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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0002.PDF
JANUARY 1, 1925 Some surprise may be felt at the fact that the machine caught lire after striking the ground, as the petrol tanks are, in the D.H.34, placed on the top plane and thus well away from the engine. It should be remembered, however, that if the machine did indeed strike the ground nearly vertically, and crumpled up, the tanks would probably then be fairly close to the engine, and any small tire started, for instance by the petrol in the carburettors and pipes, would- quickly spread to the petrol flowing from the tanks. Under such circumstances obviously none of the usual safeguards against fire would avail, and the lesson to be learned from the sad accident appears to be that quite different precautions must be taken. In this connection sight should not be lost of a new type of tire extinguisher, quite automatic in action, which has been invented by a French aviator, M. Bechard, who has worked upon the problem for a long time. M. Bechard has recently made a tour of France demonstrating his invention. Time after time he has taken up "the maclu'ne in which his fire extinguisher is fitted and has deliberately set the machine on fire. On every occasion the fire has been put out in a very short time. How the invention would work in a crash we are not at present sufficiently informed. Briefly explained, the system consists in an arrangement whereby, as soon as the temperature in the engine housing exceeds a certain figure, the chemical substance employed is atitomatically sprayed by rotating nozzles, over a considerable area, and the fire has, on every occasion when the extinguisher has been tested, been put out before it had time to spread' to the rest of the machine. The probabilities are that the pipe leads of thy extinguisher system would, in a crash such as that at Croydon, be broken by the shock of the impact with the ground, and that the extinguisher would then be- come inoperative. Nevertheless, the invention is one which should be very carefully examined in order that nothing shall be left undone which can be done to minimise the lire risk. It is, perhaps, unlikely that any of the unfortunate victims of Wednesday's tragedy would have survived the shock, even if there had been no fire. That, doubtless, will be a matter to be looked into at the inquest, but quite apart from this, the absence of fire might have considerably facilitated the work of discovering the probable cause of the accident, and thus have helped towards the avoidance of a repetition of what is one of the saddest accidents in the history of British aviation. Airmen's Gallantry in Iraq THE King has approved of the following rewards in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Iraq :— Distinguished Fixing Cross Wing Commander E. H. Johnston, O.B.E. Flight-Lieut. F. L. Luxmoore. Sir Sefton Brancker's Air Tour SIR SEFTON BRANCKER, who arrived at Baghdad on December 20 last on his way to India, spent some days in that city interviewing prominent people in connection with the airship service to India, after which he resumed his journey in the D.H.50 (Siddeley " Puma "), piloted by Alan Cobharn. Bushire was reached on December 27, and on the following morning they left for Bandar Abbas. Karachi was reached on December 30. An Italian Altitude Record IT is reported from Turin that last week the Italian pilot Bottalla beat the altitude record for machines carrying a load of 1,500 kgs., by reaching a height of over 5,400 m. (17,500 ft). The pilot was in the air for 1 h<u*r 50 mins, A World's Record for France ? THE French pilot, M. Doret, flying over the Yillesauvage- La Marmogne circuit last week-end, covered 1,000 kms. (630 miles) in 4 hrs. 30 mins. 321; sees., or an average speed of 221-7 kms.p.h. (137-5 m.p.h.).' It is claimed that this is a world's record—the previous one, held by the Americans Harris and Lockwocxi, being 205 kms.p.h. "(127 m.p.h.). D'Oisy's Next Big Flight CAPT. PELLETIER D'OISV, the hero of the Paris-Tokio flight, will probably start on another big flight some time this month. This will consist of a flight, starting from Paris, across the Sahara and back on a standard four-engined Bleriot commercial biplane. He will be accompanied by Colonel dc Goys (Department of Military Aeronautics), while Colonel Vuillemin, accompanied by Capt. Dagnaux, will pilot a similar -machine over the same route, which will terminate at Lake Chad. Berliner Helicopter Coming to England IT is stated that the American helicopter, designed by Mr. Flenry Berliner, which has made several successful flights under the observance of the U.S. Government, is coming to England in order to compete for the Air Ministry's £50,000 helicopter prize. Its pilot will be Lieut. Harold"R. Harris, of the U.S. Army Air Service. Junior Institution of Engineers : " Aircraft in Japan" ON Friday, December 19, Col. The Master of Sempill delivered a lecture on " Aircraft in Japan." Col. Serrrpil! said that the Japanese Air force had been raised and developed entirely under the supervision of a British mission during the last three years. The Japanese made very good pilots, but it took some time for them to be sufficiently interested in the mechanical side of the training. They regarded a breakdown more as a nuisance than an adventure. The lecturer described the preparation of the aerodrome with its central hangars, and mentioned the ijuaint con- secration ceremony which was carried out on it. Slides were shown of the various portions of the aerodrome and the surrounding country, and of a large lagoon which enabled the station to be used as a seaplane base as well. Further illustrations were given of the types of aircraft used in Japan, some of which were fitted with metal propellers. One particularly interesting view from an aeroplane showed H.M.S. Renown in Yokohama Harbour, with a thick mist towering above it, and then right above the mist the white top of Mount Fugi-vama standing out with remarkable clearness in spite of its being a great distance away. Royal Aeronautical Society A TECHNICAL DISCUSSION will be hold in the Library of the Royal Aeronautical Society, at 7, Albemarle Street, \V. 1, at 5.30"p.m. on Thursday, January 8, on " The Use of the Wind Channel to Aircraft Designers." The discussion will be opened by Mr. C. C. Walker, of the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Members may bring friends. U.S. Air Mail Fatality ON December 21 last one of the night air-mail machines flying between Chicago and Omaha crashed in a snowstorm. The body of the pilot, Charles Gilbert, was found half a mile away from the wrecked machine, and it is assumed that he had jumped with his parachute, but the latter had fouled the falling machine- Father Christmas at Smith's IN accordance with their usual custom, S. Smith and Sons. (M.A.), Ltd., the well-known motor accessory manufacturers, gave a Christmas party on December 24 at their Cricklewood factory to over 750 children of their employes. In addition to a sumptuous tea, the children were entertained by a dancing display by the Chester Juveniles, while Mr. B. Haviland, the works manager, arrayed as Father Christmas, gave each kiddie a present from the giant Christmas-tree, together with sweets and fruit. The wholr of the expenses were borne by the management and staff of the Smith head office and factory. Welfare work amongst manufacturing firms in England is not so far advanced as in the States, and credit is due to Smith's for organising several functions each year for the purpose of promoting better understanding between the management and workers. During the winter months whist drives and dauces take place periodically while in the summer the' members of the Smith Athletic Club foregather on the fine sports ground at Neabden.
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