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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 1169.PDF
-408 FLIGHT. APRIL 20, 1939 v"" :~' -.' yht " photograph. The R.6/28 was second in size only to the German Do.X. Its Service name was Sarafand, and it had six Rolls-Royce Buzzard engines. " Flight " photograph Developed from the Calcutta, the Rangoon (three Jupiters) did excellent service in the Persian Gulf Scylla—one of the largest four-engined landplanes ever built—was followed by what is probably the smallest—the Scion Senior. Embodying all the excellent features of the twin-engined Scion, the Senior model has been flown as a landplane and seaplane. Fitted with Pobjoy Niagara III engines of 90 h.p. each the machine has the following characteristics: Span, 55ft.; all-up weight, 5,750 lb.; top speed, 145 m.p.h.; cruising speed, 126 m.p.h.; cruising range, 420 miles. The "drawing - board" order for 28 four-engined The first ot the large four- engined commercial flying- boats was the Kent (Scipio) which was used for many years on the Mediterranean route of Imperial Airways. The Gurnard (left) was a two-seater fleet-fighter-reconnaissance machine and was fitted with a variety of undercarriages. commercial flying boats received from Imperial Airways in 1935 was, apart from its Imperial significance, one of the greatest compliments ever paid to an air craft manufacturer. The machines con cerned were designated the Empire Class, and soon after its launch in July, 1936, the first machine had proved that its magnificence lay not only in its ap pearance. The Empire boat was, and still is, one of the finest-looking marine aircraft ever built. The hull is very deep and has two decks. The upper deck houses the crew, and a mail compart ment, while below is accommodation for twenty-four passengers and additional baggage or cargo. For night flying six teen passengers can be accommodated in bunks. The high cantilever monoplane wing is built round the central girder, which embodies two spars of extruded sections braced by tubular struts. Like the hull, the wing is covered with smooth Alclad sheeting. An important contributory factor to the high performance of the machine is the installation of the Gouge trailing-edge flaps which, in addition to providing the normal flap effect, increase the effective area of the wing. High Performance The engines, installed ahead of the wing in gilled cowlings, are of the Bristol Pegasus Xc type, each giving a take-off output of 920 h.p. The normal Empire boat carries 650 gallons of fuel, although the special long-range version, planned for Transatlantic operation, has tankage for 2,320 gallons. Data for the Empire boat are: Span, 114ft.; length, 88ft.; height, 31ft. ioin.; wing area, 1,500 sq. ft.; tare weight, 24,000 lb.; weight loaded, 40,500 lb.; top speed, 200 m.p.h.; maxi mum cruising speed, 170 m.p.h.; take-off time, 21 sec. Although the ceiling was estimated at 20.000ft. an Empire boat has actually been taken up to 25,000ft. Frequently, when carrying mails and cargo across France, the boats cruise at a height of 18,oooft. The two specially developed long-range boats, Caledonia and Cambria, made ten highly successful experimental flights be tween England and America in 1937. Cambria on her last west-east trip aver aged 190 m.p.h. over the 2,000 miles between Botwood, Newfoundland, and Foynes, Eire. A modification of the Empire boat was chosen for one of the most daring aeronautical experiments ever made— the Short-Mayo Composite aircraft. Briefly, the Mayo Composite scheme entails the mounting of a comparatively " Flinht " •ohotoaravh
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