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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0710.PDF
FLIGHT. MARCH IK I( 37 Three American private - owner types : The Cessna, the Porterfield (top left) and the Taylor Cub as a floatplane (right). As related else where in this issue, all three have concession aires in this country. THE AMERICAN PRIVATE OWNER How Long Distances Affect His Requirements : Use of Airline Facilities T HIS is an invitation to the British private aeroplane owner to visit the United States and to get acquainted with flying in that country. There are forty-eight states, ranging in size from 1,200 square miles to 265,000 square miles. As a matter of geographi cal fact, Boston, Mass., is nearly a hundred miles nearer to London than it is to San Francisco, California—which gives you some idea of the area that the American private owner has to roam in. Because of these great distances the ultra-light, low- powered aeroplane is used chiefly to build up time around airports. The limitations of such types for cross-country fly ing in possibly high winds are well known, so we will pass them by with the statement that they are being produced in large numbers and can be used for cross-country work if one has plenty of time and patience. The most popular type with the American private owner is the four-place cabin plane with an engine developing 250 to 350 h.p. Examples of this type are the Stinson, Waco, Beechcraft and Fairchild. The general requirements are long cruising range—600 miles or better—radio, and ample storage space for baggage. The latter must be accessible from the cabin as well as from the outside of the machine. Long'tange Touring Let us see how aeroplanes of the type just outlined are used. Mrs. Nancy H. Love, of Boston, has some very interesting trips to her credit. She has flown from Boston to Los Angeles, California, twice in the last six months. The Beech- craft which she used has a range of nearly 800 miles, and on these trips it was flown about 700 miles between refuelling stops. On these two trips she got in about 60 hours at the wheel. On one trip the baggage consisted of nine suitcases and two golf bags, which fact emphasises the necessity for plenty of storage space. She is greatly impressed with the need for radio on such trips; the only occasion when she got off her course was when flying at 13,000 ft. just east of Los Angeles, where there were no beam facilities. Mrs. Love uses her Beechcraft to make day trips to New York from Boston for shopping or social engagements. Another private owner at the Rhode Island State Airport has made twenty-one trips to Florida, each one of which has involved some three thousand miles of flying. These are not exceptional cases and they show the extreme dis tances covered. There is still another class of private owner to whom the original cost of superperformance is no object. I refer to those who possess such types as the Vultee, Northrop, Lock heed and various multi-motored 'planes. This class of machine, showing a cruising speed of 180 m.p.h. or above, will make the trip from New York to Miami, Florida, in eight to nine hours, including stops for meals. This is the equiva- By ROBERT C. CODMAN lent of a trip from London to Bucharest. In addition to the cabin devotees there are also owners such as Mr. Howard Hughes and Miss Jacquelin Cochran who have open-cock pit racing aircraft with power plants in excess of 1,000 h.p. While the number of people in this class is relatively small, the fact that they do exist shows the wide range of equip ment operated by private owners or their pilots. One small airport was confronted with the problem of storing and ser vicing two machines for a private owner last summer. One was a single-motored, gullwing cabin Stinson and the other was a twin-motored Lockheed Electra, such as the airlines use. The owner used the single-motored job for short trips of 250 miles or so, and the larger ship for the longer trips. An elaborate equipment of radiobeams, rotating beacon lights and teletype weather reports is maintained by the Department of Commerce between principal cities. By mak ing use of these facilities the private owner is enabled to fly wherever he pleases day and night, according to his ability. The Department of Commerce insists that those flying the routes of the airlines or making use of the radio beam facili ties shall qualify in blind flying for dirty-weather work. Pilots are directed at what altitude they shall fly and they must not deviate from that altitude without reporting the proposed change by radio. Ships without radio are forbidden to enter cloud areas on airline routes. "Saloon car" interior appearance is the aim in the la Stinson, another American type with British concessionaire"
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