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Aviation History
1929
1929 - 0039.PDF
JANUARY 3, 1929 Accountant BranchSquadron Leader R. Whyte, to H.Q., Air Defence of Gt. Britain, Uxbridge, 14.11.28.Flight-Lieutenants : J. S. Griffiths and F. C. Chalmers, to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, 14.11.28.Flying Officers: Edward Smith, to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, 14.11.28. Robert Cassels, to No. 101 Sqdn., Bircham Newton, 29.12.28. Medical BranchFligkt-I.ieutmatits : L. I. Hyder, to No. 26 Sqdn., Catterick, 2.1.29. K. J. I. Bell, to R.A.F. Station, Biggin Hill, 12.12.28.Flight Lieutenants: E. C. K. H. Foreman, to Princess Mary's R.A.F. Hos- pital, Hal ton, 28.11.28. P. D. Barling, M.B., to R.A.F. Base, Malta, 25.11.28, L. Freeman, to C. & M. Party, Basrah, 29.11.28. J. O. Priestley, D.M.R.E.to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, 28.11.28. Flying Officer J. C. Neely, B.A., to R.A.F. Station, Hornchurch, 10.12.28. Flying Oficer A. L. St. McClosky, to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, 19.11.28. Chaplains Branch Rev. W. T. Rees, L.D., B.D., to No. 5 Flying Training Sch., Sealand,3.1.29. Rev. M. K. MacLeod, M.A., F.S.A., and Rev. A. H. Dolphin, A.K.C. to H.Q., R.A.F., Cranwell, 14.11.28. NAVAL APPOINTMENT The following appointment was made by the Admiralty on Decemlier 1!'Lieut. (Flying Officer, R.A.F.) C. N. Lentaigne, to Courageous. ACCOUNTANT OFFICERS, ROYAL AIR FORCETHE Air Ministry announces that an examination will be held in the latter part of March, 1929, under the scheme inaugurated in 1924 for the entry intothe Accountant Branch of the Royal Air Force of qualified and experienced civil accountants. About 5 vacancies are likely to be available. The agelimits are 22 to 26, extensible to 30 for certain candidates having previous service in the Forces. The competition will be held in London by the Civil Service Commissioners,and will include (1) an examination in book-keeping and accountancy (excluding partnership and executorship accounts), the standard being that*>f the final examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Society of Incorporated Accountants and Auditors ; (2) an examination inEnglish and general knowledge (essay, precis and questions to test know- ledge of matters of general interest) ; and (3) an interview before a selectionboard at which stress will be laid on accounting experience and special weight given to the type of experience provided by articled service. The emoluments of an Accountant Officer consist on the one hand of pay,and on the other of accommodation, fuel, light, rations and personal attend- ance provided in kind. When the latter are not available cash allowancesare granted in lieu. The total of the pay and cash allowances of accountant officers range at present rates from about £400 a year for an officer on firsttaitry to £1,132 a year for a married officer in the highest rank. The Accountant Branch provides a permanent career. It is not, of course,possible to pledge the future, but so far as present foresight can show the Branch will be subject to no sudden changes affecting adversely the fortunesui its officers. The Air Force is at present a growing service, and the duties thrown on the Accountant Branch are such as will, so far as can be foreseen,always be required. Officers enter the Branch with the rank of Pilot Officer and on probation.ft twelve months' satisfactory service they arc confirmed in their com- mission and promoted to Flying Officer. Thereafter promotion is by selec-tion. The next ranks are Flight Lieutenant and Squadron Leader, and it is contemplated that officers who give satisfactory service should be promotedat least up to the latter rank, while a reasonable proportion would be able to expect promotion to the higher rank of Wing Commander and some tothe rank of Group Captain. It must be understood that promotion depends on requirements and requirements on future circumstances, but the policyof the Air Ministry is directed to ensuring to Accountant Officers a career not inferior to that indicated above. The length of the career provided depends on the rank attained. Thecompulsory retiring ages are for Squadron Leaders 53, for Wing Commanders 57 and for Group Captains 60 ; any officers not attaining the rank of SquadronLeader would be retired at the age of 50. Application should be made to the Secretary, Air Ministry (S.7), Kingsway,London, W.C. 2, for the regulations and for'application forms. Completed application forms should reach the Air Ministry by February 1 next, or atlatest by February 15. Royal Air Force Flying AccidentsTHE Air Ministry regrets to announce that as the result of a collision in the air near Whittlesford between two Siskin machines of the StationFlight, Duxford, and No. 19 (Fighter) Squadron, on December 10, 203773, Flight Sergeant Osmond Cecil Tqstevin, the pilot and sole occupant of oneof the aircraft, was killed. The pilot and sole occupant of the other machine made a safe descent by parachute. As the result of an accident south-west of Khartoum to a Fairey 3F machineof No. 47 (Bombing) Squadron, Khartoum, on