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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0036.PDF
i8 FLIGHT. JANUARY 5, 1939 MAIL SPECIAL : One of the two Imperial F-class machines, the D.H. Falcon, at Alexandria after a fast flight from Croydon with Christmas mails. Each of the two Albatross machines which made the journey averaged just short of 219 m.p.h., while con suming only 78 gallons of fuel an hour (2.8 m.p.g.). Both Falcon and Frobisher weighed 13 tons at their take-off. Hastings Again THE combination of an offer to operate a service between Hastings and Le Touquet (from Olley Air Service) and of demands that C.A.G. training facilities should be provided in the district, has encouraged the Hastings Council to reconsider their airport plans. Some five years ago an area was selected for a municipal airport and actually a good deal of work has been done on the site. During the past year or so, however, the whole scheme has been in abeyance. Automatic Flight Report THE need often expressed by air transport operators (and air forces) for an instrument which will produce permanent visible records of the functioning of a machine during flight seems to be met by a flight analyser which has recently been developed in America. This combines, in one device, three, five, or seven recording elements, as desired, and is expected to prove highly useful not only in ascertaining the causes of crashes, but also, possibly, in decreasing operating costs. The standard instrument contains three basic pen-actuating units which trace on a roll of paper continuous line charts of the air speed from o to 250 m.p.h.; vertical acceleration from — 3G. to +5G.; and altitude from 31 to 11 in. of mercury (o to 25,000ft.). Two off-and-on pens can be added to produce simultaneous records of such functions as the operation of the automatic pilot, the radio transmitter, the retractable under carriage, and the de-icers. The Bendix flight analyser Any one, or all three, of the basic units can be replaced by motor-actuated units to record engine operation—such as revolutions per minute, torque, manifold pressure, fuel pressure and flow, and oil temperature and pressure. The provision of a remote transmission system will shortly make possible the recording of outside air temperature, magnetic compass head ings, and control-cable tension and travel. The combination of compass bearing, air speed and altitude charts will make a very valuable record of long-range operation. This analyser has been designed and built by Julicn P. Friez and Sons, of Baltimore, a division of the Bendix 'Aviation Cor poration. Its overall dimensions are approximately 8 x 8 x i2in., and it weighs less than 10 lb. complete. It may be installed in any convenient place—such as in the tail, where it will be least liable to destruction or damage. Catapult Developments BEHIND a new company registration, briefly recorded in • Flight last week (p. 60C), is the story of a venture which may make itself felt in commercial aviation in the not-iar- distant future. "Aircraft Accelerators, Ltd.," is the title of the new con cern, which has been formed to market aeroplane catapults of an unorthodox type " at comparatively low costs." The originator, Mr. Nicholas Sandor, has been making a study of the possibilities with regard to heavy long-distance aircraft, and his designs, it is stated, provide for gentle acceleration, so it may be assumed that he has passenger transoceanic developments in mind. The offices of the company are at Panton House, 25, Hay- market, London, S.W.i. The Advantage of Buoyancy LAST Saturday afternoon one of the Empire boats on the South African service put down in the English Channel some fifteen miles north, or north-west, of Alderney. The reason for the descent was variously given at the time as being due to weather conditions, control trouble and engine trouble. In fact, it appears that the pilot, Capt. Brown, put down simply because the weather was rapidly deteriorating with serious ice formation, and he hoped that within an hour or two he might be able to get the machine away and complete the journey according to schedule. While the Calypso was down, however, the weather (and the condition of the surface) became even worse, and the pilot decided to taxi the machine to Cherbourg, some 40 miles away. The difficulties involved in this course of action were considerably increased by the fact that the wind was blowing across his track to the port, and in the end he took a tow from the British steamer Regal, which duly took the machine into the harbour at Cherbourg, which was reached early on Sunday morning. A special machine was sent over to collect the two passengers and, presumably, the mail. The only damage sustained was to one of the ailerons. West African Survey ON Wednesday, December 28, a British Airways Lockheed 14 left Heston on the first stage of a survey flight to West Africa—a preliminary to the regular operation of a West African and South American mail and passenger service. The flight to Lisbon was made non-stop in about a minute less than five hours. As the distance is 1,040 miles, this time gives an average speed of approximately 208 m.p.h. On board the Fourteen was the managing director of the company, Major J. R. McCrindle, the operational manager, Mr. A. C. Campbell Orde, and Capt. S. D. Scott—apart from the crew, which consisted of Cdr. V. E. Flowerday, first officer A. C. Whincop, Mr. A. Woodall (radio officer), and Mr. A. W. Bishop (flight engineer). On December 29 the machine flew to Agadir by way of Casa blanca; on the next day to Dakar, via Port' Etienne; and on December 31 Bathurst was reached, exactly according to schedule. Yesterday the Fourteen was due to leave Bathurst and fly a thousand miles, via Villa Cisneros to Las Palmas (Canary Islands), where the party is to remain for a day before starting the return flight to-morrow. Altogether a distance of nearly 6,000 miles will have been flown by the time the machine returns to Heston. Some remarks on the organisation of the London-Lisbon section of the mail service appear on p. 3.
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