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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0823.PDF
AUGUST 9, 1934. FLIGHT. CORRESPONDENCE it fnTfJbHCatZibL 7i °Pi?rS eXpreS$ed by C0^P^dents. The names and addresses of thepublication, must in all cases accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns. The undercarriage semi-retracts, but the foils are not neces- sarily intended to represent, especially in their present per- spective, the last word in proficiency! \V. RIGBY. Streatham, S.W.16. From the Viscount Elibank, D.L. [2950] The decision of the Postmaster-General to inaugurate air mails between a number of cities in this country is a step in the right direction. Not only is it important as a direct contribution to industrial development, but also as establishing a principle which those of us who are interested in air develop- ment have been emphasising for some considerable time. The efficiency of the air industry and, as a corollary, of our air defences, depends very largely upon the prosperity of civil aviation. Assured freight is the royal road to a solution of the problem, and the Postmaster-General himself has now stated that "in organising these new air mail services our hope is to make an important contribution to the development of aircraft and air efficiency in this country." It is to be hoped, however, that he will without delay extend these benefits of air mail facilities at a low cost to all parts of the Empire. A year or two ago serious objections were raised to internal air services. The success of the Inverness-Orkney experiment has been so overwhelming that all fears have been banished and the new services have been decided upon. I understand that three thousand letters a day have been carried on the Orkney route without any need of surcharge. The success of the new routes now announced is inevitable. So also would be that of Empire routes—and I have urged repeatedly in the House of Lords that our air development must be regarded not as a national but as an Imperial necessity. Might I suggest that the Postmaster-General should in- augurate an experimental Empire service of low mail rates between, say, England and the East African territories? He would find, I am sure, that the results both in finance and in industrial benefits woul i amply justify the sending of all mails to the territories by air. Sir Kingsley Wood is to be congratulated on going as far as he has done, but he should not be satisfied until he has pur- sued his policy to its logical conclusion and given us a low flat rate for all Empire mails. ELIBANK. London, S.W.7. FIGHTING VIEW [2951] Herewith a sketch which you may be interested to examine, especially as the general principle of a propeller 01 this type seems to have been tried already in Italy and the U.S.A. with interesting results. Though doubtless open to many points of severe criticism, I drew this some time ago as an attempt to visualise the perfect interceptor' Visibility is at its highest, and the pilot would go into action with the cowling at his back drawn over his head, thereafter operating, and firing, through double eye lenses, or binoculars. The armament would be machine guns in pairs, two firing forward and two out at tail (note rudder cut away); in addition to forward M.G.s there is a pair of heavier calibre guns, or incendiary rocket tubes against airships. Finally, from two vents connected with exhausts, either a smoke screen or a gas attack could be made, the same being rendered all the more effective by the curtaining effect produced by being whirled into stream through prep. A CORNER TURNED [2952] Your editorial under this title reminds me that onDecember 13 last I ventured to suggest in a letter you were good enough to print, that the inauguration of the air routeto Australia should coincide with the establishment of the practice of sending all first-class mails by air at a low Hatrate. This idea does not sound quite so far-fetched now as it did then, in view of the enterprise of the P.M.G. The recent announcement that the P.M.G. has appointed Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Sueter, M.P., and Major General Sir Frederick Sykes to the Post Office Advisory Council to act as members of the Air Mail Panel of the Council is almost too good to be true. December has been announced as the earliest date we canexpect the first Australian Air Mail to leave Croydon, so there is still time. The air liner, or liners, making this historical flight may carry a heavier Christinas mail than anyone could have dared hope for twelve months ago. W. L. NAYLOR. Marlow, Bucks. THE PERSONAL ELEMENT [295j] I" Flight of July 26 your leader, under the headingof "Decontrol," deals with the Report of the Gorell Com- mittee. You say: '' The Report points out that by far the greater number of accidents iesult from causes which have nothing to do with design or construction of the aircraft." This may be true. If it be true, surely it is due to the rigid legislation in force and the close inspection exercised by the Air Ministry and the A.I.D. Whilst deploring "red tape" and the certain amount of hindrances to design, it must in fairness be confessed that it has done its share in placing the British aircraft and engine in an enviable position as regards reliability. Bognor, Sussex. REGULAR READER. IRISH MONOPLANE TESTED From Mary Lady Heath: [2954] I beg to reply to the letter signed by " ' A ' Licence " in your issue of July 26. In this he states that " It is doubt- ful whether a C. of A. would be renewed for this machine in England, taking all the circumstances of the case into con- sideration. As up to the present the writer has never known of any of the strict detail inspection which is to be found across Channel, and called for by the A.I.D. before certificates are recommended by them. Finally, no aircraft or aero engines have been designed or built in Ireland that could fly, except Harry Ferguson's of the old days." In reply I would like to state that to my detailed knowledge the controlling body in Ireland is as severe, if not severer, than the English A.I.D. I have actually a case under my hand in which a part of a machine passed out by the A.I.D. in England has been condemned as unairworthy by the Asst. Aeronautical Engineer under Industry and Commerce. This has cost me several pounds of expense. G. MARY HEATH. Dublin. [On the same subject we have received a letter from our Dublin correspondent, who points out that when Mr. Joseph Gilmore crashed his Civilian Coupe the machine was wrecked beyond repair, the whole of the fuselage was re-designed, and it was not a question of a renewal of a C. of A. but of a C. of A. for a new machine. Our Dublin correspondent further states that, he does not remember one accident in the Irish Free State which could be attributed to faulty work- manship or careless inspection.—ED.] . THE DEATH OF MR. H. GLAUERT " The British aviation world was shocked to read in the news- on the temple. Hermann Glauert was Principal Scientific papers of the untimely accident which caused the death of Officer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Mr. H. Glauert near Aldershot last Saturday. Mr. Glauert, his wife and three children were watching the Royal Engineers blowing up tree stumps, and a piece of wood hit Mr. Glauert and was a well-known authority on aerodynamics. Among his works the best known is, perhaps, "The Elements of Aerofoil and Airscrew Theory." Mr. Glauert was 42 years of age.
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