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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0611.PDF
AUGUST 11, 1927 Twin floats of special (rloster design and construction, ofduralumin, are employed, and are connected to the fuselage by two widely spaced pairs of V struts. Special care has beentaken in their design to obtain a good streamline shape without affecting their qualities on the water. The tractor airscrew is also of Gloster design and construc-tion, and is of the detachable blade type, the blades being machined to their correct pitch and contour from a solidduralumin forging on a special machine—no twisting of the blades being required. The Supermarine-Napier S.5 The Schneider Trophy challenger produced by the Super- marine Aviation Works, Ltd., of Southampton—the Super- marine-Napier " S.5 "—undoubtedly looks as if it meant to win back the Trophy, as may be gathered from the accom- panying illustrations. But what is more important, tests have demonstrated that we have something more than looks to count upon. Mr. R. J. Mitchell, Chief Engineer to the Supermarine firm is responsible for the design of the " S.5 " (we understand three of these machines have been constructed), whilst thanks are also due to the very valuable research work and co-operation of the Technical Officers of the Air Ministrv, the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, and the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington, that have been rendered in connection with its design and con- struction. The " S.5 " is a low-wing twin-float mono-seaplane developed from the " S.4 "—to which it is very similar in general appearance—which took part in the 1925 contest and also won the world's speed record for seaplanes ; incidentally, the " S.4 " still holds the British speed record for both land and seaplanes. It may be of interest to note in passing that these machines were the first mono-seaplanes (float) to be used in the Schneider contests since the early days— the Italian Macchi being produced after the " S.4 " made its debut. As we mentioned before we are unable to describe the " S.5 " in detail, and can only refer to it in a general sort of way. It has, however, a number of very novel features which we give herewith, and these, together with our illustrations should provide our readers with some idea, at any rate, of its characteristics. All the fuel is carried in the starboard float, the fuel tank being constructed as a section of the float. The effect of this is partially to balance the engine torque and thereby improve the flying qualities of the machine. The fuel is carried up to the engine by means of an engine-driven pump. The wing surface radiators are an entirely new develop- ment and are a definite advance on anything previously used. They coo! the engine without adding any resistance what- soever to the machine, having a perfectly flat outer surface. The wing is built of wood and is covered with special laminated wood underneath the radiators. The fin, to which is hinged the rudder, is built integral with the fuselage, and the tail plane is also neatly faired into the latter. The fuselage is constructed entirely in metal, the skin taking practically all the stresses. The engine mounting consists of a cantilevered extension to the fuselage, the skin of the mounting taking all engine loads. It may be noted that the fuselage is probably smaller in cross sectional area than any fuselage previously designed, and the pilots have had to" be specially " fitted " to the machine. The area of maximum section is only just over half that of the " S.4." In order to clear the cockpit of exhaust fumes and hot air during flight, it has been found necessary to fit fresh-air ducts. Oil cooling is effected by passing the oil along both sides of the fuselage in contact" with the skin through specially- constructed oil coolers. As regards the floats, these arc comparatively long and are constructed of Duralumin, being anodically treated to resist sea-water corrosion. They are connected to the fuselage by two pairs of V struts. Of the engine, the special racing Napier " Lion," particulars are given elsewhere, so we need only add here that the air- screws for the "S-5 " have been designed and manufactured l>y the Fairey Aviation Co., of Hayes. The Supermarine Aviation Works, Ltd., will be represented m Italy, by Commander James Bird, Chairman and Managing director, Mr. R. J. Mitchell, Director and Chief Engineer,a "d the Supermarine crew will consist of Mr. A. Powell, Mr. B. Pickett, Mr. G. Broome, Mr. B. Tozer, Mr. G. Pearson, Mr. H. Grimes, and Mr. B. 15. Brown. It is anticipated that the machines will leave England mu *o consignments, one on or about August 16, and the other<J " or about August 26. The NapierJEngineThe engine which has been selected for both the Super- marine-Napier S-5 and the Gloster-Napier 4 is designed andmanufactured by D. Napier & Son, Ltd., of London, and is a development of the famous Napier " Lion " which has givensuch remarkable service in the British Air Force and in machines operating on commercial air lines and in air forcesin all parts of the world. It has twelve cylinders, fan or " broad-arrow " shape-, in three blocks of four cylinderseach, and, of course, is water-cooled. Considerable improvements and developments, of course,have been made in the type to be used in these racing machines. It is obviously necessary to keep secret particulars of thisengine and, therefore, it is not possible to divulge the nature ADRIATIC S EA Sketch map of the 1927 Schneider Trophy course. of the alterations, but one important feature is noticeable, as it can be seen that the frontal area has been considerably reduced, making this engine even more compact than the already small standard " Lion," and lessening resistance with the decided advantage of increase in speed. In designing this racing engine, everything has been done to reduce head resistance, so that it fits into a fuselage of the smallest possible size and lends itself to efficient cowling, without in any way sacrificing power or adding to the weight, and the frontal area is considerably less than other types, whilst it still retains all the excellent characteristics of the short three-row design. Great attention has also been paid to its installation in the aeroplanes, and it will be seen that the cylinder-block covers have been so designed as to be part of the actual cowling. When it was known that the Napier engines in the 1925 Schneider trophy machines were developing 700 h.p., it was thought, in some quarters, that the most had been achieved with this remarkable design, but continuous development, experiments and testing has resulted in the 1927 Napier racing engine—an engine which further proves Napier's wonderful genius for leading the way. The amazing power which this tiny engine develops must also remain a mystery for the present, but when it is possible to give figures of performance, it can be promised that the power output obtained from an engine of such compact size will be unique. Another advance which has been made in this engine is that it has been fitted with a special reduction gear. This enables a slower-running airscrew to be used which gives a higher efficiency. The Team Under Air Vice-Marshal Scarlett at Venice will be six R.A.F. officers and 27 R.A.F. mechanics, and also a number of " civil " mechanics from the different firms. The flying personnel includes :—Squad.-Ldr. L. H. Slatter, O B E D S.C., D.F.C. ; Flight-Lieut. S. M. Kinkhead, D.S.O., D SC ,D.F.C. : Flight-Lieut. S. N. Webster, A.F.C, ; Flight- Lieut. O. E. Worsley, and F./O. H. M. Schofield. The Technical Officer will be F./O. T. H. Moon. 563
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