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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 0072.PDF
36 FLIGHT. JANUARY 12. 191,9 HERE and THERE A Jointing Problem Tackled ONE of the greatest obstacles in the way of j| applying synthetic resin materials to the * primary structure of aircraft is the difficulty of joining two components together. No really satisfactory cement has yet been found, although progress in thai, direction is being made. In the meantime Bakelite, Ltd. (68, Victoria Street, London, S.W.i), have gone a considerable way towards making the use of synthetic resin materials immediately possible by introducing a new material known as F.5522. Briefly explained, the new process is based upon the fact that while the plastic material is being pressed it is capable of adhering to wood. The Bakelite core is, in fact, faced with wood, and as the synthetic resin bonding material does not penetrate to the outer surface of the wood, the latter retains its ability to be joined to a wooden member by any of the well-tried glueing processes. F.5522 has a high bearing strength (the permissible loading is 25,000 lb./sq. in.) so that when inserts of the material are used with wood, the strength of the joint is increased and fewer bolts can be used. The inserts are easily dotted into the wood members and glued into position. - First A.D.C.C. Unit of 1939 THE Air League of the British Empire announces that the first Air Defence Cadet Corps unit for 1939 (and the second of the North-East Surrey group begun last November with the formation of No. 18 Squadron by Wimbledon) has been estab lished by Merton and Morden. This brings the total establish ment of the Corps to forty-three squadrons, or 4,300 cadets. Success Summed Up THAT always bright annual Wakefield publication, Achieve ments, has appeared again, reviewing the past year's suc cesses on land, water, and in the air of users of Castrol lubri cants. The flying achievements reviewed include Clouston's and Broadbent's long-distance records and Alex Henshaw's King's Cup victory. Seeing How They Fly ON Wednesday evening of last week, Lt. Col. J. T. C. Moore-Brabazon, M.C., M.P.—holder of the first pilot's licence in the United Kingdom—visited Shell-Mex House to open a public exhibition which, by means of ingenious work ing models and artistic displays, traces the development and theory of flight from its infancy to present times. Lt. Col Moore-Brabazon, in a brief speech before a large gathering of people prominent in the flying world, mentioned that the early pioneers' dream of true international under standing brought about by the annihilation of distance by aerial transport had become a nightmare—due not to tech nicians but to the foolishness of politicians. The name bomb ing aircraft to-day bore the same relation to the ordinary man as the bogy-man used to bear to the child, and in this country as elsewhere there was mass cowardice on a scale that has never been dreamt of before. Lt. Col. Moore-Brabazon hoped that the British people would not be downhearted because he believed that it the proper precautions were taken, although physical damage might be immense, the loss of life would not be very great. But in lie present position there was no defence against enemy attack. I he only defence was offence. He congratu lated the organisers of the exhibition for the manner in which they kept clear of the military side. They showed aviation m the light of a dove instead of as a hawk. The exhibition—it is called " See Kow They Fly "—seeks in the simplest manner to explain the theory of flight by means of various static displays. Round the walls are illuminated and delightfully coloured scenes which, by an ingenious Test specimens having inserts of Bakelite F. 5522 at one end—the left—and plain wood at the other. The plain wood ends have failed in each case. The two outside test-pieces hare the material slotted into the wooden member, and the two inside pieces have the material glued to the outside. arrangement of glass, appear to have full perspective values. The scenes depicted range from prehistoric fauna to the fire- balloon and pioneering days of aviation. But that is not all, for most of the problems connected with aviation, such as navigation, blind-approach systems, design, etc., are explained in such a manner that both schoolboys and parents will find ths exhibition both enjoyable and interesting. James Gardner, Barnett Freedman and Nigel Tangye are mainly responsible for the layout of this out-of-the-ordinary display. "See How They Fly" is open to the public (admission free) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays included. For Better Starting MANY expedients have been introduced in attempts to provide, without undue increase in weight, ideal ignition conditions for the starting of aero engines. In the case of most hand-starter magneto and booster coil systems there are in herent disadvantages in that the trailing point of the magneto must be placed so far back, to prevent jumping back at altitude, that the starter spark may occur anything from 30 deg. to 60 deg. after top dead centre. This difficulty can be overcome, with consequent correct timing of the starting spark, by boosting the main magnetos. By so doing it is possible to dispense with starter magneto and trailing brush. Rotax, Ltd., have for some time carried out research in this direction and have recently introduced a low-tension energy transfer booster coil system which has been used in conjunction with Napier Dagger engines and proved, it is claimed, highly successful. , The Rotax system employs a separate induction coil con nected with the magneto primary and using it as a transformer. It supplies it with alternating impulses of approximately 200 volts. The coil has an automatic magnetic interrupter. The primary winding is correctly proportioned to the battery voltage and the secondary winding is designed to transfer the maximum amount of energy at the optimum voltage to the magneto primary, where it is stepped up by the secondary wind ing to produce a shower of sparks. The timing is determined by the opening of the magneto contact-breaker points and the sparks persist until the points are closed again. This interesting component is mounted in the cockpit and connected to the main magneto switches ; extra cables between the cockpit and engine are therefore eliminated. A single coil can boost two magnetos simultaneously, while it can be applied to more than one engine in turn by the use of a switch. The weight of the coil and switch unit is 2 lb. 7 oz. Full particulars of this new system are obtainable from Rotax, III ••I'll 1 11^^—^—^^—fc Ltd., Willesden Junction, Lon don, N.W.10. The Rotax magneto booster coil.
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