FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0302.PDF
164 FLIGHT FE3RUARY I4TH, 1946 MILES C EMI N I Service order, are not mounted in a separate panel, but are carried in a larger anti-shock-mounted centre panel on which is included the two revolution counters, oil pressure gauges, and fuel contents gauges. The flap indicator is on the left below the auxiliary electric power panel already MILES GEMINI Cabin Monoplane for Pilot and Three Passengers Dimensions Span 36ft. 2in. Length 27ft. 3in. Height (tail down) 7ft. 4jn. Track 10ft. ilin. Wing area (gross) 191 sq. ft. Weights Fully equipped 1,910 Ib. Pilot 160 Ib. Passengers (3) 480 Ib. Luggage 284 Ib. Fuel (250 miles range) 130 Ib. Oil 36 Ib. Gross weight 3.000 Ib. Note .—With maximum fuel load, for 820 miles range, pa/load will be reduced by 308 Ib. Estimated Performance (at 2,800 Ib.) Maximum speed ... ... ... ... *" 150 m.p.h. Cruising speed... ... ... ... ... 130 m.p.h. Rate of climb (sea level) 870 ft./min. Distance to clear 50ft. (5 m.p.h. wind) ... 310 yd. Landing run (5 m.p.h. wind) 125 yd. Indicated stalling speed 35 m.p.h. / 36 gall, fuel ... 520 miles. \60gall.fuel ... 820miles.Maximum range (still air) The Miles high-lift flaps will eventually be electrically operated. In the prototype they are lowered by means ofa hand-wheel. mentioned, and, to the right of the centre panel, there is a large cubby hole. Below this is a clock, and to the left a rudder-adjustment release which will be familiar to those who have handled Masters or Martinets. When the control is pulled out the rudder pedals are free to move backwards or forwards until relocked in the chosen position. The brake lever is on the same axis as the throttle levers, so that all three can be operated together. Although the name of this new Miles aircraft might be considered to be natural,,since it is no doubt a heavenly twin, one questions the advisability of using a name which can be pronounced in so many different ways and which is, in any case, far from easy on the tongue. No doubt future owners will invent their own variations Of the word, but it might be as well to coin a new one before the worst happens. A Six-engined Saro Ambitious Flying Boat Project of More than 100 Tons THE front covei of Flight of December 20th, 1945,depicted a huge flying boat beginning its take-off run,its port and stern navigation lights being set off against a night sky, and its two rows of illuminated portholes indicat-ing a double deck for the passengers. Hitherto, Saunders-Roe, Ltd., the designers of the machine, have not wished any in-formation about the project to be published, but they have now agreed to a few preliminary facts being given. So far, no order has been placed for the new flying boat, butthe project has been carefully studied by those most closely concerned in deciding our policy, and it is to be hoped thatSaunders-Roe will be given an opportunity to translate project into actuality. In the meantime, work has begun on variousmechanical tests of some of the large structural components and on a very impressive mock-up. In general design the large flying boat is fairly orthodox.In fact, it is one of the advantages of the flying boat that it can be scaled-up very considerably without the process intro-ducing untried features. This is not the case with landplanes, in which undercarriage problems become rather difficult whenreally large sizes are yivolved. Basically, the new Saro is a six-engined flying boat of a grossweight exceeding 250,000 lb. and with a wing span of 220ft. The hull is of the usual form with two steps, and a single finand rudder of large size, as is obviously necessary with six power plants in order to overcome the turning couple whenan outboard engine is stopped. The tailplane has a pro- nounced dihedral. The lines are very clean, and the wing-tipfloats are retractable. The power plants will be gas turbines driving contra-rotatingairscrews, and fuel tankage is being provided for a still-air range of 5,000 miles at a cruising speed of some 300 m.p.h. ormore. This high speed is being achieved by flying high, and the hull will be pressurised. This is the only feature likely tointroduce any serious problems, not that pressurisation is more difficult iu a flying boat, but it is a difhcult task in any largeaircraft. Accommodation for passengers will, oi course, depend uponthe degree of comfort which the operator decides to offer. Various schemes have been worked out, including some whichgive a number of small cabins and the sort of comfort and privacy obtained in a liner. There will be two decks, bothpressurised, and the cross-section of the upper part of the hull is that known as a " double-bubble."Handling of a large flying boat on the water is apt to be tedious, if not actually difficult, but the Gouge mooring systemdescribed in our issue of May 3rd, 1945, has been further developed and should simplify the manoeuvre very greatly.By this system, it may be recalled, a hook in the keel under the bows automatically picks up a cable floating on the surface,held up by floats or small buoys. The pick-up secures the boat to the cable, which has stops on it at intervals, so thata winch ashore can haul the boat in. In the original scheme a launch was used for swinging the stern around so as to bringthe hull into line with the cable. An improvement has now been worked out whereby another automatic pick-up just aheadof the rear step catches the cable when the pilot, after making contact with the forward hook, opens the engines on one side,thus swinging the stern around until the rear hook engages the cable. Thus the use of a launch, with its risks of collisionand damage in rough water, is avoided, and the flying boat crew- attends to everything without outside aid. This mooringscheme deserves to come into general use with all types of flying boat. BARON TEDDER TPHE London Gazette of February 8th, 1946, announces that-»• a Barony of the United Kingdofi was conferred by Letters Patent upon Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Tedderunder the date of January 23rd "under the name, style and title of Baron Tedder, of Glenguin in the County of Stirling." TRANS-PACIFIC FLIGHT THE first of the four Skymasters purchased by AustralianNational Airlines arrived at Essendon airfield, Melbourne, last Saturday after a direct flight from Suva, Fiji Islands,having completed its journey from San Francisco in 67 hr. 48 min. The flying time foi the 8,075 miles trans-Pacific flightwas 30 hr. 51 min. Landings were made at Honolulu and Suva.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
