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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0457.PDF
FEBRUARY 18, 1937- FLIGHT. 181 Commercial Aviation Radio Changes at Croydon /-vN and after March i the radiotelephony frequency (363 Okc/s.) will De used during congested periods for two-way riiotelegraphy. Operators will, of course, be asked to change ra, er to this frequency when necessary by the Croydon control ° After February 21 the Croydon radio station will transmit the current weather report at quarter-hourly intervals on 336 kc/s (993 m) by W/T. The idea, of course, is to eliminate the necessity for individual requests and answers. Minor changes have also been made in the R/T weather broadcasts from Borough Hill. These changes are detailed in Notice to Airmen, No. 15. Getting There First SINCE a supposedly ghoulish public demands to see close-up pictures of fires, floods and pestilences in the morning paper, it is up to the photographers to get them—from the air for preference. Brian Allen, of Croydon, has put the whole essence of his photographic service on one small postcard de picting a Cessna from which a photographer is '' shooting,'' a burning building. The conflagration is, or was, a very real one and the photograph is taken from 200ft. or so. You can even see the lines of hose and the firemen. The caption— "We catch 'em while the flames are burning"—tells the rest of the story. Towing Without Tears IN co-operation with Air Publicity, Airwork have designed a new system for towing aerial posters of the type employed by that firm, in which the letters are flown vertically on a framework. These banners are at present towed by small machines which leave the ground with the banner fully extended. Using this method, however, it is impossible to haul in or exchange the banner in flight, and the machine must proceed to its advertising area at the slow speed imposed by the drag of the poster. According to the new method, which is at present only applicable to large machines, the banners will be interchangeable in flight and need not be extended until the area of operations is reached. The banner will be wound on a spool mounted in a vertical position in the cabin. The frame supporting this spool can be lowered through an open ing in the floor and the banner then unwound by the slip stream, regulated by a clutch mechanism. The spool-carrying framework is lowered and retracted by a hand winch, and it is at present intended to rewind the banner on to the spool by hand, although a small electric motor may be incorporated later. The "Cloud of lona" Accident "POLLOWING his investigation of the loss of the Cloud of •*- lona on July 31, 1936, the Inspector of Accidents con cluded that: (a) The machine was forced to descend into the sea by reason of a sudden and probably complete loss of engine-power which occurred when within sight of Jersey : (b) It is not possible, on the available evidence, to arrive at any definite opinion as to the cause of this loss of power; and (c) The pilot successfully brought the amphibian aircraft on to the water, but it was subsequently swamped by the heavy seas prevailing at the time. Guernsey Airways, Ltd., owners of the amphibian con cerned, were last week fined £300 in the Guernsey Police Court tor operating the machine on three dates (including that of the disaster) without radio—in contravention of the Air Navigation regulations. After two adjournments, Mr. D. M. Brown, A.I.D. inspector th £tsmoutn at the time of the disaster, gave evidence at ™e final hearing. He denied that he had examined the machine with a view to passing it as complying with the neces- wry regulations. He had merely inspected it with the idea 1 recommending the Air Ministry to extend its C. of A. period Pet T month- since this certificate was due to expire. Mr. Bm* ,ee' Guernsey Airways' ground engineer, stated that Mr. ten 0 Pomted °ut to him that if the machine was to carry fittedr m°re occuPants wireless equipment would have to be hate itP1L?.?_?!??iXe.frf*a,OE terminated the hearing, the magis-defendan^ f* the £acts of the case were not disputed. The had been ° f exc lse~and this a poor one—was that they w erc alln c? used ir> the number of passengers which they neglect of'tv.t0 °arry without radio- He considered that this negligence current regulations almost amounted to wilful Through to Hong Kong IT is now expected that Pan-American Airways' Pacific ser vice will be flying through to Hong Kong before the end of March. At present the service terminates at Manila, though at least one experimental flight has been made between this point and the China coast. "Castor" Makes It Up AFTER her two-day delay at Southampton and a further delay due to weather on the way, the Short boat Castor, which is inaugurating the regular all-air services to Australia, flew from Marseilles to Alexandria on Tuesday of last week. The 1,800-mile journey was covered in an overall time of 12 hours 55 minutes. On the first day, as recorded in last week's issue, there was fog in the Rhone Valley, and Castor made for Bordeaux on her way to Marseilles. The Air Registration Board SIR MAURICE DENNY has been appointed chairman of the new Air Registration Board for the ensuing year. Sir Maurice is chairman of Wm. Denny and Bros., the Dum barton shipbuilders, and is a director of several other concerns, including the Blackburn Aircraft Co. He was chairman of the British Corporation Aviation Committee which was set up in 1927 and has since been joint chairman, with Mr. A. L. Sturge, of the Joint Committee of Lloyd's Register and the British Corporation, which was previously responsible for much of the work now to be taken over by the A.R.B. Chinese Connections REGULAR services connecting Hong Kong with the Chinese air route system are now scheduled. China National Air ways early in November started to include Hong Kong on their Shanghai-Canton service, thereby connecting with Imperial Airways' Penang service. The Hewi Tung Co., a Sino-Japanese aviation enterprise in North China, started operations in November last with mail and passenger services between Tientsin and Dairen and between Tientsin and Chinchow. Other lines are to be oper ated when sufficient equipment has been acquired. The new company now has eight machines in operation. Air France and the Atlantic YET another scheme for an inland flying boat base to be used for Air France's projected North Atlantic service has been receiving consideration at the French Air Ministry. The idea is to create an artificial lake at Muret, near Toulouse, and to make this the French terminus of the line. M. Vincent Auriol, who, in addition to being finance minister in M. Blum's Ministry, is mayor of Muret, has been holding conferences there, with Air Ministry officials in attendance, to discuss the building of a dam from Puinsaguel to Muret. This would make it possible for a lake, three by two kilometres In size, to be artificially created by diverting the waters of the Garonne. If, however, the inland flying-boat base idea is to become a reality, it is regarded as far more probable that the point selected will be nearer Paris, such, for instance, as the one proposed on the banks of the Seine at Gennevilliers, just north of Paris, and not far from Le Bourget. ACCURATE MEASUREMENT of fuel and oil as supplied through pumps and cabinets is an important factor in economical aircraft operation, particularly in the case of large fleets. Many oil-dispensing cabinets are now fitted with the "Victory " meter- one model of which is illustrated above —made by Precision Meters, Ltd., 104, High Holborn, London, W.C.i. Very accurate measuring and recording, even after prolonged service, is the chief claim for this instrument, which has recently passed N.P.L. tests of these qualities.
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