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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1335.PDF
14TH, 1947 FLIGHT 161 When taking off from the Atedwoy near the Short factory, one strains to gain altitude to clear the high banks. Rate of climb is not a strong point. as good as those quoted in the book for full-load opera- tion. Some of the flying characteristics are peculiar to all aircraft of the same layout. Occasionally one gets a dis- tinctly Walrus-like reaction from the Seabee. First take-off was made from Rochester airfield, and it took about two-thirds of the half-mile N.E. run to get airborne. At maximum power and revs the climb was fair, and there was no difficulty about clearing houses on the boundary. One takes off with full flap, the movement being relatively small, and no provision is made for select- ing intermediate positions. There is some change of trim on pumping-up the flaps and a little more as the wheels follow. The Seabee is very sensitive to fore-and-aft trim, and stick loads become very heavy if the, trimming handle in the roof is not adjusted frequently. The claimed level cruising speed of 103 m.p.h. is attained at the appropriate engine conditions with two up, and the best climbing speed is about 80 m.p.h. At 103 m.p.h. the Seabee seems to reach a sort of critical Mach number, and it is reluctant to fly any faster, even if power is increased. Approach and Landing For the landing one works very hard. First the wheels are pumped-down and the trim adjusted, then the flaps are selected, lowered by more pumping and the speed steadied at 80 m.p.h. More trimming must follow, and careful attention must be paid to the throttle to preserve a suitable rate of descent. Too little power or loss of speed results in a brick-like descent which needs a lot of engine to steady-up. After motoring-in over the bound- ary and levelling out, speed drops off at once and, before one is quite ready, a sink on to the ground occurs. The very brief hold-off needs plenty of pull-back on the wheel, and there is .little '' feel'' on the elevators below |^,bout 70 m.p.h. indicated. Landing speed is about 58 m.p.h. as quoted. A preferable technique may be to trim rather tail-heavy on the approach in order to lighten the hold-off. This is, however, recommended with reserve, as there would already be a tendency to let the speed drop on a correctly trimmed approach without having to push the stick forward to keep up speed. In flight, I was content to omit stall- ing and very steep turns from my tests, and for normal manoeuvres I found the controls satisfactory. There is a woolliness about the ailerons which is undesirable, and not much fore-and-aft stability, but otherwise there were no complaints nor bouquets. After operating from land I tried a couple of landings on the Medway, which, as a result of the wind blowing against the tide, was a bit choppy. Perhaps it was the novelty of making a liquid landing for the first time for two or three years, or the pleasant feeling of having plenty of room, but I preferred the landing on the hull to that on the wheels. Of course, no one likes a high e.g. on the ground, and I remember feeling quite uncomfortable on more than one occasion on a Wal- rus as she wagged and wobbled down the runway. Once down, the Seabee shows no tendency in either case to bounce or balloon, and, in fact, be3 haves well. Take-off from water was quite easy, although again the run was long in spite of quite a stiff breeze. Taking off near the Short works between the high banks of the Medway tended to accentuate the impression that the climb is sluggish. With four up and tanks as full as is per- mitted, I should think the climb would be less than 400 ft/min. •As a result of cold water spraying on to the outside of the warm cabin, the transparent panels all steamed-up when taxying on the water, and on opening the side flap and two small scoops on top, both my passenger and myself received a pint or two of water in our laps. Tendency to Weathercock One point that needs attention is taxying control. J)ue to the large keel surface presented to the wind, neither the rudder and water rudder together, when afloat, nor the rudder and brakes on land, were sufficient to prevent the Seabee from weathercocking. On* landing back on Rochester airfield it was necessary to -have a man on the wing-tip float to taxy cross-wind to the hangar. Even so, a brake heated-up in spite of it having been given time to cool off about half-way along the boundary while we made a fruitless search for mushrooms. During the whole of the two-hour flight the 215 h.p. Franklin engine functioned very well indeed. It started well and seemed flexible, smooth and silent. The pitch- change is quick in action, and the change-over to reverse is simple. Reverse pitch is presumably provided primarily for use as a brake on water. It is something of a luxury Except for taxying difficulties m a medium or strong wind, the Seabee handles quite pleasantly on the water. A reversible-pitch constant-speed airscrew is fitted, which provides braking power.
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