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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0661.PDF
OCTOBER 8, 1925 maintenance and overhaul, flying pay and wireless, was 3s. aton-mile. To this must be added overhead charges, such as insurance and depreciation, which were assessed at 2s aIT'"Vf' lhlS WaS an imaginary figure, but was, the lecturer thought, sufficiently high, and the total cost was, therefore5.?. a ton-mile. Earlier in the paper it was indicated that the operating costs were divided approximately as follows:i<uel and oil, 30 per cent. ; maintenance and overhaul of engines, 44 per cent. ; maintenance and overhaul of aircraft-0 per cent. ; miscellaneous, 6 per cent. If some of the improvements outlined materialised, it should be possible toreduce the fuel bill to one-fifth, engine maintenance to half, and aircraft maintenance to three-quarters of their presentfigure. This would result in a saving in operational costs of more than bO per cent., bringing the cost of operating standardaircraft down to Is. Qd. a ton-mile, without overhead charges. If it was supposed that a total loading of 24 lbs./h.p. could beattained, this would mean an increase of one-third in the carrying power, thus further reducing the cost of operationto Is. \\d. per ton-mile. In the standard aircraft the ratio of paying load to total load was approximately one-fifth.If this .ratio could be increased to one-fourth, the cost per ton-mile would then fall to lOJd. Finally, a rate of Is. 10|rf.a ton-mile at 85 m.p.h. could not be considered out of reach. The higher cruising speed of 100 m.p.h. would increaseexpenses somewhat, but, even allowing as much as Aid. a ton-mile for metal construction and for the higher cruisingspeed, the figure would only be 2s. 3d. per ton-mile, at 100 m.p.h. As relatively little has been permitted to become known concerning the experimental commercial machines at present being developed, the section of Sir Sefton Brancker's paper dealing with these is given in full below: " Three specifications were drawn up in 1922 for the following types :—(i) An improved ' Cross-Channel ' machine cruising at 100 m.p.h., and carrying 5 lb. of paying load per horse-power. This specification was an endeavour to produce a machine which could carry its load at a cheaper rate per ton-mile than is possible at present, (ii) A ' Middle East ' machine, fitted with three air-cooled engines and capable of flying 500 miles against a 30-mile-an-hour wind. Paying-load as great as possible. The specification was dictated by the conditions prevailing in Iraq and the Persian Gulf, (iii) An ' Imperial Communication ' machine, fitted with three engines and capable of reaching Malta without refuelling. It was hoped that such an aircraft could reach Australia by an ' All-Red ' air route. Orders have since been placed for (i) and (ii). Specification (iii) proved too difficult to accom- plish ; a machine with this range could have been produced, but its paying load w-ould have been too small for practical purposes. The type was therefore abandoned for the present. For specification (i), the de Havilland 54 is the first representative. I do not think that she will carry as much as 5 lb. paying-load per horse-power, but she will come near it, and marks a very distinct advance on any existing type. She is fitted with automatic flaps, and a single Condor engine. " There is another of this type ordered with three air- cooled engines, but her development has been so much delayed that she may have to be cancelled altogether. Owing to being fitted with three engines, it is unlikely that her paying- load per horse-power will be as high as that of the D.H.54. " The representative of the type (ii) is the Siddeley-Armstrong ' Argosy,' fitted with three Jaguar engines. She will be our first real three-engined machine designed for aspecific purpose from the start. She is partly of metal con- struction. During 1924, Imperial Airways came to theconclusion that this type, although designed for the Middle East, would also meet European conditions excellently, andso ordered two more machines. " At a later date, three more specifications were put out bythe Air Ministry :—(iv) A flying boat with two air-cooled engines, totalling about 500 h.p. This specification wasbased on the demand for a small flying boat for pioneer work and