WE'LL GET THERE

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 131, 5 June 1928, Page 9

WE'LL GET THERE

INDEFATIGABLE WORK BEFORE FLIGHT EVERY DETAIL SURVEYED (Written for "The Post" by C. T .V. Him.) We left Australia somo ten months ago —Why have we not yet flown the Pacific? Why did we not return by steamer? Why are we so confident of success, once we are able to start? j 'Who do we state so emphatically that ours is a more efficiently organised, .equipped, and manned flight than others which have failed? These and other questions I am en-

doavouring to 'answer briefly in this article. Prior to our start on the flight, wo would liko tho public to know details of causes for some ten months' delay. Also, we feel that if full particulars regarding our organisation and equipment are known and understood by the public, few will fool that we havo any-, thing but success ahead of us. Wo'plan to make a 100 per cent, successful flight—not to start out and be forced to land through lack of fuel, and then (perhaps) stay afloat and be towed to port. The subjects of "blind flying" and "heavy load flying" are comparatively new ones. We ourselves were almost as ignorant of them as most other Australian airmen' until wo arrived here and studied them. On our arrival here we were (as were those Australians who have criticised us) ignorant of tho importance in blind flying of such modern flying instruments as the bank and turn indicator, rate of climb motor, speed and drift meter, etc., and did not then truly appreciate all the difficulties ahead of us. ... . Wo now know the difficulties and problems with which we may meet, and have planned ancl organised to meet them all, so far as is humanly possible. WHAT BLIND PLYING IS. "Blind - flying" 'refers to the pilot's ability or otherwise to fly the airplane efficiently when in total darkness, only the instrument board being visible to him. Simple medical tests and personal demonstrations readily prove that, in such a condition of total darkness, a human being's sense of.direction is absolutely useless. No one can fly blind for more than about an hour without the aid of special flying instruments. An airplane in flight can move in any of three directions—(l) up and down (longitudinally), (2) banking (laterally), and (3) turning. And sensitive instruments have been devised which tell the pilot whether or not his airplane is moving in all or any of these directions. Tho bank indicator resgistors accurately whether the airplane is banking to port or starboard. The turn indicator registers tho slightest turning movement. And the rate of climb meter, which is really a super-sensitive altimeter, registers small changes in altitude (up or down), and feet per minute of ascent or descent. When a pilot can train himself to fly for hours on end by these instruments, and others provided without seeing anything else—then, and then only, is he "safe" to pilot an airplane over long Stretches of water. This training in instrument flying, or "blind flying," is largely-mental. The pilot must have implicit faith in the instruments; he must know that, if these instruments register at variance with his senses, then his senses are wrong,, and the instruments are right . When flying through heavy clouds and thick fog the pilot is "blind"—he can sco nothing but his instrument board, and if ho can't "fly. blind" he will in a short time lose control of tho airplane. Some of our Australian pilots may consider these statements to be exaggerated—but I'll challenge any pilot in Australia to "fly blind" for 90 minutes (without these instruments) and still maintain an even keel and his true course. THE LOAD ON THE MACHINE. On the question of "heavy load flying," there are two main factors to be studied, and they are cared for, in tho main, in the design of the. airplane/ They are: (a) wing-loading (being the amount of load to be carried to a square foot of available lifting surface), and (b) power-loading (being the gross' load to be carried per available horsepower)—the sum of these being usually referred to as "composite loading." _ Everyone realises that there is a limit to which an airplane can bo "composito loaded" and then flown, and we now know something of this subject, as, after many "building up load tests," we eventually established a new world's record for "composite loading." To give an idea of tho amount of research work required on -this subject alone, I will point out that when Kingsford-Smith and tho writer broke the around Australia'flight record, in July, 1927, our airplane was overloaded, and our wing loading was about 7.81b per square foot, and our power loading about 14.21b per horse-power, giving a composite loading of 221b. (These figures are only from memory.) We have now established a world's record with a composito loading of 49.21b. Tho airplane was, of course, overloaded, but it flew, and, with this gross . load (15,8071b, created a world's record for sustained flight in multi-enginea, heavier-than-air craft by staying aloft for 50 ,hours-T minutes. Lot. me say here, that ono of the many, reasons for us deciding on a Fokker airplane was the fact that the then world ?s record for composite loading was established