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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0434.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 6, 1932 270 litres each (60 gall). An auxiliary fuel tank, of 90 litres (20 gall.) capacity, is mounted in the fuselage, thus making a total fuel capacity 630 litres (140 gall.), which serves to give the plane a flight radius of somewhat over 6 hr. or about 1,300 km. (808 miles) at cruising speed. The fuselage has the typical Farman fiat sides and top giving a maximum amount of interior space. The cabin is lighted by six ports, three on each side. It has accom modation for four people, a broad upholstered bench suit able for two persons being installed in the forward part of the cabin and two arm chairs, which can be moved back ward or forward, complete the seating equipment. The cabin can be heated by the exhaust gases from the motor and a special ventilator installed in the roof cools the air in warm weather. Two compartments for carrying bag gage or postal matter have been installed, one in the forward part of the fuselage just aft of the engine, and the other compartment aft of the cabin. The pilot's seat is placed on top of the fuselage just behind the cabin, from which excellent visibility is obtained. The landing gear is of the split-axle type, fitted with oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers. It has a track of 3 metres (9 ft. 9 in.). It is reported that this plane will be placed in operation on one of the long-distance routes of the Farman Lines, which extend from Paris to Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin, as well as to Malmoe and Copenhagen in the Scandinavian countries. R. C. W. THE ARCTIC AIR ROUTE : A British Experiment M R. J. D. M. GRAY, Managing Director of the Aviation Shop, 1184, Bay Street, Toronto, is— as already noted in FLIGHT—about to make an attempt to cross the Atlantic from east to west as a solo flight. Starting from London and stopping at Novar in the North of Scotland for meteorological reports, he will proceed to the Faroe Islands, Reykjavik, Tassiusak (Greenland), Godhavn (Greenland), across the Davis Strait to Pangnirtung (Baffin Island), Lake Harbour (Baffin Island), thence to a rendezvous with another machine to an advanced point to Lake Timagisac, Northern Quebec, thence to Ottawa, Toronto and New York. The purpose of this flight is to corroborate and correlate the meteorological survey of this northern route to Canada and the U.S.A. made by the British Arctic Air Survey under Watkins' leadership and to prove the practicability of this route for the carriage of mails from England to the North American continent. The advantages of the use of this route are that it forms an entirely new Empire link involving the carriage of mails by British aircraft to Northern Quebec, thence by feeder line to Quebec City and linking there with coast to coast air mails linking up Vancouver, and from there on British bottoms to the Orient. The importance of this link in the Empire chain of com munication cannot be overstated, as the only alternative suggestion that has been made up to now lies in a tem porary agreement between a British aircraft operating com pany and Pan-American Airways to New York, whereby experimental flights are to be made by way of the Azores, Bermuda and New York. Unfortunately, this agreement involves the carriage of mails by American aircraft for 60 per cent, of the way, and Dominion mails would depend for their ultimate delivery on the U.S.A. Post Office. Further, a concession has been agreed by the Icelandic Parliament to Trans-American Air Lines of the U.S.A., giving them landing rights at Reyjavik (Iceland) for 75 years—as we have already recorded in FLIGHT. Should Mr. Gray's flight be successful, the necessary meteorological data (obtained from the air every 15 min.) will be available for the institution of a regular air mail service by the north route, taken in conjunction with the data obtainable by the British Arctic Air Survey, and the political significance of the flight will be enhanced by reason of the making available of this data in time for the Imperial Conference at Ottawa. In this connection it should be noted that the concession in Iceland which the Americans have obtained becomes valueless unless the Dominion Government agree to the Americans the right to fly over Canada to the exclusion of British interests. The aircraft to be employed in this pioneer flight will be a Comper " Swift " high-wing monoplane with a 75-h.p. Pobjoy " R " type engine. This machine has been deliberately selected in view of its high speed, viz., 118-120 miles per hour, its low consumption—4.4 gallons per hour, and its low landing speed—35-40 miles per hour ; the possibilities of landing accidents are very much reduced by this low landing speed. The pilot, Mr. Gray, took his first flying lessons in France in 1909, and again at Brooklands in 1911, and served with the R.F.C. He was instructor to the 86th Canadian Training Squadron and was sent to Fortworth, Texas, to teach the Americans the English system of instruction. He has been flying continuously ever since, and has wide experience of snow-flying conditions in Northern Canada. In preparation for this flight he has taken the C.F.S. blind-flying course at Hamble, together with the latest advanced instruction in C.F.S. flying technique at the same school. Skis and wheels will be used in this attempt, and the aircraft is fitted with complete blind-flying equip ment. All meteorological data and the records of every flight made in the Arctic has been studied and a serious effort has been made to plan and organise this flight upon a sound and scientific basis. The ground organisation is in the hands of one of the largest petrol groups operating in England and Canada. It may be of interest to note here that the negotiations between the Trans-American Airline Corporation and Pan- American Airways on the one hand and the Danish Government on the other about a concession for an air service between America and Europe via Greenland, referred to above, were concluded on April 26. The Government has given the companies permission to examine meteorological conditions in Greenland. If their investigations lead to a satisfactory result they will be allowed two years of trial flights, and if these succeed the Danish Government is willing to grant the concession for the establishment of the airline. Speeding up Canadian Mails A REGULAR liner-air mail service for Canada was inaugurated on April 16 when the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Australia left Southampton for Quebec with mails for discharge at Father Point, some hundreds of miles down the St. Lawrence. From there they were flown to Montreal and points farther west. The new ser vice will save one day for mails sent to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, and two days for mails to Winnipeg and beyond. London-Capetown Airline Opened for Passenger Traffic WITH the departure of the weekly African air mail from Croydon on April 27, the entire 8,000 miles route from Britain right through to the Cape was opened for passengers as well as for mails and parcels. Hitherto, since the inauguration of this London-Capetown route on January 20 last, passengers have only been carried from London as far as Nairobi. The first through passenger carrying service from Cape Town to London also left Cape Town on April 27. The air fare from London to Cape Town will be £130, which includes all meals, hotel accommoda tion, and tips en route, and the aerial journey will be accomplished in 11 days as compared with approximately 17 days by surface transport. Already many passenger bookings for the through air services have been made. New Basra-Aden Route LANDPLANES and flying-boats of the Royal Air Force are engaged, says a correspondent of Lloyd's List, on the survey and development of an air route along the shores of Arabia between Basra and Aden. Some landing grounds have been chosen and stocks of fuel laid down. The sites so far approved are Khor Jaramah, Ras el Hadd, Masira Island, Mirbat, Salalah, and Mukalla. When developed, this route will make a new way for air communications and reinforcements between Iraq, India, Aden, and the Sudan. 4UZ
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