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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0422.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 1, 1931 the dmn, The Schneider Contest WITH regard to French preparations for the SchneiderContest, Les Ailes states that speeds of 400 m.p.h. and engines of 2,300 h.p. are aimed at. The firms of Nieuport-Delage, Bernard, and Dewoitine are building the seaplanes, and the engines are being produced by the Renault andLorraine firms. The machines will be low-wing mono- planes. The Lorraine engine, designed by M. Barbarou,is supercharged, the blower turning at 28,000 r.p.m. The engine is said to develop 2,200 h.p. at 4,000 r.p.m. TheRenault engine is said to develop 2,300 h.p. and to weigh only 1,540 lb. The former is a 12-cylinder inverted V, andis called the " Radium." Its cross section is not much greater than that of the pilot's body. The Renault is anormal water-cooled V. The training at Berre is being carried out on F.B.A. and Nieuport 62 seaplanes. Theactual racers arc being tested by civilian pilots, including M. Sadi Lecointe, before they are handed over to theSchneider team. No. 203 (F.B.) Squadron Two of the three " Rangoon " flying boats (threeJupitens) of No. 203 (F.B.) Squadron arrived at Basra on April 21. The third boat is waiting at Baghdad untilGroup Captain W. L. Welsh, D.S.O., A.F.C., is ready to proceed to his squadron's station. No. 209 (F.B.) SquadronTHE two " Iris " flying boats (Three Condors) of No. 209 (F.B.) Squadron, which took Air Chief Marshal SirJohn Salmond to Egypt, landed at St. Nazaire on April 20 on their return journey. One of them was detained thereby engine trouble, and it is stated that an engine will have to be changed. The other boat arrived back at Plymouthon April 22. A Bird hits a "Bulldog" PILOT OFFICER J. N. BAXTER, of No. Ill (F.)Squadron, was flying over London on April 24 when he believes that a bird flew into the propeller. He wasobliged to land in Southwark Park, and through avoiding some men at work there, he stalled his " Bulldog " a few-feet up and capsized. An appeal has been issued asking anyone who may find a part of the hub or of a blade ofthe propeller to take it to the nearest police station. The Crash near Peshawar THE bodies of Flying Officer D. H. G. WOOD andAircraftsman King, of No. 20 (Army Co-operation) Squadron, who were killed in a crash on the Khajuri plain,were brought to Fort Jamrud, at the southern end of the Khyber Pass, by Afridi tribesmen. The bodies were givena military funeral at Peshawar. It is stated that some of the Afridis tried to hack their way into the burningwreck of the " Bristol Fighter " to rescue the airmen. The Iraq Air Squadron THE five " Moths " of the Iraq Flying Corps, accom-panied by a " Puss Moth " flown by Flight-Lieut. Carter, which left England on April 8, arrived safely at Baghdadon April 22, and were given a great reception. King Faisul himself inspected the machines, and was photographed withthe pilots. Stranded in Greenland GENERAL anxiety has been caused by the plight ofMr. Augustine Courtauld, a member of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, who had volunteered to remainalone at a camp on the central ice cap of Greenland during the winter. Mr. H. G. Watkins, leader of the expedition,organised two expeditions to find him, but these were unable to locate the camp. Both the " Moths " belongingto the expedition have been put out of action through damage in landings. The ice is now breaking up, whichmakes a journey on foot very difficult, and also makes the landing of an aeroplane, whether with floats or skis, a verydifficult task. Help has been promised by the Swedish airman, Capt. Ahrenberg, who set out from Malmo onApril 29. He is using a Junkers F.13 on floats, equipped with wireless, which was obtained from the Swedish AirTransport Company, and is accompanied by a mechanic named Malm and a wireless operator named Ljunglund.The Danish Government is sending a warship to assist Capt. Ahrenberg in wireless direction finding. An Icelandic pilot named Sigurd Johsson is also setting out in a Junker*machine to join in the search, and he will have the vessel " Odin " as his parent ship.Autogiro Developments F"OR the first time in history the White House groundbecame a landing field for an aircraft the other day, when a Pitcairn Cierva Autogiro, piloted by James G. Ray,landed on the presidential lawn. President Hoover greeted the pilot and presented Mr. Pitcairn with the CollierTrophy, which, as previously announced in FLIGHT, wasawarded to the Pitcairn company for the year's greatest achievement in aviation in America. Praising the de-velopers of the Autogiro, President Hoover said: "The invention of Cierva is one of the most outstanding im-provements in heavier-than-air craft. Its ability to rise and descend with safety almost vertically marks a prac-tical and decided step forward." It may be of interest to note in passing that the Buhl Aircraft Co., of Detroit, hasannounced that they have decided to manufacture aircraft of the Autogiro type, and to market a two-seater model ata moderate price. This company is the third to enter the Autogiro field—the Pitcairn company is now producinglarge three-seater models on standard production, and plans to introduce a light two-seater model, while the KellettAircraft Corp., of Philadelphia, is engaged in pre-produc- tion work on a two-seater open machine with side-by-sideseating. All three companies will operate under licence from the Autogiro Co., of America, which controls in theU.S.A. the patent rights of the Autogiro. Dr. Piercy on the Cost of Private Flying DR. PIERCY delivered the last of his series of Howardlectures before the Royal Society of Arts on Monday, April 27. He said that although private flying in thiscountry had more than doubled itself within the last eighteen months, there was still scarcely one aeroplane toevery thousand cars. This extension of flying was to a very large extent impeded by high costs, one of the chiefcauses of which was the engines, since these were at least twice too large. He said he did not consider it possiblethat aircraft would make rail and road transit obsolete, as the railways had a century ago made obsolete our widelyspread coach system. He said that fundamentally there was nothing to prevent the air becoming a particularlyeconomical medium for travel. ' Redwing " Production WITH reference to the paragraph in our " CroydonNotes " last week about " Redwing " production, we have received from the Redwing Aircraft Co., Ltd., a communi-cation stating that production of " Redwing " started in earnest some time ago; that at present the machines arebeing turned out at the rate of one a week, and that very shortly this will be increased to two machines a week.The present organisation of the company includes Mr. Roland R. Darling as superintendent, Flight-Lieut. N. M. S.Russell as sales manager, and Mr. John K. Lane as pro- duction manager. Mr. John Kenworthy, designer of the" Redwing," is in the Carshalton Memorial Hospital, recu- perating from an operation for appendicitis. His manyfriends will wish him a speedy recovery. A.I.D. Annual Dinner GROUP CAPTAIN H.R.H. THE DUKE OF YORK will be theprincipal guest at the Sixth Annual Dinner of the Techni- cal Staff Association of the Aeronautical Inspection Direc-torate, Air Ministry, at the King's Hall, Holborn Restaurant, to-day, May 1. Mr. J. J. Gilmore, Chairmanof the Association, will preside. Other guests will include Lord Amulree, Secretary of State for Air ; Mr. F. Mon-tague, M.P., tinder-Secretary ; Mr. C. Llewellyn Bullock, Secretary of the Air Ministry ; Air Marshal Sir JohnHiggins; Air Vice-Marshal H. C. T. Dowding, Air Member of Council ipr Supply and Research ; Group Captain H. M.Cave-Browne-Cave, Director of Technical Development, Air Ministry ; Mr. C. R. Fairey, President of the Royal Aero-nautical Society ; and Squadron Leader A. H. Orlebar, holder of the world's speed record. The Duke of York willpropose the toast of the Association, to which Lieut.-Col. H. W. S. Outram, Director of Aeronautical Inspection, willreply. Lord Amulree will also speak. 390
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