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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 0892.PDF
APRIL q, I936- FLIGHT. THAT ELUSIVE "ULTRA-LIGHT" IDEAL By W. BODDY In This Controversial Article the Author Maintains That There is a Good Market for the Ultra-light Type of Aeroplane Built to Certain Ideals, and Quotes Some Interesting History from the Lympne Trials M . MIGNET, with his Pou-du-Ciel, has certainly brought the possibilities' of really economical flying very much into the limelight. Naturally enough, those who do not consider that the Pou in itself constitutes the next step towards the ultimate realisa tion oi " aviation for the million," are tempted to outline their own ideal flying machine of ultra-low power. Certain of these idealistic designs have found their way into print; many more have been merely plotted verbally over the bar counter. The remarkable thing is that there should be anything at all original in an aeroplane of less than fifty or so horse-power. I am astonished that really small machines should not have been offered to prospective owner-pilots so long ago that to-day such aeroplanes would be a familiar sight at every civil aerodrome. It seems curious that, while certain enthusiasts are optimistically creating Poux in an endeavour to get into the air at any price, hundreds, if not something like a couple of thousand, amateur pilots who have qualified for " A " licences either have ceased to fly at all or do so at intervals which are of necessity widely spaced, due to the cost of hiring and operating tight aeroplanes of existing types. The position of private flying in this country is much envied abroad, yet it is a fact that at the end of last year, out of 2,980 " A " licence holders, there was a figure for registered, privately-owned aeroplanes as low as 478. « seems to me that here is obviously a potential market, and why no one has exploited it seriously I cannot under stand. Stating the Case have already expressed the opinion in Flight that the ou-du-Ciel does not meet the needs of these pilots who annot afford the purchase price and upkeep of existing of the helon: aeroplanes; that Flea-building is, in fact, just a craze moment. I do not want it to be taken that I g to the school of thought which pictures the ideal er-pilot machine as some form of motorised glider. fee T* * "u§8estmg that you can take any existing small to ^ H"6' ^ve *ts m°tor capacity, and clip its wings en rl h1 -1 sprightly, and thereby present the inexpsri- facto Ut ' ntnusiastic pleasure pilot with a safe and satis ty machine suited to his means. But I do maintain that it 7oh.F ^pressed, The ls either impossible to fly seriously on less than •ich is an opinion I have never seen or heard '!' else that our aircraft manufacturers have 'tie use of some valuable lessons of the past. u very Wods^Sf for economic flying can be divided into two °n*ards T" ^e Armistice to 1925 and from 1925 fte former period was markedly one of much One of the more powerful of the early light aircraft mentioned by the writer—the Westland Widgeon (75 h.p. 5-cyl. Genet). In its original form it had the 36 h.p. Bristol Cherub. (Flight photograph.) experiment and research on behalf of, and intense enthu siasm for, the really low-powered and therefore really economical aeroplane. The following period represented the development of existing types of " light " aeroplane, which development, of course, is still proceeding. The aeroplanes of the pre-1925 era were, I suggest, extremely promising; those of the latter are, we know, thoroughly sound and efficient machines, but unfortunately they happen to be a luxury that a large number of our prospective owner-pilots cannot afford. As there would seem to be a danger of some other country filching the " formula " for that elusive machine, the " ideal " owner-pilot aeroplane, and of selling the resultant product to our own non-owning pilots, one wonders if some past light-aeroplane history may serve to remind our manufacturers of the latent possibilities of the really economical flying machine, and the lessons that the past can provide in the creation of such a machine. Very shortly after the Armistice the Austin Motor Com pany introduced the Whippet, a metal-construction, folding-wing, single-seat biplane of moderate engine- power ; and Avro pioneered with the 35 h.p. Baby biplane, in which Hinkler flew from Croydon to Turin in g-J hours during May, 1920. Both these machines contained the germ of owner-pilotage, which even then was expected to provide a useful outlet for aeroplane factories smitten with the post-war slump. In 1923, following an epidemic of gliding, this owner-pilot idea began to take hold. The Lympne Contests were announced, and prizes to the extent of ,£2,600 were offered, the Duke of Sutherland and the Daily Mail being the principal donors. The Man in the Street showed some interest. Even in 1923, when motor users were by no means legion and petrol was com paratively dear, a boom in owner-pilotage was predicted for the immediate future, and many other uses were quoted for the baby aeroplane, including that of a train ing and practice medium for Service pilots. No fewer than twenty-eight entries were received for the 1923 contests, such well-known firms as Short Bros.;
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