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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0079.PDF
FEBRUARY 2, 1928 (c) the power of the engine to be increased as much as possible ; and (d) the weight of the engine to be kept as low as possible consistent with reliability. It was thought that a re-design of the engine so as to enable the drag of the fuselage to be reduced would have a greater influence on improving the performance of the aircraft than any increase in power which appeared feasible. The cylinder blocks had to project beyond the streamline shape contemplated, and were, therefore, made as small in external dimensions as possible, and arranged to have a smooth exterior at the outer ends, which would not require any additional external cowling. The cylinder blocks were provided with means for attaching cowling plates to fair in between the cylinder blocks and for attaching the cowling in front of and behind the blocks. The mounting of auxiliaries was then altered so as to give practically no interference with the fuselage. Thus, the magnetos were moved from the back to the front and placed parallel with the crankshaft in such a manner that they came inside the fairings. The water system was altered so that all pipes came inside the shape of the fuselage, by having outlet pipes in bottom of Vee between cylinder-blocks. Having " cleaned up " the engine, there remained thequestion of power output. Increased compression ratios and higher speeds of revolution were tried, and were foundpossible. These resulted in a considerable increase in power. When preparing the original scheme for the 1927 enginesit was decided to have no reduction gearing for the airscrews, as it was hoped that definite evidence as to airscrew efficiencieswould be available before the manufacture of the engines was commenced. Unfortunately, the full-scale research onairscrews was delayed, and some engines of the direct-drive type were put in hand. Some time after this it was thoughtthat a reduction gear would be desirable, and it was desired to have both geared and ungeared engines. By this timethe machines had been designed, and it was thus important that the gearing should be of a form that would not requireany considerable alteration to the machines. Consequently, the type of gear adopted was of the double reduction type,having a single layshaft, the airscrew and crankshaft being co-axial. The layshaft was placed above the airscrew shaftso as to fit inside the fairing of the centre cylinder-block. A film taken at Venice during the actual race was thenshown. THE "METALLISATION" OF MATERIALS A DISPLAY was given by British Airships, Ltd., at the Hotel Victoria in Northumberland Avenue on Monday of this week of articles treated by the new Einstein process of electrically depositing metal on non-metallic materials. As first announced in FLIGHT last week, the sole world's rights for this process have been acquired by British Airships, Ltd., of 21, Northumberland Avenue, London, W.C.2, to whom in future all communications concerning the new process should be addressed. The articles displayed were of a very varied nature, and ranged from glass articles on which silver patterns had been deposited, to brown paper washers covered with copper, and turned into packing glands. That the new process has a very large number of applications is scarcely to be doubted. As to how far it can be applied to aircraft works still remains to be seen. No technical particulars were available, nor any test results of materials treated by the Einstein process. It would appear that the new process (which consists in dipping the article to be " plated " in a solution which is the secret of the inventor, and the object of which is to turn London-Paris Record CAPT. A. S. WILCOCKSON, of Imperial Airways, flew a Handley-Page air liner from London to Paris in 90 minutes on January 19. His average speed was 150 m.p.h., which was a record for this type of machine on the service. The equivalent record for the distance amongst the smaller commercial machines is 87 minutes. R.A.F. Sport ON January 18, the R.A.F. team beat Bedfordshire by three goals to one at Bedford. Play was even in the first half, but on the whole the R.A.F. was the better combination. The R.A.F. were beaten at rugger by Cambridge University on January 18 by one goal and six tries (23 points) to three tries (9 points). the game took place at Cambridge in wretched weather. In Canada IN our recent article on the commercial progress ot the DH" Moth," mention was made of Western Canada Airways, Ltd., and Mr. J. H. Holley, the pilot who taught Sir Alan Cobham to fly. There has been an amalgamation between the two parties now, and under the new arrangement Mr. Holley will be manager of a flying school and also be in charge of passenger transport and aerial advertising. This activity- started on January 1. A branch of Western Canada Airways, Ltd., will continue to carry passengers at week-ends and holi- days from the Red River at River Park. The machines used are " Moths." Their school is attracting many pupils from all over Western Canada. Off a Street! , T OQ MR CLARENCE CHAMBERLIN left New \ ork on January 2.3 for an air tour of the United States, in course of which he intends to travel 30,000 miles. His purpose will also be to lecture Forty-eight States and Cuba will be visited. Before the non-metallic material into a conductor, and then placing it in a special bath for electrically depositing metal on it), might be useful in covering certain aircraft parts of wood so as to protect them against moisture. Seaplane floats instantly come to mind. The matter of coating aircraft fabric is still too much in the experimental stage to enable one to express an opinion. Sufficient adhesion between the metal coat and the underlying fabric is a first consideration. For airship work the question of permeability is important. We understand that a series of experiments is about to be commenced which should settle these questions. As it is gathered that any metal can be electrically deposited by the Einstein process, there might also be possibilities of anti-corrosion treatment of Duralumin, or even of lighter metals, such as magnesium alloys, with chromium, for instance. Should that be found possible, the effect on metal construction might be very pronounced. But, as we have said, at the present moment sufficient information is not available to enable any very decided opinions to be formed. <$> <$> his departure, he took off in his Sperry Messenger machine from a busy street. He wheeled it from the Kirkham Pro- ducts Factory into the street, waited for a gap in the traffic, and then ascended, afterwards repeating the feat. His machine has a wing span of only 20 ft., and is considered the smallest in America. Indian AviationTHE Aero Club of India is striving for a larger Government expenditure on aviation, and in particular on ground organi-sation. The R.A.F. has most of the existing aerodromes, many of which are not suitable for civil use. Seaplane basesare required at Calcutta and Rangoon, between which an air service may be organised. It will be subsidised by the IndianGovernment, but the conditions of the subsidy will require a majority of Indian directors on the operating company,and Indian pilots. The vote for civil aviation for the current year is /30.000, the greater part of this being needed for theDirectorate of Civil Aviation. Celebrations at Cowes To celebrate his golden wedding, Mr. S. E. Saunders, O.B.E., and Mrs. Saunders, entertained the employees of his boat-building and aviation company to supper on January 16 at Cowes. The party of guests numbered over 400, and included many private guests. Among them were Sir George Shedden and Lady Shedden, Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Saunders, Capt. D. Nicolson, Col. Outram, Chief of the A.I.D., and officers from the R.A.F. station at Calshot. The following evening, over 350 old townspeople were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Saunders at tea, and next day the children of the town joined in the celebrations. The kiddies, numbering about 600, between the ages of 7 and 14, spent a delightful time at tea, followed by Punch and Judy, etc. On January 21 his employees at the Gunville and Afton brickworks, and on his farm and garden at Padmore, were also his guests at dinner. 67
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