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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0429.PDF
FEBRUARY 28TH, 1946 FLIGHT CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers, not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. IN SEARCH OF SAFETY Preserving Evidence of Sea Crashes CIVIL aviation in this country has achieved a remarkablygood accident-free record. But it is not with this side ofthe story that I am concerned. It is an unarguable fact that when an aircraft crashes thereis a definite reason, and it is up to the authorities concerned ascertain the cause. It is with regard to establishing ther e facts of all crashes that I am concerned.si civil aviation neither the crew nor the passengers are provided with parachutes, nor any other means of reachingsafety in the event of an impending crash. It is true that some of the latest types of larger civil aircraft now carry dinghies,but still no parachutes. The dinghies certainly provide for escape in the event of the aircraft landing on ±he water andlemaining afloat for a short period. But if the aircraft should dive into the sea then the dinghies are of no use. In such cases what can be the ultimate result of any en-quiry? Your guess is as good as mine. But what makes the position worse is that there is not even the slightest piece ofevidence or tiniest piece of aircraft available for examination. Such a state of affairs must always be regarded as unsatis-factory, particularly from a technical view point. In the large type of civil aircraft of the future the aircrewcarried number five or more persons. Would it not be prac- tical to carry a few fighter-pilot type parachute and dinghypacks so that, in the event of the aircraft getting out of con- trol, certain members of the crew will be ordered to bale out.This will at least provide a chance for some of the members of the crew to reach safety and give first-hand evidence of thetrouble experienced. This evidence could not be obtained from any other source, and may be of such a vital nature as to affectthe safety of other aircraft in operation. It cannot be argued that the few extra pounds weight in-volved in carrying these packs is an excuse for not having them. If there is the slightest possibility of making flyingsafer, even at the expense of a few extra pounds weight, then surely that is the course to follow. Now that long and regular sea trips are flown daily, it isup to the operators to ensure that, in the event of an accident, all possible precautions have been taken to ensure that thefuture and safety of the passengers, and air transport generally are safeguarded to the maximum. E. G. SMART. HIGH-ALTITUDE PROBLEMS Britain Must Give Them More Attention T ISTENING to lectures given before learned societies and•L* reading articles on the subject has led me to believe that high-altitude flying presents many problems of which fewpeople are really aware and of which full practical knowledge is essential if this country is to make use of its one recognisedsuperiority in the aircraft world, namely, the turbine/jet ••nghie. Presumably it is agreed that we want to fly high, and whatitrnore important, that we must fly high to achieve the coin- " tion of speed and economy required of a jet engine if it is Joe used for air transport. It must also De agreed that oneolthe few justifications for a rather noisy, expensive and com- paratively uncomfortable method of travel is the saving intime due to high speeds. Supposing then that we are able, as I think, to adapt anlisting aircraft or produce a suitable new one in a fairly short time, and using even the jet units already available,uhat is to prevent our going ahead and inaugurating high- speed airlines on Empire and especially Atlantic routes? As1 see it, the answer is that we have failed so far to give suffi- cient attention to air-conditioning and all it entails at, say,40,000ft.—the lowest altitude suitable for operation of the sort of aircraft in mind. Have we heard yet of an engine which, among its auxiliarywives, has provision for pressurisation of a cabin? For thirty passengers flying at 40,000ft., some 100 h.p is likely to beneeded t 0 build uo the air pressure, and with a conventional'•C. engine this would be nearer 500 h.p. at sea level. Do we hear designers of airliners anxiously discussing refrigera-tion: Dr. Hooker in a recent lecture mentions air delivery temperatures of over 100 deg. C. due to the temperature riseoccasioned by raising the air pressure from that of the outside atmosphere at altitude to somewhere near normal. Are all thepassengers to have sore throats after the first hour's flying, or have we developed humidifiers to put moisture into the intakeof upper air? I could name one country that is working hard on these problems ! We were the first nation to fly the Atlantic; we shall notbe the first to operate a post-war transatlantic airline. We could be the first to put a really fast and advanced serviceinto operation and so pull in a little much-needed prestige in the airline world. ARMSTRONG JACKSON. LONG-DISTANCE RECORD ' Fuel Overload Problem WITH reference to Mr. J. L. Coverdale's letter in Flight,February 7th, I am rather worried over his figures for the Lancaster's range performance. Assuming that the4,900 gal. of fuel he quotes could be accommodated in an over- load system, the all-up weight of 73,000 lb. would be a bit ofa problem. The " 10-tonner" Lancasters could probably supply the solution to that problem, but, having become air-borne, I cannot see how Mr. Coverdale's aircraft could possibly achieve a consumption of only 29 gal./hr./engine—even on atrip of 42 hr. duration. With the take-off weight at 73,000 lb. and cruising at190 m.p.h. the average fuel consumption, even over the 42 hr. trip, would be at least 35 gal./hr./engine. I wonder if a " Wimpey type " can detect a similar optimismin the figures given for the Wellington. R. G. LOFTING. Single v. Four-engined Range I READ with interest W/O. Leonard VV. F. Brock's letterpublished in Flight, February 14th, concerning the range qualities of the Avro Lincoln. From the recent release of " gen " about the Lincoln I have calculated its maximum range on an a.u.w. of 97,350 lb. (normal a.u.w. 82,000 lb.). AVRO LINCOLN MK. 1.(Four 1,635 h.p. R.R. Merlin 85s.) Weight empty 37,7001b. Wing loading .. 67.8 lb./sq. ft.Radar, radio, etc. .. 3,100 1b Power load . ... 14.O ib./h.p. Extra fuel tanks car- Fuel consurnp-ried in bomb bay 2,000 lb. tion per engine at 40 per cent.Tare weight 42,8001b. power. . . 4igal./hr. Crew 6 1,200 lb. Duration . . . . 44^ hr.Oil, 200 gal 1.800 lb. Maximum range Total fuel, wings and cruising at anbomb bay (7,160 average speed gal.) 51,5501b. of 200 m.p.h.. . 8,900 miles A.u.w. •97,350 lb. From the limited amount of information about the record-breaking Boeing B39 Superfort I have estimated the weights and loadings given below. * BOEING B29 SUPERFORTRESS. (Four 2,200 h.p- Wright Cyclone R3350S.) Weight empty 62,0001b. Wing loading 80.18 lb./sq. ft.Radar, radio, etc. .. 3,5001b Power load .. 16.0 lb./h.p. Weight of extra fuel Average (total)tanks 4,2501b. fuel con- sumption .. 260 gal./hr.Tan- weight 69,750 lb. Range 8,200 miles Crew 12 2,400 lb. Duration ,. . 35 hr.Oil, 270 g;d 2,450 ]b. Average cruis- Total fuel, 9,220 gal. ing speed .. 234 m.p.h.(Imperial) 66,400 lb. 141,000 1b. I consider that the Wellington Mk. I is the ideal aircraft tobe used in an attempt on the world's long-distance record. In my last letter published in Flight. February 7th, 1 gavesome data on the Wellington Mk. I overloaded to 39,700 lb. When flying at this weight the Wellington is capable of rangesup to 10,000 miles. With regard to D. E. Potter's letter (Flight, February 14th)on the question of the superior range of multi-engined aircraft
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