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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1077.PDF
MAY 21ST, 1942 FLIGHT 507 our pilots. If fuselages tend to be more cramped than on British corresponding types, the benefits from extra speed is a counter-balancing feature. Speaking to a pilot regularly using the Havoc, I was impressed by the enthu siasm he had acquired for the type. Of tricycle under carriages he was especially pleased. " One can put these aircraft down quite confidently," he observed, " and at once apply brakes as on a car with no fear of a nose over." The tail-up attitude for take-off also appealed to him. "Yes, I am all for tri cycle undercarriages," he added. The Flight pilot already referred to says in praise of tricycle under carriages, '' Where the tricycle scores and impresses me with its practicability is that, as soon as the main wheels have hit the ground, the whole machine tips on to the nose wheel and remains forcibly down in an attitude at which the stalling speed is higher than anything likely to be encountered in gusty conditions. I doubt if any large plane will be built in future without a tricycle 5gridercarriage.'' Tricycle Techniques To be successful, a tricycle-type aircraft must be just right—a perfect balance between weight distribution and elevator control—otherwise the machine will pitch badly when on the ground, and perhaps even break the tail when landing on rough surfaces, or it may need an incredibly long run for the take-off.. A heavily loaded aircraft without a nose wheel can be very tricky. Thus, you see how Britons acknowledge with satisfaction the pioneer work of their American cousins. Since tricycle types involve a slightly modified technique in handling, it is obviously right that pilots should receive their train ing with tricycle landing gear. The R.A.F. now have such trainer'types of British origin in regular use. I suppose no fighter type was more eagerly awaited than the Bell Airacobra. Something new and bristling with original features such as this can always be-relied upon to provide a new thrill. Comments of Bt.A.F. Canada-trained Airmen T HE HON. J. T. THORSON, Ministe/of National War Services, said in a public addr«ss at Selkirk, Manitoba, that "Canada's overseas/army will be, indeed as it is now, the most highly fsjechgjms.e6V and most • »«obile army of any of the United ^'Of the Royal Canadian Air there now were 28 squadrons ov battle front of the world." '' They have been in Ru They serve in Britain Europe. They fly to They have been in Their training equals t: in the world. Their qo ing qualities cannot b '' We have mo: Air Force, all number will«*fee pilots I have heard of this remarkable type are that the ceiling might with advantage be higher, and that for ward visibility is not 'quite equal to other fighter types, but rearward it is superior. The car-type doors do minimise objections to the rather cramped cockpit, the fixed* cover of which -limits pilots to 5ft. ioin., but altogether it isregarded as being as fascinating in flying qualities as ^is unconventional in design. Six machine guns and a -quick-firing 20 mm. cannon give excellent fire power. Pity it is that for various reasons the big cannon cannot be retained yet awhile, for "tank busters " with large calibre quick-firing cannon are the real need of the moment. Bombs have not proved effective against tanks. New Types Awaited If I add that we also await eagerly the later American types which have designed into them the real lessons of war, I am only half stating the truth. Lightnings, Thunderbolts, Curtiss P40F (Warhawk) with the Packard-built Merlin engine, for example—what a whirlwind range of hard hitters! The Vultee Vengeance dive-bomber, too, with such a remarkable specification. We are simply impatient for these new aircraft as well as your fast day bombers which all are confident will add lustre and fame to the splendid range of American types already on active service. Need I conclude with the observation that we, as a race, tend to be undemonstrative. The bitter lessons of war have not been wasted; they banished wishful think ing and retaught us the need to look facts squarely in the face. One detects a curious wartime trait, too, in that we Britishers tend to rouse one another to still greater national effort by minimising what we have accomplished and are doing. If such a tendency could be in any wa ' interpreted from these candid observa tions, well, it simply cloaks the genuine inward gratification Britons feel for the magnificent part America is playing under her great leader President Roosevelt. Tnorson said •ing on every the Libyan desert. iny and Occupied Mediterranean. the Far East . . .. aii men anywhere 4itiative and their fight- Jmrpassed. .. / 100,000 men in the Royal Canadian lem volunteers. By next March this lost doubled": And we shall produce and train nVCanada from ojje third to one-half of all the airinen|n^a ir^he British ,»a*tions." The Gpraxnonwealth ptf Training Plan is functioning with »uch spetf| that thp-ErafHre's Air Forces no longer suffer ftalfa " bottlenecky^ff pilots," Hon. C. G. Power, Air Mmktet, said- at a Press conference at Vancouver. Major-Power revealed that so many pilots were being graduated from air schools and sent overseas that Britain was "crying for mercy." They are seeing action on every fightuag front in the world, he added. This charming photograph of H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester was taken when she recently visited a Midland factory producing aircraft components. On her left is Mr. E. B. Boughton, and on her right, Mr. W. E. Long, executives of Automotive Products Company, Ltd.
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