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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 1115.PDF
FLIGHT, OCTOBER 16, 1931 ire. The engine overhaul ques-tion is yet another one which .hows the thoroughness about"•.•hich I have already spoken. ; ord aircraft have at present to!,se either Pratt & Whitney Wasp" or Wright "Whirl-ed" engines. It was only -sible to find one mechanicver here who had had experi- ence on these engines, and itlooked for a time as though it would be necessary to importAmerican ones ; wishing to re- main true to their all-Britishpolicy, the directors sent English mechanics to the States, and hadthem put through a course not only at the Pratt & Whitney andWright factories, but also at the Ford factory at Dearborn. The whole equipment shows adecided American influence, but seems all the better for this. Forinstance, one of the first things which caught my eye, as beingeminently practical, was a tail trestle ; this was mounted oncastors, and thus enabled the tail to be shoved about in any de-sired direction, despite the fact that it was raised on the trestle.Another was the solid iron work- benches, also other benches fittedon castors, so shaped that they might be pushed right up to theaircraft in a position which would allow the mechanics to workaround the engines in perfect comfort. A circular, cauldrontype, of electric furnace was in- teresting ; this was built speciallyfor this job by the Birmingham Electric Furnace Co., and has a range of from 0 to 1,000deg. C. So much for the Ford aerodrome ; and I trust that fromthe foregoing, readers will have formed the conclusion that Ford aerodrome is being run as a sound commercial pro-position and as an attractive home for Ford aircraft. Now, with regard to the aircraft themselves. Thesehave already been described very fully in FLIGHT, andthere is therefore no need, in this article, to do other than discuss the points which are of most interest to thegeneral observer. Three types were at Ford. The 4-AT, a 13-passengermachine, that is, 11 plus the first and second pilots. The engines of this model are three 300-h.p. Wright " Whirl-winds." All the Ford models are high-wing monoplanes, with the pilot's cockpit in front of the leading edge, and,in keeping with Ford tradition, the passenger accommoda- tion is exceptionally well carried out. The larger machine,the 5-AT, has three Pratt & Whitney " Wasp " engines of 420 h.p., with a consequently increased performanceand load, as three more passengers are provided for. I was privileged to try this latter machine, and imaginethat pilots of air lines would be very grateful to their executives if they provided them with Ford aircraft. Thetake-off is very good, and she is pleasant to fly. It seems a pity that the makers have not taken more trouble tobalance the controls all to the same weight, for at present the elevator and ailerons, the latter in particular, are con-siderably heavier than the rudder. I am told, however, that this point is being remedied in later models. Theview and general layout of the pilot's cockpit is excel- lent, and, as the aircraft trims up nicely, it should not!•*• tiring to fly over long distances. The visibility is all that could be desired, while the windows, both in frontand at the side, open in case of necessity in bad weather. The last model I saw was the 5-AT Pullman. This isbasically the same aircraft, but has had the wing raised a little, so that the head room in the cabin has been in-creased. The two most striking points about this parti- cular aircraft are the luggage accommodation and the cabincicoration. The former is ingenious and unique, for full l've has been made of the deep wing roots, which are a feature of this type of monoplane. In the first place, twor.nels in the centre of the cabin roof may be opened, and HENRY FORD, HIS MARK: The " Wasp " powered 5AT demonstrator with its appropriate registration letters flying over its home aerodrome. (FLIGHT Phuto.) above them are found racks capable of holding 175 lb. ofbaggage on either side ; these may be utilised for that luggage usually marked " wanted on voyage." ! Outsidethe machine considerably more accommodation is avail- able. The starting handle—the same which is used forrunning up the Eclipse inertia starters—is put over a spigot projecting below the wing, and on winding it alarge kind of crate is let down, hinging on its inner end. This crate is some 18 in. deep, and comes to rest at a con-venient height for loading. There are similar ones on both sides, and each holds 800 lb. The total luggagecapacity is therefore 1,950 lb., which, together with 16 persons, a cruising speed of 123 m.p.h., and a range of5.9 hr. is a pretty good performance for only § throttle! Now, as to the decoration of the passenger cabin. Thisis undoubtedly the sanest, and yet most attractive, I have yet seen in any aircraft, whatever its nationality. On firstentering the cabin, one is given the impression that the walls are panelled with a veneer of decorative wood.Even on close inspection this is difficult to perceive as a fallacy. It is so, however, for that veneer is nothing morenor less than one photographed on to aluminium sheet- ing. This is a Ford process, and one which should proveapplicable for all sorts of purposes. I can visualise it being used for very attractive instrument boards inprivately-owned aircraft, for example. The rest of the cabin is in keeping with this decoration. The seats areof ample size and extremely comfortable, although I should have thought that in an aircraft of this class adjustableones might have been provided with advantage to the selling qualities. The three rear seats have been runtogether in a fore and aft line to form a couch, upon which even the largest man is able to recline at ease.The rear end of the cabin has all the usual lavatory accommodation, together with a cupboard which may beused for stores, or, as has been done in some cases, fitted out as a cocktail bar. I have inspected the interiors ofall the ordinary commercial aircraft which have been seen over here, and I must say that this Ford Pullman hasthem beaten for sheer comfort. After all, it is comfort combined with speed which is going to sell air transport ;speed used to be considered of chief importance, but I am inclined to the opinion that comfort is now of greaterimportance, for those who can afford to travel as they 1045
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