SLOW FLYING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17436, 7 April 1931, Page 11

SLOW FLYING

SAFER, EASIER, CHEAPER AIR-PLODDING AT 85 M.P.H. LOW LANDING SPEED LONDON, Feb. 9. "This aeroplane can fly slowly," will he the, leading line in living advertisements ore long. Many designers of private touring aeroplanes are aiming at the production of two-seaters of a moderate cruising speed- say 80 miles per hour—and with a landing speed of 30 ju.p.h. or less. There is reason to believe that the market for private aeroplanes would become much wider if such machines were brought to the notice of the public, and undoubtedly many people dislike the last landing speed of some aeroplanes, for it calls for some skill and has the disadvantage of compelling the pilot every moment to keep in mind and eye a suitable 1 landing-place in case, of an emergency. MODERATE CRUISING SPEED Speed is, of course, a desirable quality, but it has perhaps been overemphasised, whilst most aeroplane contests are races. Vet when it is considered that until quite lately British air liners had no greater cruising speed than about 85 m.p.b. and were able to fly with a- high degree of regularity, such a speed, or even a slightly lower speed, should content many pilots who do not wish to fly when there is a gale oi wind. An aeroplane with a very low landing speed can be brought down almost anywhere, to obtain petrol, when, byreason of its slow progress against a bead wind, it exhausts fuel before it makes the end of its journey. Higher landing speeds do not distress the professional pilot, but Sir l Erie Ueddes, the chairman of Imperial Airways, pointed out in a speech at Cambridge last week (hat experience had shown that British air liners which, by comparison with most of the foreigners, have a low landing speed, have a better record for safety owing to tins quality, and that as a result their insurance costs less.

in the olt'ieial report on the Martlesham tests by the Air Ministry of the

"Redwing" two-seater (side-by-side) biplane it is noted significantly that it

"would need very bad piloting" to get this machine into trouble. That is what the designers bad in view, and a 1000miles tour on it has just been carried out in very wintry weather by Captain I'. <!. Itohinson. who in the course of the tour secured a number of orders. TYPES OF MACHINES The "Redwing," is fitted with the 00-SS h.p. Armstrong Siddeley "Genet" engine. Its price, £575, is much Jess than that of high-speed light aeroplanes. Although not a slolted-wing mac-bine, it is fully controllable, even when only 33 miles per hour is shown by the air speed indicator, and it can therefore land safely in a small field. L'roof of the existence of a demand For low-speed, easy-flying aircraft is afforded by Ihe fact thai several Klenim light aeroplanes (a (lerman design) are used by British pilots. The .Klenim has a speed-range of about 28-85 miles per hour.

In the United States a Ourlis-Wrighl machine at £3OO, with a 40 h.p. engine, has a speed-range of 28-70 miles per hour. This is a very light pusher type, and probably would not be quite robust or fast enough for Irving British conditions, but it is another indication of the very desirable attention now being given everywhere, to the importance of really popularising Hying by making it safer and easier.