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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 0640.PDF
FLIGHT APRIL 141H, 1949 Ercoupe in the Air or yaw. It occurs to me, having flown the earlier type of Chrislea Ace, that from the "every man a pilot" point of view the idea of an additional foot accelerator might well be borrowed and incorporaed in aircraft built to fulfil the same function as the Ercoupe. It would heighten the "car-driving" impression and would be most useful on the approach and when taxying. In adaition, the foot-brake might also be linked up with a spring-loaded air brake, positioned so that it would have no important effect on trim. This again could be a great aid on the approach to land. As a postscript, a recent and re- vealing test flight with the Ercoup* must be recorded. In order further to study the effect of the controls the rudder surfaces were disconnected and locked in their central position, and the aircraft was flown on ailerons and elevators only. According to the Farn- borough pilots concerned many of the handling character- istics were found to be virtually unaltered. Attempts to fly a very accurate course in slightly bumpy air, however, pro- duced a rather disconcerting feeling of loss of control. This, it seems, was due to the pronounced delay in the response of the controls and to the pilot's wheel movement getting, in effect, one move ahead of the airaraft. WEARJNG R.A.F. ROUNDELS : The Ercoupe at Farnborough, where extensive flying trials have been carried out. There is no n«ed to offer apologies for renewing impres- sions of the Ercoupe or for again describing the behaviour of a design which is now quite familiar. It may well be that a light aircraft with many features in common with this one will psove to be -the answer to a require- ment in private-flying circles over here. That we still have something to learn from it is confirmed by the practical interest which is still being taken by the Ministry of Supgly. The Ercoupe is distributed"by Sanders Aviation, Inc., of Riverdale. Maryland. POINTING THE WAY TO SAFETY Accident Investigation in Relation to Aircraft Design aW *IND1NG the cause, oi sm accident may result in the w~i saving of many lives, but this can only be achieved •L ii everybody concerned with the safety of flyingj .ami particularly the designer and manufacturer, wiQ mate good use of the information we give them." This was the conclusion reached by Air Coinmaxiore Vernon Brown, Chief Inspector of Accidents at the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in his lecture to the Eoyal Aeronautical Society last Thursday. A. Cdre. Brown chose to keep to the technical rather than the "pilot-error" aspeci, although the two are not always easy to separate For instance, a breakdown by the piiot in his cockpit drill might not have happened had the cockpit layout been differently designed. He selected from Air Investigation Branch records certain examples of how the technical information obtained has been applied to the rectification of major troubles. Examples were given of different causes ol structural failures in the air, some due to weakness of certain members, but others to aerodynamic fauits which brought about loss of control that, in turn, caused structural failure. In all cases remedies vveie lound and there was no repetition of these types of accident. A large section ol A Cdre. Brown's^paper was devoted to the subject of fire—in the air and on the ground. In the early- days of the war the equipment and fire-fighting methods were not effective with high-powered engines. The source of igni- tion was usually the exhaust system, but in some cases inade- quately flame-proofed electrical equipment was responsible, such as generators or magnetos. In 1942 an amended anti-fire drill was issued; instead of opening the throttle when a fire started in the engine, -the essential first step consisted in feathering the airscrew and stopping the engine before operating the fire extinguisher. Among the many design changes which have helped to im- prove safety against fire in the air, the lecturer referred to materials. In place of aluminium engine bulkheads, which had proved inadequate, stainless steel sheet was now accepted as an essential requirement. Steel sheet engine cowlings were recommended, and a number are now being embodied. Fire proofing- of fuel and oil pipes was now another essential requirement, and the airscrew feathering mechanism had been suitably protected or moved cut of any potential fire zone. Material of high melting point, such as stainless steel, was now required foi fire-evtinguishf r spray piping, and the runs of the pipes themselves had been changed, and additional spray rings and bottles had been installed in most military and civil aircraft. Insecure onions had been another source of fires in the air. Locking wires of stainless steel had been found generally the most satisfactory, and since their introduction there had been QQ ease of a fire caseed by a leaking pipe union which had been wire-locked correctly. The covering of generator brush gear had been improved or entirely enclosed, and a flame-trap vent was now embodied in most magnetos. Shut-off valves for all pipes carrying inflammable fluids were now an essen- tial requirement for multi-engined civil aircraft. All multi- engined aircraft must now have a fire detector which operates a warning light in the pilot's cockpit. Fumes in the cockpit had been the cause of accidents, and wing roots must now he so sealed that no fumes can enter the cockpit in the event of a fire in the air Badly positioned fuel or oil breather outlets had caused igni- tion by the exhaust pipes, and all vents and drains from in- flammable fluids now had to be so routed as to eliminate this risk. Fuel and oil vents in certain aircraft had also to be re> positioned and the exhaust pipes lengthened by gin. • Free Fuel :n Wings Five cases of fire in the air occurred on a certain type ol aircraft, each originating in the neighbourhood of the port or starboard exhaust system, and in four cases the pilot lost con- trol The fires were attributed to the presence of free fuel inside the wing becoming ignited by the exhaust flame. Several causes of ibis suggested themselves, but leakage past a faulty or insecure filler cap appeared the most likely. The type of cap used was of plastic material, and the locking lugs would not stand up to hard wear. Remedies were found to be an improved type of filler cap, rearrangement of the oil and fuel vent systems, and enlarged and flush-fitting anti- splash cups around the fuel tank filler necks to prevent fuel from getting into the tank bays in the event of careless re- fuelling. No further fires ot this description occurred. Turning to the subject of crash fires, A. Cdre. Brown pointed out that the engine exhausts are hot enough to start a fire when highly inflammable liquids come into contact with them, and that in addition there are many electrical circuits which will provide sparks when broken. Combustion is then usually so rapirj as to amount almost to an explosion. Such considera- te 22
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