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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1647.PDF
FLIGHT. June 6, 1940. The Messerschmitt Me 109 R, present holder of the world's speed record. An informative survey of prob- lems affecting the design of aircraft for speed, based on the authors' study of aerodynam- ics, has been made by Messrs. Frederick Fladerand E.Rush- more Child,ofthe Curtiss aero- plane division of the Curtiss- Wrighl Corporation, and pub- lished m " Canadian Avia- tion.' The article, in modified form, is reproduced herewith. DESIGNING for SPEED How Fast Will Aircraft Fly in the Next Five Years ? t I 1HE world's record aircraft speed at present is 469.22 I m.p.h. achieved in a Messerschmitt Me 109 R over -*- Germany on April 26, 1939. What maximum speed will be attained within the next few years and how? In the accompanying chart are shown advances in speed with the passing years in successive speed tests, culminat- ing in the present armament "race." The authors have projected this graph to indicate the speeds which, as the result of study and experiment, are believed to be possible within the next two to six years. The maximum speed for 1946 is estimated at 560 miles per hour. The present record-holder is basically a fighter, and hence may be said to be the product of a different sort of " race," the current one in armament. Its record is prob ably not the last which will be established by such a machine; it is certainly fair to state, however, that the speed record will never be set by a purely service aircraft, but a clean-up, cut-down version, with military equip- ment omitted and with the engine arranged to give a " flash " power far above its normal rating. It is reported that this record was made in such a special version of the Me 109 R, and that it was accomplished through the use of an unusual and extraordinary expedient. It is said that the air intake scoops for the prestone and oil cooling systems were removed and the openings faired over. A small amount of fuel was carried, sufficient only for the duration of the flight. The remaining fuel tanks were equipped with cooling coils connected to the cylinder and oil cooling systems, and these tanks were then filled with dry ice. A cooling 60O| blower was used for cooling the engine during the warm-up on the ground, then the flight was made, using the dry ice as a cooling medium. If this report be true, it is interesting to compute the horse-power necessary to make 469 m.p.h.. Favourable assumptions are made that the machine was light, the wings were clipped, the aerodynamic design was as good 600 X a: Q550 r 4-50 "" ~B~~ c C-l ^—— — u 1000 zooo 3OOO POWER 4000 5OOO ;:-••••'•• Fig. 1. Variation of speed with power. as the best drag values herein presented for " best current practice." All drag for prestone and oil cooling was deducted and allowance was made for a gain in speed due to the dive permitted by the rules. The record was made over a three-kilometre course. The test was run under the F.A.I, rules, which require that the aeroplane fly prac- tically level at a height of not more than 75 metres while over the course and for an approach distance of 500 metres. However, a maximum heigljt of not more than 400 metres can be ob- tained during the flight. If the course is flown at a height of 50 metres, it is possible to dive 350 metres, or 1,150ft., before levelling out at the start of the 500-metre approach. Designers have calculated the speed which can be gained by such a dive, and have shown that their calculations were checked very closely in flight. An upper limit is furnished by the fact that the increase in kinetic energy cannot exceed the loss in potential energy. Actually, the speed which can be gained is related in a rather complicated manner to the maximum negative and positive acceleration permissible in entering and pulling out of the dive. 1910 1915 1920 1925 I93O YEAR 1935 1940 194-5 Fig. 2. World records for maximum speed.
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