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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0214.PDF
FLIGHT, MARCH 8, 1934 with hollow wooden tail pieces for streamlining. Theengine fitted was a 3-cylinder radial air-cooled Bristol. The gross weight of this aeroplane was 2,000 1b. Thespan was 35 ft. 5 in., overall length 26 ft., and overall height 12 ft. 3 in. 1 ype " Ding."—This type of machine, one of the newest,is a bombing and torpedo plane. It is fitted with a 360- h.p. Rolls-Royce engine, but provision is made for theinstallation of an engine of greater horse-power when so desired. Its total weight is 5,300 lb., with a military loadof 220 lb. In its general method of construction it is similar to Type " Wu," except that the two floats aresupported on separate and independent structures with clear space between them to permit a torpedo to be slungunder the fuselage and launched without hindrance. Provision is made for two cockpits and a cabin in thefuselage. The pilot's cockpit is under the trailing edge of the upper wing, where there are two side-by-side seats.Behind this is the gunner's cockpit. Between the pilot's cockpit and the engine compartment is the cabin for thebomber. This is built of generous dimensions with a trap door and bombing gear installed. When used for passenger carrying, four persons can becomfortably accommodated in the cabin, the head room of which is sufficient for persons of normal height to standupright. Entrance to the cabin is effected by a door on each side of the fuselage, while a third or.emergency dooris fitted on the roof. Large windows are fitted on both sides of the cabin, affording exceptional vision. When long-distance non-stop flights are to be made, oneor more large reserve fuel tanks can be installed in the cabin. The normal cruising range is six hours. Overalldimensions of the machine are: Span, 46 ft. ; length 36 ft. 9 in. ; and height, 17 ft. 4 in. Type " Chiang Hung " (1930).—This is a two-seat train-ing or three-seat touring biplane. Its characteristics, speci- fications and performance data are as follow: — Wings.—.Single-bay biplane. Wooden structure with wirebracing. Fabric covering. Ailerons fitted on bottom planes only. Interplane struts are steel tubes with wood fairings.Means are provided on top centre section for hoisting. Fuselage.—Kectangular structure of wood-covered fabric.Engine mounting and forward portion of fuselage of steel tubing. Tail Unit.—Monoplane type, with braced three-ply tailplane and cantilever fin. Tail plane adjustable iD the air. Unbalanced rudder and elevators. Wood structure andfabric covering. Floats.—Twin floats, with single steps. Chassis consistsof outwardly sloping " N " struts to floats. The floats are connected together by two spreaders which are sup-ported midway by the apices of transverse Vees from the fuselage. The spreaders are further cross-braced withcables. All the float struts are steel tubes faired with wood. Floats made of wood, with five watertight com-partments, each with hand-hole. Power Plant—•One 165-h.p. Wright " Whirlwind " 5-cylinder air-cooled engine. Two fuel tanks on top centre section. Oil tank behind engine on top of fuselage. Accommodation.—Front cockpit with side-by-side seatsbelow wing. Rear cockpit behind trailing edge. Dual control is fitted in the front cockpit. When the machineis used for touring the rear cockpit can easily be. converted into a luggage compartment with detachable cover. Dimensions.—Span (top), 34 ft. 7 in. ; span (bottom),35 ft. 8 in. ; chord, 5 ft. 3 in. ; gap, 5 ft. 3 in. ; length, 27 ft. 4 in. ; height, 11 ft. 8 in. ; wing area, 338 sq. ft. Weights and Loadings.—Weight, empty, 1,630 lb. ; dis-posable load, 2,600 Ib. ; wing loading, 7.7 lb./sq. ft. ; power loading, 15.75 lb. /h.p. Performance.—Maximum speed, 110 m.p.h. ; landingspeed, 53 m.p.h. ; initial rate of climb, 514 ft./min. ; climb to 10,000 ft., 31 min. ; absolute ceiling, 15,500 ft. Type " Chiang Hau " (1932).—This is powered with aWright " Whirlwind " J-6-5, 165-h.p., at 2,000 r.p.m. Performance with Full Load.—High speed, 118 m.p.h.;cruising speed, 97 m.p.h. ; landing speed, 56 m.p.h. ; rate of climb at sea-level, 450 ft./min. ; climb in 10 min., 3,770 ft. ; service ceiling, 9,620 ft. ; wing loading, 10.1 lb./sq. ft. ; power loading, 14.9 1b. /h.p. ; cruising radius, 715 miles. Dimensions.