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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0886.PDF
3x6 FLIGHT. MARCH 31, 1938. AIR FRANCE'S EUROI* Historical parade. The 8-passenger 85-m.p.h. Farman Goliath (1921J ; the 8-passenger 105-m.p.h. Liore- Olivier Golden Ray (1922); the 10- passenger 150-m.p.h. Wibault 283 (1934); and the Rloch 220. The Block 22 Route : A Seven Latest Fre% NOW that these machines are to be replaced, the extra-ordinarily good work done by the .Wibault 282s and283s in the service of Air France may be properly appreciated. The first of these Wibaults, which were, in many ways, in advance of contemporary design, was put into service in 1931, and examples will still be in use on some of the less important of the company's routes. The replacement type will be the Bloch 220, fourteen ex- amples of which have been ordered after a year's experience with the prototype, and this machine made its first appearance at Croydon last Saturday before going on to the regular . London-Paris route on the following day. This new type will be used on all the major European lines of the Company. Basically, the Bloch 220 may be said to follow the modern trend—that of all-metal stressed skin construction, with the usual split flaps, retractable undercarriage and v.p. airscrews— and its cruising performance is at least as high as that of any Other transport in regular operation on European lines. It is a 16-seater with a maximum range of 620 miies at a cruising speed of about 180 miles an hour. At this speed the two 890 h.p. Gnome Rhone 14 engines are well throttled back, and the figure given for operation even on 60 per cent, of full power is as high as 198 m.p.h. Its actual maximum is 212 m.p.h. M. Charvet, the Secretary-General of Air France, introduces Mme. Maryse Bastie, the well-known pilot, who christened the Bloch at Le Bourget and afterwards travelled in it over to Croydon for the first regular service on the following day. (Flight phoiograph.) Present-day cruising speeds are, however, to be considered only in relation Jo economy, and many transports with an ex- tremely high genuine cruising speed, using a comparatively small power output, are, in fact, usually flown in service at somewhat lower speeds in order to obtain maximum economy according to the particular circumstances of wind and weather at operating height. The Bloch will be cruised in service at 180 m.p.h., and the schedule on the London-Paris allows for an average headwind of 16 m.p.h. Nevertheless, there is plenty of speed in reserve for use against stronger winds when these are encountered. When we had an opportunity on Saturday of flying over from Paris to London on its "delivery" flight, the Bloch was facing a headwind of something like 30 m.p.h., yet the trip was made in schedule time (1 hr. 15 min.) from point to point, and in 1 hr. 20 min. from tarmac to tarmac. The pilot, Capt. G. Durmon, was, in fact, using more throttle than would nor- mally be necessary, but even so the passenger cabin was very reasonably quiet even by modern standards, and it is to be supposed that at the usual cruising speed there would be nothing whatever about which to grumble. As it was, conversation could still be carried on in normal tones. A glance at the instruments showed that the indicated air speed remained at approximately 280 km/h. This, duly corrected for height, meant that the machine was being cruised at an air speed of rather more than 195 m.p.h. Individual Comfort The old Wibaults, good as they were when first put into •service, have not been sufficiently commodious for present-dav demands, and the Air France passengers should certainly like the new Blochs, in which there is plenty of room, and the fact that there is no nose engine will be particularly appre- ciated by those who are susceptible to vibration, however slight. Every passenger has his own window—from which, incidentally, it is possible to see properly since it is of ample size—as well as the usual controllable ventilator and light, while the cabin air is exhaust heated to a constant temperature (<[ about 20 deg. C. In bumps the Bloch is large enough to lie comfortable, though there is a minor shuddering effect fol- lowing severe disturbances. At a glance one would say that -the Messier retractable undercarriage, as represented on the Bloch 220, is an excep- • tionally good one. It is simple, the wheels are completely retracted, and when they are extended it is possible to stand right inside the wing and to attend to the various leads and so forth concerned either with the engine installation or the undercarriage gear. Furthermore, this gear includes a brush which keeps the tyre clean while on the ground and acts as a guard. It is to be supposed that a good deal of the trouble which has been experienced with retractable undercarriages has been directly or indirectly caused by mud. The airscrews are of the three-blade Ratier type with electrical pitch contr° ; while the equipment includes Goodrich de-icers and a VIr loop. The crew normally carried consists of a captain, a nrst- officer-cum-radio operator, and a steward.
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