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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0259.PDF
APRIL 5, 1928 cross section, the sides sloping inward at a fairly pronouncedangle from the bottom longerons to the top. Doubtless this arrangement was chosen in order that the view from the" cabin" might be reasonably good. The cabin is entered by a door in the side, and except for the openings in the walls,the occupants are enclosed. Probably the view diagonally forward is not too bad, but it is entirefy cut off in an upwarddirection by the wing. As the machine is intended for tour- ing rather than racing, this fact may not be really of greatmoment, but we doubt whether the arrangement would find favour in this country. The fuselage is ply-wood coveredfrom the nose to aft of the cabin, the rest being fabric covered. The 50 h.p. Anzani engine is uncowled and unfaired exceptfor a small aluminium fairing on each side to merge the crank case into the sides of the fuselage. The petrol tank is situatedin the wing, gravity feed being employed. Of unusual design is the undercarriage, which consists oftwo " trouser legs " entirely independent of each other, and each carrying a wheel on a short stub axle. The two strutsare cantilevers, and must be fairly heavy to withstand not only such side loads as may be imposed by landing with aslight drift, but also lateral bending due to the method of mounting the wheels. The " Korsa 1 " is certainly of clean design, and in view of its various unusual features we have thought that this brief description might be of interest in showing how a Swiss designer has tackled the problem of a light two-seater.Following are the main data relating to the " Korsa I " : — Wing span, 12 m. (39-3 ft.) ; length overall, 6-8 m. (22-3ft.) ; wing area, 17-5 sq. m. (188-5 sq. ft.) ; weight empty, 300 kg. (660 Ib.) ; useful load and fuel, 260 kg. (572 lb.j ;gross weight, 560 kg. (1,232 lb.) ; wing loading, 32 kg. sq. m. (6-54 1b. /sq. ft.) ; power loading (on 50 b.h.p.), 11-2 kg./h.p.(24-6 lb'./h.p.) spanJ/\V 1-25; "wing power," 2-86 hp./sq. m. (0-265 h.p./sq. ft.) ; maximum speed, 150 km.'h.(93 m.p.h. ) economical cruising speed, 120 km./h. (74-5 m.p.h.) ; landing speed, 55 km. ;h. (34 m.p.h.) ; climb to1,000 m. (3,280 ft.) in 4-5 minutes ; practical ceiling, 5,400 m. (17,700 ft.). Full-throttle range, 1,000 km. (620 miles) ;range at cruising speed, 1,200 km. (745 miles). Petrol con- sumption, 12 litres per 100 km. (23-5 miles per gallon). Everting Quantities High-speed figure —• = 22 Distance figure i; — = 6-3 Altitude figure r) ~ 2k, =8-8 All three figures are high and point to an efficient design, provided the performances claimed are actually attained. FLYING IN KENYA, E. AFRICA WE publish here an interesting letter from Kenya, describing the interest in flying there, with the pathetic reminiscence that the writer, Mr. Dudley Cowie, has since been killed in the recent air crash with Mrs. Carberry, who was also killed. He wrote :—" Flying has progressed tremend- ously in Kenya. A very enterprising Aero club has been started and several people have already imported machines, while I hear that negotiations are being carried out for the commencement of a commercial scheme to serve the three countries : i.e., Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika. t- " Flying conditions here are voted better than in Europe or England, and the fact that practically the whole country offers numerous and safe landing grounds where machines could alight in the event of trouble, together with the absence of any fogs whatever are additional factors in favour of flying in Kenya. The only disadvantage experienced so far is the high altitude of most of the aerodromes, which are situated at from 5,000 to 6,000 ft. above sea level, necessitating a much higher landing and taking-off speed. " About three months ago, the capital, Nairobi, enthu- siastically greeted the arrival of three machines : a Fokker monoplane owned by Mr. John Carberry, a de Havilland " Moth " owned by Lieut.-Commander Robinson who, I under- stand, has undertaken the de Havilland agency in Kenya, and a Klemm-Daimler machine which is being advertised by a local firm. All three machines, although the former two are privately owned, undertook passenger nights, with the result that from a practically unknown sport, flying has become the week-end hobby of most Kenyans. 