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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 0106.PDF
FLIGHT, JULY 13, 1933 EGYPTIAN INTERNATIONAL AVIATION MEETING / '"m ' HE second International Aviation Meeting, to be *-' I held in Egypt, will take place in Cairo, from H) December 19-23 of this year. The meeting will be held under the Sportiug Regulations of the Federa tion Aeronatique Internationale. The object is to stimulate an interest in aviation, and to emphasise the advantages presented by the use of aircraft. During the meeting three contests will be held: " The Circuit of the Oases," which will be a touring contest over a course of about 900 miles ; a Speed Content over a distance of about 230 miles ; and the Oases Trophy, which will be an aggregate contest for a prize to be awarded to the competitor gaining the highest total of points in the two other contests. The rules lay down that every machine must be equipped with a compass, an altimeter, an air speed indicator, and a rev. counter, each machine must also carry sufficient fuel and oil for a minimum of 300 miles at cruising speed. Desert equipment, including a set of ground strip signals, a card ground strip signal code, a small mirror for flashing, two smoke candles and one box of safety matches, must also be carried. Rations on the machine must include a gallon of water, and two days' emergency rations for each person. The Circuit of the Oases " will be flown in two days. The course will be south to Assuit, and south again, but across the desert, to the Oasis of Kharga, where the night will be spent. On the following day the competitors will set off northwards to the Oasis ol Farafra, north once more to the Baharia Oasis, and north-east to Cairo and the finish. Landings must be made at all the Oases mentioned. The race should be an excellent test of navigation even if the visibility is good. The flight south will be easy from a point of navigation, for the blue ribbon of the Nile piovides an excellent landmark, but after that the pilots will have to rely nearly entirely on their compasses, for the Lybian desert provides few landmarks. The dangers of forced landings are by no means negligible, for although most of the country over which the machines will fly provides quite good forced landing ground for small machines, there are stretches of soft sand dunes, in which a forced landing might easily mean minor injuries resulting in many unpleasant hours, perhaps even days, being spent in the desert before help arrived. Cash prizes amount to about £1,500 sterling. In connection with this meeting it is interesting to note that the first International Aviation Meeting to be held in Egypt took place from Sunday, February 6, to Sunday February 13, of the year 1910 (the meeting was described in issues of FLIGHT for February 12 and 19 of that yeari. The pilots included Rougier, Latham, Metrot, Le Blon Balsan, Grade, and Duray, and the machines they flew a Voisin, Antoinette, Bleriot, Grade, Farman, and Curtis A little over 10,000 ft. won a height contest, the longed distance flown was about 54 miles, and the greatest average speed attained 47 m.p.h. THE N.P.L. /"""[I] ' HE National Physical Laboratory which, as was ^ I briefly reported last week, was inspected by the _UL General Board on June 27, has within its walls a very great deal of interest for aeronautically- minded people. The Compressed Air Tunnel, being one of the latest additions, was perhaps the centre of interest. It will be remembered that we were able first to illustrate this in FLIGHT for June 3, 1932, and to report on the occasion when this was first shown to the public on March 13, 1933. The tunnel is being used, at present, to establish stan dard aerofoil data at full-scale Reynolds numbers, including also, the effect of attachments like slots and flaps. The main aerodynamics building contains a Duplex tunnel and also both a 7-ft. and 4-ft. tunnel. The first was shown with a model of a " Puss Moth " in position for measuring the elevator hinge moments with the air screw running. The 7-ft. tunnel was being used for research on high-pitch airscrews, while the smaller tunnel was equipped for experiments on the subject of " buffeting." This is particularly interesting, for it will be remembered that the subject came into prominence after the German report on the Meopham crash on July 21, 1930, which involved the breaking-up of a Junkers low-wing all-metal monoplane. It was shown that at high angles of incidence the wing appears to shed a succession of eddies which cause severe vibration of the tail plane. The airflow over the JS ES S Economic Conference Delegates at Trent SATURDAY last Sir Philip Sassoon, Under-Secretary of State for Air, was " At Home " at Trent Park, to the delegates to the Monetary and Economic Conference. A big gathering of prominent people had accepted Sir Philip's invitation to meet the delegates, and a delightful afternoon resulted to all those fortunate enough to be amongst the guests. Lady Cholmondeley, Sir Philip Sassoon's sister, acted as hostess. The weather was kind, so that the lovely gardens—not forgetting the beautiful herbaceous borders— which were at their best, were a delight to the hundreds who roamed about the grounds. The open-air swimming pool was also a centre of attraction. Conspicuous amongst the guests was the Prime Minister and his daughter. That the tea and strawberries in the several marquees were thoroughly appreciated was evidenced by the " patronage " which they commanded during this memorable function. Fairey Aircraft for Peru Six Fairey " Seal " machines, equipped with Arm- wing was shown by wool tufts, and the effect oi a leading edge slot, in smoothing out the flow at high angles of incidence, was clearly demonstrated, an effect which also greatly reduced the tail plane vibrations. In the east aerodynamics building a 7-ft. tunnel was being used for spinning research, particularly with regard to the effect, during a spin, of tip slots and interceptors. In a 4-ft. tunnel the effect on stability at low speeds ot various wing tip forms was being investigated. In another part of the building a whirling arm was so rigged that the rotary derivatives involved in the study of lateral stability of aeroplanes could be measured. The middle aerodynamics building contained the Open- Jet tunnel. This has only recently been completed, and the elliptical jet, measuring 9 ft. by 7 ft., is capable oi delivering a flow of up to 200 ft. per sec. Apart from these and other smaller purely dynamical demonstrations, the two water tanks in the William Froude Laboratory were visited by everyone connected with aviation, as, besides tests on the hulls of ships, the tanks may be used for determination of the best form of flying-boat hulls and seaplane floats. The visitors were received in the high-voltage laboratory by Sir F. Gowland Hopkins, President of the Royal Society and Chairman of the Board ; Lord Rayleigh, Chairman ot the Executive Committee, and Sir Joseph Petavel, the Director of the N.P.L. strong Siddeley Panther I la engines, purchased by ' Peruvian military air service, have arrived at Lima Aero Golfing Society THE FLIGHT Challenge Cup was competed for at Caw berley Heath Golf Club on Thursday, June 22. There was a good turn out of the members of the Aero Golfing Society. Major R. A. Mayo, 82 less 7 = 75, won the FLIGHT Challenge Trophy. Capt. CD. Barnard and *•• Fulford won the Four Ball Foursomes with a return o 7 up on bogey. Air Crash in Nairobi A REPORT from Nairobi states that Capt. Ricnar Ussher and his wife crashed in the mountains 30 miles *rof: M'beya while on their honeymoon to South Africa. _ the time low lying clouds were hiding the mountains, and it is thought that Capt. Ussher hit the ground a t< hundred yards from the summit. 708
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