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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0559.PDF
MARCH i4> x935- FLIGHT. 273. extension of American air lines to connect with United ', :„„ mmrspas is advocated, and the renort rans-ocean the near future, both across the Atlantic and the an repor institution of trans-oceanic commercial air £#• territories 1 ualises the services .^^ out tnat; the rate of progress has been such 1 there is reason to believe it is now possible to start • es across both these oceans, making use only of the •nflrmediate stopping places that nature has provided. p lliarlv enough, no mention is made of Seadromes. T maiiv parts of the report it is unequivocally assumed , "American air transport is looked upon as the largest, most ff'ent and safest in the world, and this attitude is made even more clear by the statement: — "We have no difficulty in arriving at the recommenda tion that this Government should control air-line develop ment in accordance with the practice generally followed bv its neighbours, and that whatever powers it possesses to grant or to withhold privileges desired by others should be "used in the interests of securing proper opportunity for American enterprise abroad." In this connection the Commission advocates action by the Government to oppose the exclusion of American air transport enterprises along great inter-continental trade routes before concessions are made to foreign air lines operating in American territories. On the subject of gliding, it is felt that practice in soaring flight is of value for the study of atmospheric conditions, and the Commission recommends that some Government in spectors should take a course as soaring pilots. Furthermore, it is suggested that both the Army and Navy should study the usefulness of gliders for training at their elementary schools. Government support for study is advocated, but not the pay ment of a direct subsidy, as has been agreed in this country. Turning to matters which affect national defence, the Com mission recommends an extended programme of development work, interchange of pilots between the Army and Navy, tem porary attachment of pilots to air transport lines, use of civil repair stations when possible for work on military and naval aircraft, strengthening of the reserves of both services, and reconsideration of insurance questions. It is openly in favour of the further construction and opera tion of rigid airships, both in naval and commercial service. In the first place, it recommends the immediate construction of a new airship for the Navy, and then the establishment of a transatlantic service to meet the competition of a projected foreign airship line—the construction by the Government of a commercial airship and terminus, to be leased to a com mercial operator, is suggested. The Commission also sug gests greater production of helium by the Bureau of Mines, and control of its export to foreign purchasers. On the question affecting the Government control of design and construction of civil aircraft no radical changes are mooted. As a general principle, it is felt that governmental regulation should be at a minimum compatible with public interest, and that inspection should not be imposed on the manufacturer's own inspection system. The Commission is definitely against adoption of the British method of "approved firms," and also the findings of the Gorell Committee in this connection; it is maintained that governmental control in America has been so good in the past, so sympathetic to the industry's problems and so free from bureaucratic rigidity that there would be nothing to be gained if it were abandoned. It is advocated that the Department of Commerce should increase the number of international agreements for the mutual recognition of Airworthiness Certificates, and give every assist ance to manufacturers of aircraft engines and accessories seek ing an export market for their products. In the matter of research, the Commission suggests increas ing the amount of Government research work, while eulogising the amount which has already been done and the benefit which that research has brought to the trade. FLYING-BOAT VERSUS AIRSHIP SPEAKING at the Women's Engineering Society in London recently, Mr. M. Langley championed the flying boat [and the Hon. A. F. de Moleyns the airship. Mr, Langley maintained that the airship was stressed ton a basis of assumptions. In this respect one cannot help thinking that the assumptions which are used for stressing fly- ling boats are not any more valid than those used for airships. He made a good deal of capital out of the fact that slots and [flaps had enabled higher wing loadings to be used, but he forgot to mention that alighting speeds have also risen, and [that one of the advantages of a flying boat is that a compara tively high landing speed is in no wise to be deprecated so 1 strongly as in land machines The Hon. A. F. de Moleyns, in advocating airships, stated somewhat wildly that all writers on the subject had damned airships as dangerous and useless because of the crashes with which their development has been associated. He also spoke somewhat disparagingly of the meals served in flying boats, as compared with those obtainable in airships. We can only imagine that his experience of air lines, such as those of Imperial Airways, must be limited. Another gentleman who spoke in favour of the airship fell into a common pitfall of those whose experience of the air is limited; he assumed that people were unnecessarily endangered, if not killed, when an engine or engines of a heavier-than-air craft stopped. We can only assure him that this is not the case, and, in fact, is very much the exception rather than the rule. Italy's Flying City Ciuidonia, the new aeronautical experimental centre to be opened on April 21, has been built on the slopes of Monte- ceiio. Every branch of aeronautical study will be available m the town. In the centre stands a huge building for the Mm . ection- lt is divided into three sections, viz.: ' ) flying materials, craft and engines; (2) installations, i'oWSraPTK' wireless and instruments; (3) chemical tech- jj ip' The hydrodynamic tank, built in armoured cement, need Jrftles long and can be extended to r.ooo in case of diam'etc are six wind tunnels> one 01 which is 13ft. in arranJeH f"d has a wind-speed of 224 m.p.h. Another is instilL vertical experiment and the total horse power tranches h 6'°0° h'P- Tbe centralising of all the various advantage t^T^ °D aviation is going to be of enormous point of v • iy' not only fronl a practical and technical le w. out from a purely economic standpoint. A British "Canon" Fighter t-ecturins nn • • TU -r. Aircraft" u e Trend of Development in Military ":ocierv Sir p r<uthe Yeovil Branch of the Royal Aeronautical :*-td- menu 1 Petter- M.I.Mech.E., chairman of Petters, ibeen fitted t «, a 37 mm- £un' firing T^lb- shelIs> had tvPe orisnnsii0 Westland low-wing monoplane fighter, » It amlo?"7, P"rtuced several P the appears from years back. starbnirri°™j a PnoT°graph that the gun is mounted a Slde of the fuselage and fires skywards. With an old-type "Mercury " engine the maximum speed of the machine is 185 m.p.h., but this, stated Sir Ernest, could be considerably increased if the latest Bristol "Perseus" sleeve- valve type were embodied. Speaking of the " Pterodactyl " Mk.V two-seater fighter, Sir Ernest said that a "hush-hush" power-driven gun turret was being designed for this machine. Kay Autogiro's Maiden Flight The Kay Autogiro, which was described in Flight of December 27, 1934, has now made its first test flight, in the hands of Fit. Lt. A. H. C. Rawson. He reports that the short trial which was possible on this occasion proved the value of the variable incidence arrangement, both for take-off and landing. No difficulty was found with speeding the rotor up to the required maximum. There was every evidence that the esti mated flying speed will be attained after certain small adjust ments, which are now in hand, have been finished. A.I.D.T.S.A. Annual Dinner The tenth annual dinner of the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate Technical Staff Association will be held on Friday, May 3, at the Holborn Restaurant, London, W.C.2. As in previous years, there are a limited number of tickets available for visitors, at 12s. 6d. each and they are obtainable only from Mr. J. Jarvis, 36, Cambridge Road, East Twickenham, Middlesex.
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