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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0265.PDF
b FLIGHT, MARCH 20, 1931 SOCIABILITY •-TIT-'HERE is no doubt there is aO II! growing market amongst those HI who have recently learnt to fly,for an aircraft hax'ing the seat- ng arranged on the side-by-side plan.After all, when one comes to look at it purely from the purchaser's point ofview, it does seem barbarous to offer machines in which the passenger has tosit either in front or behind the pilot, and with whom he can only communi-cate by bellowing down a length of tubing. We cannot help thinking thatbad motor-car manufacturers adhered to such a practice they would neverhave appealed to the general public like they have done. Shortly after the war,the Bedelia and Peugeot Companies tried to market light two-seater tan-dem models, but in both cases they very soon died natural deaths. Cer-tainly the tendency in aircraft is now towards having the passengers sittingside-by-side, as in the Desoutter and Puss Moth. In fact, the only break-away in this respect for that class of machine is the Navarro Chief, where thepassengers sit behind each other. In the two-seater class, however, side-by-side seats are still com-paratively rare, and the only representatives of these at present flying in this country are the Bluebird, the CivilianCoupd, the Robinson Redwing and the Surrey Flying Services A.L.I.We recently made a short test of these last two and found them to have several definite features which shouldappeal to the coming generation of pilots in particular. The Surrey machine is frankly only experimental, and hasnot yet been placed on the market. It is certainly quite a fascinating little machine, with a good performance and anadmirable take-off, and low landing speed. Accommodation is at present a trifle cramped, and the detail work embodiesseveral features which will certainly be modified before it ever goes into production. The view on the whole is not atall bad, although it naturally surfers from a defect which is general to this type, in that when taxying on the ground thepilot is very blind on the far side of the machine. The engine fitted is the Salmson seven-cylinder radial 90 h.p.,which makes an exceptionally smooth and quiet power unit, and probably now that the British Salmson AeroEngines, Ltd., of New Maiden, Surrey, are going ahead with their sales policy we shall see many more of these enginesfitted before long. The Redwing comes into rather a different category, since although it is similar in that it is an opentwo-seater biplane, its specification has definitely been drawn up, having regard to the factors desirable for the newcomerto aviation. There has frankly been no attempt to procure exceptional high top speed at the expense of other features, The Redwing being flown by Flight-Lieut. Russell, who is the Robinson Aircraft Co.'s chief pilot. The clean lines of the fuselage should be noted. (FLIGHT Photo.). but, in spite of that, a cruising speed of 85 m.p.h. is easilyobtainable, while the landing speed is as low as 30 m.p.h. The top speed is in the region of 95 m.p.h., so that the speedrange is really exceptional. Neither the take-off nor the land- ing present the slightest difficulty in the Redwing, and theveriest novice should feel at home in this machine in a very short time. In the air she can, if necessary, fly aston-ishingly slowly, and the Martlesham figure for the stalling speed is 33 m.p.h. The undercarriage is flexible, and doesits job well, and even without brakes, the landing run is very short indeed. The cockpit itself is wide enough for allnormal people and quite free from draughts. We should have thought that a Cellon panel in the top centre sectionwould have been a great advantage, since the view upwards is, of course, bad, and especially so, as there is no petroltank there to make this impossible. In the air the Redwing at once inspires one with confidence, and has just that degreeof stability which sets the inexperienced at ease, particularly when flying in bad weather. The Robinson factory has nowbeen greatly expanded, and some 50 hands are employed on the first batch of 20 machines. The works are being runon a combination of English and American ideas, and we confidently expect that they will have no great difficultyin disposing of this first batch. At a price of £6&), complete with dual control, the machine should have a distinct appealto those who want a machine which is easy to fly and abso- lutely safe, and are prepared to sacrifice a small amountof cruising speed in return for this safety coupled with sociability. ' h^ee-jqwarter rear view of the Surrey Flying Services A.L.I. It will be seen that the cockpit lis 'behind «• -• x V the trailing edge of the top wing. (FLIGHT Photo.). 249 c 2
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