AVIATION NOTES

Southland Times, Issue 25312, 15 June 1935, Page 19

AVIATION NOTES

” (By “Contact.”) Fixtures. Sunday, June 23.—Monthly bombing and landing competitions. Club News. Owing to the inclemency of the weather there has been no flying for the past week, which is the longest spell, of inaction for some considerable time. As there is the possibility of the aerodrome being unfit for use during this week-end the monthly flying competitions have been postponed until tomorrow week, June 23rd. This will be the final competition for the President’s trophy so that all pilots are expected, to participate. Lunch to Sir Macpherson Robertson. Sir Macpherson Robertson, K.8.E., was the guest of honour at a luncheon given last month by the Royal Aero Club, which was supported by the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Air League of the British Empire, and the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. Lord Gorell, the Chairman of the Royal Aero Club, presided. Lord Londonderry, Secretary of State for Air, proposing the health of Sir Macpherson, said that if they were to believe all the criticism they had heard—and he himself welcomed criticism—then Sir Macpherson Robertson was the man who might be said to have awoken the Air Ministry out of a somnelent condition! He felt that Sir Macpherson was to be thanked very much indeed for stimulating interest in aviation, and for the strides made since last October, which; were the outcome of the race.

Sir Macpherson himself, in reply, said he did not think that when he suggested the race two years ago it would turn out to be so successful. He thought that within the next eighteen months mails would be delivered between England and Australia in between five and seven days. What, however, puzzled him was why it had been left to a confectioner to stimulate air transport! The King at R.A.F. Review. H.M. the King will visit Mildenhall on l, to inspect the assembling of‘'the squadrons which will fly past him at Duxford on July 6. Some speculation is rife as to what uniform his Majesty will wear on these occasions. He is an Admiral of the Fleet and a Field Marshal, but he has never assumed the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force. On the other hand, he is described as “Chief of the Royal Air Force,” and it is argued that this implies a rank higher than Marshal of the Royal Air Force, and requires a separate uniform. Long ago the King was photographed in the war-time khaki uniform of the R.A.F., with “wings,” but he has never yet worn the blue uniform. From Commerce to Defence.

A business man, after loiig years in the City, does not usually' spend his declining years as a soldier; yet such is the fortunate lot of three D.H. “Hercules” passenger aeroplanes which, after they had been supplanted by the “Atalanta” class, were sold for a Tow price by Imperial Airways to the South African Air Force. They are used as troop-carriers, and each machine can carry fourteen men. One of them was also used recently in a campaign to destroy locusts, the seats being taken out to make room for the sprayer.

Leaded Fuel in Engine Trials. Fresh proof of the endurance of Pegasus motors —and endurance is a quality in which British aero engines are unequalled is forthcoming in reports that have followed completion of acceptance and Service trials by the first Saunders-Roe A. 27. seaquiplane flying boat, several of which are being built for the Air Ministry. At the end of the trials, which involved 300 hours’ flying, the two Pegasus 111 motors were taken from the machine and returned to the Bristol works for close examination.

The demands made upon the engines were severe. Full-load climbs, fullthrottle trials to ascertain level speed attainable* at different heights, flights with only one engine running, take-off experiments in rough water, and long duration flights were included in the programme. The engines were exposed all through the trials to the corroding effects of spray and of an atmosphere impregnated with salt. Nevertheless, from start to finish the engines proved thoroughly satisfactory. When they were stripped down, the internal condition of both engines was found to be very good. Pistons, rings, cylinder bores, valves and valve seats were all in excellent state, and only minor replacements—of washers, split pins, gaskets, felt rings and similar incidental components—were necessary. The Bristol experts noticed with particular satisfaction that the “high octane” fuel consumed throughout the trials had not adversely affected the internal condition of the engines. High “anti-knock” rating is secured by addition of a small quantity of a lead compound to the fuel. One Pound Per Horsepower.

Fourteen months of intensive development have produced the Bristol Pegasus Series X engine, which in the course of an official 100 hours’ test rim has recorded extraordinary figures in power output. The first “production series” batch of the new -unit is already in hand for delivery in the autumn for installation in new types of aeroplane, and full quantity production is scheduled for the spring of 1936. It has already be specified for a number of new aircraft, and considerable orders for it have been received from continental countries for delivery next year. It will supplant in the Bristol range the Pegasus 111 engine which was put into production in the autumn of 1933. The new engine is notable for extremely high performances and lour ratio of structural weight to power de-

velopment. Like the Pegasus 111., which has exactly similar cylindrical capacity, it is a moderately supercharged 9-cylinder radial air-cooled engine, maintaining full power up to a height of 6,000 feet above sea level. Its net weight is 9951 b, and power available for take-off at normal engine speed of 2250 r.p.m. is 920 h.p. In other , every horsepower is produced by I.oBlb of engine—an engineering achievement which is paralleled only m short-life racing aero engines that cannot fairly be compared with a production type. Maximum power output at 6000 feet up is 875 h.p. Average endurance powers- during the test run were 710 h.p. for ninety hours (engine speed 2250 r.pm.), 888 h.p. for nine hours (engine speed 1140 r.p.m. and 795 h.p. for one hour. Oil consumption throughout the test averaged just over 10 pints an hour. An engine of outstanding performance, yet economical in fuel consumption and able to run for hundreds of hours between overhauls, is the reward of effort inspired by unexcelled engineering knowledge and imagination. Incidentally, the new engine employs exactly the same fuel as the Bristol engines that are now in production, the “87 octane” leaded petrol that is standard fuel of the Royal Air Force.

