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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0649.PDF
FLIGHT, JULY 1, 1932 The S.B.A.C. Display For the first time in the history of British aviation the S.B.A.C, in collaboration with the British Air Ministry, held a combined Aero Show and Flying Display at Hendon on Monday last to which admission was by invitation only. A large number of representatives of foreign nations took the opportunity to be present and to see for themselves the excellence of British Aircraft Aero Engines and other material ^-jgrLTHOUGH it was arranged at rather short notice, OsJ the Flying Display arranged by the S.B.A.C., \*S JUL with the co-operation of the Air Ministry, at Hendon last Monday must be counted a success. The idea of holding such a demonstration soon after the Royal Air Force Annual Display at Hendon is thoroughly sound, and deserves to become as regular a feature as the R.A.F. Display itself. For our own part, we feel that the S.B.A.C. made a great mistake in ruling that no photographers were to be admitted to the show on Monday last. Here was an unrivalled opportunity for letting journals like FLIGHT show the world in pictures all the latest British types of aircraft, service and civil. As there is scarcely a country in the world in which FLIGHT does not circulate, the value to the British aircraft in dustry of a fully-illustrated issue dealing with these pro ducts would have been very great indeed. As it is, we have to content ourselves with a description of what happened during the day. Admission to Hendon on Monday last was by invitation card only, and the general public were not admitted. The invitations had been accepted by a great number of foreign representatives, and Hendon aerodrome presented, in spite of the " Hampstead-Heath-after-a-Bank-Holiday " appear ance left by Saturday's visitors, a very animated scene. German, French, Italian and a host of other tongues were heard on every hand, and in some instances the language difficulty was a fairly serious one. This makes it advisable to offer, at this juncture, a suggestion for the improvement of the next S.B.A.C. Display. The organisers know before hand which nationalities are attending and in what numbers. It would be courteous, and probably good busi ness policy as well, if interpreters were made available so that for each nationality attending in any considerable numbers an interpreter was placed at their disposal who would conduct them around the aircraft park. In the case of many of the nationalities represented on Monday, the air or other attache1 in London acted in this capacity, but not all nationalities have attaches or other suitable representatives with sufficient aircraft knowledge to make good interpreters. The programme for the day included an inspection of the aircraft on the ground during the morning, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., when the luncheon interval began, end a flying display of the various types during the afternoon, followed by passenger flights. A most imposing array of aircraft were lined up in the S.E. corner of the aerodrome, and the visitors were busy inspecting them from 11 a.m. onwards. Prominent among those who closely examined all the machines was the Italian Air Minister, Signor Italo Balbo, with a large entourage, in which was included Lt. Col. Bitossi, Italian Air Attache in London. To convey an idea of the number and variety of aircraft on view it is necessary to give a complete list of the machines present. Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth air craft were represented by the new " Atalanta " commer cial monoplane (four " Double Mongoose " engines of 340 h.p. each). This machine came in for much admira tion as one of the largest and " cleanest " British civil aeroplanes ever produced. In addition to this machine, the firm was represented by the " Atlas Mark II (" Panther " engine) and the A.W.XVI (*' Panther ) single-seater fighter. The Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Co., Ltd., was repre sented bv three types: The new ten-passenger biplane (two "jaguar IV C " engines), the " Segrave " (a modernised version of the Segrave " Meteor ") with two " Gipsy III " engines, and the new " B2 " light trainer biplane. An illustration of the ten-passenger machine was published on p. 564 of last week's issue. The machine is oi all-metal construction, with corrugated light-metal fuselage covering. The little " B2 " is a development of the Blackburn • Bluebird," and has its fuselage covered with sheet metal, very neatly applied. Like the " Blue-.*£•• ' :t TT 1S a side-by-side two-seater. The engine is a Gipsy III." Three aircraft were to have been displayed by the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd., but at the last minute the 120" ("Pegasus") was withdrawn, although the machine was actually in place when the gates opened in the morning. Whether or not the withdrawal was by order of the Air Ministry we have no knowledge. The celluloid "parrot cage" for the gunner may have been thought too startling to spring on unsuspecting visitors. There remained the "Bulldog III A " ("Mercury") and the "Bulldog" T.M. ("Jupiter"), a two-seater "Bull dog" designed for advanced training. The "Bulldog III A " is a modernised version of the older machine of that name, and is believed to be the fastest single-seater fighter in the world fitted with an air-cooled engine. On the de Havilland "stand" were three types: A " Fox Moth " (" Gipsy III "), a " Puss Moth " (" Gipsy III "), and a " Tiger Moth " (" Gipsy III "). All three types are familiar to our readers, but many of the visitors very evidently were delighted to make the acquaintance of the machines " in the flesh." The comfort of the " Puss Moth " and the obvious economy of the " Fox Moth " appeared to impress the visitors. We believe that originally it had been intended to have four machines on view by the Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd., one of these to be a " Fox II " (" Kestrel "). However, this machine was absent, and a " III F " had taken its place. The " Firefly III " (" Kestrel "), the " Gordon " (" Panther ") and the " III F " (" Lion ") were none the less admired because they are well known, but the greatest attraction was undoubtedly the night-bomber monoplane (two " Kestrel "). This low-wing cantilever monoplane has been extremely carefully streamlined and shows a frontal area surprisingly small for such a large machine. The " trousered " undercarriage, with the two radiators placed immediately ahead of each " trouser leg," is an example of how trouble has been taken to reduce drag. Of the performance nothing may be said, but there is no doubt that for a machine in the night-bomber class this new monoplane is very fast. The Gloster Aircraft Co., Ltd., made up in size what it lacked in the number of its exhibits. The troop carrier is a very large machine, yet so well proportioned is it that one is apt to fail to realise its size. The Gloster "tin bashers " have made a wonderfully fine job of applying the metal covering of the fuselage, and nowhere did one see either discontinuity of line or scratch marks of any sort on the Duralumin skin, which is laid on in small panels. The fact is now no longer a secret that the four Rolls- Royce " Kestrels " are steam cooled, and that it is this which accounts for the small size of the radiators, the "Gothic" architecture of which was praised by some visitors and rather criticised by others. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the tractor and pusher engines are different, the " Kestrels " being two Mark II's and two Mark Ill's. The object is evidently to provide suitable gear ratios to the two pusher engines, so that the airscrews working in the slipstream of the two tractor screws may work at the highest attainable efficiency. A service, a commercial and a comic type were presented by Handley Page, Ltd. The service type was the H.P.38 (two " Kestrel ") night bomber, and the commercial machine was "Helena," one of the H.P.42 type (four 601
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