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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0034.PDF
A double plywood and veneer girder runs from under the seat, through the bottom and centre of the fuselage to the rear of the bulkhead, just behind the engine. This carries the pilot's seat, controls, and also provides a mounting for the lower wing and two cross-bracing members of the under- carriage structure, in addition to forming a foundation for certain cross-bracing members of the engine mount at the front end. The engine mounting is of welded steel tubing, as are all wing struts and landing-gear struts ; all struts are faired with balsa wood. The covering of the fuselage and wings is doped fabric, with the exception of that part of the fuselage at the pilot's cockpit, which is covered with veneer. The tail unit consists of a vertical fin built into the fuselage, with the normal type of unbalanced rudder with non-rigid trailing edge. These details apply also to the horizontal stabiliser and elevators. The entire unit is constructed of spruce, the horizontal stabiliser being constructed in two sections. The tail skid is of steel tube mounted on a tiny fin below the fuselage and sprung with rubber. The undercarriage is, as previously mentioned, of steel tube faired with balsa wood, and is of conventional V-type, the upper ends of the V-formation of struts being attached to the fuselage at the points of termination of the sloping inter- plane bracing struts. In addition, for rigidity, and undoubtedly providing ample strength to the undercarriage, there are two bracing struts which come to a common point of termination under the forward bulkhead at the secondary girder already referred to. The axle is sprung with rubber shock-absorber cord in the usual manner. JANUARY 20, 1927 As will be seen from the illustrations, the support for the centre section of the upper wing over the fuselage is completely faired into the top of the fuselage. This practice is also followed in the case of the lower wing, which is actually located a little distance below the fairing of the underside of the fuselage, the mounting being completely faired. This arrangement not only gives a very neat appearance, but also enables perfect continuity of the main spars in both upper and lower wings. The power plant fitted in this machine, as previously stated, is a Bristol " Cherub " twin-cylinder horizontally opposed engine, which is faired under a very well-designed cowling. The airscrew is an all-metal Curtis-Reed, 4 ft. 6 ins. diameter by 3 ft. 1 in. pitch. The entire finish of the machine is in Valspar. The principal characteristics of the Meyers ' Span (top) „ (bottom) Overall length Area of top plane bottom plane Total wing area Angle of incidence Weight, empty . . ,, laden per horse-power ,, per square foot Speed (approx ) Fuel capacity Oil eanacitv 'Midget " are :— 16 ft. 12 ft. 13 ft. 2 ins. 45-5 sq. ft. 24-5 sq. it. 70 sq. ft. 3°. 304 lbs. 480 lbs. 16 lbs. 6-8 lbs. 100 ni.p.h. 2-5 galls. 3 qts. MARSEILLES- MADAGASCAR-PARIS A Fine 1 7,000-Mile Flight in a " Jupiter "-Engined Seaplane LIEUT. BERNARD of the French Naval Air Serivce in his flight from Marseilles to Madagascar and back to Paris has accomplished a flight of more than usual interest. It was not only a splendid achievement as a long-distance flight, but was also remarkable in that it was the first big flight ever carried out by a seaplane in which the greater part of the route covered was over " land-waterways." In past great seaplane flights, such as Sir Alan Cobham's London-Australia- London, Commandant Franco's Spain-Buenos Aires, and Maj. Llorente's recent flight from Melilla to Fernando Po. the routes lay mainly over the Sea or along the coast, whereas Bernard's " raid " took him over land for considerable distances, various rivers and lakes along the route supplying the necessary medium on which to alight and from which to take off. As in the case of Sir Alan Cobham's big flights, the object of the Madagascar flight was primarily one of utility, and it was not intended as a " stunt " or record flight. For one thing it was hoped to serve as a test as to the value of the seaplane as a means of communication between the French African colonies, while at the same time it was in the nature of a survey flight, the opportunity being taken to prospect for new air routes in Africa. Originally two machines set out from Marseilles on October 12 last, a Liore - Olivier LeO. H.190 flying boat, fitted with a Gnome-Rhone " Jupiter." piloted by Lieut. Bernard, and a C.A.M.S. 37 G.R. fitted with a Lorraine engine, piloted by Lieut. Guilbaud. The latter, however, met with misfortune comparatively early in the flight (near Lokoja, on the Niger) and damaged his machine, being thereby compelled to abandon the flight. The route followed was a varied and interesting one. . following, first of all, the north-west ccast of Africa as far as the Senegal, thence across the heart of Africa to Mozambique, and then on to Madagascar—a total distance of over 9,500 miles. On the return flight Bernard took the route following the big lakes and the valley of the Nile, thence across the Mediterranean via Crete and Malta to Berre (Marseilles) and Paris—a total distance of some 7,600 miles. Thus, for the whole flight Lieut. Bernard covered over 17,000 miles during his three months' absence. Briefly summarised the log of the outward journey is as follows, distances given in kras. and, in brackets, miles. Oct. 12, Marseilles-Tangier, 1,400 km. (870 miles) ; Oct. 13, Tangier-Casablanca, 300 km. (186 miles) ; Oct. 15, Casablanca - Las Palmas, 1,110 km. (683 miles) ; October 17 Las Palmas- Port Etienne, 900 km. (558 miles) ; Port Etienne-St. Louis, oooooooo o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Marseil les — Madagascar— Paris : The Liore- Olivier LeO H.190 flying-boat (" Jupiter " en- gine) used on this flight was a ser- vice model, simi- lar to the com- mercial type shown here. o o o o o o o 34
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