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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 1181.PDF
TRANSxd TOM&R The Trend of Commercial Aircraft Design, with Particular Reference to Foreign Developments : Some Notable Types and their Capabilities By H. F. KINGF LYING equipment for airlines is developed spasmodically. At present the pace is tending to slacken after a high-pressure period of about four years during which modern forms of con- struction, new power plants, variable-pitch airscrews, retractable undercarriages and high-lift devices have all been profitably applied. Activity, for the time being, is round the drawing board and mock-up rather than in the production shops. So intense are the preparations, however, that we shall un- doubtedly witness within the next two or three years another great paroxysm of construction. Indications are that emphasis will be on size and range. Speed is likely to be tempered in greater measure with safety. In other words, designers will direct more of their energies toward obtaining docility during take-off and landing rather than squeezing the last knot from a design. As civil flying has progressed, operators (and, in conse- quence, designers) have obtained a clearer view of require- ments in such matters as passenger and cargo capacity, cruising speed, range and comfort. There are, in fact, a number of fairly definite formulae at present governing design. To take an example: Imperial Airways, with the Handley Page Type 42 (Heracles), originated the four-engine, forty-passenger theme. This has been developed in the modern Armstrong- Whitworth Ensign, and even more highly in a number of foreign prototypes. More remarkable still was the spate of small twin- engined transports after the practicability of machines like the D.H. Dragon had been proved by the late Mr. Edward Hillman. ; Though the most complete and efficient air ^operating concern will not require the same Variety of equipment as a military air arm, A pair of Junkers Ju.86s (one with JumodieseJs) paraded at Tempelhof with a Heinkel He.70 and an early Junkers used for testingthe original Jumo. A Ju.52 peeps in at the top corner. it must, nevertheless, have recourse to charter and feeder machines apart from equipment for the main trunk routes; perhaps flying boats, specialised mail machines, possibly floatplanes (for smooth water operation after the Italian style) and amphibians. Even survey machines and trainers are likely to be required. Considering commercial aeroplanes in order of size, the smallest type likely to be demanded is a " utility," or small charter, machine seating from three to seven. The larger aircraft in this category', of course, are potential feeder-line types. Single-engine machines are widely tolerated, though even the smallest commercial models are likely in due course to be multi-engined. The Monospar Universal is a commendable type. It is significant that such machines as the American Vultee V-ia, the Northrop Delta and the Lockheed Orion— all fast single-engined types—are out of production, and that replacements are all twin-engined (e.g. the Lock- heed 12, the Beech twin, and the new Barkley-Grow). Lufthansa is operating a small number of single-engined
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