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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0530.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 31, 1934 this should best be done, but it is very essential that it is done. No nation in the world has more to gain from extensive use of air transport than has the British Empire, and it will, we fear, require some- thing more sustained than an annual day to bring this fact home to the general public. Reduced air mail rates, the introduction of air mail stamps, and a much wider publicity of the time-saving which the air mail offers will have to be called into service if the Nation is to be taken well out of the apathy from which it is only just beginning to struggle. The appeal to firms to open their works to the public did not meet with the response which it deserved. One knows that dislocation is inevitable, and that much of the work is of such a confidential nature that it should not be shown to the crowd. But the difficulties are not unsurmountable. Next year a greater effort should be made to let the public see what it is always being told, that British aircraft and aero engines are the best in the world. A walk through our factories, watching the meticulous care bestowed on every small item that goes into an aero- plane, would go a long way towards convincing the onlooker of the truth of the claim. ±h \^u SAVE for possible last-minute entries, the list ofmachines which may be expected to take partin the race for the Challenge Cup presentedby His Majesty the King, which is to be flown on July 13th and 14th, is now complete. From the announcement of the Royal Aero Club, it would appear that some forty machines will face the starter's red flag, and at the moment there are thirty- eight entries, which, curiously enough, is exactly the same number as appeared in last year's final list. One or two may still be announced, and it may be assumed that one or two will be scratched, so that the " field " promises to be almost identical. With the regulations in force, this number is fairly easily handled, and " bunching " at turning points, once the bugbear of the race, should not be serious. Details of the course, with a sketch map, were published in FLIGHT of May 17th. Once more the start and finish will be at the de Havilland aerodrome at Hatfield, and the courses will radiate from there. They will total about 800 miles, which is approxi- mately thirty miles shorter than last year's course. In 1933, it may be remembered, the entire race was flown in one day, but it was found that the public did not assemble at Hatfield in considerable numbers until the afternoon, towards the time when the Final was being flown, and the suggestion was made in these columns that this year the race might be flown on two days—the earlier heats being flown off on the Friday, and the semi-final and the final on the Saturday. This suggestion has been adopted, and the first two circuits will be flown on Friday, July 13th, and the third and fourth on Saturday, July 14th. We feel sure this arrangement is a wise one. Last year's race was won by Capt. Geoffrey de Havilland on a " Leopard Moth " with " Gipsy Major " engine at a speed of 139.51 m.p.h. " D.H." proved an early favourite, and his win was extremely popular, though until the handicap allow- ances are announced it is clearly impossible to venture any forecast this time, particularly as the entry list contains some very interesting types of aircraft. Last year, too, H.R.H. Prince George entered a Percival " Gull " fitted with Napier '" Javelin " engine, and this year he has again entered one of Capt. Percival's machines, a " Mew Gull " fitted with a '" Gipsy Six " engine. This machine, in which the pilot sits very far back, almost in the tail, has not been seen in public since the first example was shown to press representatives at Gravesend aero- drome some months ago. With its 200 h.p. six- cylinder air-cooled inverted engine it should attain nearly 200 m.p.h. Another machine with a speed of similar order is the Comper " Streak " (" Gipsy Major "). It is true that in the Coupe Deutsch this machine did not do well, but it is difficult to believe that it was at its best, and by July 13th Comper will probably have found a few more " knots." In the 200 m.p.h. class, also, should be the Airspeed " Courier " fitted with the 300-350 h.p. Napier " Rapier " engine. This engine, it will be recalled, has 16 air-cooled cylinders arranged in the form of a letter " H." Something of a '" dark horse " is the Hendy " Heck." This machine, which will be fitted with a 200 h.p. de Havilland " Gipsy Six " engine, has been designed by Mr. Basil B. Henderson for Mr. Whitney Straight, the racing motorist. Like so many modern machines, the " Heck " is a two- seater low-wing cantilever monoplane, with retract- able undercarriage. Space does not allow us to refer to all the machines entered, but a glance through the list published on page 541 serves to indicate the fact that quite a number of the machines should accomplish some- thing like 160 m.p.h. Not that speed in itself will necessarily mean anything much in the race—that depends mainly upon the handicappers—but it is always more interesting to watch fast aeroplanes. For a good many years now the de Havilland com- pany has brought out a new type for the King's Cup Race. This year the King's Cup type figures in the entry list as a " Coupe Moth " with " Gipsy Major " engine. From this one might well infer that it is merely an ordinary " Moth " fitted with coupe top. This, however, is far from being the case. The machine may be described as a small single- engined version of the " Dragon," with cabin accommodation for two people seated side-by-side. The biplane wings have the pronounced taper of the " Dragon," but the single '" Gipsy Major " engine is, of course, placed in the nose of the fuselage. Another de Havilland machine about which there seems to be some mystery is the T.K.I. This machine is a straightforward biplane, with two occupants placed tandem-fashion. It was completely designed and built by the pupils of the de Havilland Technical School, under the guidance of Fit. Lt. Clapp and Mr. Langley. Everyone will be glad to see that once more Lord Nuffield has entered his three Hawker " Tomtits " with Wolseley A.R.9 nine-cylinder radial air-cooled engines of 200 h.p. In last year's race these machines were not fortunate enough to get into the final, although Mr. G. E. Lowdell did get into the semi-final, with a speed of 137£ m.p.h. It is to be hoped that they will have better luck this year. 530
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