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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 0431.PDF
FLIGHT, AOOUST 31, 1933 THE "DEUTSCHLAND FLUG 1933 By EDWIN P. A. HEINZE ONCE again practical experience has overthrown all theory. In last week's issue of FLIGHT we re ported on the very carefully thought out and very interesting regulations for the " Deutschland Plug." We described how a short high-speed test preced ing the air tour was to supply results to be used as a criterion for the classification of the light planes in the further contest. But on Thursday morning the rain poured down monotonously hour by hour. Although this could not quench the high spirits of the competitors, it caused a considerable delay, because the organisers wanted to await better weather, which had been predicted. As this was vry slow in coming, a start had to be made at fall costs, which gravely affected the results of the high speed test, because several hours were required to carry this through, so that the first machines were handicapped by the still continuing bad weather, while the later machines benefited by a very marked improvement of weather setting in towards noon. Of the 150 machines entered, 25 did not turn up for the weigh-in. Most of these could not be got ready in time. A great many of the competing machines were old club planes and on most of these adjustments or repairs of some kind or other were necessary. All the workshops on the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin were busy day and night for a week. Among those that did not start was the only " Autogiro " that had been entered, which was noted with general regret. The high-speed test was held at the Berlin-Staaken aerodrome, as there the machines could start and land without impeding other air traffic. So on the Thursday morning all 125 machines lined up in Tempelhof to fly across to Staaken, some 12 miles west, returning to Tem pelhof after the speed test, for which each machine started individually, followed 30 sec. later by the next. As, owing to the circumstances mentioned, the first machines, handicapped by the low rain clouds and bad vision, would mostly have come into a class for the further contest, into which they rightly did not belong (some of them had gone astray and attained very low average speeds), the organisers dfcided to permit the competitors to have their machines classified not by these high-speed test results, but by their recorded type test speeds. Thus, the well thought- out plan came to nought. All competitors availed them selves of this permission, which, however, did not affect thi rating, that is, the number of points gained in the hifrn-speed test. As was already pointed out in last week's report, this >mpetition attracted equally the old well-known pilots of ?y t experience and the youngsters. We find all the jy known names in the list of competitors, such as Wolf ninh Fieseler, Osterkamp, Poss, Seidemann, Aichele, j'Y'™' Junck, Thelen, Seyffer, to mention a few of the 'brigade at random. Even the famous old Do.X am, Christiansen, who now holds a very high office German Air Ministry (anything but an austere Vl th. Pli no CS in hi!'i'al P?rsonage). took part in a Klemm in manifestly spirits, a true comrade to all. And amongst these ans the innumerable " young ones," full of hope and "^nation to give the elders a fight for their life, gave event a character all its own. Good humour, disci- comradeship and an excellent organisation could a" to make this competition the complete success it Dar tVe tC become in view of the most painstaking pre- count°nS that had been made for lt in a11 parts of the m(.JKnmg from the men t° the material, one found the once natmg P°sitio11 of the Klemm works confirmed w ilnam' No fewer than 83 out of the 125 machines wav - .mms of all types. Messerschmitt is making head- Also Fami and 0ne found 21 "ght planes of this make, aerobati % iS ?ominS to the f°re. He is the German Quite rl'ff cnampion, and though by profession something fancy tr, erent to an aeroplane constructor, he took such aeroplane designing and building that about two " LOW-WINGITIS " : Design in Germany appears to have become stereotyped, as indicated by this group of machines ready for the " Deutschland Flug," 1933. years ago he started out in this line, building at Kassel sailplanes and light motor machines. Last year he came out with a popular-priced monoplane, and has followed this up with a very neat new model, of which seven took part in this contest. It is a low-wing monoplane with steel tube fuselage and wooden wings. It has two tandem seats and is equipped with a Hirth HM.60 engine giving 70 h.p., with which a maximum speed of 210 km./hr. (130 m.p.h.) is attainable. Heinkel is represented by a single machine of the type used last year in the European Light Plane Contest, and this machine is in the hands of Lt. Seidemann, who last year made such a spectacular dash through Europe on it. But Heinkel has also recently brought out a new school biplane, which took part in the Deutschland Flug with the Heinkel chief pilot Junck in command. This is a straightforward design and rather robust, with few of the aerodynamical refinements of other recent Heinkel products. Biplanes are not popular in Germany. Two elderly Focke-Wulf " Kiebietz biplanes, two Gerners, two old Raab-Katzenstein " Schwalbes," two Arado, one Udet " Flamingo," and the well-known cantilever Darmstadt High School machine, were the only other biplanes in the contest, in which also two Junkers " Junior " all-metal machines took part. It is remarkable how German aeroplane design tends to become petrified. The low-wing monoplane dominates all designers' minds. This type of machine, of course, has its great virtues and merits. But what has become of those apparently so promising tailless machines ? And why is there so very little interest, say, for instance, in the '' Autogiro '' ? The German engine makers, a fact noted already last year, have caught up the lead once held by makers in other countries in the construction of engines suitable for light planes. The radial Siemens & Halske engines have become very popular in Germany. No less than 44 machines taking part in the " Deutschland Flug " this year had engines of this make, with outputs from 80 to 160 b.h.p. Next in popularity is the inverted four-cylin der Argus AS.8, which has an excellent record. It de livers 110/120 h.p., but the very latest improvements give it an output of 135 h.p. at 2,200 r.p.m. The Argus was fitted on 41 machines. Wholly remarkable is the way Hirth engines, a very young make, have zoomed into 861 B2
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