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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0277.PDF
FLIGHT, MARCH 22. 1934 A MODERN UNDERCARRIAGE : One-half of the retractable undercarriage. The tail wheel also is retractable. flaps eliminates the difficulty experienced in aircraft of thistype in operating an adjustable tail plane at high speeds. The retractable undercarriage is a novel type of con-struction. The gear is operated by rotary motion about a pivot, the interior operating mechanism being merely aworm drive. An electric motor drive is operated by the pilot by a switch, and this lowers the undercarriage inabout seven seconds. Emergency manual control, suitable warning devices and a pointer in the cockpit indicatingthe position of the landing gear at all times, are provided. The gear itself is composed of a single cantilever duraluminstrut of rectangular section, to the upper end of which is fastened a segment of a worm wheel. The lower end ofthis box-like strut contains an oleo shock absorber unit to which a stub axle is attached. To this strut is fastenedan automatically operated fairing which completely closes the wheel well and renders the bottom surface of the wingperfectly flush when the gear is retracted. A single cable runs from a suitable point on the landing gear back•through the fuselage to the tail wheel. This cable par- tially retracts the tail wheel, as the undercarriage itself isretracted. A Wright " Cyclone " Model F.2 radial air-cooled engine,rated at 700 h.p. at 1,900 r.p.m., is mounted in the nose and enclosed in an N.A.C.A. cowling. A three-bladeadjustable pitch metal airscrew is fitted. Fuel tankage for a range of 800 miles (1287,5 km), 123.2 gall. (560 litres), isprovided in the centre section. The pilot's compartment is immediately behind theengine, aft of the fireproof bulkhead, and is fitted with a Vee-type inward sloping windscreen. The pilot sits on theport side and a mail compartment of 20 cu. ft. (0,57 m') capacity occupies the starboard side of the cockpit. Asoundproof bulkhead fitted with a small door separates the pilot from the passenger compartment. The eightpassengers are seated two abreast, separated by a 12 in. 304,8 mm) aisle and the cabin seats are adjustable tothree positions. The fuselage is 62 in. (1574,8 mm) high and 52 in. (1320,8 mm) wide. Behind the last seat is themain cabin door, and opposite this door is a fully equipped lavatory. Immediately behind the lavatory is the passen-gers' baggage compartment, and to the rear of this is the main radio installation. Standard equipment of the air-craft includes full night-flying instruments and flares, and complete two-way wireless. JERSEY AIRWAYSON Monday, March 12, the incoming service from Jersey was duplicated, and 17 passengers in all were carriedon the Jersey route that day. The company are expect- ing delivery of another " Dragon," bringing their fleet upto five. Two services a day will be run during Easter Week. The time-table is as follows : — Heston (dep.). Jersey (dep.). 7.15 a.m.11.30 a.m. 7.45 a.m.12.00 noon. 8.00 a.m.12.30 p.m. 8.30 a.m.1.00 p.m. 9.00 a.m.1.30 p.m. 9.15 a.m.2.15 p.m. 9.45 a.m.2.45 p.m. 10.15 a.m.3.30 p.m. 10.45 a.m.3.45 p.m. 11.15 a.m.4.00 p.m. Thursday. March 29 ..Friday, March 30 Saturday, March 31Sunday, April 1 Monday, April 2 Tuesday, April 3 Wednesday, April 4 .. B.A.N.C.O. SERVICES B.A.N.C.O. will run a special service to the GrandNational on Friday, Marcn 23, leaving Grosvenor House at 9.30 a.m. and Heston at 10.15. The return fare of£8 8s. includes luncheon in the air and admission to the reserved carriage enclosure. Regular services to Le Touquetwill be operated by this company during Easter Week, at a return fare of £5 5s., leaving Heston as follows: —Thursday, March 29, 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m. ; Friday, March 30, 11 a.m. ; Saturday, March 31, 3 p.m. ; Sunday,April 1, 11 a.m. Return services will leave Berck for Heston on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Both the aboveservices will be operated by a wireless-equipped three- engined Ford, and in the latter case light refreshments will be served en route. The flying time Heston-Berck will be 45 minutes. HIGHLAND AVIATION ON March 8 the first passenger flight from Inverness to Stornoway and back was made. The machine used was a D.H. " Dragon " (two " Gipsy Majors ") flown by Capt. E. E. Fresson, of Highland Airways. Starting from Inverness Aerodrome at 10.35 a.m., Stornoway was reached at 11.40 a.m., flying by Loch Broom. On the return trip the " Dragon " left Stornoway at 1.56 p.m. and flew back by way of Loch Maree as Capt. Fresson wished to make a survey in order to ascertain the possibilities of flying through Glen Docherty Pass and Achnasheen. Inverness was reached at 2.55 p.m. In the opinion of Capt. Fresson, the Glen Docherty route, except for four miles, is ideal for a seaplane service to Stornoway as there are excellent facilities for landing. For land machines, however, the obvious route is by Braemore and Ullapool. During bad weather it would be possible to fly at a low altitude. It is reported that the postal service to the Orkney Islands will this summer probably be carried by air. There is an air service between th« islands and Inverness, and it is the proposal of the G.P.O. authorities to utilise this for mails. This would be the first internal air mail service in Great Britain. TRANS-CANADA AIR MAIL WE understand that there is a distinct possibility of the Trans-Canada air mail service starting next autumn. There has already been a great deal of work done in developing landing grounds by the use of preparations in 277 c2
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