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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0372.PDF
FLIGHT, APRIL 22, 1932 THE POSTERIOR ASPECT : This view, taken from immediately behind, shows wing construction, etc., rather well. Note the placing of the petrol tanks in the wings. The top boom of the wing spar continues right across the fuselage. (FLIGHT Photo.) with a complete set of dual controls placed side by side, while the passengers are situated behind the wing spar, far enough to have very ample leg room. The seats are arranged side by side, and there is space for yet another seat on the wing spar, so that the machine could quite well accommodate five. The flying controls are of orthodox type, with dual " joy sticks " and parallel-motion rudder pedals. The brake lever is, as already mentioned, located centrally between the two " joy sticks," where it is within reach from either seat. The instrument board contains Smith's instru ments exclusively, but is not the standard Smith board, the width of the cabin being rather greater than in most machines and the available space therefore of somewhat different proportions. A sliding map tray disappears into the instrument board when not in use. It is not often that one has cause to complain that a cabin is too light. In the ST.4, however, the windows in side and roof are so large that it seems quite possible that tinted blinds will have to be provided, especially if the machine is to be used outside Great Britain. Owing to the position of the engines in relation to the fuselage, the view from the front seats is quite remark ably good. From the passengers' seats the wing obscures the view somewhat, but even so quite a good deal of ground can be seen, and, of course, the whole upper hemisphere. Access to the cabin is by doors formed of combined fuselage sides and roof, the hinges being along a diagonal line on the fuselage side. Steps are provided on the trail ing edge of the wing roots, although the wing is not very high above the ground when the machine is standing with its tail down. The wing root structure has been made strong enough to withstand walking on. The cabin floor is of plywood, carried on transverse fuselage members of I-section, built up from two channels of duralumin placed back to back. Light fore-and-aft stringers give the floor the necessary stiffness in the spaces between floor bearers. A comfortable feature of the cabin is that the floor is per fectly flat, i.e., there is no curvature in it in any direction. All controls, etc., pass under the floor, which is left per fectly clear. THE LATE MR. WILLIAM GEORGE BELL [The following is a tribute to an old, valued and well- known worker in aviation, which we are glad to be able to publish.—ED.] >J*T T .Rochester, on March 20, 1932, there passed from C""J\M this life William George Bell who, although only KI/ JB 62 years of age, had a record of years of service to aviation which few men can equal. He was one of the first employees of Short Bros., join ing the firm in 1909 at Leysdown, in the Isle of Sheppey. Twenty-three years of service to a firm is not a remark able thing in itself, but it is noteworthy in the still youthful history of practical heavier-than-air flight in this country and in the world. When William George Bell joined Short Bros, as a mechanic it is doubtful if there were more than 100 em ployees in the whole aircraft industry of Great Britain, if indeed the construction of aircraft in those days could be styled as industry. " Father Bell," as he became popularly known to the directors and his fellow employees, was an engineer of exceptional ability and resourcefulness, and an asset that any engineering firm would be glad to acquire. He took up aviation work in the very beginning of the science because he was himself a scientist of pioneering spirit and an inventor of no mean ability. He saw the vast possibili ties of aviation when it was the subject of a joke to the multitude, and he knew that his talented hands could con tribute to its progress, and so they did in very full measure. There seemed to be no problem of construction which he could not master, and whenever there was work to be done which required exceptional skill and initiative it fell to his lot, and he never failed to carry it out successfully. He knew what it was also to work all day, all night and all the next day as was so often done in those early days, when every event in aviation seemed as impor tant as the winning of last year's Schneider Trophy. Bell was a deeply religious man, and he set a fine example to weaker souls in the discipline of his life, yet he possessed a great sense of humour and loved to sing comic songs at the staff dinner parties, which he did with great gusto and in a fine voice. He was a great sportsman, too ; was for many years the inspiring spirit of the firm's sports club, giving his time after work hours to its welfare, and taking an active part in its athletic competitions. Every aircraft firm must number a few men of excep tional ability and long service to whom it feels its indebted ness. They are entitled to recognition as pioneers in the history of aviation, being on a parallel with the chief officers of those ships of old which sailed out into unknown seas. On them the captain relied for the leadership of gallant but raw crews. " Father Bell " was of the type of that chief carpenter of the Centurian who was washed overboard when rounding Cape Horn in that early voyage round the world of whom the poet Cowper sings : — No poet wept him, but the page Of Narrative Sincere That tells his name, his worth, his age, Is wet with Anson's tear, And tears by bards or heroes shed, Alike Immortalise the dead. H. O. SHOBT. 348
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