HUGE AIRCRAFT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21753, 30 June 1945, Page 5

HUGE AIRCRAFT

BRITISH PROJECTS PASSENGERS & CARGO helicopters'" and homes (11 a.m.) LONDON, June 29. British industry’s answers to some of the challenges of peace, secrets of the war against Germany, and new equipment for the war against Japan were revealed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Tire most important achievement is the new Centaurus engine, rated at over 2500 h.p., because it is the powerful heart of new service aircraft, long-range air-sea rescue craft, and the basis of plans already far advanced for the super-air-liner Brabazon I. It iS deceptively compact for all its 18 cylinders of radial design. It employs sleeve valves. It is the newest development of the motors that powered the Halifax, Tempest and Beaufighter planes. The radial engine, which has been found most suitable for bombers and fighters operating in the tropics, enables the new air-sea rescue craft to cruise up to 4300 miles. The range is reduced to 2500 miles when the newest type of Centaurus is used, but the top speed is stepped up to 50 knots. Space economy enables four engines to be used. 224 Passenger Accommodation

The air-liner Brabazon I is taking shape in the workshops as type 167 at the “mock-up” stage in the wood. It has taken ef long stride toward the production line, from which the first finished machine is expected next year. It is possible to walk through the vast “mock-up”, which is partly furnished, and see cabins of two to six berths where 80 passengers are to sleep. The dining-room and bar holds 24.

A maximum of 224 passengers could be carried in short stages by day. The plane is designed to fly direct from London to New York non-stop. Also at the “mock-up” stage is a four-seater helicopter like a dragonfly with its long fine tail and bulbous head. There is room for four passengers to sit in the same comfort as in a car. A high standard of safety is expected.

Much nearer production is the great shell of a Bristol freighter which will also be the basis for the “Wayfarer,” an air-liner designed to provide cheap and comfortable air travel. In the fuselage there is room for a large truck or 3G passengers. Another section of the factory is working on a prefabricated aluminium house, primarily designed to help to meet Britain's housing shortage. There are two bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom, which is attractively finished in dull cream. The kitchen is fitted with a built-in refrigerator, stove, cupboards, and drying racks. The walls, which are several inches thick, are effectively insulated against cold, heat and noise. ; The plastics section, which has made many components for service planes, is ready to turn out a wide variety of household fittings and utensils in a range of colours as surprising as they are attractive.