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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 2146.PDF
AUGUST 6, 1936. FLIGHT. 151 The Outlooks A R-> C. To Johannesburg at 200 m.p.h. B Y cleciding to postpone the date of the start of the London-Johannesburg race, the Royal Aero Club has had in mind the fact that by the end of September there will be a full moon; pilots are by no means unanimous in regarding this as an advantage, although the majority will probably welcome it. Another advantage oained by the postponement is that the entries list may become slightly larger, and machines may be finished which would not otherwise have been in time for the race. Most interest naturally attaches to the speed race, and by the end of this month, when the entries at double fee close, there should be a fair number of entries for the event. So far it looks as if the Percival Mew Gull with Gipsy Six engine is likely to be the fastest machine in the race. This little monoplane is capable of something like 225 m.p.h., and Capt. Percival has been able to install sufficient tankage to give it a range of considerably more than 1,000 miles. This will mean that the longest stage to be flown non-stop, from the control at Belgrade (now chosen in stead of Vienna) to Cairo, is well within its reach. With pilots such as Majors Miller and Halse, who know the African route intimately, the Mew Gull maybe expected to give a good account of itself. Other machines in what may be termed the 200 m.p.h. class are the Airspeed Envoys and the B.A. Double Eagle. A " dark horse '' in the race is likely to be the Miles Pere grine, now just about to make its first test flights. The Blackburn H.S.T.10 is also Hearing completion, and if the estimated performance figures are borne out, this machine might be well worth entering in the race. Unreal but Useful r HE Air Exercises held last week must have been an unmitigated nuisance to the Fighter and Bomber Commands. They are in process of reorganising themselves into the new Group system, and changes of Air Officers Commanding are also taking place. Air Mar shal Joubert de la Ferte commanded the defence, while Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, gazetted as A.O.C. Fighter Command, took the opportunity to visit some fighter aero dromes during the Exercises. Some Squadrons are still out of the country, while the business of expansion occu pies nearly all minds. Despite all this, the need for prac tising the various elements of the offence, and particu larly the non-regular elements of the defence (i.e., search lights and Observers) is so important that it was wisely decided to hold some sort of exercises at all costs. The dice were loaded against both sides. The bombers had their style cramped by being given three objectives ty day and only two (both aerodromes in Essex) by night, as well as by the time factor. They could not wait for the most favourable bombing weather. Fighters are always badly handicapped by day when no anti-aircraft guns are in action against the raiders—and, of course, shells never are, or can be, allowed to explode among them in snam fighting. The known absence of balloon aprons also aads to the difficulties of the defence. Consequently, though w ^ ?nitlfyin§ to note tnat the proportion of interceptions as high, no useful conclusions can be drawn from the dC tual fortunes of individual raids. esti ' tht leSS' the Practice was invaluable. It was inter- the H f ° n°te k°W tne v'ta* <luestion °f communications for e defence is being speeded up. Low-flying day raids were have Sti"8 innovation' ai»d obviously the defence should as much practice as possible in dealing with this new form of attack. The searchlights were very active, and on the whole did well, but it would be shirking facts to expect part-time Territorials to be as masterly in finding raiders as is possible for full-time regulars. In war the Territorials would become full-time men, and would soon be as good as the best. In peace time there is only one advice to give to them and to those set over them, and that is, "Practise, practise, practise." Pou Redivivus r WO events have occurred recently which should encourage Pou-du-Ciel enthusiasts. Last Saturday's meeting at Ramsgate showed that this type of aero plane can provide quite good sport, even when the weather is far from perfect. In France the full-scale tests being made in the Chalais-Meudon wind tunnel have recently disclosed the fact that the very serious vice of the " stan dard " Pou, an uncontrollable dive, can be cured very simply by increasing the range of angles through which the front wing can be used. Saturday's race gave quite a variety of Poux an oppor tunity to fly in a strong, gusty wind, and there was no sign of any of them having a tendency to get out of control, even when racing at full speed, the condition when trouble is most likely to arise. M. Mignet's new machine, the H.M.18, with a 38 h.p. engine, was convincingly demon strated by the famous Frenchman, and seems to have an amazing performance, particularly in the matter of climb. It is interesting, and probably significant, that in the H.M.18 the front and rear wings do not overlap, and the vertical gap between them is much greater than in the original Pou. At Chalais-Meudon it has been found that if the front wing is provided with controls to bring its maximum angle of incidence to 14 degrees instead of the 9 degrees which was the original limit, the machine can be brought out of a dive, no matter how steep, and can even be righted from the inverted position, in which previously it was stable. It would seem that we are well on the way towards turn ing the Pou into a proper flying machine. Patting the Cart r HE decision of Portsmouth to turn down the plans for converting Langstone Harbour into an Empire air route base unless the Air Ministry agrees to pro vide the bulk of the funds needed can scarcely cause sur prise. After all, it will be very many years before the benefits which Portsmouth may ultimately derive from being the Empire terminus can be expected to reduce the increase in rates which the dredging of channels, or the even more costly scheme of dams at the entrance, will in evitably mean to the good people of Portsmouth. While towns and cities are very properly expected to provide their own air ports for internal services, it does not by any means follow that the same principle is the best when applied to Empire air routes. The establishment of an Empire air port is a necessity, whether the town near which it is situated benefits or not. Consequently, there is something to be said for making such an air port a national rather than a local undertaking. The really disquieting thing about the Portsmouth scheme is that if it comes to nothing, as well it may, there is quite a good chance of a number of Empire flying boats being ready for inaugurating the new Empire air services, and no suitable place from which they can start. Southampton Water could be used, at a pinch, but is too crowded.
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