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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0503.PDF
FEBRUARY 24, 1938. FLIGHT. 177 The photograph on the left of theOberland south of Glarus gives a good impression of the type of scenery whichis enjoyed by the Alpine air traveller. Above is a snap of Swissair's Rapidetaken while the two machines were flying in photographic formation over St. Moritz.(Flight photographs.) complete the journey. For this purpose Swissair use a specially equipped D.H. Dragon Rapide which normally carries four passengers in considerable comfort with a very fair amount of luggage. Since St. Moritz is one of the most popular resorts and at the same time lies some considerable distance from Zurich, it was natural that the authorities there and in the surrounding municipalities should interest themselves in the idea of a through air service. To this end they have laid out a strip landing-ground at Samaden, and during last week-end the first non-stop flight from London was made with a Douglas D.C.2. Some weeks previously take-off tests had been made with various loads—Samaden lies at 1,700 metres (5,600ft.)—and the aerodrome can be considered as being in every way safe and suitable for operations with a big machine in the hands of an experienced Alpine pilot—in this case Capt. E. Nyffenegger, the chief pilot of the tom- pany. Naturally enough, the munici- palities of St. Moritz, Pontresina, Sama- den, and others, are particularly keen that a regular service should be operated, but, even with present-day radio and other aids, the run can only be made with complete safety in good weather. Swissair are naturally reluctant to put such a service in time-table form when on many days it could not be run at all, and their reputa- tion for safety is such that they could not afford to take any risks in attempting to make the run with anything resembling time-table regularity. However, last week-end's non-stop trip showed what can be done in the good weather which is generally experienced during the winter at such altitudes, and that when a worth- while party of travellers wishes to do so the service can be run, to all intents and purposes, as a regular one either directly from London or, in the case of small parties, via Zurich with the help of the Rapide. Our outward trip was made for the most part against a 35 m.p.h. headwind, but even so the flying time was a matter of little more than four hours, giving an average speed of 145 m.p.h. The effective non-stop range and usefully variable cruising speed of the D.G.2 were shown up to their best advantage. Needless to say, the machine arrived at Samaden with tanks which were com- paratively empty, so that, in spite of an other- wise full load, no possible difficulties might be experienced in entering the landing ground. Depending on the load otherwise carried, the take-off from such a high-altitude aerodrome must be made with reduced fuel supply, and any return trip would be made with a refuelling halt at Zurich. Nevertheless, the load taken out of the aerodrome was such as to prove the complete safety of operations with the Douglas, the engines of which could not at that height give full take-off power. Nowadays the D.C.2 cannot be considered as a really up-to-date type, yet it can still give a good account of itself in comparison with other and more modern transports. During the return journey, after a landing for fuel at Diibendorf, a glance at the instruments in the control cabin showed that we were cruising on 70 per cent, full power (a total of 1,000 h.p.) at an indicated air speed of 250 km.h. Our height was 3,000 m. (9,850ft.), and the outside air temperature was about —6 deg. C-, and when corrections had been applied by means of one of the power charts carried by the Swissair pilots, the true air speed worked out at 300 km.h. (185 m.p.h.), a figure which, rather late in the day, perhaps, gives the lie to those who laughed aside the performance figures of the D.C.2 when these were first published in Europe some years ago. Incidentally, Swissair make the best use of fuel character- istics for different purposes both with the D.C.2 and the D.C.3, each carrying specially high octane fuel for take- off purposes. The D.C.2 is taken off with fuel of the value of 87 octane, while cruising on 77 octane, and the D.C.3 takes off on 95 octane and cruises on 87. With the 95- octane fuel it is permissible., if necessary, to allow the manifold pressure to reach a maximum figure of nearly 100 cms. of mercury at something like 2,300 r.p.m. Strip Airport Samaden aerodrome is laid out in the valley of the Inn to the north-east of St. Moritz, and consists of a strip 800 metres long and about 200 metres wide, this strip being largely cleared of snow by means of a centrifugal sweeper. Except for short periods in the early morning and evening, the wind blows almost directly down the valley in one direction or the other, so that a two-directional strip is ample for normal operations. Actually, though the wind was not blowing at much more than five miles an hour when we landed and took off, the Douglas used only four or five hundred yards of the aerodrome, though at this height not only, as already mentioned, is the take-off power limited, but the stalling speed is quite considerably in- creased. The aerodrome was opened towards the end of
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