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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0084.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 23, 1931 for 1,500 flying hours and he would like to know whetherMr. Gouge or any of his staff had inspected this machine, and if so what effects there were of corrosion. He said that heagreed with Mr. Wimperis in that he felt that when weights of 100,000 lb. or more were reached in flying boats, wing tipfloats would not be necessary for stability. He asked Mr. Gouge his reasons for stating that a larger reserve of buoyancywas necessary in twin float seaplanes than in single hull flying boats. He also asked that Mr. Gouge should find it possibleto include the curve for the increase of hull weights when the paper was published. In conclusion, he asked that the assemblyshould receive Mr. Gouge's paper with acclamation and that they should make it quite clear that in spite of his diffidenceMr. Gouge would have to come forward willingly on the next occasion he was asked. MR. GOUGE, in reply, said he would do his best to answera few of the questions, leaving the rest to be dealt with in writing. Wing-Comm. Cave-Browne-Cave, he said, questionedthe relative efficiency of floats and hulls, and he said that the smaller efficiency of the former was particularly due tointer-float interference, and also to the cross struts and bracing which were necessitated. Seaworthiness of floats,he said, entirely depends upon their size. He sxated that he had offered the suggestion that moderately super-charged engines would be desirable for take-off in tropical conditions, but he considered that they would also have toadopt other means as well. Standard waves, he said, were reproduced during their tests in the tank, but the resultswere by no means satisfactory, since the interference of the sides of the tank made it very difficult to approximate tothe real thing. Concerning the future size of tanks, he said that had he realised at the beginning the growth flying boats were going to make, he would undoubtedly have had alarger tank, and he suggested, in future, that they sh >uld have something between 10 and 12 ft. wide. On the questionof lateral stability, he said, the C.G. does not alway g 0down in very large boats, since the C.G. of the superstructure is always higher, and as this, of course, increases with tin-size of the boat, the C.G. of the whole is also kept up. He said he was very interested in the proposed full-scale result*,at Felixstowe, and would like to know more about them In answer to Mr. Handley Page, he said " yes," the reactionis taken in bending in the struts. With regard to Sir Alan Cobham's take-offs IH the tropics, he said no doubt he hadgot off, but since he had seen the record he knew that in some cases it had taken over 90 sec. In answer to Mr. O. F..Simmonds, he regretted that he had not sufficient data to construct the hull curve asked for, since they had not confinedthemselves at Rochester to either military or civil machines, and were unable to compare the two types for this purpose.In answer to Mr. Tymms, lie said that matters were conflicting, since the Vee-bottom hull and float which was essential forefficient operation in rough water was not so efficient in calm, and was certainly very bad for cross wind landings.As matters were, floats were probably about equal to boats for this. In answer to Mr. Kemp, he said he would like toknow how long it took him to get off sometimes. Finally, in answer to Col. Sempill, he said he felt quite sure that stainlesssteel would eventually become universally used. Concerning corrosion on the machines in the Mediterranean, he saidthey had the second Calcutta back to the works after it had run ashore, and there had been absolutely no evidence ofcorrosion at all, and the refit had necessitated no replace- ments, all parts being replaced as they were. KING'S CUP AIR RACE, 1931 THE Royal Aero Club has received the approval of HisMajesty the King to the following regulations togovern this year's Air Race for the King's Cup :— Competitors.—The entrant and pilot or pilots andpassengers must be British subjects. The Race shall be confined to " Amateurs."Neither the entrant, the pilot, nor passengers (if any) shall be engaged as proprietor, partner, director, official oremployee of any firm of manufacturers, dealers or operators in aircraft or aircraft engines, or employed as a professionalpilot. R.A.F. pilots of amateur status, as defined above, are eligible. In order to confine the Race to those of amateur status,the Royal Aero Club reserves the right to refuse to accept any person as entrant, pilot, or passenger without assigningany reason. Aircraft.