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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0725.PDF
MARCH 18, 1937. FLIGHT. 2/5 THE FINISHING TOUCH INEVITABLY the number of light air craft gadgets is increasing, although the private owner is not called upon to cope with the appalling profusion of dials and levers which sprout from every nook and cranny in the cockpit of modern Service types. Luckily the motor car has made us gadget conscious and it is the delight of many flying enthusiasts to equip their machines with such devices as will make for convenience in operation or expand their sphere of usefulness. Just which instruments are indispens able is, to a great extent, debatable, de pending largely on the use to which a machine is to be put. There is, however, a certain minimum complement of dials necessary for every dashboard be it of the minutest lightweight or the rich man's aerial carriage. These should tell him whether his aeroplane and engine are operating within safe limits. A well-nigh essential trinity of dials common to the dashboard of every aero plane comprises A.S.I., revolution counter (or tachometer if you will) and altimeter. Well-tried instruments of this nature are specialities of Smith's Aircraft Instruments, of Cricklewood, London, N.W.2, and Short and Mason, Ltd., whose Aneroid Works are in London, E.17. Navigational A.S.I., rev counter and tachometer suffice for circuits of the aerodrome on tranquil summer days, but aspiration toward cross-country travel demands some navigational aids. British pilots may be thankful that there is available to them a number of '' lines '' in compasses to meet every re quirement. A ubiquitous model is the Husun Mk. Ilia handled by Smiths. Other favourites are the Sestrel (a Short and Mason offering), and the compre hensive series marketed by Kelvin, Bottomley and Baird, Ltd., of 18, Cam bridge Street, Glasgow, Scotland. The very best compass has its idio syncrasies and supplementary instru ments are frequently mounted to indicate small departures from a set course. Depending for their actuation on a gyroscope which always tends to retain the position it held when set in motion, these instruments, although originally designed as auxiliary naviga tional aids, have lately come within the province of blind-flying instruments for assistance when ground and horizon are obscured. They tell the pilot whether he is holding his course, but they do not indicate undesirable side slipping. Such an indication is the function of a bank indicator, from which the pilot can note not only departures from an even keel but can gauge whether a turn of any A Brief Survey of Some Aircraft Acces sories and Personal Equipment of Interest to the Private Owner given radius is correctly banked. Bank indicators, if not dependent on a gyro scope embody a pendulum geared to a pointer. It is common practice to embody both turn and bank indicators in a single instrument. Well established manufacturers of turn and bank indicators are Reid and Sigrist, Ltd., of New Maiden, Surrey (this firm, in addition to their Service- type instruments make the comparatively cheap Gyorizon), Smith's Aircraft In struments, Short and Mason, Cooke, Troughton and Simms, of York, and the Williamson Manufacturing Co., Ltd., of Willesden, London, N.W.10. The Sperry Gyroscope Co., Ltd., whose works are on the Great West Rd., Brentford, Middlesex, are specialists in free'' gyroscopic instruments which indicate changes in altitude in relation to the axis of the gyro. Sperrys are offering an '' artificial horizon '' and '' directional gyro.'' For dashboard or personal wear a clock by Mechanisms or a watch by G. and M. Lane and Co., Ltd., 24 and 26, Lud- gate Hill, E.C.4, fill the bill. The automatic pilot, definable as a device which controls an aircraft inde pendently of human assistance, is to be found on most of the newest transport machines, and, although an expensive item, is likely to find increasing popu larity among the more pecunious private owners. Automatic pilots are produced by the Sperry Gyroscope Co., Ltd., Smith's Aircraft Instruments, and P.B. Deviators, Ltd., of Croydon, Surrey. Drift sights are acceptable accessories on flights of any length, and can be obtained from Smith's and Short and Mason. Enthusiasm is growing for the Sim- monds Goudime course and distance cal culator marketed by Simmonds Aero- cessories, Shell-Mex House, London, W.C.2. Once the aerial touring germ gets a hold on the system the victim usually goes in search of night flying equipment. He may fit his aeroplane with a red light to port, a green one to starboard, and a white light visible from astern, or he may mount a combination of all three at some central point. Such a tri-colour combination is the "Demec," made by Mechanisms, of George Street, Croydon. Then, if his peregrinations take him into undeveloped regions where night landing facilities are not available, he may want some flares, which he may buy from Y.S.C., Ltd., of 13, Thavies Inn, London, E.C.i, who will also supply him with lights for his Very pistol which he may have acquired from Webley and Scott, of Weaman Street, Birmingham. Our enthusiast will be tempted further by the admirable land ing lights sold by Vickers Armstrongs, Smith's and F. J. A. Cameron, of 2, John Street, London, W.i, and Mechan isms, of Croydon. A great deal of the electrical equip ment fnounted on modern privately owned aircraft is produced by Rptax, Ltd., of Willesden Junction, London; B.T.H., Ltd., of Rugby; D. H. Bonella and Son, Ltd., of 46-48, Osnaburgh Street, London, N.W.r, and the General Electric Co., Ltd., Magnet House, Kingsway, W.C.2. Accumu lators are obtainable from Peto and Radford, 50, Grosvenor Gardens, Lon don, S.W.i, and the Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd., of Manchester. The great majority of private-owner aircraft to-day are fitted as standard with brakes, but should a modernist find himself brakeless let him repair to Ben- dix, Ltd., Tyseley, Birmingham, the Dunlop Rubber Co., St. James Street, London, The Palmer Tyre, Ltd., Thames House, Millbank, London, S.W.i, or Vickers Aviation, Ltd., Vickers House, Broadway, Westminster. Radio The compleat private owner will doubt less covet two-way radio equipment, al though considerable benefit may be de rived from a receiver alone, particularly if equipped with a homing attachment. So far there has been little standardisa tion of radio equipment, but the Plessey Co. (whose sales are handled by R.T.E., Ltd., in, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.2), Standard Telephones and Cables, Ltd., of Aldwych, London, Mar coni's Wireless Telegraph Co., Electra House, London, W.C.2, and Trans- receivers, Ltd., of 444, Ewell Road, Sur- biton, Surrey, have developed a wide selection of appropriate sets. Clothing and items of personal equip ment can be viewed and acquired at a number of establishments, notably at Airco, Ltd., 3, St. James's Square, Lon don, S.W.i; D. Lewis, Ltd., 124, Great Portland Street, London, W.i; S. Lewis, 27, Carburton Street, London, W.i; Marble Arch Motor Supplies, 133 and 135, Edgware Road, London, W.2; Moai
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