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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0279.PDF
FEBRUARY 7, 1935- FLIGHT. 137 The Outlooks on Ait Topics Converted Aircraft / T would be difficult to find a better example to prove an argument often advanced by Flight than the American Northrop 2E day bomber, described and illustrated in this issue. When ill-informed critics have pointed to some high-performance foreign civil aircraft and called attention to the fact that we have not in this country a military type of equal performance, our reply has been that by the time the civil machine is converted and has to carry the equipment demanded by a military aeroplane, its outstanding performance will have dwindled to a very ordinary figure. With its external bomb load removed, the Northrop 2E has a maximum speed of 226 m.p.h. at 7,000 ft. When the bombs are carried underneath the centre-section of the wing the speed has dropped to a figure quite close to that attained by British military aeroplanes of comparable types. That this must be so is, of course, quite obvious when one comes to think of the speeds involved; 226 m.p.h. is 332 ft./sec., and 1 h.p. is 550 ft. lb./sec. Allowing for airscrew inefficiency, the actual power required to over come a resistance of one pound at 332 ft. /sec. is thus not very far short of 1 h.p. With a structure like that used in the Northrop it is almost a physical impossibility to stow bombs inside either wing or fuselage in such a manner that they can be readily released. The wing roots are already used for housing the petrol tanks, of which a considerable number have to be used, owing to the small space between the multiple wing spars. Girder or Monocoque ? ANOTHER problem recalled by an inspection of the f\ Northrop bomber is that of fuselage construction. Undoubtedly, at speeds above 200 m.p.h. a smooth- skin fuselage of good shape is very important in reducing drag. But, after being accustomed to British girder-type fuselages, in which large panels of the fuselage covering can be removed, one cannot help realising that the installation of the very extensive military equipment in a monocoque fuselage presents some difficulty. Instead of workmen being able to reach in from outside and work in convenient positions, they must crawl about inside and operate in a confined space. Subsequent inspection during I the service life of the machine is rendered difficult for very similar reasons. One feels that British designers are well advised not to rush into monocoque " without giving such problems very careful consideration. Flying at Its Best /W"0 newcomer to air travel could fail to be impressed 1 V Dy an hour's journey in the bright sunlight above i ih lllC C1OHJS' and the Pilot who makes a habit of flying adv r Paradise of the uPPer air is probably the finest vj fusing agent possessed by his operating company, sjeectiess to say, it is essential that the machine should anri^tW11^11* radio communication with ground stations sin™ x » *hould fee brought through if the ceiling shows 6"s ot. cracking." time fPlte ^ the added dimculties, the winter is the best ber of °ihSU^ excursions. Twice during last week a mem-me btaff took a " blind "-equipped light aeroplane from a dull world, where occasional rain was falling, through two thousand feet of cloud and out into a new country where a brilliant white carpet stretched apparently to the edges of eternity. On each occasion the lower cloud surface was loose while the upper surface was entirely smooth. In summer, cloud-type and height are much less constant and the general impression of clarity is not so marked. It is worth remarking that the almost incredible sense of lightness and freedom must not cause the amateur to forget himself and to fly on without making mental cal culations with the aid of watch and compass. If he does forget, the dull, dark earth, when seen again, will be en tirely and depressingly unfamiliar. " Up wind for six minutes; down wind for four minutes," should be his motto, and he should discover, before boring into the opaque, whether any other cheerful person has strato spheric intentions. That Gliding Upgust L AST Saturday's meeting of the British Gliding Asso ciation would appear to have cleared the air and left the way open for a speedy understanding to be arrived at with the Air Ministry as to the disposition of the ^5,000 per annum which has been allotted for the betterment of gliding. It is to be assumed that the B.G.A., as previously con stituted, is dead, and that, Phoenix-like, the new body has arisen out of the ashes of the funeral pyre. The new body, having been formed on lines agreed to by the Air Ministry, will presumably be really representative of the best of the gliding movement. Harnessing the Passenger ALTHOUGH many of the stories one hears and reads jf-\ of the buffeting received by air-line passengers on rough days are grossly exaggerated, it does appear that these passengers may not always be given the con sideration they deserve. The effect of a really bad "bump" may be comical to the experienced, but it is often devastating, both physically and mentally, to the newcomer. Some commercial machines are fitted with safety belts for the passengers' use, but many are not; and, in any case, the experienced passenger is a moral coward when it comes to making even a gesture with this much-despised equipment. Remembering the number of people who have been par tially stunned by luggage racks and other fixtures on a '' bumpy '' day, it might be suggested that the chief pilot should use his own discretion, and insist on the use of these belts. Furthermore, some charitable individual might evolve a foolproof type of harness which could be attached or de tached without trouble, and which would hold the pas senger firmly enough to allow him to read or sleep in mile- a-minute gales over rough country. In winter, with the risk of ice formation, it is not always possible for even the most considerate pilot to take the machine up through the clouds into smoother air. Against any " belt " proposal, of course, there is always the objection that the nervous passenger is made appre hensive the moment he enters the machine, rather in the manner of a patient seeing the instruments laid out in an operating theatre.
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