1 have been up several times and it is most delightful to view a country from the air, which 15 or 20 years ago, was travelled almost entirely on foot, and where the proud possessor of an ox waggon and team was held in the greatest respect and envy by the less fortu- nate. " Recently, the Fokker was taken over the plains, and its daring pilot amused himself and his passengers by diving low over the herds of game which abound, causing great consternation among them. " Another point of interest is that this same machine flew out from England alone. To the uninitiated, this ma 7 not sound such a tremendous feat, but when I say that there are many stretches (apart from flying over the Mediterranean) of a thousand miles or over, where it would be impossible to land without wrecking the machine, perhaps the magnitude of the undertaking will be appreciated. " In commencing this letter, it was my intention merely to thank you most sincerely for your courtesy and promptitude in dealing with my last letter, also for the great trouble you took in sending me most full details (of light aeroplanes, Ed.), but while still wishing to do so, it occurred to me that yourreaders may be interested in news from far away Kenya, so that I have expanded the letter with these few local notes."First Air Meeting From another source we learn that Kenya's first flyingmeeting was held at the Nairobi Aerodrome recently under the auspices of the Aero Club of Kenya and Cobham-BlackburnAir Lines, Ltd. A large and representative crowd collected at 4 p.m., amongst those present being Sir Alan Cobham, SirEdward and Lady Denham, Major E. S. Grogan, and ("apt. Gladstone. Four machines participated : Mr. John Carberry'sFokker " Universal " monoplane, Mrs. Carberry's D.H. " Moth," Commander Robinson's D.H. " Moth," and Messrs.Africana's " Klemm-Daimler." Proceedings started with exhibition flights by the three smaller machines, CommanderRobinson thrilling the audience with a series of stunts, which included looping the loop and other contortions. The programme, apart from exhibition flights, consisted ofthree events. The first was a race over a course of 23 miles, in which the two D.H. " Moths." conceded the Klemm-Daimler 5 mins. start. This event was won easily by Mr. J. Carberry, who maintained a speed of 86 miles per hour,in spite of three circles being included in the course ; the Klemm-Daimler, which is not designed for racing, coming inserenely several minutes after both D.H. " Moths " had settledi A landing competition, however, gave the littleKlemm an opportunity of demonstrating its powers. The third competition consisted of dropping bombs—paper bagsfilled with white flour—on to a moving motor-car. This is evidently not so easy as one might think, very few direct hitsbeing registered ; the winner proving to be Mr. Graham Dawson, who was carried as a passenger in one of the D.H." Moths." A considerable number of the public participated in this event, numerous ascents being made by the twoD.H. " Moths " and the " Klemm-Daimler " in order to test the marksmanship of as many venturesome spectators as couldbe accommodated in the time available. In a brief speech, during the prize distribution ceremony,Sir Alan Cobham stressed the admirable flying conditions in Kenya and foreshadowed at an early date a regular com-mercial air service between Khartoum, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Nairobi. As a matter of fact, many commercial flights havealready been made. Two enterprising partners in a Nairobi motor'firm chartered Mr. Carberry's Fokker for the purpose ofinspecting their branches at Nakuru, Eldoret, and Jinja, and speak very highly of the advantages offered to busy menby this comfortable form of transport. Trips between Nairobi, Nyeri, Nakuru and Eldoret have frequently beenmade, and no news has been received of a single forced landing. Avro " Avian " in AustraliaTHE Larkin Aircraft Supply Co., Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, are the Australian representatives for Messrs. A. V.Roe and Co., Ltd., and Messrs. A. D. C. Aircraft, Ltd. Four Avro " Avian-Cirrus " light aeroplanes were recently landedin Australia for training and demonstration purposes. Pilot's " A " LicenceWE have already reviewed Mr. John F. Leeming's little book entitled " Pilot's ' A ' Licence," which makes clear andsimple what is necessary to know to obtain an " A " licence. It is now in its second edition and publised in excellent formby Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., at 3s. %d. 231
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