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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 1243.PDF
/ FLIGHT. APRIL 27, 1939 COMMERCIAL CONTRASTS Some Notes on International Progress in Airliner Development THOUGH the emphasis on speed, which may be con sidered to have originated in the U.S.A. five or six years ago, is still directing commercial aircraft design, there are noticeable tendencies to accentuate safety, particularly at take-off and landing, and to improve passenger comfort. The commercial aeroplane of to-day demands too much personal skill on the part of its crew and allows too small a margin of error, particularly at the critical periods of take-off and landing. Yet speed, far from being expensive, can on certain routes effect opera tional economies, as instanced by Imperial Airway's Lon don-Paris '' shuttle'' service with the new De Havilland Albatrosses; so those who would put the soft pedal on speed in favour of the ultimate in safety must consider speed not only in relation to passenger convenience but as it affects the operators' bank book. There is, one feels, too much agitation for diesel-engined helicopters, or some thing of the sort, and too little attention to improving the safety of more conventional aircraft and the operational technique. Actually, the picture of commercial aircraft design is not so black as may have been inferred from these first lines, particularly as some of the brains responsible for Britain's peerless military aircraft are now being directed towards civil development. Great Britain, in fact, is entering on a new era of commercial flying. We are out to compete with our rivals on their own terms. Types Available The list of our commercial aircraft types is still much too short, though the comparatively few examples we can offer show great individual merit (as witness the review elsewhere in this issue). Their qualities in relation to those of foreign types will be touched on in the ensuing notes. The smallest type of aircraft for which there is a serious demand among commercial operators is the single-engined cabin type seating from three to five persons. This is suit able for special charter work and for newspaper and film assignments. It is exempli fied in this country by the single-engined Percival series and in America mainly by somew hat larger types, notably the Beechcraft bi planes and Stinson mono- ^•'BiSiiSr'* *"! planes. The smallest twin-engined commercial model is typic ally powered with two en gines of 130-240 h.p. each. The smaller twin-engined commercial types are represented by the German Siebel Fh 104 with two Hirth or Argus engines. Here, again, Great Britain—with the Percival Q series— can offer something of unusual merit, these machines com bining excellent flying qualities with comparative roomi ness and handsome appearance. Germany has spent a good deal of money developing machines in the same category, though to date the financial returns cannot have been very The upper machine is the Timm transport (two Wright Whirlwinds), which, like the larger Douglases below it, has a tricycle under carriage. The Douglas D.C. 5 (centre) is a new type in competition with the De Havilland Flamingo. The Douglas D.C. 4 (left) is the largest landplane now flying and incorporates a number of features making for high commercial efficiency
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