FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1723.PDF
230 FLIGHT AUGUST 30TH, 1945 Is This What They Want V Experimental American Design for the Owner-Pilot : Twin-Boom Pusher With Tricycle Undercarriage THE shape of things to come in post war light air-craft, with.particular reference to the requirementsof the private pilot, has been a subject of consider- able interest for some time. "Indicator" has had some searching observations to make, and there have also been contributions by other writers to the pages of Flight on this absorbing topic And the outstanding fact which has so far emerged is the absence of any real unanimity on what the small civil job should be like and what it should provide. There is, for example, a sharp difference of opinion on the best kind of cockpit layout from the viewpoint of pro- moting safe flying. "Indicator," the reader may remem- ber, viewed with a certain amount of disfavour any attempt to make- the '' office '' of a light plane resemble the driving compartment of a motor car. Without reprinting his argu- ment, it was roughly to the effect that if the amateur pilot (who may not be too experienced) is surrounded by ash- trays and flower vases, he may, one day, momentarily forget he is not driving his 2-litre Blizzard saloon and try to do something which no self-respecting three-dimensional craft would tolerate, the result probably being another job for the coroner. Opponents of this view hold that if you make the novice pilot nice and comfortable and put him in familiar and safe looking surroundings, his mind will be at ease, his confidence in his aircraft enhanced, and his safety thereby increased; after all, the man who could "forget" lie was flying would be virtually certifiable, and no mechanical contrivance can be made safe in the hands of a lunatic—with the possible exception of 'the Link trainer! There are a score of other points over which opinions differ, but it is safe to say that all discussions on the ideal light aircraft quite rightly put safety as the first charac- teristic to be sought, though patently it is impossible to ensure 100 per cent, safety in any vehicle that moves— even the pedal-cycle has its potential perils, yet millions of small children ride them every day. All that can be expected in a private-owner's light aircraft, surely, is that, like any other kind of vehicle, it shall be reasonably safe in the hands of a reasonable person. Britons Are So Bashful It may well be that a number of British firms already havedesigns well advanced for post-war light aircraft intended to appeal to the owner-pilot (and club flyer, too) and that someof these differ greatly from the normal pre-war type and do provide a far greater measure of safety, comfort, economy aall the rest of it. But we have become so security-minded during the past six years—especially if we have been engagedon producing gver-better and better engines of war—that it has become a habit to regard anything new as a dark and deadlysecret, especially if it.flies! In America, however, aircraft firms do not seem in the leastbashful about disclosing particulars of new types of light air- craft even when they are still experimental. In America, too,the interest in the post-war light aircraft, or "personal plane" as they so aptly term it, seems to be even greater than it is inBritain, and a number of U.S firms have, during the past few months, announced their post-war programmes and releaseda fair amount of information on new models. One of the most interesting of the newcomers is an experi-mental Piper design in which safety has been given a "high priority," and we are indebted to Air Trails for the two illus-trations accompanying this article. Now although some of those who write articles, or "lettersto the Editor," setting forth what they want, demand novel features quite incompatible with the performance requested atthe price stipulated, designers are not so foolish as to ignore NOT A PIPE(R) DREAM : This cut-away sketch by Budd Stone, which appeared in Air Trails, shows the interesting design features of the Piper Skycoupe to advantage. The girl pilot gives a size comparison and suggests easy handling. The ease ofaccess provided by the large car-type door and low tricycle undercarriage, also the excellent visibility, will be obvious.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
