AVIATION NOTES

Southland Times, Issue 22489, 25 January 1935, Page 12

AVIATION NOTES

(By “Contact.”) SOUTHLAND AERO CLUB. Fixtures. Sunday, February 3, at 14.30 hrs— Bombing and landing competitions postponed from January 13. Sunday, February 17, at 14.30 hrs— Monthly competitions and pilots’ meeting in the clubhouse. Saturday, March 2—North Island Aero Pageant at Masterton. Club News.

The unfavourable and boisterous weather which prevailed during last week-end not only caused a postponement in the new series of flying competitions, but also prevented any possibility of first solo flights by the three advanced trainees —R. Watson, J. McMillan and R. Hyndman. General flying activities and dual instruction were carried out, notwithstanding the high winds, but conditions in the air were not very pleasant. Pilot A. Mclntosh gave his usual display of stunting, both on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and was extremely unfortunate, when flying on Sunday was concluded, to have an extremely heavygust of wind catch his plane when on the ground, causing damage to the propeller. However, a spare “prop” has been secured and the “Bell Bird” will be in the air again this week-end. The Fox Moth cabin plane, under.the capable pilotage of Ground Engineer A. N. Patterson, continues to attract passenger flights of varying duration. During last week this machine made 26 flights carrying 39 passengers, four of the trips being over the Lakes and Fiord country, so much admired by overseas tourists. Eight trainees in W. Hastings, W. Johnston, J. Young, J. Gilbert, J. McMillan, R. Hyndman, R. Watson and J. Mathieson should all be ready for their “A” license tests before March 31. The first three mentioned pupils are already “soloists” and the remainder are not far away.

By mistake, the new Gore trainee was misnamed L. Young, whereas it is L. Wilson, of that town, who is the latest recruit to aviation circles. This pupil, in company with Pilots F. Wallis and A. Williamson, motored down from Gore on Sunday, to enjoy a spell in the air. Pilot D. Cross also visited the aerodrome during the week. A return trip to Nightcaps was made by Pilot G. Excell, who has not been seen at the controls for a considerable period. Another comparative stranger in F. Finlayson showed on Saturday that he still knew how to fly a plane. Although the date of the South Island Aero Pageant at Nelson is not yet known, there is every prospect that the three club planes will be making the trip north. Pilots desirous of visiting either the North or South Island Pageants are requested to advise the club captain or Flight-Lieutenant Smith. Nine of the fourteen semi-finalists have undertaken their second test flights in the Southland Times Flying Scholarship and as these tests have to be completed on or before Sunday, 27th instant, the remaining five candidates are urged to make sure of taking their flights this week-end. Engine Compression Ratios. Since the introduction of ethyl fuels into New Zealand, the relation between higher compression ratios and increased horsepower has become more generally understood. Given an engine with a variable compression ratio, it follows that the higher the compression pressure the greater will be the power output and the efficiency of the engine. To-day, modern automotive engines have compression ratios 50 per cent, higher than those of ten years ago, and produce a relative increase in power. A most striking example of this factor is provided by the two types of Lycoming R-680 aero engines. Both models, the R-680 and R-680-5 are nine-cylin-der, radial, air-cooled engines with the same cubic capacity of 680.4 cubic inches. The bore of 4.625 inches and stroke of 4.5 inches is also common to both units, yet one develops 215 brake horsepower and the other 260 brake horsepower, or an increase in power output of 21 per cent. The variable factors which permit this inconsistency are the compression ratios of the engines, and the types of fuel used. The R6BO of 215 b.h.p. has a compression ratio of 5.3:1 and can use a low grade fuel of 58 octane, which is below the standard of the ordinary petrols sold in New Zealand. On the other hand, the R-680-5 engine has a compression ratio of 6.5:1 and requires an ethyl fuel of 80 octane. Most aero engine and even some car manufacturers, are now providing for this obvious disparity in the quality of fuels, by stipulating whether or not an ethyl petrol must be used, according to the compression ratio of the power unit.

American Speed Plane. One of the outstanding racing aircraft at the recent national air race meeting at Cleveland, U.S.A., was the Brown racer, named Miss Los Angeles. The Brown Aircraft Company developed the machine to compete with the larger and more powerful racing types in the national premier speed event. The development of the Brown racer is also said to be significant from a military standpoint, as it is the forerunner of a small pursuit plane under development by this company. The power unit is the Menasco Buccaneer” engine which is rated at 272 h.p. at 2500 r.p.m., but actually develops about 300 h.p. at a top speed of 2900 r.p.m. This supercharged engine represents the very latest design, but as it is a special model built for this racer it is not yet available for commercial use. The engine mounting is built integral with the rigid welded steel tube fuselage structure and covered with aluminium sheet. The conventional fabric covering is used for wing, fuselage, . and control surfaces, the fuselage being carefully designed to fit both engine and pilot, and is only 27 inches across at the widest point and has a maximum depth of 34J inches. The wire braced wing and landing gear are remarkably clean, and the landing wheel struts also serve as wing-brace members, leaving the airwheels as the only element of pure parasitic drag. . This diminutive low-wing monoplane has a wing span of only 19ft 3in, and overall length of 19ft lOin, but has an unusually high wing loading of 21.561 b per square foot, capable of a maximum speed of 250 m.p.h. Flaps controlled by a direct action single lever in the cockpit reduce the landing speed to between 50 and 60 m.p.h. From the specifications, this machine appears much faster and more efficient than British counterparts, such as the Percival Mew Gull or the Compter Streak. New Radio Air Compass.

The Westport Manufacturing Company, makers of the well-known Westport aircraft radio, has developed an automatic radio compass for civil use. The compass consists of an. indicating dial mounted in the cockpit, a conventional Westport aircraft radio receiver, a compass converter-unit, a dynamo and a loop antenna mounted on the fuselage. The complete assembly, including cables, weighs less than fortyfive pounds, while the receiver and converter unit measure only 12in x 7|in x HJin overall. When within range, a pilot may time in on a broadcast station by listening through the earphones in the customary manner. If the machine is headed directly towards the station the indicating needle on the dial points to O. If the machine is slightly off the course, the needle points right or left as the case might be. In addition to enabling a pilot to fly direct to a radio station, the compass

gives him all the information necessary to obtain his exact position over land or sea. To do this, he tunes in to several different stations, determines their direction, and by a system of triangulation, plots the position of his machine.