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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 1482.PDF
666 FLIGH1. JUNE 20, 1935. The S.43 is roomy inside, with a standard cabin arrange ment of from fiiteen to twenty-five passengers and a crew of three. Ihe power plant is two Pratt and Whitney SiEG geared "Hornet" engines of 750 h.p., which drive Hamilton Standard constant-speed airscrews. Structurally there is very little radical departure from accepted Sikorsky practice. The wing, which tapers heavily in plan and profile, has a span of 86 ft. and a total area of 78osq. ft., giving a loading of 24.34 lb./sq. ft. Built of anodically treated duralumin, the wing is virtually of mono- spar construction in that the two spars are joined top and bottom with a flush-riveted duralumin skin to form a box, which for stress purposes is treated as a unit. Behind this spar the duralumin ribs are covered with doped fabric. The whole of the trailing edge of the wing between the ailerons forms a flap which is used for both take-off and landing, while the ailerons themselves are dropped 10 deg.. without affecting the total movement, thus adding to the effective flap area. The flap is hydraulically operated, a small electric motor working the hydraulic pistons, and is returned to the neutral position automatically. The rudder is balanced by an auto matic trailing-edge servo tab. Widespread use is made of extruded light alloy sections for such parts as wring spar booms, internal struts, and stringers, The hull is of duralumin and is anodically treated every where. American practice employs anodic treatment not so much for prevention of corrosion itself as to form a somewhat absorbent surface to which protective paint coverings will adhere. Much use is made of open extruded sections so that inspection is simple, and any signs of corrosion can immediately be detected. Of semi-monocoque construction, the hull is divided into five main watertight compartments, with doors in each bulk head. Any three of the five compartments will keep the S.43 afloat, fn addition, the wing is capable of being sealed to form additional buoyancy chambers in the event of a forced landing at sea with a damaged hull. The retractable undercarriage is very neat. It is pulled up with a form of parallelogram motion into a watertight compart ment in the centre portion of the hull, and the wheels drop in recesses which leave one half of the thickness outside; but, due to the shape of the tyre, the drag of this portion is not very large. Among- details, it is interesting to note that the large anchor is non-magnetic. Both sides of the undercarriage are interchangeable, and may readily be removed if it is wished to operate only as a flying-boat. Sealed ball bearings are used in most places for the controls. Fuel is carried in riveted duralumin tanks behind each engine, and each tank has a large dump valve. Tanks and engine mountings are interchangeable. Lux CO2 pressure fire extinguishers are fitted in each engine nacelle. As it is a high-wing monoplane, the S.43 will appeal to passengers much more than do low-wing types, as they will be able to see the country over which they are passing Having a payload which should make air transport economical even with an amphibian, it may well start a new regime whereby operators running to large cities will use an amphibian for their last stage, making it possible to land in the heart of the city on the river (which always seems to be there) instead of fourteen to twenty miles outside, as is now so often necessary. The more general use of the amphibian may also be a means of bringing the insurance rates down, due to the increased safety factor of being able to alight on either land or water. SPAN LENGTH ... : BEAM OF HI'LI. ... ,,, • CHORD, MAX. • » WING AREA, TOTAL GROSS WEIGHT ... I WEIGHT, EMPTY... POWER LOADING WING LOADING ... CRUISING SPEED, 70% H.P CRUISING SPEED, 75% H.F. TOP SPEED, 7,000 FT. ... SPECIFICATION ... •*, AT 1,000 FT, ',.'. AT 8,000 FT. STALLING SPEED, SEA LEVEL ... Top SPEED, ONE ENGINE, INITIAL RATE OF CLIMB 7,000 FT. ... .. ttift. : 51ft. 2in. : 7ft. Bio, 1 .. Ilft.fim. .. 780 sq.ft. : .. 19,000 lb. .. 11,3801b. : . 12.671b./h.p. : .. 24.34 lb./sq. ft. i . 105 m.p.h. : .. 181 m.p.h. .. 200 m.p.h. 65 m.^.h. .. 125 m.p.h. : .. 1,250 ft./min. "THE GULL'S WAY" To Africa and Back in a Day A T 1.30 last Monday morning Capt. E W Percival took off from Gravesend in a 1935 model Percival " Gull" i. fitted with a 200 h.p. D.H. " Gipsy Six " engine and carrying extra tankage in the cabin—which normally, of course, seats three persons. He flew to Africa, lunched with friends in Oran, secured an order for a " Gull," and landed at Croydon a little late for tea—which means that he was away rather less than seventeen hours. Actually he landed at Croydon at 6.20 p.m. The object of the trip was, according to Capt. Percival, simply to show how a light British aeroplane costing only as much as a good motor car can go to Africa and back in a day. Had the flight been made with " three up " it would have taken about an hour longer, as one stop for refuelling would have been necessary in each direction. The average speed for the outward trip was 160 m.p.h. (the advertised maxi mum for the " Gipsy-Six Gull " is just over 170 m.p.h.) and the homeward flight was made at 156 m.p.h. Soon after sunrise peaks of the Pyrenees were sighted and on reaching the African coast Capt. Percival found him self only half a mile from Oran. On the way back he saw little of the Mediterranean because of clouds. The weather cleared over Spain but thickened between the Pyrenees and Tours. The Channel was crossed at 800 feet. And the mental strain, says Capt. Percival, was less than he would have experienced driving a car to Manchester. Capt. Percival leaving Gravesend at 1.30 a.m. He reached Oran at 8.40 a.m., left at 11 a.m., and reached Croydon at 6.20 p.m.
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