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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0243.PDF
APRIL 8. 1926 CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, notnecessarily for publication must in all cases accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns. CIVIL MARINE AIRCRAFT [2132] With reference to the tables you publish onpage 181 of your issue of March 25th, and the explanatory remarks overleaf, I shall be grateful if you will permit meto amplify the reference to power-loading. In my paper I wrote " The horse-power loading is a consideration ofextreme importance. This was where the early flying-boats failed ; they were attempting more than could reasonablybe expected. Seaplanes loaded to 20 lb. per h.p. may or may not take off well in calm water, but in a bad sea theywould stand little chance of getting above the hump speed. It is thus easy enough to obtain a good paying load perhorse-power at the expense of general utility. For routes across open sea, I maintain that 17 lb. per h.p. is a power-loading which should not be exceeded, and in the appendices the machines are so arranged, that some idea of their service-ability in this respect may be obtainable." On the suggestion of Mr. Manning, I would also emphasisethat the weights I give for " paying load " represent the true revenue loads of passengers—they include neither crew,fuel, nor internal accommodation. Further, I would like to express the earnest hope that on this matter of crucialimportance, we have ceased to indulge in loose and worthless comparisons, founded on such virtually irrelevant bases as" with tanks full." For a number of machines of approximately the samegeneral serviceability, the quantitative basis of comparison is ton-miles per h.p. In this respect, I would submit thatthere are considerable advantages in the method adopted in the tables you publish of expressing this figure as lbs. ofpaying-load on a 300-mile flight, and lbs. variation in paying- load for each additional 100 miles. I note that Mr. Fokkeris using as a basis of comparison in his monthly Propaganda „ u i- ii „- • . load carried x maximum speed Bulletins the co-emcient normal h.p.It may be noted at first that this figure suffers from the usual slovenliness, to which I have referred above, but thepoint to which I do wish to draw attention is this subtle introduction of " speed " which, with the proviso of a certainminimum, is in almost the same position as " the flowers that bloom in the spring." Speed is already introduced once,because the slower the cruising speed of the machine, the more hours, and, therefore, the more lbs. of fuel will berequired to fly a certain distance. It will be a long while before speed as such will rank equally with load carriedper h.p. For the present, I think Mr. Fokker should be satisfied with the weight of fuel that his cleanliness in designenables him to transfer to paying load. I regard this as a matter of some considerable importance,and I hope other designers will agree with me on this point sufficiently to express their views. O. E. SlMMONDS.Southampton. March 29, 1926. The R.A.F. Cairo-Cape Flight THE four Fairey III D biplanes (Napier " Lions "), under Wing-Commander Pulford, R.A.F., have made steady progress in the flight from Cairo to Cape Town and back. Resuming the journey on March 25 the four machines lelt Broken Hill early in the morning and flew to Choma, where a short stop was made, and thence to Livingstone, having circled the famous Falls before landing. On March 29, the ' proceeded to Bulawayo, thence, on March 31, to Palapye Road, another 200 miles. After a day's stay at Palapye Road they flew another 250 miles to Pretoria, where they were given an enthusiastic reception, official and civic, being entertained at luncheon the next day (April 3) by the S.A. Air Force. On April 5 they continued on to Johannesburg, accompanied by 14 S.A. Air Force machines and the fifth Fairey HID (which had arrived from England by sea and rail), piloted by Flying Officer Jones, Splendid Service by Napier " Lions " THE following facts relating to the running of the Napier " Lion " engines used by Imperial Airways, Ltd., may be of interest. In all, there are 20 Napier engines in use by Imperial Airways. They have covered—installed in D.H.34 machines —an aggregate of over two million miles. One engine alone has nearly 200,000 miles to its credit, whilst seven others have run over 150,000 miles each. This is certainly a wonderful record of consistent reliability, which it will be difficult to equal, and says much, not only for the design, workmanship and material of the Napier "Lion," but also for the system of maintenance employed by Imperial Airways. Another interesting point is that the four new Handley Page machines which, as stated elsewhere, have just been put into service, are fitted with these same Napier engines which have already so much service to their credit. The R.A.F. SafeON April 3, a safe, containing important official docu- ments, was missing from the R.A.F. Coastal Area Base,Lee-on-Solent, and as a result all men on Easter leave from this station were recalled. On April 5, however, the safewas found among furze-bushes in the locality, unsuccessful attempts having been made to force it open. Scholarships for Flight CadetsTHE Air Ministry announces that Sir Charles Wakefield, Bart, C.B.E., has generously offered to continue the '' SirCharles Wakefield" Scholarships, founded by him in 1920, in view of the great assistance which has been provided bythis benefaction, and the Air Council have gratefully accepted •this offer. These scholarships are each of £75, tenable forone year at the R.A.F. Cadet College, Cranwell, and are in- tended to give financial assistance to successful candidatesfor entry into the College whose parents are in reduced circumstances. Two scholarships are awarded at each half- yearly entry. One of these is awarded on the result of the open competitive examination for admission to the Cadet College held in June and November, and the other to one of the aircraft apprentices who, at the conclusion of their training at the R.A.F. training establishment at Halton are selected twice a year for Flight Cadetships at Cranwell. A 16-FT. METAL AIRSCREW : The above illust rationshows a pair of all-metal blades, constructed by Metal Propellers, Ltd., of Purley Way, Croydon, for theBritish rigid airship R.101. The complete airscrew, which is of the reversible type, measures 16 ft. indiameter, and is probably the largest metal airscrew yet constructed. 211
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