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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 1240.PDF
FLIGHT. DECEMBER 1, 1932 Nobile, whose adventures with the Italia in the far north will be remembered, is acting as constructional adviser. Furthermore, there are engineers Flaxerman and Assberg, and the scientists Samoilowitsch and Moltschanow, and lastly the airship commanders and engineers Nishewski and Garakhanidse. As will be seen, there is gathered under the control of the State a whole series of undertakings with the ultimate object of the exploitation of Northern Siberia, making that the goal of regular airship transport services, the investigation of as yet unexplored Polar regions, the making of photographic records, the direct crossing of Siberia and the accomplishment of pure experimental building. Such comprehensive and far-reaching plans and efforts to assist in the evolution of the airship should at least command our attention and interest, and in view of the fiasco in this country with our own ill-fated craft, should not be commented upon with disdain. We have, indeed, much to learn. Queensland Goldfields Air Service WHAT is, perhaps, the most meteoric growth in a small town population witnessed for many years has taken place at Cracow, Queensland, where the latest mining developments increased the number of residents from 135 to 1,500 in the course of a few weeks. The chief link between the goldfields and Brisbane is by air owing to the inaccessible nature of the country, which makes it impos sible to cover the distance of 236 miles by surface trans port in less than two days either way. Travelling by air it is possible to leave Brisbane at 7 a.m. and to arrive at the field at 10 a.m., with a clear day ahead to make investi gations before returning by air to Brisbane in the late afternoon. The service is availed of largely by city finan ciers and others who find it necessary to keep in constant touch with new developments on the fields. The Shell Company organises fuel and oil supplies for the Qantas taxi machines employed on this route, and the flights are regarded as demonstrating in a very definite manner the flexibility of air travel to meet urgent transport require ments in less-developed parts of the country. Air Mail Profits and Losses ON November 14 Lord Apsley asked the Postmaster- General whether the charges made against foreign postal administrations on account of their air mails carried on British air mail routes were based on the gold franc ; if so, what had been the increase of Post Office revenue from such sources since the suspension of the gold standard ; and whether any arrangements had been made to allocate part of such increased profits to the assistance of such British air mail routes. Sir K. Wood said the reply to the first part of the question was in the affirmative ; as regards the second part, the surplus collected by the Post Office was estimated at about £16,000 a year. This sum had been utilised to cover the loss on the conveyance of British mails by Imperial and foreign air services and had enabled the Post Office to avoid increasing the rates charged for air correspondence posted in this country. Iraq Air Mail Discontinued THE Postmaster-General announces that the Wednes day air mail despatch to Iraq has been discontinued. In future air mail correspondence for Iraq will be despatched only by the England-India air mail service, the latest time of posting for which is 11.0 a.m. on Saturdays at the General Post Office, London. A New Air Line STARTING from April 1 next year, a regular air service will be run between Heston and Cowes. It is intended Ss5 SU S§ that two trips will be made each way daily, and the single fare will be 25s. Buses will take passengers to and col lect from Devonshire House, Piccadilly, London, and the pier at Cowes respectively. The machines to be used will be Spartan " Cruisers " with " Hermes IV " engines which, with a cruising speed of 120 m.p.h., will enable passengers to be landed at Devonshire House 1| hr. after leaving Cowes. The running of this service will be by way of demonstrating the suitability of the Spartan " Cruiser " for such work. It was built for utilisation on feeder lines, and there is no doubt that the successful operation of this proposed service will be the best means of proving the Spartan Aircraft Go.'s contention that their machine is one of the best for the purpose. The Aeropostale Affair M. ANDRE BOUILLOUX-LAFONT, Director of the Cie Aeropostale, has been arrested on a charge of uttering forged documents. In a debate in the French Chamber, M. Painleve, Minister for Air, said that the p'lots and personnel of the line had done their duty splendidly, and it was not their fault if the megalomania of some of the directors had imperilled the existence of the company. He stated that during eight years 39 pilots, 27 wireless operators and other employees, and 20 passengers had lost their lives—86 fatalities for a million and a half miles flown. Obstacles of Indian Air Mail LT. COL. H. BURCHALL, in a lecture before the Royal Central Asian Society, described the difficulties experienced by Imperial Airways in obtaining permission from foreign Governments to fly through their territory. In October, 1926, the Cairo-Karachi service was held up. In 1929 the difficulty was overcome and permission given for the ser vice to operate for three years, but on the expiry of this period the Persian authorities wished to choose the air route through their country themselves, which again upset matters for a time. Difficulty had been also experienced in negotiating with the Italian Government concerning the service between Genoa and Naples. Again, when it was decided to give up the Persian route along the Persian Gulf, negotiations with the various Sheiks along the coast of Arabia were exceedingly troublesome and tedious. One Sheik was prepared to allow service machines to use his territory, but objected to civilian aircraft. Another Sheik was more accommodating, but fell ill and changed his mind. Eventually it was arranged to use land machines and an eleven years' agreement was signed with the Sheik of Shangah. "COMFORT, WARMTH, AND A CLEAR OUTLOOK" A Short Test of the Monospar ^jtfT SHORT flight on the Monospar with two C~^\l| passengers was enjoyable despite foul visibility \Z/ JlL and north-easterly chill. In fact, we know of no pleasanter aeroplane in which to give " baptemes d'air," since comfort, warmth, and confidence, with conversational possibilities, are characteristics of this type. With no idea of noting technicalities, it was evident from the moment of opening of the throttles that here was a lively aircraft. The take-off was remarkable. In the air the machine climbed well without being unduly critical as to correct airspeed or attitude—which may be as important to the average pilot as the precise rate of climb. The Monospar handled beautifully throughout its speed range ; its controls were pleasingly arranged, and its instruments, without obtruding, were plain to both front-seat occupants. The seating arrangement, comfort, and outlook were strongly reminiscent of an expensive four-seater saloon car. On the machine flown, the brakes were badly set, but the manner of their operation (rudder- bar and racing-handbrake type of control) is particularly sound. On landing, the port engine having stopped, was primed, and restarted without effort, in about 15 sec. One has heard criticisms of the elevator control. The fact, as it appeared to us, was that there was one very slight although distinct " snatch " during any large increase of incidence with engines on, e.g., in entering a medium turn. Nothing in the nature of actual vice was found, although very slow flight and straight stalls were done. This aeroplane bears the hall-mark of the practical pilot-designer in general and in detail ; consequently on a purely practical flying test it is extremely appealing to the pilot. Ease of blind flight is an excellent criterion of harmony of control, and although flying the type for the first time we had no difficulties in a bumpy blind period of 20 min. or so. Landing (and indeed flying in general) was exceptionally easy. The writer would enjoy teaching an " ab initio " pupil on this aeroplane—and believes he would break a " record " in the process, but nothing else. W. E. J. 1154
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