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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0788.PDF
CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the - writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns. "THAT CURTISS PURCHASE" [2102] WHILE I commend an anxiety to present " the other side " of a case, it seems to me that in this case there is very little " other side." It is a mere quibble to say that the Curtiss engines were ordered as part of a number of complete aeroplanes. The Air Ministry knew what engines were to be fitted in those machines. The Air Ministry is, indeed, to blame, and not the firm whose action has waked everybody up. But for service use a machine ought to be made entirely in this country. Now in this instance there is no prospect of the engine being made here in time to forestall British designs now in hand. I can assure you that British engine firms have approaching completion types of engine possessing the features which have won the Curtiss the recent British order. If the Air Ministry had given the word, those engines would have been ready for flight tests today. NOVEMBER 26, 1925 might indulgence and space be craved to re-state the facts ? \ Let it be added, by way of explanation, that one has read a score of accounts in American newspapers of the contest. The United States had three machines in the race, but only one of these finished. The other two were unable to complete the course because engine trouble developed. This would certainly suggest to the analytical mind a degree of unreliability somewhere, and it can hardly be in the mind of Mr. Geoffrey de Holden-Stone that on such a test the Ministry is entitled to place orders for 30 engines. Having read and re-read the letter at least half a-dozen times one can reach no other conclusion than that this is, indeed, what is meant. Then, again, your correspondent is doubtless aware that it is hot Curtiss engines of the type used by the winner of the Schneider trophy which have been ordered by Sir Samuel Hoare's department. Or, possibly, this may not have occurred to him. The Curtiss D.12 type, which are to be used in the " Foxes," were truly used in the race—by the Italians—and their relative performance would hardly justify the Air Ministry's action. One of the Macchi flying-boats could not start owing to engine trouble—as was reported at the time—and the other one, although brilliantly piloted, was quite easily beaten by the British machine—the Gloster- Exhaustive tests by a Squadron under service conditions ! Napier III—by some 33 m.p.h. And it is a debatable point Yes, but there are very, very few squadrons available for that sort of thing, and everyone of these given to the testing of a foreign product means one less for British xvork. Alreadv whether the single British representative in the race was the faster of the two machines entered. Against these facts regarding the performance of the we hear of a demand for a second service squadron for the Curtiss in the Schneider Cup race one has it that the British •••"•• ' ••• • — Napier engine gave no trouble at any time, and a reference to the American papers will show that the pilot of the British entrant stated on completion of the course that his engine " ran like a dream." The Air Ministry has taken an unjustifiable action, and has created a dangerous precedent, and if your correspondent seeks to find a defence for the department in the Schneider Cup race then one can only submit that he has but the flimsiest structure upon which to build his case. It is, indeed, like unto he who built his house upon the sand. Farnham Common, Bucks. GILBERT BARNETT November 21, 1925. testing of another new aeroplane with a foreign engine. The country cannot afford it; and the Air Ministry must be more consistent. P.H. [2103] It is not with any passionate intention to subject the Air Ministry to any vicious criticism that one has raised a protest against the purchase of those Curtiss engines, nor is it with any such intent that one feels it incumbent to make reply to the letter of Mr. Geoffrey de Holden-Stone which appeared in the issue of FLIGHT of the 19th inst. Your correspondent, one might remark en passant, is surely under .a misapprehension when he refers to an order for 30 Fairey " Foxes," for I believe that he will find that a much smaller number has, in point of fact, been ordered. But 30 American Curtiss D.12 engines were ordered, and whether one is to take the slogan " Buy British " seriously or otherwise, the economic fact remains incontrovertible that this means that about £60,000 goes out of this country to America, to the advantage of employment in that country and to the detriment of Britain, where, one would respectfully submit, it is much more needed. Your correspondent would, I think, in the interests of truth, agree that in that way hardly lies the path to the restoration of industry in this country, and the maintenance of a flourishing aircraft trade. But that £60,000 is not all. That is not the full assessment of the damage that has been done to British employment. That order of the Air Ministry must inevitably detrimentally affect the prestige of British aero engines throughout the world, and it is not inconceivable, since the Air Ministry has, inferentially, suggested that the British product is not equal to that of the United States, that orders from other countries which would have found their way here will now go across the Atlantic. All of which must make for greater unemployment, and, if only for that, one feels, both as an ex-member of the R.A.F. and a taxpayer, who has to find the money both for the Curtiss order and for the unemploy- ment benefit for those who are affected by the Ministry's action, that one is entitled to register a vigorous protest. But there are still stronger grounds upon which it is possible to build up one's case. Nothing could be more indefensible than that the conditions of the order are not the same as would apply to a production order given to a British aero engine manufacturer. Unless one is misinformed —and there has not been a single denial of the statements that have been made repeatedly in the press during the past weeks—it. would appear that a very substantial preference was given to the American type, in that the 100-hour type test and the British Air Ministry inspection conditions laid down in respect of such an order to a British manufacturer were not made compulsory, and, in fact, were not passed for the American. One does feel that no other Government in the world would make the way easier for foreign rivals than for its own manufacturers, who, after all, are taxpayers. When your correspondent remarks, apropos the Schneider Cup race, " Was not the Schneider Cup itself a sufficient warranty for the performance of the Curtiss ? " it can only PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED The Strategy and Tactics of Air Fighting. By Oliver Stewart. Longmans, Green and Co., 39^ Paternoster Row, E.C. Price 6s. net. The Morris Gravity Conveyor. Herbert Morris, Ltd., Loughborough. m m m m AERONAUTICAL PATENT SPECIFICATIONS Abbreviations: Cyl. — cylinders i.e. -= internal combustion ; m. = motoT. The numbers in brackets ate those under which the Specifications will be printed and abridged, etc. APPLIED FOR IN 1924Published November 26, 1925 4,612. F. L. 11. BOOTHBY. Aerial torpedoes. (241,958.)15,563. LUFTSCHIFFBAU ZEPPELIN GES. Rigid airships. (222,082.) 17,774. SUPERMARINE AVIATION WORKE, LTD., and R. J. MITCHELL.Launching and landing apparatus for flying boats. (241,977.) 26,062. W. BEARDMORE AND CO., LTD., and W. S. SHACKLETON. Landing strut for aeroplane undercarriages. (242,073.) 28,754. DORNIER METALLBAUTEN GES. and C. DORNIER. Staying floatsfor aircraft. (226,191.) APPLIED FOR IN 1925 Published November 26, 1925372. ANTI-STALL, INC. Electric starting devices for engines. (242,115.) 12,265. J. COMTE. Propellers. (234,102.) FLIGHT The Aircraft Engineer and Airships 36, GREAT QUEEN STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C.2. Telegraphic address: Truditur, Westcent, London. Telephone : Gerrard 1828. SUBSCRIPTION RATES ' FLIGHT " will be forwarded, post free, at the following rates :— ABROAD* 3 Months, Post Free 6 12 s. d. . 8 3 .16 6 .33 0 UNITED KINGDOM • s. d. 3 Months, Post Free. . 7 7 6 „ „ ..15 2 12 „ „ ..30 4 * Foreign subscriptions must be remitted in British currency. Cheques and Post Office Orders should be made payable to the Proprietors of " FLIGHT," 36, Great Queen Street, Kingsway, W.C.2, and crossed Westminster Bank. Should any difficulty be experienced in procuring " FLIGHT "be supposed deferentially that he is ignorant of the full from local newsvendors, intending readers can obtain each issue facts. Because this matter is one of supreme importance, ~ ot merely to the aircraft industry, but to the whole countrv, direct from the Publishing Office, by forwarding remittance asabove. 788
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