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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0176.PDF
— 152 FLIGHT MODEL AND MOCK-UP The lines of the Universal an well displayed by the Woodason model above. To the right an features of the elaborate full- scale mock-up at FeHham. The pilot's cabin, as will be fathered from the first view, is exceptionally spacious. No flight engineer is carried, and the instrument panels an consequently replete. The size of the aircraft will be appreci- ated in the second view if it is borne in mind that the diameter of the win nost-wheels is 49 inches. UNIVERSAL TRANSPORT . . . delivery. Thus, the total time for air delivery is 19.6 hours, but, as the aircraft is required for a combined flight and loading and unloading period of only 11.6 hours, it could make two trips per day. For the range considered, the pay load is about 9 tons, and if a fleet of five aircraft is assumed, the 180 tons could be transported in just under four days, making four outward trips and three return trips. The first consignment would be delivered in under twenty hours, whereas by surface transport, nine days would be required before any cargo at all reached its destination. The peculiarly attractive performance of the Universal, illustrated graphically and otherwise on these pages, may be largely attributed to the low wing loading (32.6 lb/ sq ft at take-off) and a power loading of 12.2 lb/h.p., values which, in conjunction with the two-speed super- chargers of the Bristol Hercules 761 engines, will further ensure an adequate ceiling and rate of climb, and unusual safety with one or more engines off. From the foregoing it will have been gathered that the Universal is not strictly comparable with the French Breguet 761 and N.C. 211 four-engined cargo carriers. Both these types have been designed for a longer range and somewhat higher performance, though they will lack some of the eminently desirable qualities of the British machine. Still less will the Universal resemble the projected Curtiss- Wright CW-32, a high-altitude type with a very long range, designed for operation only from terminal airfields. Evidence that there is a real need for a machine such as the Universal is provided by numerous enquiries received from the Dominions. Physically, the Universal is a four-engined, high-wing monoplane, with non-retractable nose-wheel undercarriage and a fuselage of basically rectangular section, the bottom line of which is swept up to permit loading and discharge of cargo by means of a retractable ramp, through clam- shell doors. Light-alloy stressed-skin construction of exceptional strength is used throughout. The high-set, two-spar cantilever wing is structurally interesting in having double-plate pressed ribs in the outer panels. It carries electrically operated and synchronized high-lift flaps with a wide range of selectivity, and has provision (as have the tail surfaces) for thermal de-icing by means of two combustion-heater units. All fuel is carried in flexible wing-tanks, provided with pressure refuelling and defuel- ling points. Access to the engine auxiliary bays—in flight if need be—is afforded by passages in the wing. Control Assistance All flying controls are power-assisted. Hydraulic opera- tion is used, with a feed-back ratio to permit manual opera- tion for limited manosuvrability in emergency. The form of the fuselage is an efficient compromise between operational, structural, and aerodynamic require- ments. A total cargo space of 5,760 cu ft is available, the uninterrupted dimensions of the main heated, ventilated and insulated stowage compartment being: length 36ft, YDS.
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