FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1930
UNTITLED0 - 0090.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 3, 1930 A1RISMS FROM THE FOUR WINDS Mr. Chichester's Flight to Australia MR. CHICHESTER had a slight mishap when he landed near Tripoli on December 21. The trouble, however, was not due to engine trouble as reported last week. He had arranged for the aerodrome to be lighted at Tripoli, but when he arrived there, nothing had been done, so he landed on the sand dunes and in doing so broke his airscrew. A new one has been sent out and he should be proceeding shortly. The report which said he was unmarried was also very regrettably untrue, but a tragic sequel is the news that his wife died in New Zealand about the same time as he left Croydon. The French Flights to Saigon A MESSAGE from Tunis states that the bodies of MM. Lassale, Rebard and Faltot, who have been missing since December 15, have been found beside the wreckage of their machine near Sirte, on the coast of Cyrenaica. Death was apparently instantaneous. The three airmen were attempting a flight from Paris to Saigon (Indo-China), and had left Tunis for Benghazi on the morning of the 15th. The French Air Ministry has received a telegram from M. Le Brix, the French airman who, with M. Rossi, set out on December 16 last on a flight from Paris to Saigon (Indo-China1!, stating that he and his companion were forced to take to their parachutes while flying near Moulmein, Burma, on December 23. M. Rossi was slightly hurt, but M. Le Brix was un- injured. The machine was destroyed. The Search for Lieut. Eielson SEMYON SHESTAKOV, the Russian pilot who recently flew from Moscow to New York, has been selected by the Soviet Government to head the expedition of three Soviet aeroplanes in the search for Lieut. Eielson and Mr. Borland, his mechanic, who have been missing in the neighbourhood of North Cape, Siberia, since November 9. Exploration in the Antarctic CAPTAIN RIISER LARSEN, of the Royal Norwegian Navy, who is leading the Norwegian exploration and research expedition in Antarctic regions on board the ship Norvegia, which has been equipped bv Mr. Lars Christensen, of Sandef- jord, reports by wireless that he. with Captain Luctzow Holm, also of the Royal Norwegian Navy, has discovered new land between Kemp Land and Enderby Land, in the King Haakon VII Sea, and has taken possession of it in the name of the King of Norway in accordance with the provisions of international law. Captain Larsen reports that he and his companion left the Norvegia in one of the two seaplanes carried by the ship and alighted on an open stretch of water close to the shore. They then proceeded ashore on skis and hoisted the Norwegian flag. Later they flew back to the Norvegia, which was then about 100 nautical miles off shore. Sir Hubert Wilkins, head of the expedition financed by Mr. Hearst, in a wireless message to New York from the steamer William Scoresby, indicates that by December 26 he will have established a base near Alexander Island, from which with a seaplane he will make another raid into the unknown Antarctic. Commander Byrd will be leaving shortly for America, and it is anticipated that the maps he has made, together with Sir Hubert Wilkins's discoveries, will provide geographical knowledge of the farthest South, hitherto only speculative or absent. Wilkins reports that he and his men, despite the low temperatures, are being tanned by the Antarctic sun as if they were in the tropics. Midshipmen's Air Course A REMINDER is given in current Fleet Orders that every effort is to be made to ensure that all midshipmen undergo the junior officers' air course while holding that rank. The names of those who are unable to do so are. to be specially reported to the Admiralty on discharge to shore courses, in order that arrangements may be made for them to undergo the course after appointment as sub-lieutenant. Death of Dr. Maybach DR. WILHEI.M MAYBACH died at Stuttgart on December 29. He was 84 years of age. After he retired from the direction of the Daimler works in 1907, his son, Dr. Karl Maybach, produced the first of his airship engines and subsequently founded the Maybach Motorenbau G.m.b.H., at Friedrich- shaven. This success fired the old man so much that he came out of retirement to join his son and devoted himself to organisation and management, while his son managed the technical side of the factorv. R101 A VERY bold decision has been made with regard to the modifications of the airship R 101. This amounts to nothing less than inserting a new bay, consisting of transverse ring, lengths of longitudinals and a gas bag of 500,000 cub. ft. capacity. This decision was announced by the Under Secretary for Air in Parliament on December 18. A similar operation was carried out on the German commercial airship Bodensee, and on other Zeppelins. In those cases the insertion of the new bag affected either the factors of safety or, in the case of the Bodensee, the fineness ratio of the ship. In the case of R 101, it is calculated that neither the strength nor the streamline qualities will be appreciably affected, while the commercial qualities of the ship will be substantially improved. It is reckoned that the gross lift of the additional gas bag will be about 15-5 tons, while the additional structure will weigh about 5 tons. . The new bay will probably be placed between the eighth and ninth bays aft of the passenger coach. At the same time the capacity of the existing gasbags will be increased, as it has been found that the clearance between the bags and the frame was unnecessarily generous. This will give an additional 130,000 cub. ft. of gas which will increase the lift by about 4 tons. Several minor modifica- tions are also being carried out, such as the removal of the servo motor for operating the control surfaces, as it has been found that the coxswains can easily move these by hand. It is presumably not feasible to rebuild the passenger coach, but if that were done, it might be possible to save another ton on the weight of the flooring, without taking any risks with its strength. However, the modifications, which are not difficult and will not be very costly, should increase the lift by over 11 tons. The length will be increased to about 780 ft. The modifications should be complete in about three months. R 101 has given ample proof of her strength. Hitherto her weak point has been useful load. She should now be able to make a respectable showing in that direction also ; though still she will chiefly point the way to the production of a true commercial airship rather than fill that position herself. New Self-starter for Aeroplanes PATENTS for a new type of self-starter for aeroplane engines have been taken out in America. The starter has been designed primarily for the bigger radial engines. It consists of an attachment which is screwed into the sparking plug hole of one of the cylinders. The sparking plug finds a place in the attachment, and fires in a normal way after the engine has started. The attachment consists of a specially constructed " rjreech," and into this is inserted a cartridge of the shotgun type. The cartridge is fired bv a trigger, the charge forcing the piston to the bottom of its stroke, and the engine picks up normally on the other cylinders. The attached " breech " does not affect the engine in any wav and weighs about 4 lbs. Forestry by Aircraft A GREAT stretch of forest in British Columbia, infested with the hemlock looper pest, has been sprayed from above with calcium arsenate and lime. Results have been so gratifying that plans are being made to extend the process next summer. The hemlock looper has invaded the great Douglas fir belt, and forestry experts have become alarmed at the possibility of destruction of timber trees that are becoming more valuable with the years. A decade ago little could have been done to combat this pest. Helicogyre Nearly Ready THE Isacco Helicogyre, which is being built by Saunders- Roe, Ltd., is said to be nearly ready and will probably be tested out at Farnborough. A Flight to India MAN MOHAN SINGH, an Indian student at Bristol Uni- versity, will on Saturday, January 4, set out alone from Stag I^ane aerodrome in an attempt to win a ^500 prize offered by the Aga Khan to the first Indian to fly from this country to India during 1930. It is highly probable that a young Indian friend of his, Mr. Gadgi, will start at the same time. The High Speed Record A REPORT says that an Italian attempt on the speed record will be made over Lake Garda. as soon as the weather in the New Year permits.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
