AEROPLANE FOR TRUNK ROUTE

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21648, 5 December 1935, Page 10

AEROPLANE FOR TRUNK ROUTE

Large Assembly Job Almost Complete SKILLED AND FAST WORK AT WIGRAM

With only a few minor adjust-; ments to be made, the biggest air- 1 craft assembling job ever under- i taken in New Zealand is virtually j completed, and the first of the de | Havilland Express Air Liners to be j used by Union Airways between! Palmerston North and Dunedin j stands in one of the big new hang- j ars at Wigram aerodrome, almost > ready to take the air. Even the size j of the hangar, just being completed j for the Air Force, cannot dwarf the Express, which, with its span of 64 feet, height of nearly 13 feet, length of 44 feet, and weight of nearly three tons, is the largest aeroplane ever seen in New Zealand. Its four Gipsy Six engines give it a total of 800 horse-power, more than any other aeroplane in the Dominion, and a higher top speed than is reached even by the service machines of the New Zealand Air Force, besides security. The assembling of the first of the Expresses, the Karoro, began on Tuesday, November 26, and within three or four days the fuselage, undercarriage, and engines had been fixed in place, only the addition of the inner sections of the wings, which soon followed, being needed to give the Karoro the look of an aeroplane. To-day, except for the absence of the streamlined cowling for engines and landing-wheels, it looks complete. The long, pointed nose, the sharply tapered wings, and the low-set engines on the bottom wing give the machine a look of- speed, and the company's colours—red top to fuselage, thin black line, and silver for the lower portion and the wings—make an attractive finish. The layman might image the Karoro flying as it is, but actually the last few adjustments being carried out by Air Force mechanics, under the direction of Mr R. Scott-King, the de Havilland company's expert, who came out from England to supervise the erection of the aeroplanes, are quite as important as the earlier work of fitting wings to fuselage and engines to wings. Delicate Work Skilled riggers are busy with levels and gauges checking and adjusting the angle of incidence of the wings and tail plane—that is the angle at which I the lifting surfaces are set to the horizontal fore and aft line of the machine—and the dihedral angle of the wings—that is, the angle between the wings and a true horizontal line through their roots, where they are attached to the fuselage. This is delicate work, not to be correct to a de- | gree or so, but to minutes, the sixtieth part of a degree. Even with such big parts as wings this accuracy ] in angles means exactness to a very small fraction of an inch, before the final "locking up" can be done. Even when the wings and tail surfaces are correctly in place there are further fine adjustments of the controls—ailerons, elevators, and rudders. Little actual work had to be done in the cabin, for the 12 metal chairs, built of light tubing with comfortable upholstery, were in position in the fuselage as it was shipped. Such small things remained to be connected as the pipes that carry air warmed by the engines into the cabiji for coldweather flying, and the ventilating system, by which each passenger can control his own supply, of fresh air, was checked over. The cabin is roomy and so high that even the tallest passengers will be able to stand erect in it. The seats can be quickly removed so that ambulance cases can be carried. Fall Equipment

Though the company does not propose to do any night flying at present, the machines are fully equipped for operating after dark. In the nose, right at the front of the roomy baggage locker that occupies the space in front of the pilots, is a large light, the size of a motor-car headlight and more powerful, that the pilots can dip to light up the ground for landing. Underneath the fuselage are two plain lights for signalling to the ground, and a third, which shines white behind, red. to port, and green to starboard in the marine fashion that is also recognised in the air. The current for these lights, as well as for charging batteries for the radio installation, and for the self-starters fixed to each engine, is supplied by a small wind-driven generator on the upper wing. The parts of the Karoro, and of ths Kotuku and the Korimako, are not new to each other, for the aeroplanes, each smallest component approved by a representative of the Air Ministry's Aeronautical Inspection Department were assembled and tested in England before being taken down lor shipment. And though the rigging is extremely skilled work there is no possibility of errors which might interfere with the flying qualities of the machines.

Meanwhile the company's general organisation plans are going ahead rapidly. The service manager, Mr M. C. McGregor, who bought the machines in England, spends his £ays at the aerodrome, watching progress, and ths chl ? f P ilots - Messrs Blythe. Gerrand, and-White, are waiting in Christchurch for the test flights. Mr Blythe has had considerable experience with th" Express type while flying for Jersey Airways, and the others are experienceci men to whom flying large and extensively-equipped machines will present no difficulty. The four copilots, Messrs Duthie, Harvie Brownjohn, and McLeod, are at present doing a-thorough course in aircraft radio in Wellington. Most of the other activity is concentrated at the two terminal points Palmerstcn North and Dunedin though special motor-driven fuelling r to reduce the time for inter" mediate stops—are being installed at Christchurch and Blenheim. The most interesting moment in the preparations for the service will come when Mr Scott-King is finally satisfied that ah is as it should be, that every detail has been attended to, and the Karoro—ZK-AEG on the Civil Aviation Department's register—undergoes her baptism in New Zealand air