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Aviation History
1935
1935 -2- 0336.PDF
306 FLIGHT. SEPTEMBER 19, 1935. down the sliding end of the trolley is firmly locked in positionat a point just under the rear spar. The actual raising and lowering is effected through cables wound round an electric-ally operated drum which may, in an emergency, be turned by hand. The main wheels are of "streamlined" type, 45in. indiameter, being mounted on tapered roller bearings. Indi- vidually operated hydraulic brakes and a swivelling tail wheelare fitted. Tanks ior 113 gallons of fuel are installed in the centre sec-tion outboard of the fuselage; the oil tanks, each of 31.5 gallons capacity, are mounted in each nacelle. Should extremerange be required, an additional 250-gallon tank can be in- stalled in the bomb bay. A crew of four or five men is carried. The bomb-aimer(who is provided with a machine gun) and the pilot are in the nose section. Space is provided amidships for the wirelessoperator, who acts also as navigator. Machine guns are pro- vided al«>ve and lielow the fuselage in the rear cockpit. Inthis position there is a set of auxiliary controls. A fifth man, who may be the High! commander, can be stationed amidshipswith the wireless operator. Both front and rear cockpits are covered with sliding transparent enclosures, and the bomberis protected from the airstream by a "birdcage" turret. The bomb load is normally carried in the centre portion olthe fuselage, a pair of "clam shell" doors in the bottom of the bomb bay being opened when the projectiles are tobe released. When the bomb bay is filled with auxiliary tanks the bombs are carried in external racks: NORTHROP XFT-1L ATELY the Northrop Corporation, controlled by the Douglas Aircraft Co., which is, in turn, a subsidiary -*of Northwest Aviation, has turned its hand to the manufacture of military aeroplanes. An " attack '' Version of its Gamma monoplane has been adopted by the U.S. Army Air Corps (the Northrop bomber pur- chased by the Air Ministry is basically similar) and it has a number of experimental Army and Navy types on test. Outstanding among these is the Navy fighter known as the XFT-i. The XFT-i is a monoplane (unusual for a Fleet niachine)of all metal construction. Over a fuselage framework of pressed duralumin formers stringers of H section have beenriveted. A fourteen-cylinder two-row Wright Whirlwind of approxi-mately 700 h.p. is bolted on a mounting of steel tubes. It is provided with a full N.A.C.A. cowling constructed in threemajor sections. Of typical Northrop construction, the wing is in three sec-tions. The. spars and ribs are of duralumin and are interlaced to take unusually great stresses caused by sudden pull-outsfrom steep dives. The two portions of the fixed "trousered " undercarriage are attached to the centre section of the wing;one oleo strut is provided for each unit. To the rear portion of the centre section is attached a flap which, it is said, func-tions automatically when the stalling 'point is reached.' Frise ailerons controlled by push-pull rods are fitted and from theirinner ends to the centre section there are two additional flaps. A short span (2<)ft. 8in.) is a notable feature of the machine.The length is 19ft. iTin. and the height oft. gin. It is said that at 75 per cent, full power the XFT-j cruises at"245.11141.11.,the full throttle speed being 272 m.p.h. L The short span of the XFT-i is a notable feature. VOUGHT SBU-1E IGHTY-FOUR new scout-bomber biplanes are being built for the U.S. Navy by the Chance Vought Coin pany, and the first machine of the batch has recently been tested. The scout-bomber type is intended both lor bomb- ing and long-range scouting activities which hitherto have been performed in the U.S. Navy by two distinct type* of aircraft. Designated the SBU-i, the new machine represents a dis-tinct departure from the well-known Vought Corsair tyjw which, for many years, has been extensively used on the air-craft carriers, battleships and cruisers of the U.S. Fleet. Its structure is of metal with fabric covering, except for the fixedtail surfaces which are metal covered. An outstanding feature is the N.A.C.A. cowling which embodies adjustable flaps. Split flaps are fitted to the lower wings, and the engine, ageared Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp Junior developing 700 h.p. at altitude, drives a Hamilton controllable pitch airscrew. Tlie flaps round the N.A.C A. cowhng oi tne Vou^nt are aninnovation In the right-hand few the pilot's "conser- vatory " can be seen.
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