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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1318.PDF
534 FLIGHT MAY 2OTH, 1943 WHITHER THE FLYING MACHINE? to their usual plan. Not until the engine had been locked up solid did the onlookers realise that they had been starting in "rich" rather than " cut-off" ; I believe a con.-rod went when one of the cylinders inevitably filled up with neat fuel—which is virtually incompressible. But, as I've said before, the wonder is not that modern aircraft are difficult and expensive to maintain so much as that they are so very reliable in ordinary use and when loo&ed after by a lot of partially trained fitters and riggers. They are saved, very largely, by the magnificent work of the compilers of "volumes" of different kinds, and by the vast quantity of safety-first bookwork which goes with every effort of maintenance. If the books are read and understood, and if all the people concerned con- scientiously fill in all the columns on the pieces of paper, mistakes should be impossible. Metal construction has removed most of what used to be a rigger's work—which consists largely now of a host of other jobs on such items as hydraulics and brakes. The present-day rigger is generally lost when he is faced with some serious rigging work on a flying machine of the old type, with wires, and struts, and braced centre-sections. Things either fit or they don't and the parts are returned. So many bits are made by so many different people that it is not unusual for ailerons, for instance, to be found a bit too long or too short for a particular machine. And is it difficult to make a present-day rigger under- stand trim? In his opinion all aircraft should be the same shape and size, since they come off the same jigs> and when anyone announces that a particular machine is, say, left wing low, he will proceed, perhaps, to juggle with the control cables, forgetting that all control surfaces must find their own '' hands-off'' level, and that any such juggling merely moves the relative position of the control itself in relation to these surfaces. It is not possible to make him see that the movement of, say, an aileron tab must necessarily raise or lower the ailerons during '' hands- off " flight, so that the column or wheel is lopsided. That is what a tab is for—the aileron does the actual work of holding up the wing and the tab is merely saving the pilot -a little muscular effort; either he or the tabs can hold the column over a little. Only the other day someone seriously suggested that a machine might be tail-heavy because the neutral position of the control column didn't coincide with the neutral position of the elevators—just as if the pilot held the thing in the neutral position. The basic misunderstanding is caused by a failure to realise what control surfaces actually do; the expression "left wing low" is a complete misnomer for the benefit of earthlings. Each and every control movement causes a displacement in the axis concerned, and the displace- ment is continuous as long as the control is held over. A left-wing-low machine would, if left to its own devices, do a slow roll to the left; and a tail-heavy aircraft would eventually, other things being equal, do a loop. And so it goes on. " INDICATOR." Book Reviews " Basic Calculations for R.A.F. Ground Duties" (FitterTrades), by A. E. Druett, B.Sc, A.M.I.Mech.E. Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd. Price 3s. 6<2. HPHIS course in arithmetic for the practical mechanic is anJ- excellent contribution for all who are prepared to devote some spare time in an attempt to qualify for the higher grade.By simple, yet practical, methods the student is led from frac- tions to decimals, formula and equations, mensuration of thecircle, measurement of angles, etc. Practical examples follow each chapter with solutions whereby the student may checkhis progress. Cadets of the Air Training Corps will find the svllabus tor the proficiency examination adequately covered. Libyan Log. By Squadron Leader Eain G. Ogilvie. Oliverand Boyd, Ltd. 55. net. ONE of the marvels of Gen. Montgomery's long and rapidpursuit of Rommel was the way in which the Western Desert Air Force contrived to keep pace with the Army. Ithad been practising rapid movements some time before the advance from Alamein, and this book gives some account ofhow it was done. The author is a Public Relations officer who was attached to, a Fighter Wing H.Q. in the Western Desertfrom July, 1941, to July, 1942. His job was to give the British public some idea of what was happening in the desert,either directly or by putting war correspondents on to the job. Some of the tales he tells have already appeared in print inpapers in Britain. This book, however, is mainly a personal record, and it gives a very good idea of what the men in thedesert went through—their hardships and their occasional simple delights, and so on. The log is full of interest, and thebook is very well worth the modest sum of five shillings. Roof Over Britain. The Official Story of the A.A. Defences 1939-1942. Prepared for the War Office and the Air Ministry by the Ministry of Information. H.M. Stationery Office, gd. net.T HE whole country was thrilled by the official publication, The Battle of Britain, which told the heroic story of the fighter squadrons which defeated the German attempt to conquer Britain by air action. But Fighter Command did not rely in this battle solely on Hurricanes, Spitfires and Defiants. A great part in the victory was played by the A.A. guns, the searchlights (both provided by the War Office), and the Royal Observer Corps and the Balloon Command (both pro- vided by the Air Ministry). This book fills the gap by telling the story of these, threeorganisations. In the first two years of the war the A.A. guns brought down 600 enemy aircraft, and three times they shotdown over 50 in a week. They also did incalculable service by pointing out raiders to the squadrons in the air, as it iseasier to spot aircraft from the ground than from the air. At times the gun positions had bad times arid comparativelyheavy casualties, but the officers and men stood up to them with all the gallantry of British soldiers. Each of the four bodies concerned gets its fair share of atten-tion in this book, and the reader learns that there has been valour and also some of the glamour of war in duties whichhe may have thought were merely dull routine work. In par- ticular, a very good account is given of the W.A.A.F. workin taking over a large part of the balloon barrage. The book is adequately illustrated and is excellent value for its triflingcost. Heat Treatment of the Wrought Aluminium Alloys.—Part I.Published by The Wrought Light Alloys Development Association, Union Chambers, 63, Temple Row, Birming-ham, 2: HEAT treatment of wrought aluminium alloys has been nproblem to numerous sub-contractors who have suddenlv had to cope with this practice on switching over to aircraftproduction, and little authentic information has been published upon the subject. This booklet, therefore, though ratherbelated, does fill a long-felt want, inasmuch as it is primarily intended for the non-technical personnel in the works to assistin overcoming production problems, which it should do admir- ably. This particular bulletin deals essentially with the practiceof heat treatment where the necessary plant is available; a further booklet in preparation deals with the essential equip-ment—Part 2, Equipment. Included in the booklet are notes upon quenching, ageing, annealing, workshop practice andbasic principles of heat-treatment with a bibliography which will enable those wishing to pursue the subject further todo so. Copies are available to all interested personnel gratis uponapplication to the Association at the above address, and specific difficulties or problems will be dealt with through the AdvisoryService Bureau. Such valuable information from such an authoritative source should be in the possession of all engagedupon this work.
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