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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 0396.PDF
FLIGHT, AUGUST 24, 1933 ;nj*si V U.S.CQAST GUARD. THE " ANTARES " : The engines are Pratt 8C Whitney " Wasps " mounted as pushers. FOR COAST GUARD SERVICE An American Flying Lifeboat FOR something over a year the American Coast Guard Service has been in possession of some machines specially designed for coast guard work, and during that period they have proved their value on more than one occasion. The conditions for which these machines were designed were extremely severe, and as it is not without the bounds of possibility that some day Britain's coasts may be similarly equipped, we have thought that a description of this interesting American production might be welcomed by our readers. When the day comes for the National Life Boat Institution to " take to the air," we sincerely hope that Lord Mottistone, who will be more familiar to our readers as Gen. Seely, will be on board the first machine. In designing the American " Flying Life Boat," the engineers of the General Aviation Manufacturing Corpora tion of Dundalk, Maryland, were faced with rather unusual problems. The co-operation of the engineers of the U.S. Coast Guard Service was, of course, available, and between producers and operators the type FLB-51 was evolved. Taking oS from and alighting on rough water was a first consideration. Apart from the question of hull shape, this meant protecting the airscrews from spray. Consequently the monoplane type of wing structure was chosen, with two Pratt & Whitney " Wasp " engines mounted above the wing and arranged to drive pusher airscrews. This gave a position in which it is almost impossible for spray to find its way past the trailing edge of the wing on to the propellers, unless the machine " takes it over green." A second desideratum was ability always to return to its base, and the machine therefore had to be so designed that it would fly comfortably with one engine stopped. This led to the adoption of two Pratt & Whitney " Wasps " for the necessary power reserve, and to the placing close together of the two engine nacelles, so that with one engine stopped .the centre of thrust should not be too far removed from the centre of resistance, and the machine actually is said to require very little rudder to maintain its course with one engine out of action. Yet a third necessity in the planning of the " Flying Life Boat " was that it should under all conditions be in wireless communication not only with its base for giving reports, but with shipping which might be sending out S.O.S. messages, or hastening to the aid of a vessel in dis tress. Thus the radio equipment on the FLB-51 is un usually powerful and complete. If the operational requirements were severe, the struc tural problems were no less so. It was not desired to em ploy a greater number of structural materials than strictly necessary, but at the same time, the buffeting to which a machine of this sort might be subjected demanded the greatest possible strength. As in all other branches of engineering, a compromise had to be made, and this took the form of using Duralumin and " Alclad " for the hull and wing-tip floats, wood for the wing, and welded-steel tube construction for the tail surfaces and engine nacelle supports. The Hull.—The design of the hull of the Antares differs from British practice in that the portion from the rear step to the stern is a fairly light monocoque metal structure whose function is mainly to carry the tail, but not to do much work hydrostatically or hydrodynami- cally. The forward portion, on the other hand, is of very sturdy construction, with watertight bulkheads dividing it into com partments so that damage to any one spot will not flood the entire hull. The reserve buoyancy i- large, in the neighbourhood o, w so that even after e..- the mac per cent tensive damage should keep afloat. the hull against corrosion, a aluminium and duralumin paru= are first anodically treated. Jw are then primed with red '>- rf and given two or three coat- ^ pigmented varnish. /l"e , .' clad" skin plates have b.tu LOOKING AFT : A view inside LOOK1NU AM : ^ v~" .ht the hull, showing watertight bulkhead, monocoque• c ^ struction, etc. On rig" ' hc foreground, can be seen stretcher bunk. 844
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