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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0126.PDF
FLIGHT, FEBRUARY 6, 1931 SKIDS AND HOOKS : Sketches of a skid under- carriage and wheel undercarriage with hooks. The sketch in the upper right-hand corner shows the arrangement of the wires along the deck and over the centre lift indicated in side view in the lower diagram. This experiment was carried out in H.M.S. " Argus." and in some cases in the aircraft crashing into the sea. In theEagle the after end of the deck was curved down so that there was no longer any need to worry about approaching so as togive the end of the deck a wide clearance. This " round down " gave the pilots confidence to land well aft with theresult that during the trials in Eagle larger and faster landing aircraft were successfully landed, including a D.H.9 and aD.H.9A, and the round down has now been permanently adopted. In spite of the success of the Eagle trials it was obvious that,although it was in 1924 only seven years since the first landing had been made, the actual process of deck landing remainedthe same and the number of accidents dvie to the deck gear, while not serious, were numerous enough to handicapefficiency. Fleet aircraft were still handicapped by the extra structural strength required merely to withstand the shockof landing into the wires and knocking down the supporting flaps which had replaced the wooden blocks for holding thewires up. Further, the deck hooks not only reduced the per- formance considerably, but also, by virtue of their catchingup the wires and so exerting a force to keep the aircraft on a straight course when it wasinclined to swing, so twisted the under- • - * carriages that they were often strained orrendered so weak as to prevent further flying before repairs had been executed. During rough weather landing when theship was rolling these minor accidents were more frequent than ever and we thereforeappeared to be some way still from achieving our object of so increasing the ease, safety,and standard of deck landings that they would approach the standard of simplicityof landing on an aerodrome. Upon detailed investigation it becameapparent that the most prevalent cause of minor accidents was the deck gear itselfand it was decided that although there were undoubtedly cases where the wires preventeda machine going over the side, they also in about nine cases out of ten turned amoderately good landing into a bad one, with the result that some damage wassustained by the aircraft. Fore and aft wires were therefore aban-doned. This assisted in the improvement of the design of Fleet aircraft since they wereno longer hampered by all the extras, entailed by using the fore and aft wires,which increased weight and head resistance. The undercarriage also no longer had tobe increased in height out of all pro- portion in order t(v give the propeller clearance from the wires. Lastly, a plain deck was alsc astep towards making the conditions for deck landing m.->re nearly resemble those of an aerodrome. The problem of decklanding now resolves itself into alighting on the centre lint of the ship and keeping on it. If for any reason a pilot findshe is oft this line he must at least keep parallel to it, for to swing off will put the aircraft across the high relative windwhich is likely to be as much as 30 knots, and the inevitable tendency to drop one wing will arise, so further increasingthe swing until the aircraft runs over the side. So long as the aircraft has considerable way on, it is notdifficult to keep it straight and the modern addition of independently-operated brakes has increased directionalcontrol. There are, however, occasions, such as in rough weather, when the aircraft will swing so that some means havehad to be devised to stop the aircraft going overboard without curtailing the amount of deck space available for alightingon. This has been done by the provision of sloped palisadesfitted to the edge of the deck at its forward end. These palisades consist of stanchions spaced about 8 ft. apartwith wires strung between them, and they extend for about 150 ft. on both sides of the deck in a carrier without an island(in the island type the island itself forms part of a palisade) on one side. They are sloped up at an angle of about 30-from the horizontal, thus forming a fence which prevents machines running over the side. They do to some extentrestrict the width of the deck available for landing upon since it is quite possible for an aircraft to land successfully with onewing tip over the side. With the control available in modern fleet aircraft, however, there is little excuse for landing far offthe centre line of the deck. Aircraft under these conditions can alight on the deck quitesuccessfully in rough weather when the ship is rolling and pitching to a considerable extent. Extra care has, however,to be exercised and the pilot must not only aim at landing about the centre of the ship, where the motion will be least,but he must also so time his landing that the aeroplane touches the deck when the ship is approximately on an evenkeel. Whereas a few years ago there were a considerable numberof accidents of one sort or another, I think it is a fair statement to sav that to-day under all conditions about 99 per cent, ofthe landings are quite successful. With the number of carriers now in commission and the number of types of aircraft inuse with the fleet, some thousands of landings must be done every year, and this high percentage of successful landingsmay be reasonably interpreted to prove that with modern aircraft to fly and" modern carriers to alight upon, landingon the deck is now under favourable conditions comparable with the simplicity of landing on a given mark on an aero-drome. It may now perhaps be of interest to state briefly the actualprocess of landing on and attempt to show what features are H.M. AIRCRAFT CARRIER " EAGLE " : This was the first carrier to be constructed with an "island." (R.A.F. Official Photograph, Crown Copyright.) 122
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