NELSON AIRWAY

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 62, 6 December 1930, Page 22

NELSON AIRWAY

Machine Here Next Week FIRST OF DESIGN Five-Passenger Graft .For use in the Wellington-Nelson air service, a Saro Windhover flyingboat, is expected to arrive in New Zealand next week. It is aboard the steamer Port Huon, which Is due at Auckland next Friday. The machine is the first of its type to be built, and was put through its tests by Flight-Lieutenant Scott, of the Saunders-Roe Company, on October 16 and 17. It was then shipped, and upon arrival will be assembled at the Hobsonville Air Base. Because of the long ocean voyage, the wing of the boat was made in three sections. The Windhover is similar to the four-seater Cutty Sark, which is at the Hobsonville base, save that it is larger and has; three De Haviland Gipsy engines, each of 105 h.p., placed above the wing, instead of the two in the earlier model. Jt has accommodation for five passengers and the pilot. The whole of the,sides, front and roof of the fore compartment, which

Is situated in front of the wing, are provided with windows. Four passengers are accommodated in this compartment, and aft of it, and under the wing, with large windows in the hull’s sides, is another cabin holding two people. Entrance in Window, or Roof. Novel but easy means of entering, the boat have been devised; Passengers who are going to travel in the fore compartment will enter through the roof, where a sliding panel has been provided, while those for the cabin' step In ,through the starboard (right-hand) window, which is a sliding one. The pilot usually sits in the left-hand front seat, but he may use the right-hand seat if ho pleases. The engine controls are situated between the two seats, and can be easily reached from either side of the

craft. Comfort for both pilot and passengers had been carefully considered by the designers. The controls will not be the “joystick” type as seen in the light aeroplanes at the aerodromes, but wheel and parallel-motion rudder bar, and they are more like those in the flying boat and seaplane which were seen on the French cruiser Tourville, which visited New Zealand last year, the rudder bar being easily adjustable to the pilot’s leg reach. There ia a passageway between the seats in the forward cabin, and the floor under the seats is raised above the level of the passageway. A hinged panel above the pilot’s seat allows him to stand up to" pick up his moorings. Comparison with Cutty Sark. A comparison with the flying boat at the Hobsonville base, which has been seen in both Auckland and Wellington will give an idea, of the size and performance of the Windhover. In the following description and comparison the figures in parentheses are those of the Cutty Sark: —_ The. Wellington-Nelson flying boat will have a maximum speed of 110 miles an hour (105 m.p.h,), and a cruising speed of 07 m.p.h. (85 m.p.h.), while the “landing” speed is 53 m.p.h. The wing span is 54ft. 4in. (45ft.), and the height of the craft is 12ft. 3in. (lift. 2in.), while the length is 41ft. 4in (34ft. 4in.). The weight of the machine empty is 3590 lb. (22461 b. and loaded 53501 b. (3400 lb.), the pay load of the Windhover being 9451 b. •Like the Cutty Sark, it is a cantilever monoplane. The wing, normally built in one piece, is specially -strengthened to allow of its being walked on. It is built of wood, the covering being plywood. The hull is constructed of a protected duralumin, very resistant to corrosion. The framework is covered with flat sheets of this metal, so that these can easily be repaired or replaced, should the necessity arise. If it is desired, the machine can be fitted with a wheel attachment to turn the machine into an amphibian, which

can alight or take off from either land or water. This fitting will, however, reduce the speed by about five miles per hour. The three main fuel tanks, each holding 26 gallons, are mounted in the wing, and arranged with eroSs connections so that any two engines may be run off any one pump. The engines are four-cylinder, aircooled, upright Gipsys, such as are fitted to the familiar Moths. One of a Family. ■■• ; The firm of Saunders Roe, is turning its attention chiefly to the manufacture of cabin flying boats, of which the Windhover is the third and latest type. The name of the firm is abbreviated to “Saro” in the names of its aircraft. The first of its flying boats, the Cutty Sark, is a fourseat craft, was introduced last year, and the Saro Cloud, an eight-ten seater, powered by two 300 h.p. Wright Whirlwind engines, was put into production some months ago, and the Windhover is, in point of capacity, between the two.