AVIATION IN BRITAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 122, 19 November 1926, Page 12

AVIATION IN BRITAIN

LIGHT AEROPLANE TRIALS REDUCED COST OF TRAVEL WEEK-END TOURING- IN A TWO- . SEATBR. ■ What the cheap American car was to the motoring industry, the light aeroplane will be to civil aviation, says the London correspondent of the Melbourne "Argus." The light aeroplane tests which were in progress .during the first week of September at Lympne,.in Kent, are a sure indication of recent development in aerial travel. The prizes amounted to £5000. The competition began with a dismantling, re-erecting, and housing test, during which each aeroplane was packed up so that it might be transported by road without the use of extraneous tackle and then placed in a shed 10ft wide and 10ft high. The aim of the competition as to encourage the production of a lowpriced two-seater aeroplane with a reasonable petrol consumption suitable for week-end touring, one essential being that the machine should be capable of being housed in an ordinary garage. Only two persons were allowed to handle a machine during this part of the test. The mechanics in charge of the D.H. Moth dismantled, housed, and' reassembled their aeroplane and engine within five minutes. The dismantling tests were followed by landing and "take-off" tests, in which the pilots had to "take off" in a straight line over two barriers 25ft high, the first barrier being 300 yards from the starting point. In order to ensure that the machines could land in an average field, competitors had also to cross a barrier 6ft high with engines shut off, the length of run not to exceed 125 yards. Nine machines qualified for the speed and fuel consumption trials over a 2000 miles course from Lympne, which occupied the rest of the week. The course consisted of flights from Lympne to various seaside resorts on the south coast, and, as the machines were numbered, holiday makers had a lot of fun out of the trials. Each circuit was flown three times at speeds varying from sixty to ninety miles an hour, a typical course being the 108 miles from Lympne to Brighton and • back, which, repeated three times, meant a flight of 318 miles. A flying test of 2000 miles spread over six days should .be sufficient to test any- ,engjne. Of the fifteen machines originally entered, eight were fitted with a Bristol Cherub of 35 h.p., and four with the new Armstrong-Siddeley Genet engine of 65-h.p. a five-cylinder radial air-cooled engine weighing 1681b. Each aeroplane carried a pilot and passenger, an equivalent of 3401b, exclusive of oil and fuel. The first prize, however, • does not go to the maker of the best time, but to the machine which carries the greatest useful load for the amount of fuel consumed, the minimum speed allowed being fifty miles an hour. What this petrol .test means in work done may be judged from a statement issued by Colonel Bristow, the official recorder of the Lympne meeting. He says that the best light aeroplanes* are now carrying a ton for 7J miles upon a gallon of petrol. In other words, tho cost of travel by air in small machines is only 30.per cent, of what it was in 1918. Colonel Bristow added that the Hawkes Cygnet at Lympne had put up a performance equivalent to carrying two people weighing list apiece, and having' 1221b Of luggage, from Lympne to Cologne at 60 miles an hour, for a I fuel consumption of 8 gallons of petrol.

