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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0606.PDF
experiences of the designer. Thus it is not surprising that even in s ch ultra fast machines as the Schneider Trophy seaplanes we see both types represented. The Gloster Aircraft Company has pinned its faith on the biplane ever since, shortly after the war, they brought out the famous " Bamel " racer designed for and winner of the Aerial Derby. Since that time Mr. H. P. Folland, the firm's chief designer and engineer, has produced a long series of racers, landplanes and seaplanes, and all have been of the biplane type. That Mr. Folland should still retain his faith in this type is therefore only natural, as is the fact that this year's machine, the Gloster IV, has the appear- ance of being the logical development of the series of machines of which this is the high-water mark, so to speak. The " cleaning up " process has been carried to a very considerable degree of perfection, and it is difficult to see any way in which further resistance could be saved. Outward appearances are somewhat deceptive, and the history of flying is not without examples of machines with an appearance of good streamlining which were nevertheless slower than others seemingly less " clean," but in which the formation of the fuselage, the shape and location of protuberances, and so on, were more favourable to the somewhat erratic air flow in the slip stream from the propeller. In the Gloster IV one may be assured that all these things have been considered and tested, and that little more can be done along these lines. A biplane is often likely to appear less " clean " than a monoplane, but mcdern aerodynamic theory indi- cates that this appearance may be deceptive, and that the profile drag of the monoplane, which usually has a thicker wing section, may be about the same as that of a biplane with thinner sections, but with more external bracing. As regards induced drag, this is smaller in the biplane than in the monoplane, for a given wing span, but as induced drag is a very small percentage indeed of the total at small lift coefficients, or in other words at high speeds, the effect of induced drag in a Schneider Trophy racer is probably almost negligible. Thus, as regards resistance the mono- plane and the biplane are probably about equal. As a general rule, the biplane wing structure is some- what lighter than that of the monoplane, and perhaps it is rather easier to provide ample torsional stiffness in a biplane cellule. Doubtless Mr. Folland was influenced by considerations such as these when he designed the Gloster IV. That the machine is very fast there can be no doubt, and the Gloster company deserves success for the persistence with which it has kept alive the breed of racers in this country during the years following the war. The Supermarine S.5 is one of the most " eyeable " machines one could imagine. Its diminutive size, the almost incredibly small fuselage, and the general reduction in frontal area, carried to its utmost extent, lends an impression of speed, which is more than borne out when the machine is seen in flight. Although it sounds like a " tall " yarn, it is actually true that it " leaves the sound behind." That is to say, if one sees the machine flying at some distance, AUGUST 11, 1927 the sound of the engine appears to come from a point some way behind the machine. Some months ago we referred in these columns to the fact that there was considerable similarity between last year's Macchi racer and the Supermarine S.5, and pointed out at the time that this was in no way to be taken as an indication that Mr. Mitchell, chief designer and engineer of the Supermarine Aviation Works, had copied the Macchi. Apparently, what happened was that the Macchi designer and Mr. Mitchell both took the Supermarine S.4 as a good starting point, and whereas the Macchi was finished in time for, and won, last year's race, the S.5 has but recently been completed. Thus, there can be no possible question of " copying." The S.5 appears smaller even than last year's Macchi, but then it is to be presumed that the Italian designers have not been idle either, and have added a good many miles to last year's speed. We are naturally not permitted to quote performance figures, but the British challengers can at any rate be stated to have reached speeds such that the race will certainly not be a walk-over for the other competitors. The " Crusader," entered by Col. Bristow and built to the designs of Mr. Carter, late chief designer to the Hawker Engineering Company, is a monoplane, but differs from the other two machines in that it is fitted with a Bristol radial air-cooled engine, the " Mercury." There are those who hold that the head resistance of the radial is too high for really fast machines, but Mr. Carter has succeeded in producing a machine which is certainly very fast, although possibly it may not be quite as fast as the Gloster IV and Super- marine S.5. The new Bristol engine is of much smaller diameter than the well-known series VI, and the weight-power ratio is almost ridiculously small, a fact which will go far towards making up for any disability from which the radial engine may suffer on the score of resistance. We are informed that the " Crusader is a particularly nice machine to fly. One pilot has expressed it as the sort of machine one would like to use for pleasure flying if it were not for the cost. The Napier racing engine fitted in the Gloster IV and S.5 is a specialised development of the famous " Lion," one of the most popular water-cooled engines in the world. It has been very intensively tested, both on the bench and in the air, and in spite of its low weight per horse-power it has proved particularly reliable and smooth running. Owing to a rearrange- ment of accessories the three-cylinder banks are particularly free from excrescences, and thus the task of fairing the engine into the fuselage has been greatly facilitated. From our photographs it will be seen how successfully this has been accomplished. Altogether, there is cause for satisfaction with this year's British Schneider Trophy racers, and one very important factor in the equation of success is that the pilots will have had this year a reasonable amount of practice on the machines. Thus, there is every reason to believe that British prestige will be worthily upheld at Venice on September 25. India's Aero Club FOR the purpose of promoting an aero club in India Sir Victor Sassoon left for Simla, on August 5, with Squadron- Another Canadian HitchTHE second pilot selected for the proposed Canadui; flight across the Atlantic, Mr. J. I). Vance, has withdraw- Leader T. S. Impey. The club's headquarters will be at through certain disagreements with the contract off err Delhi. Other clubs already being organised are at Calcutta, him. A Montreal pilot, Mr. E. F. Peacock, has offered 1 Karachi, and Bombay. fill the vacant position, asking merely for his expenses. 558
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