by a Fokker airr piano (Kelly and M'Cready's U.S.A. transcontinental flight, with composite loading of 471b). For, naturally, one of the very first essentials in choosing an airplane for "a long non-stop flight is its capacity to lift and efficiently fly with a load of petrol sufficient to enable it to reach its destination, plus a margin. NECESSARILY OVERLOADED. Every airplane that has ever embarked on long non-stop flights of 2000 miles or over has been "over-loaded" —overloaded meaning tho carrying of a load greater than that which it was designed to carry with tho required normal safety factors. I know of no airplane in the world to-day that is designed and constructed to carry a petrol load sufficient to give it a non-stop range of- 2900 miles without overloading. ' . • And our first problem was, irrospec-

tivo of tho remainder of our route, to secure 'an airplane that would do this. In any type of airplane chosen we had to sacrifice some proportion of tho factors of safety designed for. It is all a matter of compromise, and tho nature of the compromise must be decided by tho typo of flight the airplane is to bo teed for. Some prefer a high "power loading," and comparatively lower "wing loading)" the result being an airplane with a large lifting surface (wing) and relatively smaller power plant, .which, as a whole, results in a slow air speed, a good range in hours, but a poor .ran'go in miles. On our trans-Pacific flight we need range in miles, not rango in hours. We had to determine (and have done so after many.careful tests) tho most economical speed at which to run our engines to enable us to fly the greatest number of miles, not hours. The third factor in heavy-load flying is controllability—for it has been proved that it is possible to "take off" with_ a 'piano so heavily Joadod that it will not fly. Given a long enough runway, it might be possible to take off with our 'plane loaded to, say, 17,5001b. The 'plane would, for instance, rise off the ground and be flying, but while so heavily loaded would not be able to gain an altitude greater than approximately the span of its wing (in this case 72_ feet), and the slightest, roughness of tho air ' causing a "bump" .would throw tho 'plane out of control, and, being so close to the earth, a crash would be inevitable. REMARKABLE TESTS. Of course, the pilot's skill ig all-im-portant in these heavy-load ' take-offs, and tho first few hours flying thereafter until the load is lightened by the consumption of petrol. In our case our pilots have proved themselves to be capable. On six separate . occasions they havo taken of the Southern Cross with loads 10001b- greater than we will require on any stage of our flight, not to mention innumerable building-up . load tests, when many flights were made carrying 50 per cent., 00' per cent., 70 per cent., 80 per cent., 90 per cent., and 100 per cent, of the ultimate gross load. As an instance of the thought and care to be exercised in organising these test flights alone, I will mention that before the third 100 per cent, test flight was made we had to re-design the rudder, strengthen the whole tail end of fuselage, fit extra vertical members at points of groat-stress in fuselage, install special flexible petrol pipes which were immune against vibration, re-design and make stronger axles, and have specially strong wheels - and tires ,designed and built, etc., and over 3400 gallons of petrol was "dumped" in the air so that the 'plane would not be subjected to undue strains when landing heavily loaded. The result was that we never had even a minor accident in all these tests, in which tho equipment was,, throughout, overloaded. And. on one of these flights the petrol alone weighed the equivalent of 57 men each of 1601b. The foregoing is intended, to demonstrate, in words, that we havo the right 'plane to fly efficiently with sufficient fuel and oil to carry us over tho throe long non-stop stages wo have to make, and that our pilots havo tho experience and ability to fly these loads of petrol, supplies, etc., oif the ground. THE MACHINE DESCRIBED. The plane' is a tri-motor Fokkcr monoplane. Tho 'span of the wing is 71ft 8-} in, and it is of full cantilever (internally braced) three-ply wood con-' struction. The maximum'chord (width fore and aft) of'the wing is 12i!t Gin, and the maximum depth (thickness) is 33 inches. We recently removed a 300-gallon petrol tank from the fuselage, and now have, .tanks sufficient to carry 1298 gallons (American). There are four tanks in the wing itself, each holding 9G gallons, one tank under tho pilots' seats holding 10? gallons, and ono (main) tank in the fusalago holding SO7 gallons. We will fit another tank holding GO gallons, so that on our longest flight wo will be carrying 1358 gallons of petrol. The 'plane is equipped with three Wright Whirlwind JoCa engines, each of 220 h.p., the oil tanks for these being installed one in each engine nacelle. At full throttle the engines giyo 1800 r.p.m., giving us a high air speed of 120 m.p.h. With tho engines throttled back to 1550 r.p.m., we have a speed of 94 statute miles per hour. At this speed each engine consumes a fraction .over 10 gallons of fuel per hour.' But for the purpose