—Length overall, 27 ft. ; height overall, 10 ft. 10 in. ; wing span, upper, 32 ft. 2 in. ; chord, upper wing, 4 ft. 4 in. ; wing span, lower, 32 ft. 2 in. ; chord, lower wing, 4 ft. 4 in. ; dihedral, upper wing, 3 deg. ; dihedral, lower wing, 4 deg. ; incidence, upper wing, 1.5 deg. ; incidence, lower wing, 1.5 deg. ; tail incidence, adjustable in flight. 2.5 to +2.5 deg. Areas.—Wing, including aileron, 245.2 sq. ft. ; total aileron, 21.0 sq. ft. ; tail plane, 13.1 sq. ft. ; total eleva- tor, 12.3 sq. ft. ; fin, 5.0 sq. ft. ; rudder, 7.6 sq. ft. ; wing section, R.A.F., 34. Weights.—Weight, empty, 1,660 lb. ; useful load, 880 lb. ; pilot, 140 lb. ; oil (7 gall.), 53 lb. ; pay load. 175 lb.; fuel (72 gall.), 432 lb. ; gross weight loaded, 2,260 lb. Equipment.—Propeller (metal, adjustable), diameter 8 ft. 6 in. Control (dual), conventional stick and rudder bar. Instruments.—Compass, Bank Indicator, Airspeed Indi-cator, Altimeter, Tachometer, Petrol Gauge, Oil Pressure Gauge, Oil Temperature Gauge.Floating Hangar.—Besides all the hangars and slipways which are used for housing and operating aircraft andwhich are designed by the officers of the N.A.E., a steel floating hangar which is unique in the fact that it is theonly one of its kind in the world, was constructed at the Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works in 1922. It wasdesigned by Captains Barr and Wong on the principle of floating docks, and was for use on the Yangtsze River. Itschief features are its mobility, as it may be towed any- where, and its ability for anchoring in shallow waters.Unlike the use of shore hangars and slipways, the seaplane housed in the floating hangar can be launched and flownin a very few minutes' time, and is therefore independent of the tide. The hangar structure is built on to a hull which consistsof two longitudinal steel pontoons held together by trans- verse girders and deck plating. Each pontoon is dividedinto five watertight compartments ; the centre one is the flooding compartment and the other four holds and chainlockers. In the centre of the hull there is a trough or dock in which the floats of the seaplane normally rest. Atthe front end of the trough there is a hinged flap door which, when closed, is watertight. When the seaplane isnot in use the hull rests at its normal waterline, the flap door is closed, and the bottom of the trough is abovewater. When it is desired to operate the seaplane, water ispumped into the flooding compartments, and the hull is sunk to its low waterline ; the flap door is then openedand the machine is water borne, and hence can easily be taxied out. Sinking or floating of the hangar is accom-plished by means of a centrifugal pump driven by a kerosene engine. Overall dimensions of the floating hangarare: Length, 70 ft. 8 in. ; width, 35 ft. 4 in. ; and height, 26 ft. 6 in. Its normal draft is 2 ft. 10 in. In February, 1931, the N.A.E. was moved to Lungwha,Shanghai. Capt. Y. K. Tseng is now Director-General of the reorganised Naval Air Establishment. Because it has religiously kept out of politics, the N.A.E.has weathered and survived a number of revolutions and the downfall of several different governments. Its develop-ment, however, has been hindered by the paucity of avail- able funds. Recently, the Curtiss-Wright interests have effected adeal with the Chinese National Government, and is at worJj establishing a factory for the manufacture of American-type aircraft. This, however, will not interfere with the N.A.E.. whose primary purpose is research and experi-mentation with Chinese raw materials for use in aircraft construction. [Nevertheless, this should provide food forthought for British constructors with a view to establish- ing themselves also in a promising market.—ED.] Severe test for "Gipsy Six" THE new " Gipsy Six " engine, which was described in FLIGHT for January 25 of this year, has recently been put to a severe test at the D.H. works. It was run for 100 hours at full power, and at the maximum revolu- tions of 2,350 r.p.m., during which no replacements or adjustments were made. This test was carried out at the instigation of Maj. F. B. Halford, the designer. During the test the engine was mounted on a rigid engine stand which, by concentrating all loads and vibrations in the engine itself, represents a greatly more severe trial than a run of 100 hours at full throttle in a machine. 214
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