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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0440.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 8, 1931 300 HOURS' TEST OF BRISTOL"JUPITER" X.F.BM. HE recent general tendency to turn to lubricatingoils of the mineral type in place of the vegetable type oils previously used for high-powered highefficiency aero engines, has led to considerable research on the part of the oil manufacturing companies inan endeavour to improve the qualities of mineral oils, par- ticularly in respect of the anti-sludging and " oiliness "factors. An oil recently developed by Shell Mex, Ltd., has shown excellent promise in these respects. This new-oil, known as " Aero Shell," is a mineral base oil with a small percentage of fatty matter, and is produced byentirely new and special processes. As experience has shown that a prolonged main enginetest under service operating conditions is essential before a lubricating oil can be accepted as fully satisfactory, theShell Company arranged with the Bristol Company for such a test to be carried out on one of the " Bristol "Jupiter X.F.BM. moderately supercharged and geared type engines, as ordered for Imperial Airways' new aircraftfor the- London-Cape Town air route. A duration of 300 hours was agreed upon as a reason-able period for demonstrating the properties of this oil, and in order to obtain the maximum information on theprogressive changes in the internal condition of the engine throughout the test, the latter was stripped for inspectionat the end of the 50, 150 and 300-hour periods. The test included 30 hours on the dynamometer at full- rated R.P.M. and 90 per cent, full power, and th remainder on the hangar with the engine opened UD f 5 minutes at the end of each 5-hour period to annrnlT mately 580 B.H.P. and 2,200 R.P.M. W>n>xi- During the first 150 hours, the hangar test was carried out under actual cruising conditions of B.H.P. and R P M but as the condition of the engine at the end of the first 150 hours was particularly satisfactory, the test was increased in severity for the final 140 hours on the hangar commencing at 365 B.H.P. at 1,900 R.P.M. and increasin? to 428 B.H.P. at 2,000 R.P.M. for the concluding 57 hours Although the average oil consumption over the whole of the 270 hours on the hangar was under 7 pints per hour or 0.0019 pint per B.H.P. /hour, from the excellent condi- tion of the engine bearing surfaces it was obvious that the desired standard of lubrication had been maintained, and the notable absence of sludge, with the small amount of carbon deposit observed during the intermediate and final inspection, showed that a marked advance has been mad(- with this oil in these very important characteristics. As a supercharged and geared engine of this type with such a high power output affords very severe test condi- tions, the test of this oil can be considered particularly satisfactory. As a result, the Bristol Company are, we are informed, quite satisfied to use this oil in future and to recommend it, without reserve, for use in their engines. <S> <$><$><$> SAILS AND AERODYNAMICS R. MANFRED CURRY, speaking before the Royalk Aeronautical Society at the Royal Society of Arts on April 30, raised many interesting points withregard to his theories about the aerodynamics of sails. The audience was large, since members of the RoyalThames Yacht Club, as well as many yacht designers, had been invited. Mr. Fairey, the President of the Royal AeronauticalSociety, was in the Chair, and expressed the opinion that the occasion was one of great importance, particularly toyachtsmen, since he thought that very little had been done to improve the aerodynamical characteristics of yachts,and, as far as he knew, he himself was the first man to have a model of the hull of his yacht tested in the tank.Incidentally, before doing so, he said he had made a bet that the drag backwards was just the same as if goingforwards, and the tank had proved him to be right. He said that he did not think that a very great deal had beendone to improve the design of hulls, and he pointed to what had been achieved with the floats of seaplanes,where, .with the help of the N.P.L., we had reduced the drag of seaplane floats to a quarter of what it was three yearsago. Dr. Curry is the undisputed small boat sailing cham- pion, and, though an American subject, he comes fromGermany, where the science of small boat sailing is more greatly developed than in any other country. Dr. Curry'slecture took the form of a long cinematograph film, with v ' O <$> Death of Lieut.-Commander Glen Kidston and Mr. T. A.Gladstone WE very deeply regret to announce that on Tuesday,May 5, news was received from Van Reenan, Natal, that a " Puss Moth " had crashed among the Drak«nsburg Moun-tains in a storm, and that its two occupants had been killed. The bodies were identified as those of Lieut.-Commander Glen Kidston and Mr. T. A. Gladstone. Glen Kidston had become famous for his numerousnarrow escapes from death. Early in the war, when he was, a midshipman, he was on board the cruiser Haguewhen she was torpedoed by a German submarine. He had several narrow escapes when engaged in motor racing.Two years ago he was the only survivor of a Junkers machine which crashed near Caterham and caught fire.Only the other day he established a record by flying from England to Capetown in 56 flying hours in a Lockheed" Vega " with " Whirlwind " engine, with Mr. Cathcart Jones as second pilot. He leaves a widow and a sonaged four. Mr. T. A. Gladstone was the first man to attempt acommercial seaplane service in Africa. In conjunction explanations by himself. He drew an analogy between thewings of many of the birds and the sails of our smaller sailing craft. He showed extraordinary clear picturesillustrating the airstream over curved and flat surfaces, and also the effect of slot mechanism, such as the HandlerPage. This slot effect, he said, was also obtained in sailing by use of the foresail, which was brought a long way aftbehind the mainsail, thereby acting as a slot to it. His theories offered on the subject of sails in general,particularly those wherein he maintained that a very arched sail offered less drag and thereby increased thespeed of the boat, are undoubtedly worth serious study, and should afford a field of very wide scope for investi-gation. In many ways his contentions certainly did not appear comparable to the facts of aerodynamics as weknow them in aircraft, but without a very much greater knowledge of sailing we should hesitate to enter into con-troversy with such an acknowledged authority as Dr. Curry. The last three-quarters of his film were confined tothe tactics of racing, and illustrated methods whereby one boat might obtain advantage over another one throughskilful handling, which would result in blanketing and otherwise impeding the progress of the boat it was desiredto overhaul. The photography throughout was magnifi- cent, and we must congratulate Dr. Curry on having gottogether such an attractive and admirable film. <$> <•> with the Blackburn Co., he initiated a service bet.veen Khartum and Kisumu, using a D.H.50 with "Jupiter engine on floats. The machine was christened " Pelican." This machine and another were, however. damaged when taxying, and the service had to abandoned. Flight-Lieut. Waghorn Injured ,. r ON Tuesday, May 5, Flight-Lieut. Waghorn, A.i-.^..winner of the last Schneider Contest, was testing a Ha^ ^e Horsley machine at South Farnborough, accompanied D>Mr. E. R. Alexander, a civilian expert in engines at n Royal Aircraft Establishment. For some reason tncmachine>got out of control, and at about 500 feet botn iei jumped with their parachutes. Mr. Alexander junvefirst and landed on a glass roof, which cut him somew iav- Waghorn was carried along by a strong wind, and c-1violently into contact with another building. He brokr n - thigh and sustained other injuries. Both men were t^'to the Cambridge Hospital at Aldershot, and a speci^«* was sent for to examine Waghorn. It was decided n°- .operate that night. Next morning Waghorn recovt. consciousness, but remained in a dangerous condiuop. 408
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