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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0005.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 1, 1932 Hinkler's " Ibis" /* [|]—'O appreciate the reasons which VJ II prompted Bert Hinkler to build III the little two-seater machine which he has named the " Ibis " it is necessary to go back a few years. Bert '' had made his famous flight to Australia in 15| days in the Avro " Avian " (Cirrus), had spent some months in his native land, and had returned to England. On the flight to Australia, in which he acted as pilot, engineer, naviga tor and general handyman, Hinkler had found time to ponder on the way of things, and he had not found all of them good. In Australia he added more experience to his already considerable store of that com modity, and when he came back to Eng land he was very sure of what exactly he wanted in the way of an aircraft. The machine should be comfortable both for pilot and passenger. The view from the cockpit or cabin should be good in all directions that mattered. If the machine could be made an amphibian without too great sacrifice in performance and / or use ful load, so much the better. It should be as nearly immune from forced landings as it was humanly possible to make it. Hinkler looked around the British air craft trade and did not find a machine which exactly fulfilled his somewhat diffi cult requirements. He then got out the general scheme of what he thought his ideal machine should be, and he took the scheme to a few aircraft firms with the object of getting one of them to take on the building and marketing. He did not succeed. Whether the firms were too short-sighted, or whether Hinkler was too far ahead of his time, or whether merely the psychological conditions were not right, or whatever the reason may have been, he failed to get anyone to take up his ideas. Being energetic, resourceful and well able to use his hands as well as his brains, Hinkler said in effect: " Very well ; if you won't build the machine, I'll build it myself." And build it he did. Not, of course, entirely single-handed. That would have been well nigh an im- possibilitv. Mr. R. H. Bound helped him with design THE "IBIS that in " IN FLIGHT: That the view is good is shown by the fact this picture the upper half of " Bert's " head is visible. (FLIGHT Photo.) and construction, and Mr. Basil B_ Henderson designed for him a wing in which the Henderson patented type of wing construction was used. But much of the actual work was Hinkler's, and practically all the original ideas were certainly his. The " Ibis " (as Hinkler had decided to name his machine) was built under far from favourable conditions. A very small shed at Hamble was commandeered, and here some of the work was done. At his home at Shole- ing Hinkler did the scheming, and, we believe, some of the smaller work, although it is not true that such items as engine cowls, etc., were formed on Mrs. Hinkler's wringer! v-'^ SIDE VIEW OF THE IBIS " : The tandem arrangement of the two Salmson A.D.9 engines looks very simple but caused Hinkler a lot of thought. (FLIGHT Photo.) 7
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