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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0040.PDF
•i6 FLIGHT. JANUARY 7, 1937. The Trend of Invention (Cont.)— Controllable Cowling I N order to reduce the drag of the various parts of the engine, the latter is frequently surrounded by streamline cowling as is shown at A), known as the N.A.C.A. cowl ing. Air normally enters the cowling at B for the purpose of cooling the engine and it leaves through the annular space between the rear edge C of the cowling and the body of the aircraft. In order to vary the rate of flow of the air, and hence the degree of cooling, of the engine, two flaps are provided on each side, one of which is shown at G in the sketch. These hinge about a vertical axis D carried by a circular frame member E which is freed inside the cowl. The two flaps are connected by a mechanical linkage which can be operated from the pilot's seat or A further development of the Bristol controllable cowling. automatically by a thermostat and whereby the position occupied by the flaps can be varied. In this way the flow of air past the engine can be varied to maintain a uni form engine temperature. A further -feature enables the flaps to be swung out to a position almost at right angles to their closed position, thus giving easy access to various engine accessories such as magneto, etc., which are usually placed at the rear of the engine and which require periodic inspec tion. The movement of the flaps into this open position is effected by disconnecting a ball and socket joint which is easily acces sible from the rear edge of the cowl.—Patent Vo. 4515?5' Bristol Aeroplane Company, Ltd., and A. H. it. Fedden and F. Mayer. : The latest patents registrations will be found listed on page 22. CORRESPONDENCE The Iditot dees not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters intended for publication m these columns. THE MASS-PRODUCTION IDEAL I" WAS very interested by your recent descriptions of new light J- aircraft under the heading of " Recruits for the Light Brigade," but I would like to point out a rather distressing point, namely, that practically all the ultra-light types of to day are selling for /200 to ^400. As fai as I can see, what is required by the masses of people who want to fly, but cannot becauseof the expense, is an aeroplane costing £100 and avail able by the instalment plan on the same principle as the car. Taking the Carden engine at £55, surely it would be possible to build an airframe round it for ^45 if it were really got down to? Naturally, one does not expect slots, flaps and dozens of instruments, but a small metal airframe with no delicately curved wing tips, etc., and built on the mass-production scale ought to be possible. It seems to me that an airframe of this type would entail very little more labour than the making of the £100 car. On this principle the two-seater should cost about ^175 to £185. If only such a machine were forthcoming, then the average man and woman might be able to fly, for, whatever is said to the contrary, only a very few people can afford to own an aeroplane to-day, and until something like the /ioo aeroplane is produced I can see very little hope of the private ownership of aeroplanes being available for anyone but the unmarried £'i,ooo-a-year man. Rearmament will not last for ever, so let us hope that as soon as it is over a few, at least, of the manufacturers will attempt to design at any rate a much cheaper aeroplane than we have at present. London, W.14. P. FLETCHER. [Editorial comment appears on page 2.—ED.] LANDING FEES I WAS interested to read the letter under the heading " Those Landing Fees " in Flight dated December 17. You might be interested to know that the Aerodrome Owners' Association is, at the present time, closely engaged in an effort to draw up a schedule of fees and charges on aerodromes. This is a very difficult task and it is not possible to say how far the Associa tion will be successful; however, we hope that the outcome of our efforts will be a scheme which will prove helpful to aero drome owners and users of aircraft generally. London, W.i. H. R. GILLMAN, Secretary, The Aerodrome Owners' Association. INEFFICIENT RADIO OPERATORS ALL experienced W/T. operators heartily endorse your plea for more efficient use of the existing air W/T. facilities. Thank heavens someone does want the W/O. to be useful and not merely a pest to the pilot. There is no point in fitting Lorenz and other expensive approach beacons when the present equipment is not yet efficiently utilised. I agree with "Ex-Marine" that only experienced operators should be permitted to sit for the A/C licence. Further more, why not do away with the R/T. wavelength of GED. 825 metres (it is used about once a day) ? Utilise this wave length for another W/T. channel and so eliminate much of the jamming with which my experienced colleagues find snch diffi culty in coping. ANOTHER EX-MARINE. Croydon. I CROYDON, GATWICK AND GRAVESEND SHOULD like to take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation of " A. Viator's " weeklv Croydon news page, in which I nave especial interest. I think that in his contribution in Flight of December 10 he stated that as far as his knowledge extended he knew of no figures available relative to the actual visibilities of Croydon, Gatwick and Gravesend. The following comparisons were published about sixteen months ago: To every 100 fogs at Croydon (presumably of the " sky-obscuied " variety) there were 65 at Gatwick and 35 at Gravesend. Of Gatwick I know nothing, but very often Croydon-bound liners circle Gravesend airport, presumably waiting for another machine to find Cioydon before they themselves receive the O.K. to proceed. I believe that on Saturday, November 28, the German machine which arrives at or about noon at Croydon circled Gravesend for twenty-five minutes before finally making for the gloom of London. However, I must admit that Gravesend appears to conserve electricity to a remarkable extent. I think that a little flash of the main neon obstruction light would very often enable pilots to distinguish the airfield on a misty day ; but that is the concern of Airports, Ltd. I can remember that some two years ago, when the airport was fairly extensively used during bad weather, the only thing the ground staff could employ to attract pilots' attention was the illuminated wind- direction sign. When Croydon is impossible I think Gravesend could quite definitely be used, whereas at present it is very often not so used. As " A. Viator" probably knows, visibility on the river is no criterion of conditions at the airfield, which is 250 feet above the level of the river. It would be interesting to keep an official set of figures of Gravesend visibility for a month together with those of Croydon and have them compared. Northfleet, Kent. DONALD G. SOUTHWELL. Research Film at R.Ae.S. Conversazione NEXT Tuesday, January 12, the President of the Royal Aero nautical Society, Mr. H. E. Wimperis, C.B., C.B.E., M.A., M.I.E.E., F.R.Ae.S., and Council will hold a conversazione in the Science Museum (Aeronautical Section), South Kensing ton. The occasion is the 71st anniversary of the founding of the Society, and during the evening a special film will be shown, by permission of the Air Ministry, and for the first time in this country; it deals with the research work which is being carried out by the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the National Physical Laboratory. A film of bird flight will also be shown. The reception of members and their guests by the President and Council will begin at 8.30 p.m. Refreshments will be served during the evening. Members should make applications for tickets (5s. each, including buffet) to the Secretary of the Society by Saturday at the latest.
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