somewhere around 1913 or 1914, and was fitted with 80 h.p. Gnome engine.The type soon became popular and for many years has been the standard train-ing machine in the services. It underwent minor modifications in detail, but essentiallyit remained the same machine as the 1913 prototype. Engines of all sorts were fitted, such as 110 h.p.le Rhone and 130 h.p. Clerget rotaries, Hispano >vater-cooled, Bristol " Lucifer " air-cooled, and finally the Siddeley" Lynx " with which the King's Cup machine is fitted. The undercarriage has also undergone modifications fromtime to time, such as the substitution of an oleo chassis for the original central skid and telescopic strut undercarriage,and specimens have appeared as twin float seaplanes, and very successful seaplanes at that, so that it will be seen thatthere seems to be no limit to the adaptability of the 504. The type shown in the Photograph is the 504N, but is moregenerally known as the " Avro-Lynx," from the fact that it is fitted with 180 h.p. Siddeley " Lynx " engine. The Avro 504N has been entered for the King's Cup Race byMr. A. V. Roe, one of the pioneers of aviation in Great Britain, and the originator of the tractor type of biplane, a type whichhas now to all intents and purposes become the standard single-engined aeroplane. Mr. Roe first flew in 1909, on atriplane of his own design and having an engine of 9 h.p. only, In the race the " Avro-Lynx " will be piloted by BertHinkler, who is now Avro's chief test pilot. Mr. Hinkler will be familiar to all readers of FLIGHT, mainly, perhaps, for someof his now famous flights on the Avro " Baby " with 35 h.p. Green engine, among which we mention but the non-stopflight from London to Turin and several equally great flights in Australia. Mr. Hinkler, is, however just as much at homein larger machines, and flies an Avro with 1,000 h.p. Napier " Cub " engine, with as much skill and judgment as thatwhich he more familiarly shows in handling small machines. Hinkler is one of our most popular pilots and everyone willwish him success in this year's King's Cup Race. The " Avro-Lynx," or 504 N., with 180 h.p. Siddeley " Lynx " engine, has been entered by Mr. A. V. Roe, and will be piloted by Mr. Bert Hinkler. 417
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