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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0116.PDF
FLIGHT, FEBRUARY 5, 1932 Vickers ' Jockey" Interceptor Fighter "N the competition for interceptor single-seater fighters held a couple of years ago the Vickers machine entered did not succeed in gaining first place, and probably most people have by now forgotten that there was a Vickers monoplane in the competition. Thus when they hear of the Vickers interceptor fighter they associate the title with the machine of some years ago. It is not until quite recently that the aviation community in general has realised that in the meantime Vickers (Avia tion), Ltd., have been work ing away quietly on the problems connected with this class of aircraft, and have produced a machine which, although super ficially bearing some resem blance to the earlier type, is in reality a totally new aircraft. For instance, the fuselage is characterised by a very slender outline with a straight taper from cock pit to stern post. The cantilever wings, placed low on the bodv, are carefullv faired into the fuselage form so as to avoid interference drag, and a Townend ring has been placed around the Bristol " Mercury " engine to reduce drag. Altogether the verv greatest care has been taken in " cleaning up " the machine, and the results seem to iustify the means, since the machine we illustrate this week is prob ably the fastest single- seater fighter in the world. The performance figures show the machine to have a maximum speed at alti tude of but little short of 240 m.p.h.! Apart from the generally clean aero dynamic design, this high speed is partly to be attri buted to a very high wing loading (21.8 lb./sq. ft.). This is probably the highest wing loading ever adopted by a British de signer for a service aircraft, VICKERS " JOCKEY " FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR 530 h.p. Bristol " Mercury " IV S.2 Length o.a. . . Height o.a. . . Wing span Wing chord . . Wing area Tare weight Pilot Petrol (51 galls. = Dimensions, Weights 232 litres) Oil (5 galls. = 23 litres) . . Military load Gross weight Wing loading Power loading (530 ft. in. 23 0 8 3 32 8 5 3 . 150 sq. ft. lb. . 2,377 180 392 50 371 3,270 metric. 7,010 2,515 9,956 1,600 13,9 m.2 kg- 1 080 82 178 23 123 1 486 .'.' 21-8lb./sq. ft h.p.) .. . 6-16 lb. (2,8 Performance (approximate) Altitude ft. m. Ground level 3,280 1 000 6,560 2 000 9,840 3 000 13,120 4 000 ; 16,400 5 000 19,680 6 000 Initial rate of climb Absolute ceiling Landing speed Duration Max. m.p.h. 182 195 210 225 238 238 238 .. 1,450 ft . . 36,000 ft .. 62-5 m. (on 51 galls. - Altitude Cruising speed ft. m. m p.h. km./h. 13,120 4 000 203 327 Speed km./h. 293 314 338 362 383 383 383 ./min. (7,36 . (11 000 m.) p.h. (100 km = 232 litres) /h.p. kg./CV.) Climb. mins. — 2-2 4-0 5-6 7-2 8-7 10-7 m./sec.) /h.) Time Consumption hours lb./hr. kg./hr. 1-65 237 108 and the landing speed is necessarily high (some 62 m.p.h. at zero altitude). It might have been thought that the climb would suffer somewhat from such high wing load ing, but, in point of fact, the altitude of 20,000 ft. is reached in less than 11 minutes (under ideal weather con ditions), so that the climb could scarcely be termed in ferior. The absolute ceiling, too, is high, some 36,000 ft., and altogether the new Vickers interceptor appears to be a rather formidable piece of apparatus. The duration at cruising speed is a little over \\ hours, probably sufficient for reaching the altitude of 13,000 ft. and then cruis ing there, or a little higher for 1£ hours. The engine fitted is a Bristol " Mercury," series IV S.2, which develops 530 b.h.p. at 2,600 r.p.m. and 15,800 ft. This engine is geared as well as super charged, the gear ratio being 0.656:1. From the front view it will be seen that the Fairey metal air screw is not, in spite of the gearing, of particularly large diameter, so that the undercarriage is fairly low and drag somewhat re duced. Constructional Features. The Vickers " Jockey," as the new machine is named, is of all-metal con struction, the expression " all-metal " being in this case used in its proper sense, as the only parts of the machine not covered with metal are the tail surfaces. In the wing and fuselage the covering is of duralumin, and is part oi ihe stress-bearing structure. Wings.—The monoplane cantilever wing has spars of duralumin (box section). built up and joined by riveting, while the ribs are tubular and the various 108
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