WELLINGTON VICKERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23730, 10 February 1939, Page 12

WELLINGTON VICKERS

FLIGHT TO NEW ZEALAND PILOTS BEING TRAINED (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON. Jan. 12. . New Zealanders now serving in the Royal Air Force will take part in formation delivery flights, planned by the New Zealand Government to begin in a few months’ time, of powerful “ geodetic ” long-range bombers for the Dominion Air Force. The selected pilots and navigators will all receive special instruction, including a course in celestial navigation, which materially helped the British flyers who, in November, broke the world distance record by flying non-stop from Egypt to Austrslis. New Zealand’s intention to acquire a fleet of some 30 Vickers Wellington bombers was announced in Auckland last year. These are twin-engined monoplanes, similar in 'their novel “ basketwork ” building to the Wellesley aircraft which hold the distance record, but larger and fasteirthan they ’are, and capable of even longer non* stop journeys. - ‘ • Wing Commander O. H. Gayford, commander of the Long Range Development Flight, R.A.F., has stated that a Wellington might be prepared to fly without alighting from England to Australia —a distance of approximately 10,000 miles, as compared with the 7350 miles actually flown by the Wellesleys. * ■ »■■ * The Wellington is now in great production for the Royal Air Force. Its structure conforms to the ingenious geodetic design invented by Mr B. N. Wallis, which seeks to combine great strength and rigidity with light structural weight. Achievements during 19cl8 of Wellesley monoplanes, the first ' allgeodetic aircraft, justified claims made for the invention, which may be briefly described as the concentration of structural material 'in members that follow geodetic (shortest possible) lines about the surfaces of wings,and fusilage. • • , > Experiments show, state the Vickers experts, that the forces imposed on art aeroplane fuselage or wing may be adequately met by two balancing spirals of these “geodetic” members, thereby constituting a form of interlacing basket-like framework of lightweight but enormous inherent strength. Two Bristol Pegasus engines provide power in the original Wellington. It .is also scheduled for equipment with two other types of - power-plant, and in one form will have two ’of the Hercules air-cooled sleeve-valve units of which a moderately supercharged form develops no less than 1375 h.p. Power of this order will be reflected' in great load capacity and extremely high speed. A shapely and powerfullyarmed aeroplane, the Wellington may carry a crew of four or seven men', according to the military mission entrusted to it.