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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 0020.PDF
8 JANUARY 4, 1940. so that Fokker design was always in a fluid state as regards external features. If a cantilever monoplane was wanted, it could be produced rapidly ; if anyone wanted a braced biplane, that also could be produced by the same equip- ment without extra tooling costs. The British Air Ministry was very slow in accepting welded construction for stressed parts, and Fokker was challenged at a lecture he gave to the Royal Aeronautical Society. His reply was: "You have a saying in English that 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating.' " There was, he said, and probably with perfect truth, no single case on record of a welded joint having failed. He chose his welders carefully, no difficult task in a country of careful and conscientious workers such as Holland ; and with a relatively small output. What will happen to N.V. Nederlandsche Vliegtuigen- fabriek is a matter for speculation. So far as one knows, the business was Fokker's. During his many absences from Holland, the work went on first under the able leadership of Mr. Stephan, until he accepted a post as aeronautical adviser to the Turkish Government (a post which he still holds), and afterwards in the hands of such old and trusted collaborators as Messrs. Seekatz and Smits, the former of whom has been with Fokker uninterruptedly since the early days. For their sake it is to be hoped that the business can be carried on (there are no children of any of Fokker's several marriages). As a man Tony was not liked by everyone. His manner and his sometimes unorthodox outlook on life were bound to jar on some people. I always found him good com- pany. His talks were instructive, and he had met all sorts of interesting people. The last time I saw him was at Schiphol. It was a pitch black night and raining hard. An aeroplane was just leaving for London. Fokker said to the company: " Here is the editor of the world's oldest aviation paper, and he is going home by boat and train. He ought to be ashamed of himself! '' He then leant across to me and said : "I don't blame you. I should do the same." Although Tony Fokker was a wonderful pilot and tested most of his new types, he was never really happy out of sight of an aerodrome. HERE and THERE Capt. Plugge, Chairman AT the last general meeting of the Parliamentary and Scien-tific Committee at the House of Commons, Capt. L. F. Plugge, M.P., was unanimously elected Chairman. Capt. Plugge, who is a Bachelor of Science of London University, also holds the degree of Cand. Mining Engineer, Brussels University. During the last war—when serving with the Royal Naval Air Service—he was the Admiralty represen- tative at the N.P.L. at Teddington. He also served on the Directorate of Aeronautical Research at the Air Ministry under Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, when he evolved in collaboration with Di. A. R. Thurston the design of the first military aero- plane constructed entirely in metal ever built in this country. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society since 1923, and was responsible for the Aeronautical Society's Glos- sary of aeronautical terms (French translation). His work on wireless, which has covered the last 15 years, is well known, and he is regarded to-day as one of Europe's experts on matters relating to broadcasting. Boeing Plant No. 3 EARLY last month arrangements were completed by theBoeing Aircraft Company of Seattle for taking over the Fisher Body Corporation factory on East Marginal Way. This factory adjoins the existing Boeing Plant No. 2 and has a 'floor area of 190,000 sq. ft. The new factory will bring the total Boeing floor area up to 764,000 sq. ft. The factory had previously been used for making motor car bodies of three- ply and hardwood, but had been idle since car manufacturers went over to steel bodies. Electric and compressed air sup- plies are already available, and all that will be necessary is the removal of wood-working machinery and the installation of jigs (it is the intention to use the new factory mainly for sub-assembly work). A slight rearrangement of existing works will enable Plant No. 1 to concentrate on primary construction work, Plant No. 2 on major and final assembly, and Plant^Nb. 3 on sub- assembly of small units. Pass Along There T>ATROLMAN ROBERT SWIFT (most appropriate name) -*• sat aloft and almost hovered, most inappropriately, in a Kellett Autogiro above the streets of downtown Philadelphia during the Ajrny v. Navy football match (they call it a game in America) recently. The machine was flown by Lou Levitt, veteran Kellett test pilot, and was equipped with radio specially designed to operate on the Philadelphia police wave- length. So successful was the test that the Autogiro is to be used for spotting and reporting traffic jams on similar occa- sions in the future, and other city police forces have made enquiries. It must be nearly ten years since London used the Autogiro for similar work in connection with the Derby. If we remem- ber rightly the pilot was Capt. Rawson and the observer Mr. Alker Tripp. The London tests were in every way as suc- cessful as the American seem to have been. Altogether Philadelphia seems to be getting Autogiro- minded. It uses these craft from the roof of the post office. The Byrd Snow Cruiser T"\EVELOPED by the Research Foundation of the Armour -L' Institute of Technology for use on Admiral Byrd's next trip to the Antarctic, a huge four-wheeled vehicle known as a snow cruiser " will be used to travel across the ice. Built on welded steel and powered by two diesel engines of about 150 h.p. each, the cruiser is 55ft. long, 15ft. wide and 15ft. high. The wheels, between 9 and 10ft. in diameter, are pneu- matic tyred. A projecting bow and stern and a bottom capable of taking the whole weight of the vehicle allow a crevasse to be crossed by simply driving across it—as the front wheels drop into the gap the bow lands on the far side and the cruiser acts as its own bridge. Provision is made on the top to carry an aeroplane for discovery nights, a single- engined three or four seater. The " snow cruiser," a vehicle of truly Jules Verne proportions, is a moving research base for a crew of four explorers. New Double-eight Flat Aero-engine T>HE well-known automobile designer, Bugatti. is reported -»- to have completed the design, in France, of an almost flat double-eight aero-engine of 1,500 h.p. The cylinders are of cast light alloy with steel liners and the engine has over- head camshafts and a centrifugal blower. Reduction gear- ing, permitting the driving of one or two airscrews, is pro- vided. Frontal area is said to be very low and the engine is suitable for mounting in wing or fuselage. The output of 1,500 hp. is obtained at 3,000 r.p.m. and a dry weight of 1 lb. per h.p. is claimed. Women Ferry Pilots WOMEN have now been entrusted with the job of ferryingaircraft from factory to aerodrome for the Royal Air Force. That well-known pilot. Miss Pauline Gower, leads the women's section of the Air Transport Auxiliary to which the new ferry pilots belong. The names of the eight are: Mrs. Winifred Crossley, Miss N. Cunnison, the Hon. Mrs. Fair- weather, Miss Mona Friedlander, Miss Joan Hughes, Mrs. G. Patterson, Miss Rosemary Reef?, and Mrs. Marion Wilberforce. All can claim many years of flying experience and most of them more than 1,000 hours in the air. They will be engaged on delivering trainers. Col. Lindbergh Resigns IT is officially announced that Col. Lindbergh has resignedfrom the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and that President Roosevelt has appointed Brig.-Gen. Walter Kilner as his successor. The Colonel states that he does not expect to concentrate his attention on aeronautical matters in future, but "is willing to co-operate in an advisory capacity if needed. An Engagement ONCE more in the news is Alex. Henshaw, who, as reportedrecently, is with Vickers Armstrongs as a test pilot. He has now announced his engagement to the Countess de Chateaubrun.
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