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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0665.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER AND AIRSHIPS fmsr AERONAUTICAL1X/EEKLY IN THE^WOP.LD •• FOUNDED WOO Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices -. DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams : Trnditur, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines). HEKTF0RD3T., COVEN TEY. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION* ST., BIRMINGHAM, 3. Telegrams r Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams: Autopress. Birmingham. Telephone: Coventry 5210. Telephone: Midland 2971. 260. DEANSGATE, MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams: Ihffe, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. MB, RENFIELD ST., GLASGOW, C.2. Telegrams: Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone : Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION- RATES : Home ami Canada: Other Countries: Year, £1 13 0. Year, £1 16 0. 6 months 16s. 6d. 6 months, 18s. od. 3 months, 8s. Gil. 3 months, 9s. yd. No. 1473. Vol. XXXI. MARCH 18, 1937. Thursdays, Price 6dl. The Trend of Private Flying T HOSE who would buy a light or fairly light aero plane, either for their own private use or for the flying club for which they are acting, will find in the present issue of Flight a full list of those avail able. The prospective buyer must, of course, first decide clearly in his own mind exactly what he wants his aeroplane to do. He must have a definite plan or pro gramme of his flying before his eyes, and then must decide which of the specimens described in this issue will meet his own case. The history of private and club flying dates back to the Lympne competition of 1923, when a rich newspaper offered a prize for what it was pleased to call " motor gliders." The result was rapid production of small single-seaters driven by motor C37cle engines. Next year there was a more advanced competition for two-seaters, which was followed by the production of the original Moth, designed by a firm which had refused to enter for the 1924 Lympne competitions. Of the success of the Moth and its numerous progeny there is no need to write here at any length. The Moth, with 60 h.p. UTUS engine, made possible the light aeroplane club movement, and it and its progeny have done an immense amount of touring all over the world. The present issue or Flight is a milestone marking the position which this movement has now reached. th *u Stages of the development of this movement mere has been an unknown factor at work. The ue Havilland firm knew exactly what it wanted when it esigned the Cirrus Moth, and consequently it met with ^mediate success. What it wanted, and what every-y e e from the ^r Ministry downwards wanted, anri a K tw<>seat«" which would justify the starting wheth 1Sung °f Clubs- Since then k is doubtful have h an3f,dy' either designer or operator, would tourine to.answer the question Quo vadis?. For did not Pu^0ses ** so°n became apparent that 60 h.p. give enough reserve power, so more powerful engines were introduced, and naturally up went the cost. Presently a reaction set in and in some quarters a new start was made by going back more or less to the 1923 ideas and making much cheaper and lighter aeroplanes. Naturally, the lowest-powered types have necessarily to be single-seaters, and accordingly their market is re stricted. As was commonly said at Lympne in 1923, it is not everybody who wants to go touring alone. Also, very low-powered engines often result in problems when one wants to make extended tours and meets strong head-winds. Some designers have abandoned the discussion between the light two-seater and the ultra-light single- seater, and have boldly gone in for medium-light machines which seat four or five and will go anywhere and do anything. In such cases it is no use talking about flying for the million on an outlay of £100 or even ^200. Consequently the future of the movement is still undefined. R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve T HE announcement that the Air Ministry is now prepared to receive applications for admission to the R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve will be widely welcomed. Judging from enquiries which Flight has received, impatience has been felt by many pro spective candidates at the delay, though the delay was doubtless inevitable. To have entertained applications before the aerodrome centres and town centres were ready to undertake the training would only have in vited confusion. Now 12 aerodrome centres are ready, including 3 for London, and 10 town centres. The list is given on page 280 and full information regard ing the conditions of service are contained in A.M. pamphlet 62. Applications should be addressed to the Air Ministry (S.7.C), Kingsway, London, W.C.2. The drawback to the older form of R.A.F. Reserve was that the centres for initial training and for annual continuous course were too few7, and many men had to
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