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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0988.PDF
OCTOBER 18, 1928 of modesty or by one of superiority and aloofness we arenaturally not in a position to say. To foreign visitors, the spectacle of a German aircraft constructor exhibiting in theGerman hall of the exhibition, but separated therefrom by a high wall is rather amusing, and would not easily find itscounterpart in any other country. Germany may have turned democratic, but the spirit does not yet appear to havepermeated the whole of the German aircraft industry. • The Junkers' stand is one of surpassing interest, and thefact that almost any accredited visitor to the stand can fairly easily arrange for a visit to the works at Dessau provesthat the firm does not believe in secrecy. In fact, it is pro- bably this very hospitality which accounts in a large measurefor the extent to which Junkers aircraft are known the world over to-day. One may not be an admirer of the forms ofconstruction which Professor Junkers has developed. It is not very difficult to find fault with them on theoreticalgrounds, but like Fokker's welded steel-tube fuselage con- struction, the " proof of the pudding is in the eating." Themachines do appear to stand up to their work, and with the mass-production plant which has been created at Dessau, thecost of the Junkers machines is relatively low. One might write at great length on the exhibits other thancomplete aircraft on the Junkers' stand, but the present section is intended to deal with large commercial aircraftonly, and this narrows the subject down to the large G.31 three-engined machine shown in the centre of the stand, withtwo smaller types on either side. The Junkers type G.31 is not a new type, having been inregular use for some time not only on the internal German lines but also on the London route, so that visitors toCroydon aerodrome will already be familiar with the machine. The writer of these notes has not yet had thepleasure of travelling in the Junkers G.31, but he has spoken to quite a large number of air travellers who have madeflights in this machine, and one and all are agreed that for sheer comfort the G.31 would be hard to beat. The rigidityof the multi-spar wing structure, and the padding of the cabin walls result in a saloon in which it is quite easy tocarry out a conversation with a fellow passenger in a normal voice. That the extra weight of the cabin equipment mustof necessity increase the tare weight of the machine, and thus either result in a smaller pay load or a greater power loadingmust be admitted, and the G.31 represents in this respect a policy which departs rather notably from that adhered toby our own air line company, the directors of which have internal structure partly tubular and partly of built-up channel section members. On the exhibition machine the central engine is of the geared type and drives a four-bladed airscrew, while the [" FLIGHT " Sketch The Arado Commercial Monoplane has a fairly elaborate arrangement of wing and undercarriage strutting, as shown in this sketch. The shock absorbing element is in the form of rubber rings, arranged as in the Fokker machines. two wing engines are direct drive and fitted with two-bladed propellers. Reference has already been made to the comfortable cabin. The cockpit also is exceptionally well appointed, and pro- tected by large wind screens. One of our photographs shows a portion of the cockpit, from which the very excellent lay- out of the controls, instruments, &c, can be seen. m m m m m m m y« SSi s s Hi as m m m The Arado V. is passenger mono- plane fitted with Pratt & Whitney " Hornet " en- gine. S H flBflOO v MKKIVtm imm tt.e«eti always placed greater importance on having a good powerreserve than on giving the passengers a maximum of comfort. I* Constructionally the G.31 follows normal Junkers practice.The low monoplane wing is of the familiar multi-spar con- struction, with covering of corrugated Duralumin. Thefuselage is covered with the same material, and has an The main dimensions of the Junkers G.31 are : Length .o.a., 16-2 m. (54-1 ft.).; wing span, 30-5 m. (100 ft.); wing area," 94-5 sq. m. (1,015 sq. ft.); tare weight, 4,400 kg. (9,675 lbs.) ; permissible load, 3,600 kg. (7,920 lbs.) ; total loaded weight, 8,000 kg. (17,595 lbs.). Maximum speed, 205 km./h. (127 m.p.h.). 918
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