REVOLVING SCREEN

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 167, 11 April 1932, Page 11

REVOLVING SCREEN

Device Being Fitted to Speed Car

ALSO A NEW COWL

Dominion Special Service.

Auckland, April 10.

The construction of a novel revolving windscreen for Air. Norman Smith’s racing car, the Fred H. Stewart “Enterprise,” is proceeding at Air. H. Nattrass’s workshop, the staff being busy throughout the week-end doing most of the machine work required. Although the new fitting will entail no structural alterations to the car, it has been found necessary to remove the present windscreen, steering wheel and facia-board carrying all the instruments except the revolution indicator. The idea of the revolving windscreen is not as fantastic as at first sight it might appear. Although there is no record locally of a revolving sheet of glass being employed to give the driver clear vision through mist aud spray, a somewhat similar device, using a four-bladed fan instead of a sheet of glass, was tried successfully in the United States some time ago on a class of speed-boat which was inclined to throw spray over tbe windscreen, thus obscuring tbe pilot’s vision. The fan was mounted in front of the windscreen and effectively prevented the spray from smearing the screen. Air. Smith said on Saturday that, while the construction of tbe revolving screen was in tbe nature of an experiment, he was hopeful that it would succeed. Since the ofiicials left the Ninety Alile Beach Air. Smith has had a cowl of a different shape fitted behind the radiator. The new cowl conforms as nearly as possible to the shape of tbe engine, and should add materially to tbe value of the streamlining.