SLOTS AND SAFE FLYING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17639, 1 December 1931, Page 3

SLOTS AND SAFE FLYING

USE OF THE ‘INTERCEPTOR', PILOT’S CONTROL AMPLIFIED LONDON, Oct. 20. Few single inventions in aviation of the last* few years have known the almost universal adoption given to the llnndlcy Page slots, a British wing device which has done much _to divest hca vier-tlmn-air flying of its greatest menace—the uncontrolled dive and spin following the “stall” (or loss of flying speed) 1 . At the moment when the main wings are beginning to lose their grip oil the air. when life angle of attack of the pla ue is nearing the critical point of steepness, the slots—tiny wing-shaped auxiliary lifting surfaces which in normal flight- lie snugly against the front edges of the main wings—move outwards on cranks. In that position the slots have the. curious property of restoring smoothness to the air-now over the structure and, therefore, lift to tho wingis. At first this device was invariably connected with the ailerons (or lateral controls) and operated mechanically by movements of the control lever, but nowadays the type, most generally employed works * entirely automatically. Since the days when the big advance, was made to automatic working the slotted wing has made great strides all over the world. Now a report issued by the Royal Aircrafl Establishment speaks most highly of one of the more recent developments of the slot idea, the “interceptor,” or “spoiler,” which is employed, absurdly enough at first- sight, to destroy the work of the slot at certain moments. The “interceptor” is a thin flat plate which rises behind the slot on one wing or the other when the machine is performing certain evolutions, such as might frequently be employed during an aerial “dog fight” between two fast war planes. The action of the slot on that side of the machine is thus temporarily killed and the pilot’s control is very much amplified. For example, the pilot may wish at any moment to pull, his machine instantly out of a stalled attitude into a normal flying posture; the quicker he can do so the greater is his chance of getting his adversary at a, disadvantage. The combination of slot and “interceptor” enables him to do so with certainty and safety.

Developments of this kind may seem at first sight rather far removed from the interests of the ordinary commercial 0,. private flyer. Improvement of aeroplane (iohlrol is, however,, a matter of vital importance in aviation. Much has hcen done, hut- something still remains for accomplishment; the “interceptor” represents one more step along the road to perfect and assured control at all speeds which aircraft designers have been trending since the beginnings of aeroplane flight... ..