short-distance services in various parts of the-world ;cheapness in original cost and maintenance being of great importance. " Five hundred horse-power is considered to be about thelowest possible for a really airworthy boat with an appreci- able paying-load, and the two-engine system has certainobvious advantages in the design of flying boats. " (v) A large passenger-carrying flying boat with threeengines capable of flying 500 miles against a 30-mile wind. This is intended to meet the conditions existing on theCalcutta-Rangoon service or some similar route over water. " (vi) A freight-carrying aircraft to carry about 9 1b. ofpaying-load pev horse-power for 4J hours. The anticipated cruising speed of this machine is from 60 to 65 miles an hour.This specification was dictated by a desire to discover what is the greatest total load per horse-power that can becarried on a regular freight service. Aircraft to meet these three specifications have all been ordered, or are justabout to be ordered. In addition to these, two all-metal twin- engine flying boats and a very large all-metal three-engineaeroplane are on order. These are not being produced for a particular service, but in order to test thoroughly avery promising system of metal construction. Further specifications are being drawn up for a mail-carryingmachine of high speed, a survey machine and a ' cheap maintenance' machine, which latter, I hope, may beall-metal. " In addition to the aircraft enumerated above, the Fairey' Freemantle,' the Supermarine ' Swan,' and the Vickers' ' Vanguard ' are about to undergo operational tests with.Imperial Airways. " The Fairey ' Freemantle ' was originally ordered for thespecific purpose of flying round the world, and she might still be the first aircraft to circumnavigate the globe on thespares she could carry with her. She is an example of the long-range float-seaplane suitable for light traffic. " The Supcrmarine ' Swan ' is a normal two-engine flyingboat designed to carry passengers and freight; she can be fitted with amphibian gear. She should give us valuabledata regarding the best methods of arranging accommodation for various classes of traffic on flying boats. " The Vickers' ' Vanguard ' is a normal two-engine machine,designed to accommodate a large number of passengers ; it is intended to carry out studies in lighting, heating, venti-lation, silencing, and the comfort of passengers generally, on this aircraft. " This list, of course, does not cover the many experimentswhich are being made in slots, heavy oil, sleeve-valves, metal construction, &c." NEW R.A.F. DEFENCE APPOINTMENTS THE Air Ministry announces the following appointments :•— 1 Air Vice-Marshal H. R. M. Brooke-Popham, C.B., C M G D S O A F.C., to be Air Officer Commanding , Fighting Area, Air Defence of Great Britain, to date April 1, 1Q9R2 Air Vice-Marshal J. M. Steel, C.B., C.M.G., C.B.E., to be Air Officer Commanding, Wessex Area, Air Defence of Marshaliviarsnai Salmond. The Air Officer Commanding,ill the fighting units engaged in Wessex Area, bombing units. ._ was appointed to the Oxford and Bucks Light In- pointed in command of a wing in February, 1915, and wassubsequently employed on staff duties at Royal Flying Corps Headquarters. After the war he became Director of Researchat the Air Ministry until November, 1921, when he was appointed the first commandant of the then newly constitutedRoyal Air Force Staff College. He will relinquish this appointment to Air Commodore Ludlow Hewitt to take upthe post of Air Officer Commanding, Fighting Area. Air Vice-Marshal Steel was employed on naval dutiesduring the early years of the late war, being promoted Captain, Royal Navy, in December, 1916. From February, 1917, untilthe end of the war he commanded the Royal Naval Air Ser- vice station at Eastchurch. After the war he became Direc-tor of Operations and Intelligence at the Air Ministry, being appointed in addition to be Deputy Chief of Air Staff inAugust, 1922. Since November, 1923, he has been an addi- member of the Air Council. He will be relieved as will command all the Home Air Vice-Marshal Brooke- Royal Flying Corps from the ^"1" "V^ ^""A~" ^ 1914, Deputy Chief of Air Staff and Director of Operations and S^^^rSS uTtnihe^rthe^, He was ap- Intelligence by Air Commodore NewaH. 661
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