—The Race is open to any type of bona-fidecivil aircraft. The aircraft, including the engine or engines, must have been entirely constructed in the British Empire.For the purposes of the Race, a bona-fide civil aircraft is an aircraft which was originally designed, and subsequentlyconstructed for use in civil aviation activities. In any question regarding the eligibility of any aircraft,the decision of the Royal Aero Club shall be final. The aircraft entered shall have been registered in thename of the entrant and Certificate of Airworthiness issued not later than May 30, 1931.Handicap.—The aircraft will be handicapped for the complete circuit, according to estimated performances. Theminimum speed at which aircraft will be handicapped will be 80 m.p.h. Course.—It shall be a one-day race, over a course ofapproximately 1,000 miles, the longest leg not to exceed 200 miles.The Royal Aero Club reserves the right to hold an eliminat- ing contest if necessary. <s> <•> <$><$> THE SCHNEIDER TROPHY O|N Thursday, January 15, the Air Ministry issued thefollowing communique :— " In September, 1929, a few weeks after the British victory in the Solent,the Air Ministry announced that the Government had had under review the future policy in regard to the Schneider Trophy contest in 1931 and sub-sequent years ; and that, after careful consideration, it had been decided that a Royal Air Force team would not again be entered, thus leaving Britishparticipation to private enterprise under the auspices of the Royal Aero Club. The main considerations influencing this decision were that, owing to Govern-ment participation in recent years., the contest had assumed a character not in accordance with the intentions of M. Jacques Schneider, its originator andthe donor of the trophy, and that, although the entry of a Royal Air Force team had given a much-needed impetus to the development of high-speedaircraft, sufficient data had now been collected for practical development in this direction, and that the large expenditure of public money involved wastherefore no longer justifiable. " Since December last, however (when the question of the validity of theItalian and French entries was settled by the Federation Aeronautique Inter- nationale), strong representations have been made to the Air Ministry for areversal of this decision, either in whole or part, that is, either that a Royal Air Force team should be organised by the Air Ministry, or that Royal AirForce pilots should be loaned to the Royal Aero Club or some other private organisation. The matter has accordingly been again considered. " The Government has decided that in the present financial situation theexpenditure of public money involved (not less than £80,000 if a Royal Air Force team were organised) is not justified, and that their previous decisionmust be strictly adhered to ; the defence of the trophy and all^ncidental expenditure must be left to the Royal Aero Club or private enterprise, and theGovernment should not give any assistance either direct or indirect, whether by the loan of pilots, aircraft, or other material, by the organisation of therace, by the policing of the course, or in any other way." On Monday, January 19, the committee of the Royal Aero Club, with Sir Philip Sassoon in the chair, met to consider the new position. The meeting lasted a little overan hour. On its conclusion the following statement was issued :— " At a fully attended meeting held this evening the committee of the RoyalAero Club considered the question of the Schneider Trophy contest, and it was decided to adjourn the meeting in order to explore every avenue whereby th"trophy may be defended. The club will leave no stone unturned to achieve this object, and feels sure that this is in general harmony with the wishes ofthe British public." The trophy itself is now on its way to Buenos Aires fordisplay at the British Exhibition, which will shortly be opened there by Air Marshal H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. A suggestion that Gen. Balbo should be asked to fly thetrophy back to Italy in his seaplane still needs confirmation. On the morning of Tuesday, 20th inst., the Committee ofthe Club again approached the Air Minister, and asked whether, if £80,000 (which had been estimated as the costto the Government of organising the race and defending the trophy) were raised privately by the Royal Aero Club, theGovernment would then undertake to defend the trophy. The Air Minister referred the question to the Cabinet thesame evening, and the reply made was that even in that can" the Government would do nothing. Next day Sir Phili;'Sassoon raised the matter again in the House of Commons, and met with a further refusal on some vague excuse cf" policy and principle." iContimied on page 8S) 86
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