THE SCHNEIDER TROPHY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20644, 16 February 1929, Page 9

THE SCHNEIDER TROPHY.

OVER THE SOLENT. FOUR NATIONS TO COMPETE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, January 5. Four'nations and 10 aircraft will contest the race for the Schneider Maritime Trophy over the waters of the Solent, next autumn, a last-minute entry from the United States having been received, it was announced a few days ago, by the Royal Aero Club. If all put in a full team (writes the aeronautical correspondent of The Times) there will be three British, three Italian, and three, French seaplanes, and one American, racing, and the winner’s speed over a straight course may well reach 360 miles an hour. There remain only eight months to produce and test these high-speed machines. So far none of the engine units has been supercharged, but this year the gain of 20 to 25 per cent, in power by forcing into the' cylinders mixture at high pressure is too tempting to be ignored; but what may be possible theoretically is not always so easy 'to accomplish in practice with engines developing over 1000 h.p. and weighing possible less than 11b per horse-power. Engine revolutions have already advanced from 3000 to nearly 4000 a minute; and the designer is faced with the problem of whether the bearings will stand the. higher loads, whether he can induce the metallurgist- to give him lighter metals or, alternately, the same metals with greater strength, whether he can reduce the 'size of his engine, and whether, when increasing the revolutions, he can still keep down by means of reliable gearing the actual speed at which the airscrew turns. The aircraft constructor, on his side, is trying to reduce in size the already tiny seaplane, to find a way of making it lighter, and to reduce the fuselage and wing area to lessen skin friction. If he can save weight here, and if the engine maker can also save weight, smaller floats will suffice, and here will come another gain to lessened resistance. A difficult problem is to decide the minimum speed at which it is safe for the pilot to alight on the water. If thie can be raised, up will go the top speed, and with four nations each striving in secrecy to outpace the other the race in British waters this year should be most thrilling.

• Arrangements for housing. Great Britain, as the holder of the trophy, has to house 10 aircraft and to provide accommodation for at least 200 foreign competitors, counting the pilots, the mechanics', the official observers; and the technical experts which make up each team. Cowes was previously used as the- base, but this year all the teams will be at Calshot Seaplane Station. In order to provide the accommodation, the training programme is being arranged so that the flights of large flying boats normally engaged in air pilotage and training duties there will be away ,on cruises or ’ co-operating with thb fleet.. This will leave one very large hangar' and another commodious shed in which the .teams can be accommodated with ease; temporary partitions will be erected if necessary to ensure each country its own private-hangar space. The Royal Aero Club is responsible for the arrangements, and even with such assistance as the Air Ministry can legitimately offer'on the lines indicated the club ‘s faced with a heavy financial responsibility. ,It is not wealthy, and its racing fund, which relies yearly on the generosity of a limited circle of supporters, will, it is hoped, this year appeal to a' wider public in view of the international importance of the race and its value to British prestige. The teams are expected to be at Calshot a month before the race. The focal point of the course ; will, be at or near Cowes, and it is being considered whether the main portion of the circuit should be to the west or . the east of Southampton Water. r