of still another safety margin we estinfate our air speed at only 90 m.p.h., at 1550 r.p.m. engine speed. At 90 m.p.h., allowing a fuel consumption of 32 gallons per hour, wo havo a range of 3818 miles, which in still air would give us a range margin of G9O miles, or 22 per cent., as our longest flight from Kauai, in the Hawaiian Islands, to Suva, in the Fiji Islands, is 3128 miles. NAVIGATION PROBLEMS, The navigation of the craft is, of course, one of tho very main essentials in ocean-flying, for it would, naturally, be quite useless to have the best 'plane and pilot in the world without someone to accurately navigate them to tho desired destination. Air navigation has its own peculiar problems as against ordinary nautical navigation, tho main ono of these being tho 'plane's high rate of drift as compared -with seagoing craft. Ocean currents seldom cause a yesEel to drift off its course at more than three or four miles per hour, but w vith the aircraft the drift can be as .high as 60 or 70 m.p.h. On the other hand, by virtue of the airplane's much greater rango of visibility the same degree of accuracy as required in jautical navigation is not essential in"tho air. The seaman must be able to accurately navigate his craft within a mile or two of shoals or rocks —the airman has none of these dangers. Also the seaman's range of visibility is limited to a comparatively few miles, whereas the airman can, in fair weather, see his objective a hundred miles or more away. . . Navigation equipment and methods vary with each individual flight. Plights may succeed with minimum equipment and preparation. / The meteorologist's help is important. In cases such as ours, when, latitude is „permitted in the time, of starting a flight, the advice of a meteorologist as to the proper time of take off is very valuable. By tho position , of1 the isobars, it is possible to' estimate roughly both tho speed and direction of the wind and thus to make approximate correction for drift. There is a case on record (March, 1924) where a U.S. Army airplane flew from New York City to Dayton, Ohio, over a double layer of clouds that effectively prevented drift measurements. A study of the weather map enabled the navigator to guess at tho probable wind changes en route, so that in spite of a 50-milc-an-hour gale, the airmen wore only 12 miles north of their course on reaching their journey's end. HOW THE COURSE IS KEPT. The methods of air navigation may be divided into three main classes, that is, "dead reckoning," "astronomical navigation," and "navigation by the aid of radio." Tho brain work of navigation never can become subconscious so that it affects tho efficiency. Therefore it is wise that tho air navigator has every possible source of information as to his position available. The term "dead reckoning" involves flying a compass course corrected for tho compass errors and for tho effect of wind drift. Flying by dead reckoning is contingent on an accurate, reliable compass, and proper drift and ground speed knowledge. On tho

Southern Cross wo are carrying four compasses, .a master compass, and throe steering conrpasses. The master compass as an . aperiodic compass with a largo bowl, and is mounted on a nonmagnetic tripod in the navigator's cockpit. For steering we will use the garth inductor compass and two magnetic needle compasses. The instruments for measuring drift that we are carrying are the Pioneer speed and drift meter and a peloru3. drift indicator, the latter being of very recent design, and not yet in general production. We also carry two kinds of bombs, one giving off smoke for daytime use, the other giving a bright light for night use. These will be dropped from the 'plane to float on the water, aud sights taken after they have been left a. couple of miles astern. Without these it is possible, but not so reliable, to utilise the foam flakes of the breaking waves. "SHOOTING THE SUN." Of course, for astronomical navigation the sextant is the crux of the whole situation. If the sextant shot obtained is at all reliable and an accurato position determined, this is a most valuable means of obtaining drift correction, for it reveals all the errors in the course flown up to tho time of taking the sight. When the true horizon can be used, astronomical navigation of- aircraft approaches the reliability and accuracy of that of a marine vessel. Unfortunately, too often the sea horizon cannot be used on trans-oceanic flights, and an artificial horizon •attachment has been designed for use in aircraft, but on account of its sensitivity it is not as accurate as is desired. A sextant for use on an airplane must be as light as possible and compact. It is often necessary to lioia tho sextant in the slip stream, and the user must grip it tightly to prevent the instrument being torn from his grasp. The artificial horizon attachment, is in the form of .a spirit level, and even under favourable conditions the bubble is constantly moving. With the true, or sea, horizon, the observer is measuring tho angular distance between two fixed points, but with an artificial horizon the attempt is made to measure the angular distance between one fixed and one moving point. Of course, the sextant's