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Aviation History
1951
1951 - 1489.PDF
I38 Mr. Hugh Scrape, the present owner, who has hopes of matching some of the machine's past achievements in the months to come. Note the very tight- fitting spats. LIFE OF A THOROUGHBRED . . . than the pre-war figure. Allowing for position error and othercorrections the true figure is probably near enough 200 m.p.h. At this setting the trim needs to be well back and the nose ishigher above the horizon than one might expect. I found a ten- dency to lose height at about 250ft per min while feeling as thoughflying level. The controls are quite conventional and very effective through-out the range, with no abnormal stiffening-up effects even during a dive to the airframe limiting-speed of 265 m.p.h. In fact, it isvirtually impossible to judge the speed from "feel" alone, except when nearing the stall. Harmony is not quite as good as it should be, for the elevators andrudder are, perhaps, too lively while the ailerons are rather stiff and very restricted in their travel. The toe brakes feel uncomfortablyclose to the rudder pedals and it is awkward to keep one's feet away from them. Unfortunately, the C. of A. is in the normal category so anythingin the aerobatic line, strictly speaking, is forbidden. However, it is well known that the Henshaw/Mew combination consistentlyperformed slow-rolls and inverted flying in public, so it is safe to assume that what was possible then can be done now. Steep turnscan be made within a small radius, but the "g" effect is very pro- nounced and considerably more noticeable even than on somefaster types. A few words may be said about the pilot's view. Sideways anddownwards it leaves nothing to be desired, but as the cockpit is hardly raised above fuselage level nothing can be seen ahead. Theblind spot covers about 30 deg horizontally, when in the normal sitting position, but presumably the original Mew design allowed an FLIGHT, 3 August 1951 average view forward, as it must be remembered that 'EXF stillhas the lowered hood and top decking. Returning to the circuit, it is advisable to throttle back and selectfine pitch, otherwise the r.p.m. jump rather alarmingly through about 400. The speed soon lowers to about 140 m.p.h. but it isquite a lengthy process reducing to the no mark. This is about right for the downwind leg and commencement of the approach,which should be of the curved fighter variety. Flaps can then be lowered as required—although even when fully extended they arenot very effective. Keeping at about 100 m.p.h. all the way in and chopping thethrottle about 200 yd from the fence results in a comfortable 95 m.p.h. glide over the boundary, but at this speed the aircraftis almost in the three-point attitude, allowing a very poor view. Moreover, the float is long and an unhealthy quantity of air-field is used before the Mew touches down at about 75 m.p.h. The over-sensitivity of the elevators presents a problem in itselfand the landing consists more of sitting and waiting than a definite check. There is a strong tendency to balloon if a normal hold-offis attempted, but even so, the Mew continues to sink gently and settles down quite happily when ready. Under into-wind con-ditions the machine continues to run quite straight, but the brakes are not very helpful in bringing it to a standstill. From the long float mentioned it might be assumed that aslower approach could well be made, but at 90 m.p.h. controls become sloppy even with power on, so it is far more comfortable tohave the extra speed and use a fair amount of airfield, so long as there is plenty of it to waste. My landing run at White Walthamtowards the railway necessitated a long session of taxying to reach the clubhouse and by the time I had been half-way round the peri-meter, I was quite accustomed to the poor view and inefficient brakes. It only required patience and more than usual care. Stepping out I was slightly deaf as the noise level is consistentlyhigh. However, the slight discomforts are negligible when weighed against the Mew's excellent characteristics and performance.Perhaps the most amazing point about the machine is its extreme docility for an aircraft of its layout, for where one would expectswings and flicks in abundance with the slightest "hamminess" of handling, the Mew Gull forgives all and behaves like any otheraircraft; in fact, considerably better than some. On reflection, one cannot help but feel admiration for the designer of such amount, with its outstanding performance on comparatively low power, combined with quite normal handling characteristics. Theonly really unsatisfactory feature of this Mew is the lack of forward view for racing—when it is distinctly comforting to be able to seethe slower machines ahead. However, that difficulty must have been overcome by Alex Henshaw in the 1938 events and it is noworse now than it was then, so one can only hope that the famous G-AEXF will be able to re-establish its pre-war name. DISCUSSING IGNITION SUCH was the response to the International Ignition Con-ference organized last year by Lodge Plugs, Ltd., that thecompany decided to hold another meeting on similar lines this year—on July i7/i8th at the Savoy Hotel, London. Indicativeof the value placed upon the conference by civil and military users of ignition systems is the fact that over one hundred representativesof the world's leading,airlines and Air Forces attended. A/Cdre. F. R. Banks, C.B., O.B.E., was in the chair. As on the previous occasion, the primary objectof the meeting wasto bring about an exchange of views and experiences on a wide range of problems concerning ignition generally. During this sessionseven papers were read by acknowledged experts in various fields. The first day was devoted to the delivery of papers concerningsuch subjects as "possible solutions to the lead fouling problem," "the merits of ignition analyzers," "recent developments in spark-ing-plug design" and "the servicing of aircraft plugs." After the reading of the first paper, there was a general discussion on theoperating procedures which have been developed by airlines to minimize plug-fouling; suggestions were made concerning the useof extra priming before take-off or during cruise. The use of lead inhibitors in aircraft fuels was also discussed, but it was generallyagreed that operators could not yet afford to pay the increased price which the use of suitable additives would necessitate. The conference was agreed in principle on the desirability ofusing ignition analyzers, but some doubt was voiced by several representatives as to whether the obvious limitations of the analyzer(such as its inability to detect such faults as cracked insulators or water in sockets) really made it worthwhile. Following the paper on sparking-plug design and servicingmethods, the delegates entered into a very full discussion on the problem of electrode erosion, including the relative merits ofmassive and fine-wire electrodes. In this connection, it was agreed that the solid electrodes were quite as satisfactory as the fine-wiretype when running on lean mixtures, although the latter was said to be definitely preferable for cold starting. Another point whichraised a good deal of controversy was the apparent discrepancy between the scheduled "plug-pulling" times of individual operatorsusing a specified type of plug in identical engines. Whereas B.E.A., for example, schedule only 100 hr before removal, Airworkare able to achieve 300 hr of running before the plug is removed. There is also a considerable difference between the running-timesachieved by T.C.A. and B.O.A.C. on operations of a similar nature. The delegates considered that this anomaly could probably beaccounted for by differences in the engine-operating techniques used by flying crews. It was agreed that there were no groundsto believe that some users adopted lower standards than others. Under the heading of plug-servicing methods, there was somediscussion on developments in the use of solvents as opposed to the sand-blasting technique. It was thought generally that in-sufficient progress had thus far been made in producing a really efficient chemical cleaning agent. Some interesting informationon this topic,' incidentally, was made available by Mr. T. R. W. Fennell of the R.A.E., Famborough, where a considerable amountof success had been achieved by cleaning plugs for a period of one hour with ammonium acetate (with tepol added) in a revolvingdrum at temperatures of about 80 deg centigrade. The second day of the session was devoted to a review ofaircraft magnetos and ignition harnesses, papers being submitted by B.I.C. Ltd., Rotax Ltd., and Bendix International. Therelative merits of high and low tension ignition systems in piston engines were also discussed. Indicative of the modern trend ofprogress, the closing part of the conference was concerned with gas-turbine igniter systems. Contributions—in the form of papersby Rotax and de Havilland—reviewed the progress which has been made in re-lighting at high altitude, and also dealt with forms ofignition for gas-turbines used in civil airliners. We hope to publish a more detailed review of the proceeding8of the conference in a forthcoming issue.
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