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Aviation History
1929
1929 - 0572.PDF
FLIGHT, MARCH 21, 1929 compensate themselves. A pressure gauge may be inserted in the system if desired. The adoption of wheel brakes, it is claimed, gives advantages which may be summarised as follows :—Makes the machine safer on the ground, permits of the use of tail wheels, lessens the wear and tear of aerodromes and reduces number of ground personnel, permits of the use of roller bearing wheels which reduces upkeep costs and shortens the run to " take off." Enables the machine to land and pull up in a smaller field. Braked run may be 50 per cent, of unbraked run. Gives to the single-engined machine the manoeuvrability of a twin. Lessens the stresses in tail portion of fuselage owing to the abolition of tail skid. And finally the use of brakes enables higher landing speeds to be safely employed with the consequent increase in top speed and efficiency. These brakes have been designed in collaboration with the Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., for use with their disc wheels, and with Palmer Tyres. Ltd., for use with their wire wheels. <•> BOOK REVIEWS "THE BAGHDAD AIR MAIL"* THE story of the Baghdad Air Mail gives us an exampleof the useful work carried out by the Royal Air Forcein addition to the normal service routine. The R.A.F. Squadrons who forged the trail of 866 miles between Cairo and Baghdad after the war, and conveyed the air mail for so long, have made possible the coming air service to India ; whilst their pioneer flights led to the present successful air services between Cairo and Basra, now run by Imperial Airways, Ltd. They fought all the hardships of that desolate land of the Arabs, blazing a track across the desert for guidance, laying down landing grounds and emergency petrol supplies, and conciliating the Arab tribes with their presence. So that, today, the services can be run in comparative safety and with great reliability. The story of this pioneering in the desert has been told by Wing-Commander Roderic Hill, M.C., A.F.C., F.R.Ae.S. (Fellow of University College, London). Perhaps no one, who took such an active and valuable part in the work, was more fitted to be its historian. For he is as facile with his pen as with his pencil. He lived intensely during his experiences, as all artists do, and he can express himself with that sensitiveness to his surroundings as only artists can. The desert and the Arab nomads of the desert fascinated him, and he is not afraid to express his sheer wonderment and pure joy. It was, for the reviewer, a great pleasure to find a distinguished airman so eager to be sincere about his feelings. Like all artists, he is not blase towards life. He has not that cold pose, like one to whom the riddle of all life is solved, and who finds no occasion for enthusiasm, sentiment and whimsicality. " Although he had then been flying for nine years or more, he could write about his air adventures, his little fears and his little joys, as though they were as fresh to him as they would be to a novice. It is this confession of humanity in Wing-Commander Roderic Hill which raises his book above the ordinary level of autobiographical literature. He tackles his subject with a sweeping comprehensiveness. First he describes how they made the air mail route, then he paints some fine pictures of the country, and finally, in the form of a diary, he narrates his personal experiences. Essentially his story quickens when he is describing those flights between Cairo and Baghdad with the mail. Nights were regularly * "The Baghdad Air Mail," by Wing-Commander Roderic Hill. Pub-lishers, Edward Arnold and Co., 18s. net. (18s. 6rf. post free, FLIGHT Offices). spent in the desert at emergency landing places, and personal encounters with the nomadic Arabian tribes were frequent. The electric atmosphere of those encounters is well drawn by the author. There were anxious moments for the crew of the Vickers " Vimy," or " Victoria," or " Vernon," when the tribes bore down upon them unexpectedly from a desert that had seemed empty to the gaze. This sudden springing from nowhere is a peculiar faculty of the Arab. But the tribes seemed more cheerfully curious than antagonistic towards the men from the West with their strange machine. They were mostly dangerous in their inquisitiveness towards the machine, anti had to be tactfully restrained. Cigarettes, as usual, seemed to be the most .effective bond of good relation- ship, although it was unwise to practise Western politeness as a host. If an Arab was offered a cigarette he would try and take the case as well ! Their sheikhs appeared to be very friendly to the airmen, and they would readily restrain the tendencies of the wilder followers. Altogether, one gets a pleasant impression of those nomads. They had to be treated diplomatically, of course, but when they were friends they seemed to be very amiable, chuckling schoolboys, always read - for a joke. One of the most serious obstacles facing the organisation of the air mail service was the provision of a means of guidance for the pilots. Particularly was a guide necessary in the case of a forced landing, for the chances of finding a stranded mac- hine which had been flying a theoretical course over the desert were remote. There were natural landmarks, of course, but they were considered too confusing. So it was decided that the track of the convoy cars across the desert was the best choice. This track, however, required constant survey and re-marking, but it was the ultimate solution of the problem. Much night flying was carried out, which enabled some pilots to make record flights between Cairo and Baghdad. The peculiar atmospheric effects in those latitudes added to the difficulties of a pilot trying to follow an elusive track. A horizon would appear to wobble and mirages would place villages and pools in unexpected positions, which befogged a pilot finding his way. It is impossible within the limits of a review to convey adequately a complete impression of the work of the Baghdad air mail. The book must be read. Readers will then be able to appreciate the splendid pioneering endeavours of the men and machines of those R.A.F squadrons on one of the most vital air routes in the world. "THE GREAT TRANS-PACIFIC FLIGHT"* NOW that the story of the Trans-Pacific flight of last yearhas been written by the two leaders of the crew, onelearns and appreciates how thoroughly it was organised with the means at their disposal, and what an experience was encountered. It was certainly a great flight, and it was successful in spite of the natural pessimism expressed in America, which had been engendered by the disastrous Dole competition. The fight to obtain the necessary financial support, which Kingsford-Smith and Charles ITlm had, was as remarkable as the flight itself. And it was tinged with romance. Both cherished the dream of conquering the Pacific by air for many years, unbeknown to each other, and, simultaneously, both went about Australia vainly seeking assistance. Once they met and passed on without their mutual ambition being discovered. When they did amalgamate they carried out a record circuit of Australia in 1927 in a Bristol Tourer biplane, c * uTheJGi,eatTTr?.nsJpacitic FliKht," by Sqdn.-Ldr. C. E. Kingsford-Smith, and Ht.-Lt. C. T. P. Vim, published bv Hutchison & Co., 12s. 6d. (13s. post free, FLIGHT offices). which was seven years old, fitted with a Siddeley " Puma engine, which had already done 1,100 hours. That flight drew Government and public support for the greater venture, and at last they were able to sail for America with reasonable optimism. But months of fluctuating fortune were suffered before the ambition was realised. They required a lot of money to organise the flight thoroughly They chose a Fokker monoplane, fitted with three Wright " Whirlwind " engines, and installed the best radio apparatus. Harry I.yon and James Warner, both Americans, one a skilled navigator, the other a skilled radio operator, were selected to complete the crew. Sir Hubert Wilkins sold them the machine (without engines) and treated his fellow countrymen generously, and the American Government kindly allowed three of their engines on order to be delivered at once to the airmen, because the factory could not cope immediately with new orders. Then agitation arose in Australia and the Government asked them to abandon the flight and return home. Such were their financial circumstances that they had to agree, 2,34
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