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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0417.PDF
FEBRUARY 21, 1935- FLIGHT. 211 Commercial Aviation HESTON Wireless Congestion : Drainage Operations Neon RECENTLY, in a letter to The Times, Mr. Roderick Denman, technical director of Airwork, Ltd., called attention to the serious shortage of wavelengths for aviation wireless communication. He pointed out that • le television transmission occupied as much of the wave- t S£tn spectrum as eighty widely separated radio telephone 1 h nnels Less than one-tenth of this number is at present available for all communications between ground and air. Before the internal air lines of Great Britain can finally be I -planned, it will be necessary to reserve wavelengths for com- I munication and fog landing in order that the permissible spac- I ins between aerodromes having wireless equipment may be I known. Although there should be sufficient room for all in •the ultra-short-wave band, signs are not wanting that if avi ation does not stake its claim immediately, it will one day awake to find that ground-to-air television—which is even now technically possible and will almost certainly become practicable in a few years' time—has been elbowed out by entertainment broadcasts. Mr. Denman had one other suggestion to make—that more I use should be made of the country's land-lines for point-to- I point communication between aerodromes in order to relieve I the present congestion. This is at present too costly, but, as I the matter is really one of arrangement between the Post I Office and the Air Ministry, it should surely be possible to I reach a satisfactory agreement. The Ards airport, Belfast, has been closed for drainage opera- I tions since Thursday, February 14, for approximately three I weeks. It will still be possible for light aeroplanes to use the I airport at certain times, but no landing should be attempted Crude Oil Experiment : Flying at Ards Signs without previously consulting the airport manager (tel. : Newtownards 190) M. Claudel crossed over from France last week to view the demonstrations of a " Gipsy III'' engine running on crude oil with his Atomigaz carburetter. This experiment is being conducted at the Airwork Service depot at Bristol airport. In a series of demonstrations last week, Air Commerce, Ltd. showed that the flying of neon signs is a practical and rela tively inexpensive class of advertising. This firm fitted, on the under-side of a "Puss Moth's" wings, such illuminated letters. These were protected from shock by rubber suspension and backed by wood, with the object of preventing halation, and the equipment proved satisfactory in flight. The Aeronautical Advertising Co., Ltd., of 9, Southampton Street, Holborn, has been formed solely to undertake this class of work. The D.H. "Dragon" to be used will be equipped with two-way radio telephony, and two pilots will be carried, both licensed to operate this type of wireless installation.. Close touch will be kept with ground stations while flying' neon signs, so that, in the event of misty weather, information may be received as to the clearest aerodrome on which to land and the gradual increase or decrease of visibility. The use of a twin-engined machine, lightly loaded, is a safeguard against forced landing in populated areas. Letters approxi mately four feet square will be attached to the underside of the wing. The firm will use the original high-tension neon signs of voltages up to ten or twenty thousand, constructed by Claude-General Neon Lights, Ltd. These signs have a very high penetrating power, and in four-foot letters are said to be legible up to 4,000 feet. The Congo Service On Saturday the first regular service will leave Brussels for [the Belgian Congo. The machine to be used will be a Fokker IF.7 (three Gnome-Rhone "Titans"), Edmond Thieffry, and |-the crew will consist of P. Cocquyt (commander), J. Schoou- Ibroodt (first officer) and F. Maupertuis (wireless operator). I For the time being mails alone will be carried. The Thames Ferry Alter a successful preliminary season, Southend Flying [Services, Ltd., should be extending their field of operations Iduring this season—possibly up the East Coast. They have IH^r." denvery of a new Short " Scion " with Pobjoy I" Niagara" to replace their D.H. " Fox Moth," and to match fthe " Scion " already being operated by Short Bros, over |the Thames. This new " Scion," which, besides being fitted twith more powerful engines, has been slightly modified in other •directions, and has a considerably higher cruising speed. The jnose shape has been altered, and a landing searchlight fitted. I In due course the Southend airport, on which work is pro gressing rapidly, will be used as their base. The airport is only five or ten minutes' drive from the centre of the town, and passenger accommodation will be all that is expected at an airport. The Southend Flying Club expect to move to the new quarters before or during April. Bridging the Qap Last Thursday the first regular all-air South American mail carried by Air France arrived at Croydon after a four days' journey. The Bleriot Santos Dumont is being used on alternate weeks. A Quernsey Service? Whilst the Guernsey authorities have been discussing the vexed question of laying out an expensive aerodrome, a new company, which is being formed to take over the existing Guernsey Aero Club, Ltd., is arranging to inaugurate a daily service from the small aerodrome already owned by this com pany. The chairman of the new undertaking will be Sir Alan Cobham. NEXT OF KIN T the shape of tfc "modified Short " Scion " which has just been delivered to Southend Flying Services, Ltd. Changes in the nose, in which a landing light is fitted, and the fact that the engine nacelles are now in the centre line of the wing section account for the improved performance.
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