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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0875.PDF
MAY 2ND, 194ft FLIGHT 45' CORRESPONDENCE This increase of temperature should still be present after anisothermal pressure drop across the butterfly, after fuel vapori- zation cooling and after compression heating through the su-percharger. The charge temperature would therefore increase while the manifold pressure remains constant (controlleddirectly) and this would result in a smaller air weight con- sumption. The Stromberg carburettor of the Centaurus VII, as well asthe Ceco carburettor of the Twin Wasp on the B24, is com- pensated to maintain a constant air/fuel ratio by weight withvariations of air temperature. The smaller air weight con- sumption would therefore result in a smaller fuel consumption. If this pours more oil on the fire of the argument, I hopethat someone with "expert" knowledge of the subject, or perhaps with reliable test data on charge temperatures, willbe coaxed to substantiate or disprove my theory. In the meantime "Mixture" might reflect that the "stubbornness"of his leader is not so ill-founded after all! F. C. BLACKMORE. More Confirmation for "Mixture "I N. his letter under the above head in Flight, March 28th," Mixture'' is quite correct in assuming that with identical power settings on two aircraft of the same type, but withdifferent pay loads, both will consume the same number of gallons per hour, although the heavier of the two will neces-sarily have a lower a.m.p.g. value than its fellow. The case is clarified when it is appreciated that as thepower settings are identical, the consumption relative to time must also be identical, quite irrespective of the aircraft load.The latter quality has an effect only on the work produced by the fwwer units, that is to say, only on the speed of themachine for "a given power output. Thus it is quite apparent that both aircraft will consumefuel at the same time-rate (gall/hr.) but that, for the same range, the heavier machine will consume more fuel due to itslower a.m.p.g. performance. C. O. N. RED TAPE Ex-R.A.F. Pilots and "A LicencesS OME time ago I put in an application for an " A " licence.I was then sent various forms including one for a medical examination.- I replied that I had been an R.A.F. pilot andhad been demobilized in January, when I had undergone a very thorough medical examination covering all the points re-quired by the civil aviation authorities. I gave the fullest facts covering time and place of my demobilization so thatany details of my medical could be checked with Air Ministry. I have now been informed that this Service "medical" isnot sufficient, so that I must now undergo the entirely unneces- sary inconvenience and expense of a civilian examination.Though small in itself, an incident of this nature does not seem to suggest a determination to encourage private flying. Since there are likely to be many applications from ex-R.A.F.pilots for civilian licences it would be helpful if, in future, the demobilization medical was considered sufficient, provided theapplication, was received within ^reasonable period after such an examination. H. T. F. "Now No. 28 and that's the lot." ON BEING C.G.-CONSCIOUS Automatic Indication T SHOULD have thought that a quite practicable solution-*- to the determination of e.g. position when loading aircraft could be arrived at by incorporating in the landing gear someform of linear indication. For example, if the static com- pression of the shock absorbers in the main and nose, or tail,legs are known, then on these data can be based the deter- mination of the aircraft's e.g. for any applied load accordingto the further proportional compression of the undercarriage legs. Desynn indicators from each strut would, perhaps, be themost convenient way to transmit readings, and, if each leg were provided with an additional scale showing the obtainingdegree of static compression of the strut, the desynn indica- tions read in conjunction with the static compression datawould provide a ready determination of e.g. position. A setting adjustment on the desynn gauges would allow cali-bration for the static conditions obtaining, and then loading could go ahead, keeping the needles of the desynn gaugiswithin the predetermined limits. ' A. M. MONDAY. "TEE EMM" TRIBUTE PO Prune DemobilisedI FEEL sure that I shall be only one of very many demobilised(or serving) R.A.F. types who will miss that excellent little wartime production, Tee Emm, which was recently publishedfor the last time. As an official document it was unique for its remarkable combination of hard fact and humour, and boththanks and praise are due to the staff who wrote, illustrated and produced it. Everyone read Tee Emm without being toldto do so, and personally I would like to thank the Chef lor serving up plums and raspberries alike in a hundred-and-oneappetising ways. Tee Emm's hero (?), P/O. Prune has become a nationalcharacter, and it would be hard to find a better medium lot official publicity than small pamphlets styled on Tee Emm,and employing its characters and methods—even perhaps to the extent of threatening the award of Highly DerogatoryOrders. I suggest that at any time the Air Ministry wish to put some-thing over to the public in a thoroughly acceptable manner, whether it concerns recruiting, rates of pay, air travel or what-have-you, a quick look at Tee Em in might prove very ide't- producing. TWOPENNY. NOVELS AND NONSENSE A Case of " Double Dutch " NavigationP is a commonplace that when our authors, masters of theircraft though they may be, wander into the technicalities of trades of which their knowledge is of the scantiest, they canproduce remarkable results. I recently came across a fine example of this in a novel bya well-known writer, a former winner of the Hawthornden Prize, and one acknowledged by all to be in the first rank 01the rising novelists of the day. One of the characters in this novel sets out on a trip in aDutch airline aircraft (the airline, fortunately, not being speci- fied) in which, apparently, the passengers were able to observethe activities of the crew. Towards the end of the journey, whilst flying in cloud, "The plane slanted . . they passedthrough bumpy air until land appeared. . . . The wireless man paid out a weighted cord (could this be the trailingaerial?) through the floor of the machine, testing the wind currents." The pilot, who apparently had forgotten his mapsand was thus unable to get a pin-point, and whose navigator had elected, wisely perhaps, to stay behind for this trip, seemedto be satisfied with the results of this curious operation, for the author goes on to record that "The pilot's bearingstaken, they rose again into the waste of cloud." Notwithstanding this novel method of navigation, theirdestination was finally reached and, " Nosing down, they swung over a wide arc over sea, over cliff, over sea, the wings wereflattened to lose the wind's resistance, they soared up again in a burst of engine, then drove down, touched and sprangfrom the pale grass, bounced and beat it down." The passenger, by now no doubt paler and greener thanthe grass, stepped out to behold "The huge aerodrome . . . with machines parked half-a-dozen deep, the pilots taxi-ingcasually here and there, trying to find room, bouncing back and forth, beckoned by one official with his cap askew." Itmight well be! The control tower staff had presumably gone home or perhaps had shot themselves in despair. I have no doubt that the gifted author, should he read thisletter, will recognize his words, and I hasten to eissure him that I quote these passages in a spirit of helpfulness ratherthan of criticism. F. H, POTS, Fit. Lt., R A.F.V.R.
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