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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0070.PDF
24 FLIGHT. JANUARY 14, 1937. licence—if the surmise that this will happen is correct. In the case of war it would be most desirable that the R.A.F. and the R.A.A.F. should be harmoniously equipped, and while Australia may declare that she wants the best, wherever they come from, the reply to that is that in fighters, medium bombers and army co operation aircraft, no designs are better than, or as good as, the best products of Britain. I The Fuel Problem T is my experience that the specialist—and you are mostly specialists these days—often has little opportunity to get a general view of the whole scheme of things in which he is an important unit. ..." Using that view as the basis for his very remarkable paper, read to the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Institution of Automobile Engineers, and the Institution of Petroleum Technologists last Friday, Mr. F. R. Banks explained to the fuel specialists the prob lems of engine development, and to the engine specialists a great deal of information concerning the latest fuel developments. The result was, inevitably, a very long paper; but it is one that will be retained for reference by all interested in these two allied problems. It is not a text book on the subjects, but it is a very excellent sum mary of the position at the present moment, and gives numerous references for those who wish to pursue any particular phase or branch farther. To the technical man Mr. Banks' paper is full of in terest. It tells him in plain language of the many prob lems which have been met and solved, and of the many more which still face the aero engine designer and the fuel companies. Many will probably hold that Mr. Banks erred on the side of modesty in the degree of credit he awarded to the chemists who have given us fuels of high anti-knock value. The effects of these fuels can hardly be assessed too highly. That being so, it was very natural that in the lecture and during the discussion the technical aspects were given pride of place. We have improved our air craft performances out of all recognition, largely due to the British lead in superchargers, the American lead in fuels of high anti-knock value, and the American lead in v.p. airscrew employment. With the adoption of two-speed blowers and other refinements in the future, other desirable goals can bs attained. The Snag Unfortunately, there is another side to the picture so far as Great Britain is concerned. As mentioned in Flight recently, attractive as are the "plums" to be expected from fuels of 100 octane number it may well be that they are not for us to pick, meaning by "us" Great Britain and the British Empire. Availability in case of war is a very serious consideration, and we do not, personally, feel at all satisfied that the necessary supplies would be obtainable. It is not merely a ques tion of purchasing, but also of transport and storage. CO-OPERATION OVER CAIRO The hook suspended from th_ . of Cairo's more modern buildings, indicates that it is an army cooperation type i organisation of Middle-Eastern defence. ™e •°fJ?:hif Hf,wker Audax (Rolls-Royce Kestrel', in close formation with another over some such an invaluable unit in the
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