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Aviation History
1927
1927 - 0862.PDF
NOVEMBER 10, 1927 which, it is expected, will be reached by the end of Februarynext. Altogether, including deviations, the total distance covered will be about 20,000 miles.In addition to Sir Alan Cobham, the other members of the expedition will be Capt. H. V. Worrall (late R.X.A.S.), whowill be second pilot, Mr. C. E. Conway and Mr. F. Green, who will care for the " Condors," and Mr. S. R. Bonnett, ofthe Gaumont Co., who will " shoot " the flight. A complete list of the places included in the whole flight,together with the approximate distances in miles, is given at the end of this article, while we also give a sketch mapshowing the same. As regards the Short " Singapore," which has already beenillustrated in FLIGHT, this is a twin-engined flying-boat of all-metal construction, Duralumin being the principal material employed, not only for the hull, but for the wings also.One of these boats, it will be remembered, took part in the recent R.A.F. flying-boat cruise round Scandinavia. The outstanding features of the " Singapore " are, com-paratively small size for the load carried, extremely clean and pleasing appearance, and an interesting hull-construction.This latter consists of a number of approximately circular transverse rings, to which the outer covering is riveted.Longitudinal stringers are absent, but in their place are short longitudinal stiffeners between and interrupted by thetransverse rings. The skin, or outer covering, of the hull thus takes a large share of all the loads. The two Rolls-Royce " Condors " are mounted, in neatstreamline nacelles, midway between the wings. Sleeping bunks are provided in the hull, as well as arrangements forcooking hot meals for the crew. Finally, the whole of this new African survey flight has beenvery thoroughly organised all along the route, fuel and oil. spares, and landing arrangements having been " fixed up "at all the points of call. Space will not permit a detailed account of all this organisation, but we wish to record thefollowing names of some of those who have given generous support and assistance to Sir Alan Cobham in his new venture The Air Council, who have provided the Short " Singapore "Sir Charles Wakefield, who has made the flight possible Short Bros, of Rochester, the designers and constructors ofthe " Singapore " ; Rolls-Royce, Ltd., the designers and constructors of the " Condor " engines ; Accles and Pollock,Ltd. (steel tubes) ; Brown, Bayley Steel Works (stainless steel) ; Bruntons, Ltd. (streamline and swaged rods) ; J.Marston, Ltd. (radiators) ; The Airscrew Co. (airscrews) ; Triplex Safety Glass Co. (windshields) ; Llewellyn Ryland,Ltd. (varnish and enamel) ; Cellon, Ltd. (dope) ; British Thompson-Houston Co., Ltd. (B.T.H. Magnetos) ; Robinhood Aerial Forest Reconnaissance MR. R. BOURNE, of the Imperial Forestry Institute,Oxford, who has been touring Northern Rhodesia in order to advise the Government there on its future policy, madethe following interesting statement to a representative of the Johannesburg Star :—" I may say that I took the opportunityof verifying the recent developments which have taken place in aerial forest reconnaissance over wide tracts of bushcountry in these parts, and from what I have seen there seems every possibility that in the near future, given certainconditions, vegetation and soil surveys may be carried out at practically a nominal cost. Hitherto the cost has alwaysbeen the great obstacle, but now, for the first time, it is felt that that obstacle can be removed and that these greattracts of territory can be surveyed in a way which should lead to more economical agriculture settlements and themore rapid development of the country's mineral resources." Mr. Bourne made several flights with the Aircraft OperatingCo.'s expedition that has been at work in Rhodesia for some time past.A " Super-Super " Wai FOR very many years there has been a keen rivalrybetween two German aircraft designers, Herr Rohrbach and Herr Dornier. Of recent years the competition betweenthem appears to have centred to a considerable extent upon which of the two can produce the largest machine. Thelatest type to emerge from the sheds of the Friedrichshafen works of Herr Dornier is a flying boat that may be describedas a "Super-Super" Wai. The original Super-Wai, it may be recollected, had two Rolls-Royce " Condor " enginesplaced in tandem above the monoplane wing. The " Super- Super" has no less than four engines, the tandem pairs beingplaced side by side. The engines are Bristol " Jupiters," giving a total power of 1,800 b.h.p. Cabin accommodation Engineering Works, Ltd.and Co., Ltd. (" Castrol " Point of CallRochester BordeauxMarseilles Ajaccio MaltaBenghazi SollumAboukir Luxor . .Wady Haifa . . AbuhamedKhartum . . MalakalMongalla ButiabaKisumu Mwanza . .Kifjoma MpulunguYua Fort Johnston BeiraLorenco Marques DurbanKnysna Cape TownLuderitz . . Walnsh Bay . .Mossamedes . . Lobito Bay BomaLibreville LagosBingerville FreetownBathurst Port Etienne . .La Lux (Canary) MogadorGibraltar BarcelonaBordeaux PlymouthLondon (K.L.G. plugs) ; C. C. \\), Shell-Mex, 1 Approx.Distance. Miles0 770 280 220 535 420 375 450 390 300 500 320 450 400 230 300 210 460 300 200 340 450 530 320 600 300 550 290 580 240 520 600 600 540 730 430 570 570 430 440 630 370 460 310 .td. (Petrol),Dumps Petrol(Gals. (< 610 600 240 180 420 330 300 360 300 240 420 240 360 300 180 240 180 360 240 180 270 360 420 240 480 240 450 240 480 180 400 480 480 420 600 330 480 450 330 330 480 300 300 „ rakefield etc.of Oil .ials.)51 26 10£ io| 15 21 21 51 15 15 21 51 15 15 12 52 12 15 15 12 15 24 24 51 2115 18 12 24 52 2121 21 21 "51 15 21 21 154 15 20 101 15 is provided for 23 passengers in two cabins, 14 in one andnine in the other. 78 h.p. per passenger does not strike one as a particularly commercial proposition, but possiblythe quantity of fuel carried is sufficient for a considerable range. No performance figures are available, but the maindimensions of the " Super-Super" Wai are : length o.a., 24-6 m. (80 ft. 8 ins.) ; wing span, 28-5 m. (93 ft. 6 ins.) ;wing chord, 5-3 m. (17 ft. 5 ins.) ; total wing area. 143 sq. m. (1,540 sq. ft.). New Passenger MonoplaneTHE all-metal passenger monoplane " Inflexible," built by Beardmores, Ltd., to the designs of Dr. A. Rohrbach, theGerman designer, is shortly undergoing its first tests at the Air Ministry experimental aerodrome at Martlesham. It isfitted with three Rolls-Royce " Condors " of 700 h.p. each, and weighs about 20 tons. A Pioneer leaving England WE are sure our readers will learn with regret that Mrs.Hilda B. Hewlett has decided to leave England for good, and to take up her domicile in Xew Zealand. Mrs, Hewlett foundedthe firm of Hewlett and Blondeau in the very early days of flying, and her school at Brooklands was one of the mostpopular in the country. Later on the firm moved to Leagravc, Bedfordshire, and during the war a very large aircraft estab-lishment was erected, where many thousands of aeroplanes were produced. The firm of Hewlett and Blondeau alwayshad a reputation for good workmanship, and this was in no small measure due to the very practical personal interestwhich Mrs. Hewlett took in even the smallest detail. We are sure our readers will join us in wishing Mrs. Hewlett everyhappiness in her new home, and in hoping that she will not allow distance to dim her interest in the cause which she hasfor so long had at heart. i ! 778
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