THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR

Otago Witness, Issue 3864, 3 April 1928, Page 10

THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR

By A British Correspondent. (Special for the Otago Witness.) LONDON’S NEW AIRPORT. A visit to London’s air port at Croydon makes it clear that, in its latest guise, it compares favourably with any of the European air termini. The ”ew aerodrome buildings were opened to the public at the end of January, and passengers soon discovered the comfort they afford. From the big central block of offices they can now walk out on to concrete paving, where the machines are drawn up, so that they no longer have mud or dust to contend with before embarking. All the air transport companies have booking offices in the central hall, where travellers can study the weather conditions prevailing over the Continental air routes by means of a large meteorological map. Needless to say wireless plays a great part in,the equipment of the aerodrome. I’he duty officer, for instance, is in wireless touch with all the routes from Europe which serve Croydon, and has full powers of control over all flying operatic) s in the vicinity of the aerodrome itself. By means of direction-finding apparatus, the required information can be conveyed to a pilot calling for a bearing. Actually, although the control is at the .-.erodrome itself, the transmitting station is some two miles away, and thus any obstruction by masts is avoided.

The duty officer is really in control, bv means of wireless, of the whole of the air routes within a 2500 miles radius of London, and can thus render valuable assistance to pilots on their journeys with information of the latest changes in the weather or warnings of other aircraft on converging courses which. und,r certain conditions, might involve risk of collision. HUGE HANGARS FOR DIRIGIBLES. The adequate housing of aircraft is a problem involving various difficulties, and when the size of the latest dirigibles is considered it will be realised that their hangars are of colossal proportions. At Howden. for instance, where the rigid airship RlOO is now nearing completion, the shed, if- it may be so styled, is '7soft long, 156 ft high, and has a total floor area of 8| acres. It is said that this great -essel of 5,000,000 c. ft. capacity, with a gross lift of 156 tons will only weigh, as far as the structure is concerned, some 83 tons. Hetengines arc, of course, 750 RollsRoyce. An interesting feature of thf> framework is that it is almost exclusively constructed in duralumin. — A REVOLUTIONARY ENGINE. The RlOl, which is being built by the Royal Airship Works at Cardington possesses a framework largely built of stainless steel. s The engines of this vessel will be of a type using crude oil fuel,'and developed by William Beardmore & Co. Known as the “ Tornado,” this motor runs on a form' of cheap crude oil costing something like a quarter of the price of the aviation petrol used in existing aero engines. Of 650 h.p. •t dispenses with carburettor, sparking plugs, and magneto. Tlie performance of this type will certainly be watched with more than ordinary for its extensive equipment

would, among other things, result in cheaper air travel. SURVE? BY AIRCRAFT.

One of the fields in which there is a rapidly growing demand for aircraft is that of survey work, and a great deal has already been carried out in this direction in Canada, America, and Australia. Only recently the Great Barrier Reef, covering some 100,000 square miles off the coast of Australia, -was successfully surveyed by the Commonwealth Government by means of a fleet of Supermarine-Napier Amphibian machines. Another big air survey Tas been concluded by the Anglo-Persian Oil Coy. in Papua with the aid of two SupermarineNapier “ Seagulls.” In the course of this an area of 10,000 sq. miles was covered with a view to investigating the general structure of formation in which oil had previously been discovered. Sir Alan Cobham’s ambitious 20,000 miles’ flight round the African continent is really in the nature of a survey flight in addition to its propaganda aims, for he has in mind the inauguration of various regular flying services in order <o link up the more important towns. His double flight between Entebbe on Lake Victoria and Khartoum, undertaken at the request of the East African Governments and the Colonial Office, was a fine achievement. He covered 2700 miles in four days, the longest stage being 820 miles from Khartoum to Hcngalla, which was flown in Bhr- 40min. Sir Alan is, of course, employing a Short-Rolls-Royce flying beat for his African tour, equipped with two “ Condor ” engines. A REMARKABLE PRODUCTION. Now that certain restrictions have been removed by the British Air Ministry, it is possible to give some details about the wonderful Napier Lion engine which made victory possible in the race for the Schneider Trophy last year. Like all the Napier Lions, this engine has 12 cylinders arranged in three blocks of four cylinders each. The bore is s|in and the stroke 54in. A feature is the exceptionally high ratio of 10 to 1. The overall dimensions are particularly interesting ; the height being 2ft 10|in, width 3ft 2-tin, and length sft 6£in, enabling it to be installed in aircrafthaving a small fuselage. Developing 875 h.p. at 3300 r.p.m., the engine only weighs 8351 b so that for every horse-power developed there is under one pound of weight. The oil consumption is about 3gal an hour, while it consumes fuel at tne rate of 50gal an hour. The winning Supermarine-Napier machine was actually fitted with an entirely new design double reduction spur rear. This did not alter the 1 frontal area or streamline TBhape of the aircraft, though it increased the weight to 1.051 b per h.p.’