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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0475.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 20, 1932 ! • • ^i ii i •*• • » A side view of the Curtiss-Reid " Courier " mail plane, with wings folded. exhaust pipes protruding through the bottom of the cowl ing. The slightly swept-back wing is set somewhat above the level of the pilot's eyes, giving maximum visibility in all directions. The very neat folding gear is so designed that the trailing edges of the wings scarfe over the fully streamlined centre section, and this without the use of hinged flaps on the wings. When folded, the " Courier " has a total width of no more than 10 ft. 3 in. Thirty Imperial gallons fill the fuel tank, which is fitted with a gauge remarkably like that on the dashboard of a Model A Ford car. The oil tank is on the underside of the fuselage, and is so arranged that it may be fully exposed to the passage of air in the summer time, and efficiently insulated in the winter months, when some of the heat is used to warm the cockpit. Approximately on the centre of gravity, aft of the engine, is the mail com partment of 16 cu. ft., designed for a calculated load of 250 lb. Next aft again is the roomy, well-protected cock pit, with parachute-type seat, doors on either side, and all the usual gadgets sensibly arranged on a neat, three-panel dashboard. Normal stick control, with rudder pedals and atten dant brake pedals are employed. Tail trimming adjust ment of the worm and wheel type is provided on the port side. The instrument board is lit and navigation lights are supplied as standard. With the exception of the main spars, which are of spruce, the entire structure is of metal, fabric covered, and but for the duralumin ribs of the main planes, all the metal work is welded steel tube. The split-axle undercarriage, with a track of 6 ft., incorporates long-travel oildraulic shock absorbers and medium pressure tyres. Balanced Bristol-Frise type ailerons, statically balanced also, give exceptionally easy lateral control, and by means of the adjustable tail plane the machine can be trimmed to fly " hands off " at any speed and loading within its range. 1,066 219 25 190 250 1,750 The '' Courier '' has the following specifications : — Weight empty (but with full night-flying lb. equipment) Fuel, 30 gallons Oil, 2$ gallons Pilot and parachute Mail This gives a wing loading of 12.1 lb. per sq. ft. and a power loading of 14.6 lb. per h.p. Wing loading led to a discussion of landing speeds, in the course of which Mr. Bell pointed out that some extraordinary claims are often made in this respect, and that the ordinary air speed indicator becomes an " Ananias-meter " at low speeds, recording speeds lower than the actual. There is, unfor tunately, no ruling body to certify in the matter of land ing speeds, according to this designer. In any event, both rudder and aileron controls of the " Courier " are reported to be very good right down to stalling speed. Performance figures, as supplied by Mr. Bell, and based on carefully checked flight tests, are as follow: — Maximum level speed with full load 137 m.p.h. Cruising speed at 2,000 r.p.m. ... 118 m.p.h. Rate of climb from ground with full load 820ft./min Cruising range ... ... ... 550 miles. Service ceiling ... ... ... 15,000 ft. The pity of it is that the present curtailment of practi cally all expenditure on air mail and most other aerial activities in Canada makes this an inopportune time for the production of even such an economical machine as this. One would very much like to see some sportsman like the late John C. Webster enter this machine for this year's King's Cup Race. A. H. S. aw*s8#"* ^uitmm-mm-^'^^SjaStl^mU .**.*«*!'• ,,.. Front view of the Curtiss-Reid Courier " mail plane ; it is fitted with an inverted 443 Gipsy III " engine.
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