FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0593.PDF
FLIGHT, JUNE 19, 1981 £(&for io«5 »o/ hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns.] CAN WE FLY BEFORE WE FLUTTER? [2746] In recent airship development one of the most striking features is the scale upon which operations are attempted. Germany, the most successful exponent of the rigid airship, is experimenting with giant craft. England has built the R.100 and the ill-fated R.101. United States is already constructing two huge craft to surpass any yet built. One ventures to observe that such large-scale developments are inherently unsound. In any transportation scheme worked out in the modern world the custom and practice has been to start with small efforts and establish the confidence of the general public in the means provided for travel. For some unknown reason the aeronautical experts who have been in charge of air- ship development have adopted an entirely different attitude and method that has led to repeated disasters to huge and unwieldy air liners. The resulting impression on the public has been only too evident. In the name of common sense why not make a begin- ning on a small scale? Why not give men a chance to gain experience in the handling, construction, mainten- ance, navigation of small airships before we send millions of dollars, dozens of valuable lives, and a heavy cargo of public confidence aloft at the mercy of inexperience? Even if a considerable number of small airships should come to grief, the resulting shock to public opinion and official sanction would not be so severe as the loss of R.101. It is to be hoped that in the near future the Air Ministry will have recovered from its recent scare, and will again attempt the use of airships. One ventures to say that if Britain were to prove successful in operating a service of small airships over a moderate distance, the influence would be greater and better directed than that exerted by any number of Transatlantic flights. No bird flies before it can flutter. The aeroplane had to go through the infancy stage. The same law governs the airship. Unfortunately, this law does not govern the flights of imagination of those people who are in a position to influence airship development. It is to be hoped that the future will bring enlightenment without the needless loss of more of the nation's leaders. H. G. SCOTT. Pictou, N.S., Canada, May 8, 1931. [Our correspondent has failed to realise, as a large number of people have failed to realise, that it is not pos- sible to try out an airship of the R 101 type on a small scale. Not only would it have been impossible to produce on a smaller scale the type of steel structure used in R 101, because it would have led to the use of steel tubes, etc., of such thin wall sections as to be impracticable, but a smaller airship would have been of no practical value in itself for the kind of work for which R 101 was intended. There was no other course possible than that followed under the policy in force.—ED.] GROUND ENGINEERS' EXAMINATIONS [2747] Permit me to bring to your notice the monstrous manner in which aircraft inspection is operating in this Country. Extraordinary powers have been recklessly invested in &e Licensing Department of the Air Ministry, which are bein™ used without discretion and to the extreme detri- ment of Civil Aviation in its most important aspect— individual enterprise. 1u ~ standard of workmanship of men granted Ground fcny, ii-ers' Licences is in many instances incredibly poor, oi v, rich I have ample evidence from those who have been «Bp: ved on my aircraft. I became so dissatisfied that I sverrually applied for a Ground Engineer's Licence to intn °U* comP^ete overhauls on those engines which Ien '; using for private purposes and in connection with toth'10 en^ne research, and, after having been subjected ^f h0UTS °f *e mos* impracticable and farcical form li ihof pexamination, this licence has been withheld, apparently on an alleged insufficient practical experience with engines, while it was admitted by the examiner that my theoretical and technical knowledge far surpassed the standard necessary for a Ground Engineer. In view of the fact that I have proved in open competition and beyond doubt m ' claim to be one of the most practical engineers in England, can you explain a system which is allowed to continue as such a national menace ? In order to substantiate the statement above, I would point out that I have been intimately connected with internal-combustion-engine research, design, operation, and maintenance for the last 15 years. Educated at Oundle School, Northamptonshire, I was entirely responsible for the running and installation of the Curtiss OX engine supplied by the Ministry. In 1918, I went through a most extensive course in the Engine Test and Experimental Flight Departments at the K.A.F. Farn borough, which was then working at full pressure running continuous engine tests of all allied and enemy aircraft engines, and which provided an all-round practical experience which would be very hard to obtain to-day. Whilst at Farnborough, I dismantled the first Liberty engine that entered the country, and compiled the com- plete instructions as to process of dismantling and assembly which was afterwards used in the various schools, no in- struction books or information being then available. After that I spent two years studying science and engineering at Cambridge, and then two years with Sir W. G. Arm- strong-Whitworth's, in their Hydro-Electric Design De- partments in London and Oslo, Norway, since which time I have been responsible for the original design of Sir Malcolm Campbell's Napier racing car, which still con- tinues to use my original frame springs, cross-members, engine bearers, hubs, brakes, axles, and other details. Since laying the foundation of the Napier, I was invited by Bentley Motors and their racing group to supercharge their cars which are now in production, and one of which broke the Brooklands track record on April 21, 1930, at a speed of 135.33 m.p.h., driven by Sir Henry Birkin, and this against all pure racing cars. My own research racing car, the Villiers Supercharger, was shown at the leading cinemas in the Gaumont Super- sound News in London and all over the country during the last two or three weeks, which photographs were taken unbeknown to me whilst in America. With this car Ray- mond Mays broke the Classic Hill Climb Record of Shelsley Walsh in 1929, besides having won many other races at Skegness, Southport, and other speed events. I oppose a system of examination which does not test practically whether an engineer can use various forms of micrometers and other measuring instruments accurately, such as Brinnell and Scleroscopes, instruments which are in everyday use for checking the hardness and strength for metallic structures, and, moreover, I am opposed to an impracticable system of examination whereby the miserable candidate is furnished with neither the engine nor the blue prints, without both of which he should not be allowed to carry out an overhaul or repair. Under the present system, the engineer is encouraged to rely on his memory for the hundreds of different running fits and clearances which are so essential for the proper functioning and maintenance of aircraft motors. This form of examination fosters a type of impractical mechanic having little but a parrot memory, which is so useful on the eve of an examination, but which stands in poor stead in the hangar or test house. What is easily gained is easily lost. Properly-prepared blue prints of all engines in use should be issued by H.M. Stationery Office containing all this accurate and important information clearly indicated. No licensed engineers should be allowed to operate without reference to the particular information which applies to the engine under consideration. When looking back on the various racing machines in which my design of superchargers has been incorporated, such as Vauxhalls, Bugattis, A.C.'s, Bentleys, Rolls, and 555
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