December 26, 1928, Flying Officer Arnold William Alexander Ricks, the pilot of the aircraft, and thepassengers, Capt. James Charles Doyle, Aeronautical Inspection Directorate, and 82899, Sergeant Charles Leonard Long, were killed. CORRESPONDENCE THE " MOTOR CYCLE OF THE AIR " 12180]. With reference to the Dickson " Beetle," of which particulars appeared in the Aircraft Engineer of December 27, I am sure that readers of FLIGHT, who are interested in small single-seaters would like to know more of the detail of the design of this machine, in support of the figures stated respect- ing the selling price. It would appear that the machine in question is of more or less normal construction, and it is probably fair to say that normal construction in aeroplane work implies the manu- facture of a considerable number of relatively small parts which have to be joined together for assembly into com- ponents. Apart altogether from the question of the materials •employed, the process of uniting one piece to another is a process which costs money, and the use of thin sheet metal tends rather to increase this item of expenditure, at least in a design involving numerous stifleners. Taking the fuselage, for instance, the construction can be •either of normal form, i.e., longerons, struts and ties of suitable section to carry the loads, in which case there does not seem any point in covering with metal; or else it must consist of a metal shell suitably stabilised to act as a rectangular tube without buckling. In this case, one would imagine that the stabilisation would have to split the surface up into panels of not more than 6 ins. square to do any good—the fuselage sides being flat, since the heaviest duralumin sheet permissible would probably be 24 S.W.G. The same remarks apply to a certain extent to the wings and tail unit, except that the curvature of the surface would allow rather larger rectangles of unsupported skin. If this be so, the amount of jointing—by riveting or otherwise—would be considerable and it' is thought that labour costs alone would be too high to permit of the selling price mentioned, especially when the cost of the engine, profit, overheads, and so on, are taken into account. For my part, I can see no hope for a ^300 machine unless the number of parts comprising the machine and the assembly of them is very 9trictly limited, and for that reason alone have advocated the use of comparatively thick three-ply for the shell of both fuselage and wings and tail unit, thus reducing the number of formers and stiffeners to an absolute minimum. Using three-ply in this way renders " spars " as such un- necessary. That is to say, instead of spars there would be light planks running transversely through the wings, etc.. only to act as stabilisers to the skin. These need not be spindled or lightened, and the labour on them is thus confined to planing them up to shape. Apart from these members, there would be a limited number of formers to keep the desired wing section, and these again need only be light planks planed to the required section. If the covering were of metal instead, the number of these items would be increased enormously. The interest aroused by the discussion of the possibilities of a ^300 machine, initiated by FLIGHT, has been remarkable, and I have received so much correspondence on the subject lately that I have gone more fully into the matter, revising my original scheme—which was outlined in FLIGHT recently —where experience has shown me that I was then too optimistic. After carefully assessing the detail cost of each item of my own design—which is of the stressed skin type and therefore in my opinion, the cheapest form, I have come to the con- clusion that ^350 is the lowest price for moderate quantities, allowing only £80 for the cost of the motor. Whether or not this figure could be reduced to /300 if the production were equal to that of the " Moth " at the present time, I would rather not say, but I am quite sure that ^250 is not a reason- able figure. It is important to note that the figures for estimated costs which I had taken were based on the assumption' that the machine could be constructed by an amateur, who would doubtless purchase materials of good, but not necessarily oj " aircraft " quality, from sources possibly independent of the aircraft industry. No inspection charges were included, either on raw material nor on the finished article, nor were there any allowances for design costs, testing, administrative or advertising charges, or any of those items which must of necessity be associated with an organisation capable of producing machines in quantities. There is no relation, therefore, between the cost of building an aeroplane as a home-made article, with the selling price of an aeroplane produced by a manufacturing concern, and, further, an amateur's estimated costs are liable to omit the possibility of scrap and waste occurring through the necessity for experiment. Perhaps your correspondent has overlooked inspection, overheads, etc., in quoting his prices ior production in quantities. CLIFFORD W. TINSON 17
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