UNLUCKY COMPETITORS. I .By the middle of the week' casual- , ties had reduced the nine entrants which survived the preliminary tests to five. An Avro, "Avis," with a 25---h.p. Blackburne "Thrush" engine, piloted by Wing-Commander W. Sholto Douglas came to grief in the Wiucheisea marshes and broke the tinder-carri-age by running into a ditch. As there had been heavy rainstorms and wind squalls, it was comforting that soven of the aeroplanes wero still in a. position to continue. At one time the pilots ran into sheets of rain and high winds which made it difficult to hold the course. It was plain that the winner was likely to be found among three aeroplanes, a Hawker Cygnet, flown by Lieutenant Bulman; an Avro Avian flown by Mr. Bert Hinkler; and the li.A.h. Cygnet, in the hands of FlightLieutenant Chick. The Avro Avian passed its getting-on test with ease, and at its first flight crossed the-six-foot barrier and pulled up within 125 yards, but early in the week it- developed a leakmg tank, which delayed Mr. Hinkler seriously. The Avro Avian was fitted with a new type of welded aluminium petrol tank, an effort to save 51b a, weight. When the first leak was discovered the tank was removed and run by motor-ear to Sandgate for repairs which occupied two hours. Later { leak was again discovered, ' and Mr Hinkler changed seats with his mechanic, who held a petrol can to catch the o^Xl P, C rOl dr ing the last « mile of the flight, so that .the leakage might be credited to the machine. The Avro Avian finished within the 25 minutes o± the time limit that-evening. Next day the leak redeveloped with the ex cessive vibration acting upon a weMfV°i mtC E**™-layers* of Pfelt to bed the tank down and act as a vibration absorber, might have solved Mr Hink er's difficulty, but felt was barred by" he rules. Finally some one suggested that "a permitted repair" iffiod plastering the lower side of theuK ton tTi °f S°np' Which w«tn otop the leakage and damp vibration Properly soaped, the Avro Avian^ con' tinned on his way, but Mr. Hinkler probably regretted the enterprise £ is firm m saving the 51b of weight at the- expense of a reliable petroltLk Neverthc ess, in spite of. bad luck tl P Avro Avian was second to Lieutenanl Bulman's Hawker Cygnet, wfi was leadu.g on marks, based upon rniWe and petrol consumption, in the mflvl |- of. the week. On Wednesday, loZtt Mr. Hmkler ran into a storm, made a ' ' forced landing, and had to retire Equally unlucky was the Seven Aero-l-plane Club's Wood Pigeon, flown by officers of the Royal Air Force which S w ,le- tocomp!etetheday ™e of 396 miles on Tuesday within the sti Plated time. The aeroplane came down at Canterbury, and it was reported that a rocker-arm was broken. As the stew wards would not'allow a rocke arm to' be replaced, this mishap would Tave disqualified the Wood Pigeon. It was round however, that the ro'eWm cou d b? mended, and after a leW of two hours the Wood Pi Keo n was in the air again1. Could it complete it, ast lap of CO miles by dusk T Willi™ helpers loaded five gallons of potr J and, at the Lympne aerodrome, flares were lighted to guide the aviator, Lieutenant Park. If he maintained his previous speed of 62 miles an hour he hid just two minutes to spare before closing time at 8 o'clock. Just before the hour the machine could be heard in mid-air, and, at one minute to eight it could be seen in the dusk of thofvon mg sky. The darkness just made tl"o difference. Park made a wonderful landing m the dark, but was 48 second too late. Hd had driven, the engine a? full throttle all tho way, beingS* by the Dungeness lighthouse and Z aerodrome flares Thus the competitors were reduced to five—two Cygnets fit ted with a Bristol Cherub, a Bristol Brownie, a Moth, with a Genet engine

and a Patnall Pixie 111., the Brownie and the Pixie both having 35 h.p. Cherub engines.

AEROPLANE CLUBS. There arc now five light aeroplane clubs iu Britain, with a flying membership of 525 members. All employ one or more full-time instructors and a. qualified ground engineer. There is no evidence that amateur flying is any more dangerous than motoring was in the early days. As a result of the success of the clubs the number of owners of private'aircraft has increased, and aeroplane tours are not uncommon. Already it is plain that special designs will have to be evolved for amateur flying-men, as the older type of machine is too delicate in control for pilots, who have less than professional skill. Aeroplanes with wings which allow of a good view are also essential if collisions are to be avoided. Practically all the light aeroplane clubs are now using D.H. Moths, though some of them also possess Avros. It is hoped that the Lympne trial will reveal a typo even better fitted for amateur use. Commercially, air travel has not been very successful. Imperial Airways, Limited, made a net loss of £20,415 in its second year, which is to be added to the £15,217 lost in the first year. Additional capital is required for the Egypt to India service, and a call of 10s a share will be made forthwith. During the year Imperial Airways accomplished a mileage of 810,000, four of the company's D.H. 34 machines proving their durability and freedom from serious accident by each completing 300,000 miles of aerial travel. M. Bleriot is engaged upon a monster transoceanic aeroplane, driven by four engines, which will cost £40,000. In this machine he proposes to carry passengers inside the big hollow wings of his machine, which will be 6ft deep in the centre. He has also planned an aeroplane which he says will be^ capable of carrying 30 passengers across tho Atlantic at 125 miles per hour.