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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0010.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 1, 1932 When we state that the type 300 is being followed by a still larger machine of 4,000 H.P., it will be realised that this famous Toulouse firm is very much in earnest about developing the transatlantic type of flying boat. For the data, etc., of the Lat. 300 which follow we are indebted to our excellent French contemporary Les Ailes, whose Editor-in-Chief, M. Georges Houard, is one of the best friends British aviation has in France, his comments being always scrupulously fair and just, while his willing ness to give any British aircraft or flight of merit prominence in his paper is well known and in considerable contrast with certain French aviation journals. The Latecoere type 300 is of all-metal construction, the material used being mostly aluminium alloy, although steel fittings are used here and there. The main monoplane wing has two duralumin spars, duralumin ribs, and fabric covering. The lower wing stumps, whose span is 13J metres (44 ft. 3 in.), are planked with light metal. The ailerons are balanced by narrow-chord auxiliary surfaces hinged to the aileron trailing edges and moving in the opposite direction to the ailerons. A similar type of balance is used for the elevators and rudder. The boat hull is of all-metal construction, but details are not available. The shape of the hull is, it would seem, a combination of British and French practice. The two steps usually found on British flying-boat hulls are used. Hitherto French flying-boat designers have shown a marked preference for the single-step hull. The vee bottom is used, but the vee is less pronounced than in most large British flying boats. From the chines upwards the Lat. 300 hull is quite different, the bulkhead being approximately of semi-circular form. The machine is large, it is true, but the freeboard appears low in com parison with British practice. Put differently, the ratio of height to beam seems much lower than in British boats. At the stern the hull is raised considerably, and ultimately forms the fixed fin to which the rudder is hinged. The wing stumps are of biconvex section, and are used, in addition to their function as lateral stabilisers when the machine is on the water, as part of the wing bracing structure, the struts running to the engine mountings and to the outer wing pieces being anchored to the stumps. Triangulation is carried to a considerable extent, and wire bracing is entirely absent. The interior of the hull is utilised largely for the accom modation of the great quantities of fuel which the machine will have to carry for a flight across the South Atlantic. In the forward part of the hull is the marine equipment, etc., and behind that is the cockpit, with two seats side by side and dual controls. Aft of that is the wireless cabin and a small resting cabin for the crew. No passen ger accommodation is provided, as the machine is intended for mail carrying, the pay load for the estimated range being 500 kg. (1,100 lb.), which will not take up much space. The four Hispano-Suiza engines, type 12Nbr., of 650 h.p. each, are mounted on top of the wing, in very elongated nacelles, two engines being tractors and two pufthers, so that a considerable separation in a fore and aft direction was necessary in order to get the airscrews clear of leading and trailing edges of the wing. Fuel supply must of necessity be by pump, and A.M. pumps are used. In addition there is a hand pump for use in emergency, although one does not envy the member of the crew who has to supply fuel to some 2,500 h.p. Engine starting is by an auxiliary engine installed in the crew's quarters. It is intended that the machine shall normally carry a crew of four: first pilot, second pilot, wireless operator, and engineer. It is calculated that with 10,970 kg. of fuel the machine will have a range of 3,250 km. against a constant headwind of 30 m.p.h. The main data of the Latecoere 300 are as follow: — Length overall, 25.83 m. (84 ft. 9 in.) ; wing span, 44.2 m. (145 ft.) ; wing area (including stumps), 306 sq. m. (3,600 sq. ft.). The tare weight is 10 613 kg. (23,350 lb.), and the maximum permissible gross weight 22 440 kg. (49,370 lb.). The load is divided as follows:—Pay load, 500 kg. (1,100 fc-*g THE LATECOERE 300: The photograph at the top of the page shows the machine at moorings: Note that the pusher airscrews are three-bladed, while the tractors are two-bladed. The lower photograph, showing the launching, gives a good idea of the size of the machine.
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