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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 1106.PDF
no8 FLIGHT. OCTOBER 25, 1934. Unless these two are coupled to a really "clean" aero- dynamic design, they do not give full value for their weight and cost. In the De Havilland "Comet," as well as in the "Douglas D.C.2" and "Boeing Trans- port," we have aeroplanes in which drag-producing excrescences have been eliminated completely. More- over, every possible care has been taken to see that drag due to " interference," the upsetting of the airflow where two surfaces meet, has been reduced to a minimum. All three are low-wing cantilever monoplanes. Until the full details of the race become known, it is not possible to estimate accurately the degree to which complete success has been approached. As far as can be ascertained, the controllable pitch airscrews on the "Comet," "Douglas," and "Boeing," have given no trouble. Those on the American machines have been in use in America for a long period, but the Ratiers (we gratefully acknowledge our debt to France) fitted on the three "Comets" have not had the same extensive test- ing on British aircraft. During one of the practice land- ings at Mildenhall it became obvious that conditions may arise when it is very desirable to be able to change quickly from coarse to fine pitch. But no actual trouble appears to have arisen during the race. Results with retractable undercarriages have not been altogether satisfactory. It would seem that there is still room for improvement in the method of indicating to the pilot whether or not his undercarriage is completely re- tracted or completely extended. But that is a matter for detail development, and the retractable under- carriage can be said to have established its claim. The Men Behind the MachinesI T is with the deepest regret that we have to record the deaths of F/O's H. D. Gilman and J. K. C. Baines, the New Zealand entrants of one of the Fairey "Foxes." Every man and woman in the race knew that risks would have to be run, in spite of all that the rules could do to minimise them, and every- one cheerfully faced those risks. Naturally, the danger was magnified when a machine with only one engine flew over mountains or open sea, and this "Fox" crashed in the Appenine Mountains. If the "Comet" had not been able to fly on one engine, perhaps there would have been another tragedy in the Timor Sea. We offer our sympathy to the relatives of those two gallant officers. For the rest, only pilots of great skill, great judgment, great experience, and great endurance could expect to get through to Australia with any chance of a prize in either race. The company which set off from Milden- . hall was a galaxy of such pilots. In giving the fullest admiration to the winners, Scott and Campbell Black, we do not in any way depreciate the pilots who followed behind them or were obliged to stop on the way. Cath- cart Jones and Waller, and the Mollisons, too, might have been racing neck and neck with Scott and Campbell Black at the finish if they had not had mechanical troubles. Parmentier and Moll in the "Douglas," Roscoe Turner and Clyde Pangborn in the "Boeing," all did magnificently, but the race actually was between the ideas and execution of the designers. ROYAL INTEREST IN FLYING: Their Majesties the King and Queen paid a visit to Mildenhall on theeve of the Australia Race. In the background is Mr. and Mrs. Mollison's " Comet."
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