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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 1204.PDF
FLIGHT, NOVEMBER 24, 1932 r v (A A blending room in the " Castrol " works at Hayes, Middlesex. Uniformity is, of course, of paramount necessity in a lubricating oil, and tests are taken from all batches to ensure that they conform in every respect to the standard. Many oils tend to become dirty with use, and often to deteriorate chemically. At the high temperatures under which they normally have to be used in engines they tend to oxidise, but special precautions are taken in the preparation of Castrol oils to limit the amount of oxidation to the minimum, and every batch of oil is carefully tested before delivery, for this purpose. Many other tests are als:i made. There is, for example, the ' pour test," which determines the tempera ture at which the oil will cease to flow, and is therefore a check against gumming up in cold weather. At the same time it is necessary to ensure that the - oil remains thick enough at working temperatures, and for this purpose there is a test called the " viscosity test " which measures the degree to which the oil will thin down when it becomes hot. The Air Log itself is usually worked by the former and records both the time of trip and the total flying time. It is fitted with dual pointer indicat ing the time of trip, moving in a clockwise direction round the circum ferential scale. This scale is divided into hours and tenths of an hour, and a peculiar feature of the instrument is that when this trip pointer is re turned to 0, the spring motor is auto matically re-energised, thus obviating the necessity of having to do more than cancel the trip reading when finished. This form of air log does not start to function until the machine is in the air, and it therefore greatly assists accurate cross-country navigation. The engine log type is operated by a venturi tube placed directly behind the airscrew, and it therefore records the total time during which the engine is running, thus eliminating the neces sity for guessing the time of taxying or running up and ensuring overhauls at regular intervals. Such instruments are also valuable for time checking on machines used by flying schools and joy-riding concerns. GENERAL ACCESSORIES AND EQUIPMENT Air Log Co., Ltd. 193, Elgin Terrace, London T NSTRUMENTS being produced by * this company may be worked either by a pitot head or by a venturi tube. The Air Log. A Bonnella Switch. D. H. Bonnella & Sons, Ltd. 46,rOsnaburgh Road, London,'NW.i. C LECTRICAL equipment for modern *-"• aircraft is rapidly becoming a more and more complicated system, in exactly the same way as is that of ocean-going liners. Services of every conceivable kind are now controlled by electricity, while the advent of wireless has made careful bonding and screening necessary throughout the aircraft. All these factors tend to increase the number of electrical fit tings and equipment required, and the firm of Bonnella supply everything of this nature, to do with lighting, wire less, ignition and bonding, as well as cockpit lamps, dimmers, sockets, plugs, cable clamps, adapters, lugs, joint boxes and screened ignition. British Power Boat Co. Hythe,' Southampton 17 VERY form of motor-boat is turned *-> out by this company. Their 16-ft. motor launch called " The Sea Trump " type, is widely used by the coastal stations of the R.A.F. for general tender work, and has also been fitted as a tanker with a capa city of 300 gallons. It has an 8/28 1126 British Power Boats for the R.A.F. four-cylinder engine which gives a speed of 23 m.p.h. The larger craft are of equal, if not more interest, and among these is the 37-ft. 6-in. R.A.F. seaplane tender fitted with two engines of 100 h.p. each. The speed is high, as much as 25 knots full out, so that it is obvious that it should be of great use for general seaplane tender work. Boats of this type have proved to be excellent sea boats, even at full throttle, and have been run perfectly successfully in seas which called for a reduction in speed on the part of destroyers and other craft. Manoeuvring is particularly easy, due to the twin-screw arrangement, and in restricted waters the wheel can almost be disregarded. There are only two 6-in. levers, and these govern both the reverse gear and the engine speed. The performance is probably largely accounted for by the design of the hull. Below water the bows are Vee shaped and the under water part of the hull becomes progressively shallower, with a wider Vee throughout its length until at the stern it is prac tically flat bottomed. This shaped bow tends to cut a path through the water and to pile up on either side a wave, on which the flatter part of the hull rides. Kelvin, Bottomley & Baird 18, Cambridge St., Glasgow, C.2 l£ B.B. compasses are made in **• several types, but the most widely known is the K.B.B.4. This is similar to the ordinary Service type P.4, but with an improved magnetic system giving a quick, dead-beat A K.B.B. Compass.
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