MURINE AIRCRAFT

Evening Star, Issue 19765, 16 January 1928, Page 7

MURINE AIRCRAFT

GREAT ADVANCES MADE VALUE ON LONG CRUISES LARGER MEASURE OF SAFETY. The tense feeling of anxiety caused \y the non-appearance of the airmen attempting the Tasman flight has given rise to much speculation (says the Auckland ‘ Herald : ). Many critics are now inclined to support the argument of the Prinme Minister of Australia as to the inadvisability of using a land machine for an oversea flight. However, the New Zealand aviators had practically no choice in the type of machine they used. The financial support was not sufficient to permit of the purchase of a supermarine Napier flying-boat. They had to secure the best machine available with the money at their disposal, and, on Lindbergh’s performance, their choice seemed a good one. In recent years extensive experiments with super-marine machines have pointed to the undoubted superiority of this type of aircraft for flying over long stretches of water. In view of the comparatively recent attention that has been paid to the improvements of seaplanes and flying-boats it is perhaps to be expected that a certain prejudice against them still exists among flying men. Realising the inevitable value of aircraft in defensive and reconnoitring work along long coast lines, the British Air Ministry has prosecuted careful experiments with improved super-marine aircraft, with the result that in some instances highly satisfactory results have been obtained.

The modern flying-boat has been proved capable of carrying far greater loads than land machines, with a resultant increase in flying range. There are, of course, land machines with triple engines, and the argument has been , advanced that these would bo quite ; as safe as a seaplane similarly equipped. However, it is possible that although every care has been expended upon the “tuning” of a machine’s engines a forced landing may be necessary, and in that case it is only logical that a sea plane would be the most suitable to use in long ocean flights. ABILITY TOR LONG CRUISES.

It is not generally recognised even among aviators how far the design and equipment of seaplanes have been improved. Only last year two supermarine Southampton flying-boats completed a cruise of 6,065 miles from Plymouth and Alexandria without mishap. The latest standard machines of this type are being constructed with all-metal hulls, and as a result their efficiency has been increased remarkably. On account of the perfect water-tightness and freedom from water soakage of the hulls the machines are capable of carrying an additional load of 9001 b, the equivalent weight of sis passengers. When fully loaded with crow, 1,450 gallons of petrol, and eighty-eight gallons of oil, the Southampton weighs 20,0001 b, and has a cruising range of 2,500 miles at a speed of eighty-five miles an hour. There are twin Napier engines, each developing 500 horse-power, and the machine can not only fly with one engine, but can turn against the pull of one.

Four machines of the Southampton type left Plymouth on October 17 on a 24,000-mile service cruise to Egypt, India, Singapore, and Australia. The cruise wall be the longest and most ambitious ever attempted by British flying boats, and its undertaking is an indication of the progress that has been made in the development of marine aviation. The itinerary has been completely mapped out, and once the boats left England they were to fly as separate units independent of any shore help except that required for mooring and refuelling. The boats have been equipped so that the crews can sleep aboard and cook their own meals, and enough water and provisions are carried for two days. TAKING PLACE OF CRUISERS. Within the past few months a new type of flying boat has passed its official tests in England, and has been delivered to the Air Force. This is the Short Singapore flying boat, built entirely of metal except the fabric covering the wing spreads, and equipped with two Rolls-Royce Condor engines, each of 700 horse-power. The greater part of the metal used is a light alloy, and stainless steel is used for the principal fittings. The Singapore has been designed for reconnaissance work normally carried out by cruisers, such as the protection of coast line and trade routes in time of war. Owing to its metal construction the boat can keep the sea for long periods, take off and alight on rough water, and generally deputise for its larger, more costly, and less mobile rival. Sir Alan Cobham commenced a 2D,000-mile survey flight to Africa in a Singapore machine last November, and in an article in ‘ Airways ’ ho stated the flight would, in his opinion, be of far greater utility than any he had yet undertaken. For one thing, it was hoped to ascertain whether the flying boat was the best vehicle for air transport from the Mediterranean Sea to Lake Victoria Nyanza via the Nile River. The entire west coast of the Continent would be traversed on the return to England, and this would be the first time that this route bad been followed. FAITH IN FLYING BOATS.

“We are taking a flying boat because the trip across the Mediterranean is certainly a (lying boat’s job,” Sir Alan said, “The reason we are going through the great lakes of Africa is also to test the Hying boat, and the only way to accomplish the homeward part of the journey by way of the west coast is by using an aircraft of this type owing to the absence of aerodromes on this part of the route. The Singapore all-metal flying boat is, with its 3,7(1) horse-power engines, perhaps the largest of its kind in the world, and is built by a firm which is undoubtedly a pioneer of all-metal construction in . aircraft in this country.” Another long cruise was recently undertaken by four Royal Air Foco fly- ■ ing boats, three being of the Blackburn typo and one a Southampton. The cruise extended over 3,000 miles to numerous seaports of the Baltic Sea. The three Blackburn boats were all new, and the cruise was used as an opportunity to make , various tests as to their reliability and seaworthiness. The boats were away for thirty-two days, and much interesting information was gained as a result of the cruise. Shortly before the departure, Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary of State for Air, who accompanied the party, said the importance of the flying boat lay in its value as a means of intercommunication between the various parts of the Empire, which were largely separated by water. These new boats could fly for 600 or 700 miles without stopping.