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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0890.PDF
652 FLIGHT JUNE 17TH, 1948 Prentice in the Air dosiiibv'd in detail in the DicenibiT 18, 1947, issue of Flight.Turning from general considerations to particular experience with the,Prentice, J must record one impression, namely, thaton each flight I have made in it 1 have liked it better. On approaching the rather rugged and homely machine on thetarmac one's opinion of it may be somewhat reserved. On taking off and finding it smooth, willing, comfortable andsturdy, the opinion curve allows a pronounced upward trend. Experiences during some three years as a wartimeinstructor on elementary and intermediate aircraft such as the Tiger Moth, B.2., Stearman, Cornell and Harvard, wereparticularly in mind when I flew the Prentice, and iollowing a short lirst flight last autumn I have now been able to doabout four hours on it. This time includes a cross-country and an hour of solo aerobatics, stalling and spinning. The Cockpit Equipment of the Prentice cockpit is lavish by comparisonwith earlier primary trainers. A full blind-flying panel is provided, as also are V.H.F. radio, electrical intercom., andS.B.A. Two-stag:: amber screens are fitted and, naturally, lull night-flying equipment. In addition one finds : n intakeair filter control, screen-wiper and deicer, and cabin heater. Ab initio pupils will have to learn the use of flaps and airscrewpitch levers from the start, but will be spared the trouble of retracting wheels or manipulating mixture or superchargercontrols until a later stage. Electric fuel gauges are provided ' for the two 20-gal tanks, and the booster pumps are switchedon automatically by selecting a tank with the main fuel cock. View from both pilots' seats is excellent and there is ampleroom and comfort. In fact, a couple of inches of elbow room on each side might well have been sacrificed to help out theaerodynamics. Reach has be?n well looked after with sound seat and rudfler position adjustments. If I have any complaintsabout the cockpit, or more precisely the front part oi it, they ,are of a minor nature, such as the absence of rests or a con-venient position for the instructor's feet when off the rudder pedals, and a coaming above the instrument panel which doesnot appear' to serve a useful purpose and restricts one's view of the upper instruments. Primary controls, trimmers, andthrottle and pitch levers are duplicated, but I doubt whether the port side trimmers are necessary.Taxying is a pleasant pursuit on the Prentice. Excellent all-round view, a wide, well-sprung undercarriage and smooth,powerful pneumatic brakes operated from a hand lever on the spade grip, are all helpful to the pilot. There is novibration from the Gipsy Queen and its throttle is as light and smooth as one could wish. Across wind after run up, the check is: T-Trim, P-Pitch,F-Fuel, F-Flaps. Trimmers are set at neutral, airscrew pitch at full fine, and flaps at the take-off position, which is selectedwith lever at the half-way gate. It is unlikely that pupils will have any trouble with take-off.The tail-down and up attitudes are very similar, there is no appreciable tendency to swing; feeling of acceleration isnegligible, although the machine becomes airborne quite quickly. With controls near central and no change of attitudeit unsticks smoothly of its own accord as flying speed is reached, "At 75 m.p.h. (65 kt) and safe height the flapscan come in, and .although the sink is negligible this necessitates lifting the nose slightly for the continued climbat 2,400 r.p.m. and 85 m.p.h. (74 kt). On the climb the elevators are quite light and the ailerons just a little sluggishfor a machine of this size. The rudder is somewhat woolly anfi is in frequent use to prevent a tendency to wallow. In level flight at about 5,000 ft—a height which takesabout 8£ min to reach—the cruising I.A.S. was 120 m.p.h. at 2,200 r.p.m. and — 4 lb manifold pressure. Fuel consump-tion under these conditions is 15.5 g.p.h. All controls are much improved in effect and harmonization at this speed, andare pleasant to use. Turns can be initiated smoothly and quickly, and up to rate 4, can easily be held indefinitelywithout loss of height. For" instruction in turns I should think STARTING &ELECTRICS EMERGENCY INSTRUMENT LIGHTING SB A.CONTROLS CABIN HEAT I BRAKES \\\\\«\WSTANDARD LIFT FOR OUTSIDE CLOCK FIRE 1 V.HF. CARB. ENGINE FLAP BRAKE'??WBLIND-FLYING AMBER AIR . WARNINGT7CONTROL AIR TEMP. INSTRUMENT POSITION PRESSURE \V\\ \|\ PANEL SCREEN TEMP \ LAMf£Ali/-- / .GROUP /•»/#.«\v\ \J\ iNTERCOMM SLOW-RUNNING AIR-INTAKE FILTER FUELSOCKET CUT-OUT CONTROL COCK The layout of controls and instruments conforms with modern R.A.F. practice.
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