Special Topdressing Aircraft Demonstrated

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27472, 5 October 1954, Page 14

Special Topdressing Aircraft Demonstrated

The first aircraft designed expressly for New Zealand topdressing requirements was shown in Christchurch yesterday. The eagerly awaited Fletcher FU-24 topdressing aircraft, designed and built in America, in a demonstration at Christchurch airport gave a performance which excited keen interest among members of the topdressing industry. Officers of the Royal New Zealand Air Force were present and showed great interest in the remarkable aeroplane. New Zealand leads the world by about three years in the development of aerial farming. The Fletcher is the first successful “air tractor” ever built and, it is claimed, it will enable operators. at present using makeshift aircraft, to expand and to develop prqperly their young and important industry. In America more than 6000 crop dusting operators, aware that they have much to learn from New Zealanders, are waiting for reports about the new design. All at Harewood yesterday were enthusiastic about the new machine’s performance? It is capable of carrying 16001 b of superphosphate or lime, and of dropping it in country at least as • difficult as that now operated by Tiger Months. £6500 Each In place of the hopper a tank and ; spraying gear may be installed for pest control, or the space may be cleared and 56 cubic feet of cargo space (enough for five 3001 b bales of wool) made available. This comes with a i promised economy of operation and simplicity of maintenance which,: it is claimed, will allow the aerial topdressing industry to expand widely. In New Zealand the Fletcher FU-24 costs £6500. With a load of superphosphate three times larger than can be carried by a , Tiger Moth the Fletcher took off yes- , terday afternoon and made three runs over the airfield. Its load dropped, the aircraft climbed away, and Mr Guy Robertson, the pilot, began to show off its manoeuvrability. Against the stiff easterly wind it was able to fly so slowly that it almost hovered. Even a Tiger Moth could not 1 have flown as slowly. Tight turns are another of the Fletcher’s specialities. Mr Robertson stood it up on one wingtip and the machine gyrated almost within its own length. Topdressing pilots looked with admiration on this most valuable characteristic. Rate of climb is of great importance • because of the often hilly and restric- • ted areas from which topdressing pilots work. The Fletcher goes up like a lift. Without its load the aircraft took off within 65yds, and climbed at better than 40 degrees. The landing run (also without load) was equally as good: the > machine came in with brakes locked on and stopped without bother in about 55yds. Strength Test Finally, to impress everyone that ; this was an extremely strong aeroplane, Mr Robertson deliberately landed on one wheel, bounced up 10 or more feet, banged down again on one wheel, rocked over on to the other, and took off again. No-one could call the Fletcher a beautiful aircraft. It is the aerial equivalent of a tractor or truck. One man at Harewood said it was going to do for New Zealand back country what the moldboard plough had done for North America. . All safety requirements are included (including % a cockpit four times the usual strength) and the machine is stark and functional. It has a tricycle undercarriage, each leg of which is interchangeable. The nosewheel is steerable and the aircraft can taxi up to the loading point, reducing reloading time to 30 seconds. All tyres are the same size to reduce the range of spares needed. The 225 horsepower Continental engine drives a 7ft 4in constant speed propeller. To prevent the nose kicking up the propeller is inclined five degrees downward and, to reduce the effect of torque, is angled three degrees to the right. The engine is also jet-cooled, a system whereby cooling air is drawn over the cylinders by the exhaust gases. The faster the engine turns (and the hotter it gets) the more exhaust gases are produced ■ and the mord> cooling air is sucked through. ( All Meta! Construction . AH metal construction has been : used. Panels of the airframe can be .

replaced simply on the job with a rivet gun and a bucking bar: only two rivet sizes are used.

To protect the surface fronv corrosion a special synthetic paint has been developed and this, too, may be repaired in the field with a spray gun. The 16001 b capacity hopper is mounted behind the pilot who sits in a high, spacious cockpit over the leading edge of the thick gull wing. An emergency jettison control is on the control column. The square-tipped tailplane is all elevator. 100 to be Imported Altogether 100 Fletcher FU-24’s will be brought to New Zealand. ZK-BDS. the demonstration model, is the first to arrive: 11 more will come from America in built up form. The other 89 will come out in flat sheets and will be assembled at Rukuhia. Development-of the Fletcher agricultural aircraft has been going on since 1950 under the supervision of Mr John Thorp, one of the world’s leading light aircraft designers. Mr G. Barden, another of the development engineers, is at present in New Zealand and will stay here for a year to help with any local difficulties. At the Fletcher factory in Pasadena, California, more than 3000 tests were carried out on the machine while two men of the New Zealand Civil Aviation Administration supervised. The anti-corrosion coating of the airframe and hopper was subjected to 225 tests by the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.