work is over after the altitude of a celestial body lias been measured, and then certain computations must be made before the line of position can be plotted on the chart. The most commonly used method of reducing observations at sea involves some 11 mathematical calculations, including the extracting of values from tables. These and other shorter methods are used in the air. RADIO IN NAVIGATION. The importance of radio as an aid to air navigation is growing. Radio has been successfully used in three, different ways on previous trans-oceanic flights: (1) by taking bearing on transmitting stations, (2) by transmitting signals for boats to use in taking bearings that aro radioed back to the aircraft, (3) through the radio' beacon. Our radio equipment is especially designed for use in the two last of these ways. Tho illustration on this page showing tho radio beacon -course- approaching Honolulu from San Francisco will give the reader a, fair idea of its work. From tho foregoing very brief explanation of some of our navigation problems it will be seen that tho navigation of an airplane over long stretches of water is by no means a one-man job. We are taking with us a skilled marine navigator, and tho writer, who has been flying regularly for tho last eight years, is now au fait with the latest instruments and methods aiding air navigation. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. Whilst tho chances of being forced, down at sea aro,' in our case, very remote, wo have dono practically everything possible to ensure our safety should this occur. Tho whole, of the 72 foot wing is of entirely wooden construction, and in, itself is sufficient to keep the ci'aft afloat. In addition to this, a special dump valve has been fitted to the main tank (807 gallons capacity), and tho whole of the contents of this tank can b& dumped in 50 seconds and the dump valve resealed, giving extra flotation. Steel and wood saws are carried, ; -?d if wo are forced down at sea -wo will cut off the out-board motors and, tho whole of tho fuselage, which is of steel construction, and use tho wing alone- for our flotation. Emergency rations are carried in tho wing and we have- a special still mado with which we can condense more than sufficient water to keep us alive. Our navigation instruments and nautical tables would be kept with us, and we could, whilst floating on the wing, determine our position from time to time. Our biggest safety factor is a special emergency radio transmitter, which is completely watertight. The~ aerial, for this transmitter will bo lifted by means of a kite or gas balloons, three or four of these being carried." This emergency transmitter is battery actuated, tho rest of our radio equipment being operated ■ from two air-driven generators of 50 watts each. Whilst on this question of being 'forced down at sea, let mo explain that if ono of our engines was to "cut out" completely at any stage of our ilight, we n reach inhabited land with the , remaining two engines only ' running. Should -two engines fail completely, we can stay in tho air for from 10 to 12 hours and fly a distance of from 500 to 700 miles. Statistics covering, tho operation of three-engine aircraft such as ours she .v that a forced landing is occasioned by engine trouble once in every 1,600,000 miles flown (average). THE IDEAL TYPE. Also, lot me say hero that' although wo are using a land 'plane, we would not for _a moment say that a land j 'piano is~the ideal typo to be' used in ! flying over long stretches of water. Tho ideal type is an amphibian, powered with either three or four engines. There is no good .ship of this type in production in America, although one or two are on tho way. The main reason that we are not using an amphibian 'plane is the question of cost, A 'plane of the type just mentioned would probably cost in the vicinity of £20,000/ Our radio, equipment has been praised by every export on the West Coast of America, and is declared to be the finest ever • installed in aircraft. We ea.?i send and receive on both long and short wave-lengths. The short wave equipment will be used mostly for communication with shore stations and the long wave for- tho reception of the radio beacon signals and communication with vessels at sea, securing radio bearings, etc. The foregoing very briefly endeavours to illustrate that we havo the right 'plane and equipment to start .with; that our pilots have the ability and experience to successfully fly tho 'plane off tho ground and thereafter handle her during tho hazardous (heavilyloaded) period for the first few hours of the flight; that our navigators have the necessary equipment and experience to competently navigate the craft over the whole of the route; and that every possible precaution has been taken to ensure general safety. THE PERSONAL SIDE. ' Tho next question, therefore, is: "Can the crew efficiently fly the 'plane for 35 or 36 hours' non-stop?" We say tho answer is "Yes." It is largely a matter of physical and mental endurance, and can bo answered in two sections, i.e., for the pilots and for the navigators. The pilots are seated in comfortable seats side by side, and their cockpit will be totally, enclosed during the flight.

