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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0045.PDF
JANUARY 3, 1935- FLIGHT. 25 Commercial Aviation A MAIL-CARRIER WANTED A TYPE of transport machine designed for carrying mails under night flying conditions is more than likely to be suitable, after small modifications, for general work in Europe's difficult winter weather conditions. A.B. Aerotransport have recently produced a very complete specification for a night mail machine, and there are at least possibilities that the four machines required will be made in this country. Certainly, after the company's troubles with American craft—their second Northrop had to be sent all the way to the States for attention after a heavy landing —they are not likely to buy again out of Europe. If, there fore, this night mail type is produced here, the design will provide at least a basis for other types. In general, the suggested machine follows Lockheed " Elec- tra " and Boeing 247 lines, but it is stipulated that the wing loading shall be limited to 16.3 lb. per sq. ft., so that there will be a low sinking speed at the stall, and that the landing gear (which may be either fixed or retractible) shall be strong and be capable of taking the effects of a full stall landing. Naturally, a very high operating speed is not expected, but Jersey Airways First Year Last week Jersey Airways completed its first year of service. Something like 20,000 passengers have been carried and 1,500 crossings made without loss. Their new 86s have, incidentally, been given their registration letters. Karachi-Madras Change The route followed by Tata's mail service from Karachi to Madras has been changed since January 1. The inter mediate stopping place is Hyderabad (Deccan) and not Bellary. The Nizam's Government has agreed to give a sub sidy of about Rs. 20,000 yearly, and to provide other facili ties. The Madras-Colombo Air Mail The air mail service between Madras and Colombo will be inaugurated early this year. The distance between the two cities, about 450 miles, will be covered in less than five hours. For more than a year Tata's have been contemplating the extension of the Karachi-Madras air mail route to Colombo, but the lack of a suitable landing ground in the vicinity of Colombo necessitated its postponement. At one time it was even suggested that a seaplane might be used. The Colombo aerodrome, which is about six miles from the city, has now been completed. Tata's have decided to fly the mail in a single '' hop '' from Madras to Colombo, using the aerodrome at Dhanushkoti as an emergency landing ground. In order to come, into line with Imperial Airways it is pos sible that they will double their services, and they are also understood to be contemplating air services to certain im portant hill stations in India and Ceylon using Autogiros. It is possible, incidentally, that their new Miles "Falcon" will reach India in time to be used on the Colombo service. The K.L.M. Tragedy Although it will be some considerable time before the results of the official enquiry on the accident to the Douglas are pub lished, several facts have come to light since the arrival of the technical experts by air from Amsterdam. It appears that the machine was definitely struck by light ning, and medical evidence also suggests that the seven victims of the tragedy were all killed by the same discharge. There was no indication of structural failure, and the machine had undoubtedly flown into the ground. The flares had not been used, the searchlight contacts were off, the wheels and flaps were in flying position, the trimming flaps were neutral, the throttles were open, and the engine switches were on. The trailing aerial had been wound in, but there were local marks of intense heat in the region of the fixed aerial attach ments, though only the tail and the rear part of the cabin escaped the ravages of the petrol fire. Beckman, the commander, was an extremely careful pilot with more than 70,000 hours to his credit, and the weather reports were such that no one of experience would have hesi tated to start for Baghdad. However, two different currents appear to have caused an exceptionally violent thunderstorm. this must be guaranteed at 160 m.p.h. using 75 per cent, full power, with two Pratt and Whitney "Wasp" S1H1 engines or English engines of a similar power. Three-bladed Hamilton controllable pitch airscrews are to be fitted, and the engines, with their accessories, must be quickly detachable. A five-hour cruising range with normal load is expected, and the alu minium tanks must have dump valves. The fuselage must have two freight compartments having a total capacity of 250 cub. ft., and the cockpit is to be placed above the centre of the low wing with an unobstructed forward view. Wing flaps, or similar high lift devices, may be used to reduce the approach and landing speed, which is estimated, for a provisional layout, at 62 m.p.h. Among the various estimated figures the payload is given as 1,400 lb., and the gross weight as 12,000 lb., with a useful load of 4,170 lb. The special equipment must include a Sperry Horizen, a Directional Gyro, a Pioneer Turn Indicator, a sensitive alti meter, an ice-warning indicator, a Zeiss retractable landing light for the left wing two-way radio, and complete Goodrich De-icer equipment. The Fokker ¥.22 Final tests of the first four-engined Fokker F.22 have been successfully carried out. This machine—virtuallv a smaller version of the F.36, which was demonstrated in England last year—has been built for the Swedish A.B. Aerotransport, and will be put in service on the Scandinavian Air Express route after it has been demonstrated in this country. Opening the Iraq Pipe Line The Iraq Petroleum Company has chartered Syrinx from Imperial Ainvays to transport their officials to Iraq for the opening of the pipe line, which runs across the desert from the Iraq oil fields to the coast. Sir Robert Waley Cohen will leave in this machine with the other passengers on January 5. Opening ceremonies will take place at Kirkuk, Damascus, Tripoli (Syria), Haifa and Amman. New Qerman Airship Base The Zeppelin Company has applied to the German Air Ministry for permission to run its services from Frankfurt- on-Main and to reserve the base at Friedrichshaven for con structional purposes. The new base will be known as Rhine- Main port and will be ready for the 1936 season. Apart from the fact that it is 1,000 ft. lower than the original and famous base, Frankfurt has several very definite advantages, the most important being its convenience of access. Meanwhile, the Pacific Air Transport Company, the joint Japan-Manchukuo concern mentioned in Flight of November 22, is to purchase rigids from the Zeppelin Company. The dailies suggested that beans would be used as payment; maybe, but the fact is about as remarkable as the trading of Old Masters for chewing gum via the international exchange—all trade being barter and gold being merely a token of exchange. Kicking the Bucket.' Britain's premier airport, the London Terminal Aerodrome, Croydon, has, in the roof of the palatial main hall, a hole which has been there for two years at least. The powerful Air Ministry department dealing with such matters is under stood to have the situation well in hand and to be giving it continuous earnest consideration. It is probably beneath departmental dignity to descend to such mundane methods as stopping the hole up with a morsel of mortar or even with a well-fitting cork, and the method which has been in vogue for the last few years is to pretend there is no hole when the sun shines, and to place a zinc pail beneath it on wet days. This pail stands sturdily in the path of the busiest pedes trian traffic of the main hall, and tinkles pleasantly as the rain descends into it. Ancient employees of the airport use it to make rough estimates of the rainfall, and to extinguish cigarettes They nave learned, by years of experience, not to put their foot in it. Not so the guileless passenger who may occasionally be seen performing a perfect indoor loop with the clattering Government property on one of his feet and its contents soaking into his system. Nobody expects the department concerned to do anything about the matter until somebody breaks a leg, at least.
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