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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0290.PDF
144 FLIGHT. FEBRUARY 7, 1935, centres of commerce and industry. In the past, of course, ships have linked these centres with each other and with the rest of the world, and in many cases the capture of such a centre by one nation from another has formed a nucleus around which has grown a country to be added to that of the conquering nation. Look at the West Coast of Africa; there in particular you can see what may justifiably be termed outposts of the British Empire, most of them Crown Colonies separated from the vast places of the interior, and from themselves, by territories belonging to other countries. So it is with a great deal of the rest of the British Empire. The day when shipping could supply the prime needs of these scat tered territories is gone. To-day unity is only to be achieved by a fast means of- transport which will enable the Home Government to make contact with every point in a very short space of time. Moreover, such a sys tem of transport is not only vitally necessary for military security, but also for commercial prosperity. Condensing all I have said so far into the form of a question, I would like to ask if it is not time that plans were laid for a far-reaching system of air lines which would primarily be run by flying-boats, and which would have as their prime object the linking together of our Empire rather than serving the interiors. The suggestion of flying-boats of course raises many queries, but Flight has always been in favour cf a greater application of this form of air transport, and has con sistently advocated that larger and better flying-boats should be built-in the hope that Britain would continue The modern equivalent of her supremacy on the seas. Now is the time to do something about it, and, cornin° for the moment down to technical details, there is no denying that the performance of some of the recent foreign flying-boats described in Flight should give both air craft designers and operators of this country a great deal to think abDut. The question as to whether flying-boats or landplanes are better fitted for the work in question does not rest entirely on whether large flying-boats can be built to be mote efficient aerodyuamically than land machines, although there is a growing volume of opinion which maintains that in the very large sizes the fuselage, undercarriage and tail wheel of a land machine are heavier and less efficient than the hull of a flying-boat, and it is certain that the addition of an undercarriage means a greater number of working parts, all of which require upkeep and maintenance. The performance figures claimed for the latest American flying-boats are certainly, at least in the ratio of gross weight to tare weight (which, in effect, means the percentage payload which can be carried), better than for any land machine in commercial use. Another consideration which weighs very heavily indeed for Empire use is the fact that, as I have tried to point out, our Empire trade centres are for the most part har bours, and, generally speaking, it is both easier and cheaper to land a flying-boat in these than to purchase the land for, and build, a large aerodrome; moreover, in a great number of cases, it is quite impossible to obtain a suit able site, particularly where the point to be served by the air line is an island. HUGO JUNKERS Death of a German Pioneer Renowned for All-metal Aircraft Constructi on IT is with regret that Flight places on record the death of Professor Hugo Juukers, founder of the German aircraft firm bearing his name. He died at Gauting, near Munich, last Sunday, after a long illness. He was seventy-six years of age. Herr Junkers' first patents in connection with aeroplanes were for a tail-less " all-wing " machine, in 1910. These were taken out when he was primarily concerned with water- heating apparatus made by his firm of Junkers and Co. at Dessau. From the earliest days Junkers' aeroplanes have largely been fitted with engines also of Junkers' manufacture. In 1915 the first Junkers all-metal aeroplane was produced and high-speed production was at once started for war pur poses. In 1919 the Junkers' aircraft factory was closed by the Peace Treaty. One year later it was opened again, and from that time Junkers' aeroplanes have been known wherever com mercial aviation has made progress. In Germany a Junkers' air service was run from 1921 until it was taken over by Luft Hansa in 1925. A factory was opened in Moscow in 1920, and by 1930 Junkers' aeroplanes were so widely used throughout the world that the firm were able to claim that their aircraft were flying over a third of the world's airways. In 1923 one of the earlier Junkers, the F.I3, was brought over to Croydon, following a lecture before the Royal Aero nautical Society which would have been delivered by Herr Junkers in person, had he not been prevented by illness from attending. Another achievement for which Hugo Junkers was primarily responsible was the Junkers' " Jumo " diesel engine, which was one of the first diesels successfully to be used in aeroplanes. The largest aeroplane of the firm, the G.38, was seen in this country in June, 10^2 Old and new : one of the earlier. Junkers machines, the F.13 of 1923, and (right) the big G.38. Flight photographs.)
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