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Aviation History
1929
1929 - 0115.PDF
JANUARY 17, 1929 DRfVA FLYING A Section of FLIGHT in the Interests of the Private Owner, Owner-Pilot, and Club Member TESTING AMERICAN AIRCRAFT By LADY HEATH IF not all the world collected at the Chicago AeronauticalExposition, certainly all the world's aircraft were at the Muni- cipal Air Port to let prospective buyers try out the machinesthey had seen in the show. I visited the aerodrome one day and counted over 200 ships on the flying field, most of thempegged down to the frozen ground in the open. I do not know whether it was due to American gallantry or an implicitfaith in British licensing, but I had the option of flying every machine on the field solo. I was faced with the necessityof making rapid choices. Time limited me so much that 1 was only able to fly three. The first was the Sikorsky " Amphibian," which looks as its maker describes it, like a bundle of spare parts thrown together, but has a most interesting performance. In fact, I believe the most interesting performance of any aircraft in America today. It is extremely light to fly and can be side-slipped and swish-tailed like a light aeroplane. The dual control has really only one stick which pivots halfway down and can be turned to either of the side-by-side seats in the pilots' cockpit. It has a very low rate ol speed—about 43 m.p.h. Its climb is amazing. With one engine throttled entirely down it can still climb, and the adjustable fin and rudders take the load off the stick when flying with either of the two engines. Shortly after I had the pleasure of flying this machine, it took off for Detroit with about 500-lb. overload. This seems to make no difference whatever to the take-off. It left the ground in about 100 yards. The only objection to this machine that I can see is that one has to rise in one's adjustable seat to see over the nose of the single pontoon. The second machine I flew was the Fairchild 21. There were moments when I almost regretted this. This little aeroplane is only in the experimental stages and has the makings in it of one of the finest light aeroplanes in the world, but the wheel brakes were very stiff and she ran in concentric circles with me like the " Avro " 504 K before I got accustomed to it. In the air I found her under-ruddered and with too little range of elevator. I understand that the firm is fitting larger empennage control surfaces. The top speed is very fast and quite up to the specifications, although the landing speed is a bit higher. I felt that I was making a piteous exhi- bition in trying to get to the starting point where a traffic man had control of operations, sending off, all day, machines at 15 min. intervals. Great things may be expected from this light aeroplane in the near future. The third machine I tried was, to my mind, the pleasantest. The " Husky Junior," made by the Consolidated Air Craft Co. of Buffalo. Although outside the light aeroplane class and with a 110-h.p. engine, this aeroplane lands under 40 m.p.h It had no air speed indicator, but I reckon she did not drop until about 32 m.p.h. The overall factor of safety is 10. But for most parts it is 11-5. The factor of safety for the fuselage and cockpits is 22. I felt it was a privilege to fly this machine and hated bringing her down. The controls are beautifully balanced and she stunts as if she wanted to. One was even tempted, owing to the harness, to try her upside down a little way, a performance she takes very well owing to the wing section. I can honestly say that I have never flown an aeroplane that I liked so well at first sight ; although I was flying with no instruments whatsoever. The designer has taken many of his ideas from, the old Avro, and has studied extensively the leading European makes. The model I flew, has a second windscreen between the cockpit, not as shown in the specifications. One had a curious feeling in this aeroplane that it would be utterly impossible under any circumstances to break it. It is not fitted with wheel brakes, but I reckon it pulled up with engine still on within forty yards of where she first touched ground. Among the other aeroplanes which I have tried at other times were :— Standard " Bellanca," which has a long float, but a very sensitive landing. Stinson " Detroiter." The model I flew had the cockpit wired in and one felt like a bird in a cage, none too good. The "Travel Air." Rather underpowered with the old Ox 5 engine, but a very nice machine, though somewhat too sensitive to rudder control. Stout All-metal Triplane. This was equipped with the standard engines and felt rather underpowered. The newer models have got the higher-powered " Wright " engines and give, I understand, a very pleasing variation of speed. FROM LONDON TO THE GOLD COAST THE following account of Captain R. S. Rattray's flight to the Gold Coast has been received from Mr. Graham Mac- kinnon— It was a cold and foggy day, December 5, when many friends and relations of Captain R. S. Rattray, a Provincial Commissioner on the Gold Coast, gathered at Croydon Aero- drome to see him off on his 5,000 miles' lone flight in G-EBZZ to the Gold Coast. After many consultations with the weather experts, in spite of adverse conditions Captain Rattray decided to get as far as Lympne that day. In the hangar men were busy lashing various spares to the little machine which seemed so frail for the long journey in front of it. But it was a De Havilland " Moth " with a Cirrus engine, whose record for reliability inspired confidence in Captain Rattray's enterprise. The machine was pushed out on to the tarmac whilst the round of farewells was made which marked the beginning of a flight which has been Captain Rattray's dream for years. " Ashanti " took off like a heli- copter and circled the Aerodrome and made off through a low cloud. From that time onwards brief telegrams gave us glimpses of his journey. We have since learned that the landing at Lympne was undertaken in very unfavourable conditions, visibility being only a few yards owing to thick mist. After leaving Lympne on December 6, Poix de la Somme was reached when more fog was experienced, making a delay of a day. December 7 saw Captain Rattrav's arrival at Le Bourget, Paris, when he was regrettably delayed for eight days owing to fog and snow. In spite of unfavourable conditions, he left later for Avignon, finding his way over the outskirts of Paris after which he was able to follow the Paris-Lyons railway- line, only to be delayed again by a gale of 90 km. an hour. At Lyons a hasty note described his experiences. " I did Paris to Lyons in one hop, had a snack and was going on to Perpignan when, about 3 p.m., I realised I was running into something as ZZ was doing about 140 miles an hour and some very bad bumps. On seeing this I decided to turn back and land. WTien I turned into the wind (I had to guess it as the flag here was blown away), I could hardly make any headway against it and guessed I was in for trouble. It was my metal prop that saved the machine from turning completely over as I bounced 20 ft. in the air and it supported the machine where a wooden prop would have broken off. Not a thing damaged. From my lessons at A.D.C I was enabled to change it myself." He arrived at Avignon safely on the 17th and there was a further delay caused by fog until the 21st, when he left to fly over the very rocky country and round the steep cliffed coast where there is no landing grounxi for miles, en route for Barcelona. Barcelona was reached by December 21 and Captain Rattrav must have been relieved to have left behind the most 47
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