BRITISH FLYING NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21361, 15 June 1931, Page 13

BRITISH FLYING NOTES

REFINEMENT OF MINERAL OILS 100.000 MILES IN TWO YEARS DURABILITY TESTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON. May 7. • Evidence of the durability of the modern light aqyoplane, even in the most strenuous kind of commercial flying, comes this week from Buenos Aires. There a Moth biplane, owned and operated by the firm of Aerofotos, has completed approximately 80,000 miles in less than two and a-half years, spending no fewer than 1033 hours in the air, and more often than not being left for the night in the open air. The 1033 hours include 105 spent in a recently completed voyage of 8000»miles around Argentina, the first light plane trip made over the route. Diverse and difficult weather encountered, ranging from blazing heat to terrific tropical hail and rain storms, but the journey went through without The small machine, a standard craft with wooden fuselage, averaged 77 miles an hour from start to finish. ' The big mileage invites comparison with the use got from motor cars. The car undoubtedly has the more arduous time, moving over uneven roads and its engine sucking in quantities of dust and dirt which may cause damage. _ On the other hand, the aeroplane engine is kept running at constant throttle opening, and gets very few relief periods such as the car engine gets every time the -driver lifts his foot from the accelerator pedal. Further, the motor car after 80,000 miles invariably shows considerable signs of wear; the aeroplane, thanks to the stringent restrictions governing safety and periodic inspection, remains in perfect condition till the end of its working life. TRAVELLING 2000 MILES A WEEK. Striking figures of the distances that the traveller may cover comfortably by air and the time he saves are calculated by an Imperial Airways expert who recently planned a tour in a specially chartered machine for a passenger who wished to visit Palestine, Iraq, and Syria in quick time. The total time available was six days, or 144 hours. A reduction of 48 hours, at the generous allowance of eight hours a day, was made for sleep. The total distance to be flown was 2152 miles, accomplished in reasonable conditions with ease in 26 hours of flying. Hours available for sight-seeing and refreshment amounted to 70, or nearly 12 hours a day. The places to be seen were well worth that expenditure. of time—Bagdad, Ur of the Chaldees, Babylon, Ctesiphon, Samara, Mosul (the ancient Nineveh), Jerusalem, Palmyra, Damascus, Acre, and Petra. And no ground traveller could possibly manage the trip within the week. OIL IN THE LABORATORIES. Some of the most important work done for flying in British laboratories recently has been directed to the improvement of niineral lubricating oils intended lor use in aero engines. Earlier mineral oils suffered from ' a tendency to deposit a "kind of sludge after prolonged circulation through an engine, and more than one big flight was delayed because this sludge clogged up the oil-feed pipes. Among the new oils, produced after careful research and elaborate experiment, which do not “ sludge ” is a mineral base oil prepared by the Shell Company which contains a sma’l percentage of fatty matter and is produced by entirely novel and special processes. Now the formidable test of 300 hours running with the oil in a powerful Bristol “ Jupiter " supercharged aircooled radial motor has confirmed that the oil is free from “ sludging ’’ defects. The test included 30 hours on the (dynamometer at maximum rated engine speed and the 57 hours at the end of the run were gone through at no less than 2000 revolutions a minute. The engine was stripped for inspection at the end of 60, 150, and 300-hour periods. On each occasion the engine bearing surfaces were in excellent condition, although oil consumption was notably small, and there was little carbon deposit. “ HIGH PERFORMANCE ” AIR LINER. Improved performance of a well-liked commercial aeroplane, the Westland “ Wessex ” monoplane, has been gained by fitting three engines more powerful than the original power units. Craft of this kind are used extensively by Imperial Airways and by Sabena, the Belgian air transport company, and the addition of power makes the new “ high model suitable for flying .over mountainous territory, while the cruising speed is considerably increased. The new motors are seven-cylinder “Genet Major" air-cooled radial engines, each developing 140 h.p. Thus equipped the " Wessex ” cruises at 105 miles an hour and has a top speed of approximately 120 m.p.h., and the service “ceiling” is 14.000 feet. The standard machine has , three five-cylinder 105 h.p. “ Genet Major ” engines. Improved performance is obtained without affecting the pay-load, the structure of the machine being strengthened to withstand the greater stresses and - weight of the new motors. .Comfortable accommodation is provided in the enclosed cabin for a pilot and five or six passengers. Tfie 1931 models, in car parlrince, of both the standard and high performance “ Wessex ” embody detail refinements simplifying the pilot’s task and making it easier-and less fatiguing. New balanced ailerons give light lateral control and the pilot’s windscreen provides greatly enhanced visibility in bad weather conditions. A tail wheel instead of sldd, facilitating manoeuvres on the ground, is also standard equipment. 50,000 MILES A YEAR. More than 100,000 miles flown in two years is the achievement of G-EBYG, the first Short “ Calcutta ” flying boat delivered to Imperial Airways for operation of the Mediterranean sections of the air route to the East. The machine, which is to be superseded in the Mediterranean by the larger fourmotored “Kent” boats, is coming off the service-for overhaul. She is in excellent condition and good for many more years of service. The operational statistics show 1160 hours spent in the air and distance flown of 104,400 miles. During the years ou service the machine was never in a hangar, but was anchored out day and night, subjected to extremes of temperature and widely varying weather conditions. Like all other “ Calcutta ” boats, GEBVG is a biplane deriving power from three 500 h.p, “Jupiter" air-cooled radial engines. She has accommodation in a spacious saloon cabin for 15 passengers and half a ton of mails, and urgent freight can be carried in a special compartment. The Royal Air Force employs similar machines, modified for service use, and last year the French Government paid a great tribute to the excellence of British flying boat design by ordering two “ Calcutta ” boats for the equipment of the French naval air arm. French experts frankly admitted that no boats comparable with the “ Calcutta ” were built in France.

sioner went on to speak of the Maori people. “ There never has been and there never will be a disloyal Maori. What a wonderful tribute to the ability and the forethought of those who drew up the Treaty of Waitangi.” FLAGS AT HALF-MAST. the subject of the industrial condition of this country, the High Commissioner again hammered home his warning of lack of confidence. “ I do not think there can be shadows,” he said, "unless there is a bright light shining somewhere. I believe the old story that trade follows the flag, but I do not think trade follows the flag if it is flown at half-mast. It is the melancholy face that is always stung by the bees.” This was a country of character without corruption, and with plenty of money, plenty of frozen capital, which would produce_ a different situation if made to, flow in the channels of enterprise. New Zealand was suffering from an economic 'blizzard just as every other country in the world. New Zealand looked upon it as a passing wrinkle. They were not afraid. "I believe, and I say so with all the authority of my office, that no investment to-day is more certain and solid than the investments concerned with my little country. Our 5 per cent. Stock went up 9 points three weeks after the earthouake disaster. We are not afraid of the future. We have got men who arc readv to tackl" the problems. We cuttintr «nr coats according to our cloth.” Sir William Pirdwood proposed “The President, the Prince of Wales.” Lord OuennsboVongh submitted “The Pnval Society of Rt, George.” and Sir J. Fortoseue Flannery proposed the chairman’s health.