Complete dual control is fitted, and although they cannot (when off duty) lie down full length, they can "stretch out" horizontally, and get quite a fair amount of rest—also the pilot off duty can stand up to his full height, which is a great relief, a "change being often as good as a rest." No fixed hours of "on and off duty" will be kept by the pilots. One will ' hand over1 control to the other when ho feels that he needs a rest. Tlie navigators are, so far as comfort is concerned, much better off than tho pilots. The navigators' cabin is 6ft high by sft 6in wide by Bft 3in long; therefore, although we have a large chart-table and the radio equipment takes up quite some space, the main area of the floor is available for the navigator "off duty" to lie down full length, and rest in this position is valuable. Of course the navigators' duties demand that often they must both be on duty together, and one at least will always be on dut}'. And wo have proved to ourselves that we can remain "on duty" and alertly efficient for more than the required 36 hours without a spell. ENDURANCE AT PULL EFFICI- ! EUCY. Kingsford-Smith has, as most Australians well: know, over 3300 actual flying hours to his credit on practically all types of airplanes' under practically all types of conditions. His recent experience flying the tri-motor Fokker. (with Lieut. Pond as co-pilot) on nonstop flights-of 49 hours 27 minutes and 50 hours 7 minutes.has given him not only a thorough knowledge of this type of airplano (and he handles the big airplane now just'as well as he handled tho old "Bristol Tourer" in our Round Australia Flight days), but a supreme, confidence in her capacity to fly heavily loaded and in his own ability to "stay on the job" efficiently for a greater length of time than we require at any stage of our transpacific 'flight. For my own part, I know, that I have the endurance for tho job ahead. I well, remember having worked and flown for thirteen days (in connection with and during our Bound Australia Flight), averaging only two or three hours' sleep per night, on one occasion (Port Darwin to Minilaya Station) having been forced to keep awake and efficiently on the job for 3D hours without sleep and under far more trying conditions tli an we will experience on this flight A final word—when the. Southern Cross starts—don't worry, we'll get there—it is only the "nth" chance which can stop us, and if this "nth" chance does stop us, what is our attitude towards this? It is best summed up by quoting tho celebrated Englishman, Lieutenant-Colonel J. T. MooreBrabazon, who, when referring to some flying fatalities in England, and to the question of stopping airmen from undertaking so-called hazardous flights said: "It would bo. a retrograde stop to surround them with difficulties and | stop -their initiative in whatever enterprise they might indulge in. It would Ibe like stopping a Drake from circumnavigating the world before the seas^ | wero charted." '(Lieutenant-Colonel Moore-Brabazon was the first Englishman actually to fly.) Since the Ross and Keith Smith flight in 1919 Australians have pioneered no new air routes connecting our country with other lands. We have certainly, the,honour of Bert Hinlder's wonderful flying dash from the Motherland over Ross Smith's old route* ancl still more recently our good friend George Hubert Wilkins's really splendid scientific flight over 2200 miles of the Arctic wastes, both requiring still of tho highest order, courage, and endurance, and we now believe that1 our trans-Pacific flight will put Jaistrallans up with the world's loaders in aviation as it is. known to-day, and open a new route giving quicker communication .with our American neighbours on the other side of the Pacific.