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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1038.PDF
boo FLIGHT JUNE 26TH, 1947 Gold Plate Constellation First of New Model 749 to Visit England : Inaugural Round- World Service Flight INAUGURATING Pan American Airways' new round-the-world scheduled service, the model 749 Gold Plate Con-stellation, Clipper America, landed at London Airport onJune 18th. As notified in Flight last week, this inaugural flight had as passengers eighteen leading American publishers, to-gether with the Mayor of San Francisco and Juan Trippe, presi- dent of P.A.A. This was the first 749 Constellation to be seen in this country,and an attractive aircraft it is. The Gold Plate series are fitted with C18-BD1 Wright Cyclones of 2,500 h.p. for take-off, theseunits employing direct fuel injection. Reverse pitch, root- cuffed airscrews give negative thrust braking. The gross weighthas increased to 102,000 lb from the standard Connie weight of 90,000 lb, and 1,000 gall extra fuel capacity is embodied inouter-wing tanks, These increases respectively permit far greater payload for the transatlantic service and a step-up inrange of about 1,000 miles. Passenger accommodation in the aircraft examined com-prised 42 chairs or 20 sleeping berths, but any desired layout can be adopted according to operators' requirements. Aunique feature is that the accommodation is arranged in a " cabin-withm-a-cabin," the whole of the interior being sup-ported on rubber cush mountings inside the fuselage shell. It is claimed—we should imagine with justification—that this in-genious arrangement reduces interior noise and vibration to a very low level. Pressurization to a differential of 4.75 lb/sq in gives an equi-valent cabin altitude of 8,000ft at an actual altitude of 20,000ft, . and the general cabin atmosphere conditioning is a good dealbetter than in the standard Constellation, since the change rate of cabin air has been doubled, a complete change now beinggiven every 70 seconds. Twin Janitrol heaters of improved type cater for cabin heating, this being provided by means ofradiant warm-wall panels, the warm air circulating between the cabin shell and the enclosing fuselage. Air enters thecabin through perforated grilles at wall /floor intersection,, and vitiated air is extracted through perforated panels on each sideof the central lighting strips in the roof. Cabin cooling is pro- vided by a small air-turbine refrigerator which, it is claimed,will maintain an interior temperature of 70 deg F with an external temperature of 100 deg F. It is necessary, however,that one of the Wright Cyclones De run at 1,250 r.p.m. to operate the turbine cooling plant—a possible disadvantage ata tropic airport, where ground-conditioning trucks would appear to offer considerably less inconvenience. Speedpak external freight carriers are available for GoldPlate Constellations, and it is worthy of note that, for example, over such a range as Amsterdam-London a Speedpakwill accommodate a similar low-density load as that capable of being carried by a DC-3, and will entail an increased fuelexpenditure of but 30 gall. The Clipper America arrived on three engines, the starboardouter having' developed roughness shortly after leaving Shannon. These Constellations can, however, maintain analtitude of 8,000ft on any two engines. Top speed with full load is over 350 m.p.h., and cruising speed at 67 per cent*power is over 320 m.p.h. Useful load is given as over 18 tons,^ and the maximum range with normal reserve fuel unused isin excess of 4,600 miles. A range of over 2,000 miles is pos- sible with a 10-ton load. Accommodation Details Forward of the main passenger cabin is an all-electric galleywhich is well planned and comprehensive. Beyond this is the crew rest room equipped to starboard with four chairs inopposing pairs and with a fold-away roof berth. To port is the navigator's station furnished with an efficient desk and agyro-drift-sight, but exhibiting an almost complete lack of navigational instruments such as we are accustomed to expect.Conversely, the radio operator—seated behind the captain—is very fully equipped, and opposite him the flight engineer hasa comprehensive array of instruments and controls; in fact, it is said that the engineer takes over about Go per cent of thepilot's former duties, so leaving him free to concentrate solely on flying. The cockpit is so cluttered as to appear cramped. Passenger chairs are arranged in pairs on each side of acentral, aisle, and are adjustable for recline; they are admirably comfortable, but for a tall person—over a lengthy period—thereis insufficient leg room. The upper berths stow away very neatly at an angle of about 40 deg on each side of the roofcurvature, but unfortunately reduce the sectional area to a point which might prove distressing to even a mild claustro-phobe. The backs of alternate rows of seats hinge down to form, with the cushions, the lower berths; these are gener-ously wide and 6ft 6in long. Upper berths are dimensionally similar. The latter are fitted with individual windows in thesurrounds to which are incorporated reading lights, electric razor plugs and steward call buttons. Hinge-down shelvesconcealing mirrors are fitted to the walls, together with swing- down tables. Lower berths are equally well furnished. Ample wardrobe and personal baggage accommodation isprovided at the rear of the cabin, and in the extreme tail is the nicely furnished powder room for the ladies. The male's com-partment is equally well laid out up forward. 11 it HIM: FUELS AND OILS AN informative lecture on '' Fuels and Lubricants for AeroTurbines " was given by Dr. C. G. Williams, Director of Research at the "Shell" Aero Engine Laboratory, Thornton(described in Flight, April 2nd, 1947), to the Luton branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society on June 4th. Stating that the subject was a relatively new one, Dr.Williams emphasized that at present combustion is largely in- fluenced by mechanical and aerodynamic factors. Whilst thereexisted a fairly widespread impression that the gas turbine could be operated on almost any liquid fuel, the search forhigher efficiency and better performance may bring certain fuel properties into prominence. All fuels normally contain waterin solution which cannot easily be removed. This was liable to cause corrosion and was the reason for the recent practiceof adding 1 per cent of lubricating oil to the fuel mainly to act as a corrosion inhibitor. It is confidently expected, however,that in the near future neither kerosene nor gasoline fuels will require added lubricant. Water Solubility With a consumption of 1,000 gall/hr the quantity of waterinvolved is approximately 0.04 gall/hr, and a fall in tempera- ture to -10 deg C or lower results in precipitation and mayresult in the clogging of cloth filters. In general the heavier fuels—gas oils—have a lower water solubility than the lighterfuels—gasolines—while the kerosenes occupy an intermediate position. Ice clogging can be delayed by a preceding 100-meshgauze filter or eliminated by addition of 0.5-1.0 Tper cent of an alcohol anti-freeze agent which depresses the freezing point to-50 deg C. Filters may also become clogged by wax formation. BothBritain and U.S.A. initially specified a "cloud point" of —60 deg C, but, the availability of such kerosenes being limited,the British figure was raised to -40 deg C. It must be re- membered that at a forward velocity of 600 m.p.h. a tempera-ture rise of 36 deg C is possible on aircraft leading surfaces. In the section dealing with combustion the interesting con-clusion was drawn that flame extinction at weak mixtures is liable to occur in units having a plurality of chambers, whileother engines having an annular chamber are inclined to suffer from rich blow-out. Under high air flow conditions kerosenehas a better weak blow-out limit than iso-paraffinic and iso- octane fuels. Conversely, under low air flow and poor atom-ization conditions increased volatility is beneficial and gasoline will be better than keiosene. As regards fire risks, Dr. Williams considered that the usualtype of aircraft fire would not occur with kerosene, but the risk of explosion in fuel tanks was greater than with petrol. A matter of great importance for the future is the questionof availability. At present kerosene amounts to about 5 per cent of the total production of liquid fuels and is largelyallotted to backward countries for lighting and heating. The largest available supply is petrol. He suggested a distillatefuel of low viscosity and high volatility would offer advantages in relation to atomization, cold starting, blow-out and carbondeposition and could be made available in large quantities.
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