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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 2240.PDF
b FLIGHT. AUGUST 12, 1937. FLAP POSITION INDICATOR The cockpit enclosure of the T.K.4, seen above, will have a Sorbo pad on its roof panel to protect Mr. Waite's valuable head when the going is bumpy. The moulded Perspex windscreen is quite a masterpiece. •flaps and a retractable under carriage. The fuselage is deep in relation to its length. A semi-monocoque structure, it has four longerons, spruce formers, and is ply-covered throughout. It is continuous be neath the elektron fairing behind the cockpit. The T.K.4 is the first machine (apart from an experimental Dragonfly) to mount the new Series II Gipsy Major engine, this being carried on a straightforward tubular mounting. This unit has been developed on similar lines to the Series II Gipsy Six and, in addition to being equipped for the operation of the "1,000" size D.H. variable-pitch airscrew, offers a higher continuous output than its predecessor, although the maxi mum power available is rather less than from the high-compression Major I installed in the T.K.2. In essentials the engine in the T.K.4 is a standard product, but incorporates a few modifications to suit it to the particular installation. For example", the nose cowl is of special design, the carburettor air intake and the inlet for the cooling air being combined in a scoop of circular section. Eventually the air intake may be moved farther forward to within half an inch of the airscrew so that additional boost may thus be obtained. As the air scoop is of modified design it is provided with small doors for the inspection of the sparking plugs. The cowling is quite flush, the usual hinges and draw wires having been abandoned in favour of American Dzus fasteners. A very handsome spinner fairs the airscrew hub. Twenty-three gallons of fuel are carried in a fuselage tank forward of the cockpit, and there is a cylindrical locker (which will probably be used for the stowage of a collapsible lifebelt) behind the pilot's parachute seat. The moulded Perspex windscreen is of fine aerodynamic form and must have presented quite a problem with its double curvature. A special quick-release device is incor porated in the coupe head which will have, in addition, a Sorbo pad to protect the pilot's cranium in bumpy con ditions. Teleflex controls are used throughout. Fore-and-aft control under various loading conditions is facilitated by a spring-loading device which gives an initial tension. The usual instruments are fitted. There is an ingenious locking DZUS FASTENER. CARBURETTER! INTAKE The Series II Gipsy Major engine is essentially standard but has a special nose cowling, al ready mentioned, and there are inspection doors in the air chute permitting access to the plugs. The American Dzus fasteners are interesting. A quadrant-type indicator warns the pilot of the position of the trailing-edge flaps. device to ensure that flaps and undercarriage are not pumped down simultaneously, and in addition a push-pull lever is provided to lock the wheels in the raised position. The wing has four spars and is covered on its upper sur face with two laminations of spruce set at 45 degrees, the lower surface having ply covering. The section is sym metrical. Solid balsa wood is used for the tips, which extend inboard to the ailerons. The leading edge is of solid balsa. The tailplane is covered with ply which is supported on three balsa ribs, one inch wide. A particularly interesting form of construction is used for the control surfaces, these being virtually sand wiches of solid balsa between outer layers of three-ply which take all loads. A balsa-ply combination is used extensively in the Albatross. Special tests were necessary in this connection as normal stressing methods were not applicable. The H.P. slots are quite auto matic and are possibly the smallest of their type ever made, measuring only about 3 ft. in length. They lie flush with the wing surface when closed. The undercarriage retracts in wardly towards the fuselage and is probably the smallest of its type ever built. Two students were sent to the Dowty factory to pre- Basically of Dowty design, the T.K.4's undercarriage was actually built by De Havilland students. It is, perhaps, the smallest gear of its type ever made.
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