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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0008.PDF
2 FLIGHT. JANUARY 3, 1935. will take passengers to India in two days, to Cape Town in four days, and to Australia in seven days have not yet been designed. At the same time, it is pleasant to ihink that more pilots will find employment. Civil fly ing has hitherto been a profession in which the supply cf piloLs has exceeded the demand. Everyone knew that the profession had a future before it, but that future has continued to recede before the eyes of men who had done their five or six years in the Royal Air Force and wanted a "job" to keep body and soul together. At least a few dozen more will be absorbed before long. It is an improvement for which we are thankful. The young face of Janus is smiling as he looks to the future. Wheel Brak es CURIOUSLY enough, although practical flying is now something like twenty-five years old, it was not until comparatively recently that wheel brakes became anything like standard fit tings on aeroplanes. Yet it might have been thought that the aeroplane would need brakes at least as much as other vehicles. It seems likely that the universal adoption of the tractor aircraft principle may have had something to do with the long delay. On a "pusher," with a low-placed fuselage projecting forward, and pos sibly with a front wheel or skid under it, the risk of nosing over when applying the brakes is small. Probably the early designer was afraid that, if he fitted wheel brakes, the machine would turn on its nose. In actual fact, the tendency to do so" has not been found nearly so great as was expected, and a slightly more forward placing of the wheels has reduced this tendency almost to vanishing point on most aeroplanes. In the early days of wheel brakes it was customary to fit treaded tyres, the theory being that they would give a better grip and so increase the braking efficiency. This was not found to be the case on British grass- covered aerodromes, and the smooth tyre has come into general use. Certain troubles were encountered during the development period. For instance, it was found that the heat generated by applying the brakes was liable to damage the inner tubes. Modern technique has overcome this and other difficulties, and there are now on the market several satisfactory makes of wheel brakes for aircraft, the leading examples of which are reviewed elsewhere in this issue. It will be seen that aircraft wheel brakes fall into two classes: those with metal brake shoes operated mechanically, and those in which the braking elements are applied by pneumatic or hydraulic means. Within these two classes there is plenty of scope for individual treatment, and our article describes the interesting ways in which several manu facturers have attacked the problem. ACCLAMATION : Mr. Ken Waller and M. Maurice Franchomme surrounded by a sea of excited and appreciative humanity on their return to Brussels after their remarkable mail flight in the D H. "Comet," Reine Astrid, to the Belgian Congo and back As described on page 7, they made the round trip in forty-eight hours' flying time.
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