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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 0141.PDF
JANUARY 16, 1936- FLIGHT, c The business end of the Hillson Praga, showing the engine and its exhaust system (with heater muff) and the divided undercarriage. bility, and a cloud ceiling of less than 800 ft. do not encourage one to hurl a strange aeroplane about a sky out of which another machine may or may not suddenly appear, or to try the effects of various control movements at the stall. Further more, the Praga's one bad point from the pilot's angle—a non existent rearward view—was unduly noticeable in such circumstances. Nevertheless, the good forward view partially compensates for this defect, and it is possible, by judicious use of the rudder, to obtain a rearward glimpse through the side windows. When cruising, the nose is well below the horizon, and with a narrow cowling it is possible to see downwards and forwards from either seat. Naturally, with such a low-powered engine, the take-off is prolonged, but the actual distance travelled before "un sticking " is by no means as great as one might imagine. The maker's figure of 260 ft. is probably not over- optimistic, and the climb is better than expectation. The controls are particularly light, nicely synchronised and reasonably effective. In the prevailing bad weather there was a tendency, as in all comparatively slow machines, to wallow—in other words, the reply to corrective control movements was not quite immediate. Once again, how ever, it must be remembered that '' aerobatic'' control characteristics are neither essential nor even advisable on a machine of this kind. Most of us have spent far too much time in training aeroplanes which do what they are asked almost before the controls have been moved. Never theless, when the Praga was being demonstrated here in August the Chechoslovakian pilot showed that it had a very pretty aerobatic repertoire. Quite a lot of rudder is necessary to start turns, though these can be made, if necessary, on the ailerons alone— but the machine is perfectly stable and requires no par ticular rudder or opposite aileron once the turn has started. This machine was tail-heavy at cruising revolutions, so that it flew itself round nicely in turns of about 45 degrees. The normal steep sideslip is not possible, the nose slewing away after a few seconds, but an equally useful and very pleasant '' crab'' sideslip can be held indefinitely with almost full rudder and a little aileron. The machine is, in fact, quite stable and happy in this manoeuvre at 60 m.p.h. or so. Naturally, such a clean aeroplane has a flat glide, and with no wind would probably float after a too fast approach. But, with a stall that is so innocuous, there would be no excuse for gliding too fast. The actual landing is the simplest thing in the world, since the machine stalls in a lersurely manner, giving ample time for last-minute corrections, and the aileron control remains, weak but adequate, up to the moment of contact. '' Indicator'' makes some further comments on this interesting little machine in the Private Flying section. H. A. T. THE HILLSON PRAGA TWO : Span : Length : Height : Weight empty : Disposable load : Wing loading i Power loading | Top speed | Cruising speed • Landing speed ; Climb (in 3 min.) Duration With Praga B. 36 ft. 21.5 ft. 5.5 ft. 584 lb. 445 1b. 6.27 Ib./sq. ft. 25.7 Ib./sq. ft. 93.3 m.p.h. 79.6 m.p.h. 37.3 m.p.h. 1,310 ft. 3.5 hr. •SEATER With Pobjoy Cataract. 36 ft. : 21.5 ft. 5.5 ft. • 617 lb. : 507 lb. 6.85 lb./sq. ft. 14.8 lb./sq. it. . •: 115 m.p.h. 98.3 m.p.h. j 38.6 m.p.h. 2,460 ft. — The clean and handsome lines of the Praga are effectively shown in this photograph.
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