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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 2213.PDF
OCTOBER 20TH, 1944 FLIGHT 433 "Indicator" Discusses Topics of the Day To-morrow's Light Aircraft-II Qood View and Qood Accommodation Essential : Qrouping the Controls : Entry and Exit : Necessary Instruments : The End of Airscrew Swinging IN the first of these two articles (published last week) I described some experiences while flying the last peace's demiers cris in the way of light aircraft, and tried to explain how so many of them failed in the trivial little details which can often be more important even than the layout as a whole. The owners and hirers of the future are going to be a great deal more critical than they once were, and it behoves the earnest designer to be almost as careful about such things as control positipa-rShd scfSen^ arrangements as he will undoubtedly be**a*bout the design N of the aircraft as a flying machine. One can suffer the loss^of a few miles an hour, a stalling speed a few/ miles an hour higher might have been, but j6ney€annot suffer brafes difficult to use, or unTeJfeble^^creens throuf" can only vaguely diso&n iraen as trees ws that only by the mqpt pymful stretching oj norl the fact even fuel gauges which rniowVlittle one has some petrol fin the tank The present-day' airfield—aid conj^uentljT'the airfield of the future—is so l*id out Mat ajacraft must keap either to the perimeter tracks or me rueways. The^rormer are very little wider than the average road, and^earry all kinds of vehicles, so one's controTrnust be4tfstantaneous, in stinctive and accurate, and one's .view must be the best that can be obtained. For this reason, among others, I am in favour, eventually, of the tricycle layout, but even with the conventional arrangement there is surely no reason why the driving of an aircraft should involve one in neck- stretching contortions and in an unhappy triple struggle with the brake lever, the rudder and the throttle. If it continues to do so, then the self-flying public will be per petually suffering from "taxi-ing neck," and the under writers will get very tired of paying out sums to cover quite unnecessary ground accidents. Tail-down Visibility So, at whatever minor price in relative performance, the light aircraft of the future must have its engine mounted low and its crew sitting up high behind a large, clear windscreen ; the shallower the ground angle the better it will obviously be. If a pneumatic braking system, with the trigger conveniently on the stick, is too expensive for incorporation, then the cable-controlled or hydraulic system must be actuated by a lever which can be reached by the throttle hand and capable of being easily operated at the same time and in unison with the throttle. I am not in favour of pedal-operated brakes unless they are very carefully placed in relation to the rudder controls and are insensitive in operation. Feet are very clumsy things, and even the experienced driver of American air craft will still return with a sigh of relief to the trigger- differential system common to British aircraft. Incident ally, some attempt might be made to standardise the ratchet systems on aircraft brake levers. In pre-war days some manufacturers favoured the racing-car type, in which the button had to be pressed to engage, while others went in for the more normal kind ; either can be most dangerous in the hand of a pilot accustomed to using the other type. Probably it will be better to compromise by arranging the ratchet with only a few teeth for differential setting, and with some different kind of positive locking device for full-brake parking purposes. As for the general view in the air, I have a feeling that the underwriters, if no one else, will demand some sort of standardisation of the field of view. Ideals are difficult to achieve, but it is better to have a really clear and unobstructed view in certain definite directions than to fly around in a semi-opaque glasshouse from which nothing can be really clearly seen in any direction—either because the moulded glass has been scratched, or because the glasshouse has so many supports and joints that every thing is distorted. Give me a two-piece flat screen every time, with flat side-windows, and a driving position suffi ciently far forward to give a little view over the leading edge^^The roof is not terribly important so long as one ca^cCee something through it; it will be so hot inside during le summer months that the curtains will be drawn most"-""""" of the time. . Reflections and Focus There are two cardinal errors in screen arrangement. One is to have the thing so curved, or sloped, that it is a mass of reflections, and the other is to have it too far from one's eyes. Even a scratched and dirty screen can be seen through if one's eys are within a few inches of it, while quite a clean screen gives one no impression of view if it is separated by a yard of strutted scuttle and is run ning a sort of Aurora Borealis display on its own whenever the aircraft's attitude alters in a bump. Let us have our screens not more than eighteen inches from the face, aner"""" let there be useful and draughtless bad-weather windows therein. And I'd much rather have a small, unobstructed screen than a large one with a mass of stiffening members all over it. Flying machines, by their very shape, are always going to be difficult in the matter of doors and entries, and all we can hope for is a reasonable compromise. The high- wing monoplane can give a direct step entrance by an inevitably tiny door through which one steps smartly on to the compass, tearing one's trousers on the flap lever. The low-wing monoplane allows of reasonable door arrange—*'" ments, but one is liable to fall on one's face on the wing roof while entering, and on one's back in the mud, after skidding down the centre-section, when alighting. I know of no aircraft into which my aged grandmother could climb without the help of a lot of strong men or a mobile crane, and without risking heart failure. Even the agile youngster will often tear muscles and lacerate shins while embarking or disembarking from the average small aircraft. Provided that the wing is not too steep and it has a good^>>>^ non-skid walkway, the best way into any low-wing air**"""^ craft is through the "roof." Comfort or People ? There seems to me to be little point in trying to make a private aircraft carry a lot of people in cramped discomfort and with no room for luggage. Far better to settle down to the idea that it is to be a two-seater with lots of elbow room and with accommodation for a couple of decent-sized suitcases which can be placed without undue muscle-strain. If anyone cares to be really ingenious, there's no objection to an arrangement by which the strapped and strengthened luggage tray can be made into a third seat for mere joy- flying. The great thing is to design the aircraft for a serious job and not to try and make it capable of a lot of purposes—in every one of which the. occupants are uncomfortable to the wth degree. As for the driver's seat, comfort, as such, is far less important than view and "reach." An armchair from which, in poorish weather, one is perpetually straining for ward, is far less comfortable than a higher and more upright affair from which the world can be properly seen and all the controls reached with ease. There should be-"*"*'" no need to stress the importance of a reasoned general control layout. As far as possible, all the incidental con-
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