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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0412.PDF
IN THE AIR—X Boston Havoc Memories of Early Tricycle Days : Out' standing American " Lease-Lenders " By 'INDICATOR" FLIGHT \ FEBRUARY 28TH 1946 -J \ and ALTHOUGH the Douglas DB-7 (alias A-20, P-70, /~\ Boston and Havoc) was not the first type I had flown with a tricycle undercarriage, it was certainly ray first full-size aircraft with this layout, and was rather startlingly impressive following, as it did, such mild devices as the Scheldemusch, the Stearman-Hammond and the G.A. Cygnet of pre-war years. In those early war days nearly all of us still suffered from the chronic illusion that a tricycle was designed largely so that the aircraft could be flung carelessly on the ground under all sorts of conditions, and so that it would not tip up when full braking power was thereafter applied. It was only later that we all discovered how very much shorter landings could be made by using '' stall- drag" rather than braking tyre-drag, and that the very real beauty of the tricycle arrangement lay in its magni- ficent directional stability while running on the ground. Not that this stability was so very noticeable in our early unfamiliarity with American-type toe brakes and without the proper use of a control lock which could be applied from the driver's seat. The castoring nose- wheel just shot from one full lock to the other as the brakes were unevenly applied during over-slow and over-cautious preliminary taxying, and it was extra- ordinarily difficult, with free controls, to apply any sort of accurate individual pedal-rocking when the rudder pedals as a whole would try to move off, one way or another, at a touch. Experience taught us very soon that, regardless of watching Control Officers and Wing Commanders Fly- ing, fast taxying was the real answer and that a locked rudder made the business easier still. The Douglas DB-7 control lock consisted of a hook affair protruding from the dashboard; under enormous safety-spring tension it had to be pulled out and attached to the column to produce the necessary result. I often wonder whether the Boston-Havoc combine ever received the praise due to it as an outstanding fly- ing machine. Since a military aircraft must do rather more than fly fast and handle well, it is rather doubtful. The Boston was not a very practical bomber and the Havoc never got into its stride as a night fighter. But nobody will deny that the type was one of the nicest medium twins of the war. To the beginner it was, perhaps, somewhat compli- cated, with its dual gill control (for upper and lower cowling sections) below and on the right; with its three- position undercarriage lever and flap lever below and on the left; and with its multiple fuel system and tank balance cocks. I remember once on a long cross-coun- try, playing tunes on those balance cocks in an effort to even out the tank levels. In those days a great many of our Bostons had been diverted from the French after their collapse, and the instruments were, to us, most unintelligibly calibrated, though, fortunately, most of the throttle controls had been modified to a forward-to- open movement. Heaven knows why some of the European countries preferred throttles which had to be pulled back to open. With no automatic boost con- trols or stops, and with gauges marked in mysterious units, we never really knew how many inches were being fed to the engines, and my first take-off must have been very frightening to watch since I used very nearly the whole throttle range. It was only the effect of the un- reasonably competent acceleration which caused me to realise the worst and to reduce boost before one or both engines actually disintegrated. Conventional Advantages On that first flight of mine both the take-off and landing was executed off and on grass airfields. Even then it was obvious that the tricycle is not at its best on any surface which is not smooth and hard, and that the real advantages of the arrangement tend to be lost in any other circumstances. The take-off was bumpy enough to make me wonder about the strength of the nose-wheel installation, and after the landing I was quite unable to take advantage of the braking possibilities since the main wheels simply locked on the wet grass and tore up some of the proud Station Commander's excellent turf. Although I am very much in favour of the tricycle for "civilised " conditions, we must not go quite mad about it, since there are many routes and circumstances in which the old-fashioned layout has the
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