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Aviation History
1929
1929 - 0120.PDF
JAHUARY 17, 1929 ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION BY AIR £T was only towards the end of last September that the Australian explorer, Sir Hubert Wilkins, set sail from New York for Deception Island to carry out a flight of discovery over Graham Land in the Antarctic. He has now completed his task according to reports from the American Press and is returning to civilisation. Next season he may return to extend the survey. With a non-stop flight of 650 miles in a Lockheed " Vega " monoplane he found that Graham Land is separated from the Antarctic Continent. Thus, a great problem has been solved with the very first Antarctic flight, justifying more cleirly than ever the utility of aircraft for exploration. By the old methods of progress Sir Hubert Wilkins would have been engaged on the completed survey for two or three Antarctic summers. The pilot of the Lockheed " Vega " on the flight was Lieut. Carl Eielson, who was the pilot on the Pole. It will be located in the section of the Antarctic, where Capt. Scott and Capt. R. Amundsen made their bases for the South Pole discovery. On December 2 the expedition left Dunedin, New Zealand, for the base. The machines to be used include a Fokker Super-Universal monoplane fitted with a Pratt and Whitney " Wasp " 450-h.p. engine, a Fairchild cabin monoplane, a Ford three-engined monoplane, an Aristocrat monoplane ; and a D.H. " Moth " has also been mentioned. The Fokker monoplane has extra fuel tanks giving the machine a cruising radius of 2,500 miles. Of the total of four tanks three are fitted in the wing and the fourth on the floor of the cabin. There is accommodation for several passengers besides the pilot and mechanic in spite of the cabin tank, which can easily be detached if required. There is also room for loose gallon petrol tins. An oil tank of 15 gallons capacity and an expansion space of 20 per cent. 0 200 K 400 20 600 800 ETRES 1000 0 70 200 AOT 8O 600 1LES 800 coo ANTARCTIC AIR EXPLORATIONS : Sir Hubert Wilkins' base is located at Deception Island off Graham Land which he has already explored by air. Commander Richard Byrd's expedition is to operate from the Bay of Whales in the section of the Antarctic from which Capt. Scott and Capt. R. Amundsen made their way to the South Pole. same machine when the Arctic was flown from Point Barrow to Spitzbergen last year by Sir Hubert. Another pilot, Mr. J. Grossman, also helped on this Antarctic expedition, whilst the mechanic was Mr. Orval Porter. Pontoons were fitted for some of the flights, specially designed and constructed by the Fairchild Aviation Corporation to serve as emergency landing gear on ice as well as for the usual take-off from water. The machine is a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a fuselage which looks like a monocoque but is really a bivalve with the halves of the shell made of spruce veneer glued together and pressed to shape in a huge mould under pressure. There is cabin accommodation for four to six passengers and side-door entrance. The pilot is in a front cockpit under a cut-out portion of the leading edge and the windscreen can be extended over this and totally enclose him. A Wright " Whirlwind 220-h.p. engine is fitted. Other exploration flights in the Antarctic can be expected soon by Commander R. Byrd's expedition, which is to operate from a base in the Bay of Whales, much nearer the South of its volume is under the pilot's seat and can be filled during flight. It is air-cooled, having connections with the air stream. To obtain more warmth for the crew the fireproof bulkhead has been taken away, whilst further heat and ventilation are gained by the cockpit heater. A high-pressure Pyrene fire extinguisher system is installed to compensate for the absent fireproof bulkhead. The " Wasp " engine has a new type manifold heater, through which hot air from the area round the exhaust is carried to the air intake. The heater is regulated by manual control. With standard adjustable nose cowling the heater gives the correct temperature for efficient operation of the power plant. Complete wireless apparatus is installed. The performance of this machine includes a top speed of 140 m.p.h. and a cruising speed of 118 m.p.h. with a landing speed of 42 m.p.h. Service ceiling is 18,000 ft. Commander Byrd's Fairchild cabin monoplane has a Pratt & Whitney " Wasp " engine, too, and some alterations were made for the exploration flights. New skis can now be fitted with a SO
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