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Aviation History
1935
1935 -2- 0140.PDF
126 FLIGHT. AUGUST I, 1935. '' The additional provision under Vote 8 is required for the purpose of the first instalments umler agreements with the owners of GatwicJc and Gravesend aerodromes. Under these agreements the owners will provide facilities to enable these aerodromes to be used as alternatives to Croydon in conditions of bad visibility on the Continental air route. The agree- ments will run ior a period ot fifteen years, the total payments involved being ^1,375 a year for the first seven years and £1,050 a year ior the remaining eight years. " The saving anticipated on Vote n is due to the retention 011 the active list ot personnel who would otherwise have quali- fied for retired pay or gratuities. P. CUNLIFFE-LISTER." : :t\ 7 The Debate The Supplementary Air Estimates were discussed in com- mittee at the House of Commons on June %2. The Secretary of State lor Air, Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, explained that although only ;£5.335,ooo was estimated to be required this year, much greater expenditures would be incurred in follow- ing years, and" he thought these would be something like ^35,000,000-^30,000,000. The basis of the British programme, he said, was the statement of the German Government that Germany intended to have an air force equal to that of France. The- British first-line strength of i ,500 machines excluded 2G4 machines serving overseas and 171 machines of the Fleet Air Arm. He expressed gratitude to Lord Weir, who was working as hard as if he were himself Secretary of State. Sir Philip made an interesting reference to the Bristol commercial mono- plane ordered by Lord Rothermere. That machine went through its tests at Martlesham, and the experience gained would be of the utmost value to the company in producing military aircraft with the same general characteristics. On the subject of scrapping obsolescent aircraft, the Secre- tary of State for Air mentioned that such types as the "Vir- ginia," "Atlas," Fairey G.P. machine and " Wapiti" would at last disappear from the service squadrons. Machines like the "Southampton," " Sidestrand," and " Horsley " would also disappear from the squadrons, although they would be retained for some time as training machines. Reference has been made previously to the fact that an endeavour is to t»e made to speed up production by changing somewhat the system of placing orders. On this subject Sir Philip said that they felt justified in placing orders before the prototype had been fully tested. Organisation in time of war and organisation in time of peace, though related, were really entirely distinct. The peace-time organisation demanded an industry sufficient for meeting all the calls of the Govern- ment, and after that all the non-Government demands at home and overseas. He quoted the report of the Federal Aviation Commission in the U.S.A. which found that a relatively small industry capable of expanding was preferable to a large indus- try, the firms of which lived a hand-to-mouth existence. There might, he said, be a risk in an expanded industry that one might not get the best quality. He hoped there would u closer co-operation between the industry and research. Un- wanted research in immediate practical problems, and ti,, • wanted no less a long-range research. Turning to the problem of recruiting, the Secretary of State for Air said that the numbers required for the whole pro- gramme were 2,500 pilots and 20,000 other personnel, lor the present year the requirements were an increase in per sonnel of 12,000, of whom 1,300 would be pilots. Ten new recruiting offices wer« opened in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiii. Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth and Portsmouth. Definite applications had been received frnn: 4,50x5 pilots. They had accepted 75 in the past month an,; expected to .take them at an increasing rate up to 150 a month during the rest of this year. In ground personnel there had been definite applications from 11,000, and in the last month they had been able to accept 1,330. The number of service training schools was being increase! from five to ten. The 13 civilian schools would be utilised a.-, preparatory schools for the service schools. Something li 50 new stations would have to be established. This woul,i involve 41 aerodromes and various ranges and certain stores depots. The siting of these stations must be governed In strategic and meteorological considerations, and broadly the\ would be located in East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Huntingdon, shire, Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Wiltshire, Shropshire, and Forfarshirc. - - . Contracts While dealing with the financial terms of contracts, tin Secretary of State for Air reminded the House that he had secured the services of Sir Hardman Lever, Mr. Ashley Cooper. Mr. Judd, and Mr. Reeve, of the Associated Equipment Com- pany. Sir Hardman Lever and his colleagues had been work ing on the contracts question for a number of weeks, and thev were satisfied that all the information about costs and so 011 would be forthcoming voluntarily from the firms. Against those who would like to see Government aircraft factories. Sir Philip argued that during the last war the estimated pro gramme was for 4,000 machines, while the actual output was 693. At Aintree, where fighters were being built, the cost per machine was £5,000, while a similar machine from a private firm cost ^,1,250. At the Government engine factory at Hayes engine parts were made at a cost of ^534,000. Tin comparable price for similar parts obtained in the trade »;t- only £350,000. Sir Philip Sassoon, Under Secretary of State for Air, pointed out, in reply to Dr. Addison's pleas for national factories, that the Government expected to complete the programme of expansion in a couple of years, and that, quite apart from th< dislocation that would be caused to the industry by removing so many skilled craftsmen, the factories would never be set up in time to carry through the programme under discussion. OVERLOADING A "PEGASUS' IN accordance with the Bristol Company's practice, incollalKiration with the Air Ministry, of performing con- tinuous overload running on various types of engines through- out the whole time they are in production, 300 hours such running has recently been completed on a "Pegasus III" engine The "Pegasus III " is a medium-supercharged engine which develop.-, a normal output of 665/600 b.h.p. at 2,200 r.p.m. and 3,500 feet, and a maximum permissible output for not more than five minutes of 750,775 b.h.p. at 2,200 r.p.m. The engine in question was maintaiiwU continuously at 800 b.h.p. and 2.300 r.p.m. in consecutive ten-hour periods, which, throughout the whole 300 hours, were completed without fail- ure or breakdown. I: is intended that this test shall be con- tinued for an indefinite number of periods in order that the mnKiuum experience may he gained. At the end of each 100 hours running the engine was com- pletely stripped, »nd e-n examination, it is stated, it was found that no replacements were needed, either at the conclusion of each test <•; over the whole period, with the exception of such standard m-ins as washers, split pins and a small percentage of piston rings Also, in spito of the continuously main- tained abnormal output, the average oil consumption for the third u>o-hour period was only four pints an hour. Daring this l>eriod also, the engine was fitted with a three-bladed Fairey 'vftal airscrew, which weighs iqolb. A similai overload test has also been commenced on a "Mercury VI" highly supercharged engine, which is lieing maintained at 700 b.h.p. and 2,500 r.p.m. The maximum permissible output of this engine for not more than five minutes is 590/620 b.h.p. and 2,400 r.p.m. Details appeared in January of this year of a similarly successtul 300-hour overload test on a " Pegasus II " engint During the past twelve months over 800 hours of such over load running have been accomplished on this engine with equal success. An Important Lawsuit — : . F the King's Bench Division last week, before Mr. JusticLewis, Mrs. Else Charlotte Grein, who is now in America claimed from Imperial Airways, Ltd , on behalf of herself and her daughter Elli, damages for the loss suffered by the death of her husband, Mr. Louis J. H. Grein. Mr. Grein was killed when the air liner *' Apollo," flying between Cologne an' Croydon, crashed into a radio mast at Ruysselede, in Bclgitin on December 30, 1933, with the loss of the lives of ten pe..;>l- The hearing was continued this week, Mr. T. J. O'Connor, K.C., for the plaintiff, alleging that the pilot was negligent- Mr. A. T. Miller, K.C., for the defendants, denied both negligence and liability.
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