OUTSTANDING MACHINES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21396, 20 October 1934, Page 9 (Supplement)

OUTSTANDING MACHINES

SPECIALLY-BUILT TYPES PICK OF THE WORLD'S-CRAFT ENGLISH " MYSTERY M MODELS High-speed aeroplanes specially built by leading British and foreign factories will take part in the great- air race, which will provide an unexampled test of design and construction. Leading aeronautical engineers have worked for months past to produce machines; that will prove at once exceptionally fast, of absolute reliability, straightfoi'waxd to fly when carrying great loads of fuel, and yet conforming to the strict code of the International Convention of Air Navigation. ' Outstanding among the divers British types entered aro the de Havilland "Comets," mystery-craft from, a pioneer factory. Three have been prepared,

and it is on one of them that Britain is pinning her chief hope of success. Novel conditions governed the purchase of the three "Comets." The factory guaranteed that the craft would conform in every detail to the requirements of the contest, would have a maximum level speed of at least 200 miles an hour, and would carry a crew of two. Other details they declined to divulge, even to prospective buyers, who. were required to deposit one-fifth of the purchase price of £SOOO at the time', of placing their orders. / V The "Comet" is a twin-engined monoplane with cantilever wings set -low relatively to the fuselage. The wings have a pronounced taper -toward the tips. Its overall dimensions {are small, the span being 44ft., and the length 29ft. The machines are driven by two special, but unsupercharged, Gipsy Six '230 horse-power air-cooled motors, mounted one- on either side of 'thk fuse-

lage. Two independent wheels located immediately below them are in flight, while the design allows for each engine to drive an airscrew, of which the pitch is controllable by the pilot either on the ground or in flight; The maximum speed of 200 miles an hour has been exceeded by a considerable margin in tests, and in addition the " Comets " have a range great enough to make landing necessary only ;at the five compulsory stopping-places, along the route. The principal American craft are the Boeing " Transport " monoplane powered with Pratt and Whitney " Wasp " engines, the Douglas DC 2, with Wright "Cyclone" engines, the Lambert "Monocoupe" driven by a Warner " Super' Scarab," a Lockheed " Yega," the solitary Bellanca monoplane, and the

Granville machine, all with Pratt and Whitney motors. The Moiocoupe, a small machine popular with private owners in the United States, is entered only for the handicap section. The larger American machines are, taken generally, developed from the extremely fast air-liners now in general use in the United States. This applies particularly to the Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed machines, which for years have, in various forms, carried passengers and mail across th 6 United States and Canada, while others have been successfully used in Europe. The only Continental contender is a Pander with American, motors, Wright " Whirlwinds." The Pander, styled the " Postjager," has three motors, and in standard form is credited with a cruising speed of 186 miles an hour and a maximum of 223.