Aerial Garden Party. Seventeen hundred guests of the Royal Aeronautical Society watched a display of flying at the Fairey aerodrome, Heath Row, recently which left no room for doubt of the high efficiency of the modern British civilian and aeroplane. The occasion was the Society’s garden party, which in this Jubilee year has taken pride of place as the first great aerial event of the season. More than fifty aeroplanes took part, in the flying demonstration, presented for inspection in a “park” at the side of the aerodrome, or as vehicles for the transport of guests to >and from the party. One of the hangars housed an interesting exhibition of aero engines, and of aircraft parts and materials. Outstanding in the aerobatic evolutions were the “turns” given by four military aircraft—three single-seat fighters and one light bomber —though to the expert eye the flying of the small civil craft was equally pleasing But, as always, the high-powered warplanes provided the supreme moments of the display, their 700 h.p. engines enabling the pilots to execute breathtaking upward rolls, rocket climbs and dives at more than 300 miles an hour. Flight Lieut. C. S. Staniland in the Fairey Firefly, Flight Lieut. C. K. Turner-Hughes in the Armstrong Whitworth Scimitar, and Mr C. A. Washer in the Bristol Bulldog, showed off admirably the qualities of the single-seat fighters. Flight Lieut. P. G. Lucas was impressive in the Hawker Hart. This aeroplane is a recent version of the world-famous day bomber. Its external structure has been “cleaned up” and its streamlining improved. Streamlined cases enclose the wheels. Power is derived from one of the latest RollsRoyce Kestrel glycol-cooled engines. Its maximum level speed, attained at a height of 15,000 feet, was revealed on Sunday to be 210 miles an hour, which classes it easily with the fastest multiseat warplanes in the world. An unusual incident was the arrival of Mr G. E. Collins in a glider from Reading, about twenty miles away. Mr Collins, who holds the British gliding distance record of 981 miles, had arranged to be towed to a height of 4000 feet over Reading. At a height of 2000 feet the towing cable parted, but he determined to continue the journey. Helping wind was negligible. On the way to Heath Row, he gained another 2000 feet in height, and descended over the aerodrome in a series of tight turns. In spite of the mishap at the start he arrived only five minutes behind the time listed on the programme. New Heavy Bomber.

Dominating the aircraft “park” was one of the new Fairey Hendon monoplane long range bombers, for which the Air Ministry has placed a substantial order. Since it was last seen in public—at the S.B.A.C, Display, 1934— this formidable twin-engined giant has been much improved. Alterations immediately apparent are the enclosed roof for the pilots’ compartment and the cupola top for the forward gunner’s cockpit in the extreme nose of the fuselage. Three-bladed airscrews are fitted to the Kestrel motors, in place of the usual twobladed screws; adoption of three-bladed screws reduces the diameter of the disc swept by the blades and is believed to increase efficiency because it eliminates the moment—inevitable in every revolution of a two-bladed screw —when the blades lie exactly parallel with the leading edge of the wings. New Fast Air Liners.

Two special models of the Avro Type 642 monoplane air-liner are announced. The prototype machine powered with two Siddeley Jaguar 460 h.p. radial engines, attracted much notice when it was first flown about a year ago because of its high performance’ and exceptional operational economy. Carrying a full load of sixteen passengers and cruising at 135 m.p.h., the first Type 642 craft proved capable of working at the extremely low cost of about one shilling per ton/mile, or one penny per passenger/mile. A similar machine, with four Lynx motors, was built to the order of the Viceroy of India and is now employed in the transport of the Viceroy and his staff on official journeys. Both of the new models are considerably faster than their predecessors. The “Speed” model, powered with two Siddeley Panther engines supercharged to give 560 h.p. at normal engine speed at a height of 6000 feet, attains a maximum level speed of 175 m.p.h., and the “Express” model, with two Panther units supercharged more heavily to develop similar power at a height of 12,000 feet, reaches 190 miles an hour when flying level 13,500 feet up. Economical cruising speeds are 150 and 160 m.p.h. respectively. Each machine is intended for the carriage of twelve passengers and a crew of two, in addition to 400 pounds of baggage, radio and other equipment. Normal cruising range is about 500 miles, which can be considerably increased by using full tankage and slightly reducing payload. Figures of performance expected of the “express” model include a service “ceiling” of 25,300 feet and an absolute “ceiling” of 26,800 feet. Climb fromtsea-level to 15,000 feet takes 16.8 minutes with full load on board. Gross weight of each of the new models is 12,500 pounds. ’ll Sleeve-valved Engines.

Four of the new Bristol Perseus sleeve-valved engines which have excited much technical interest in this country and abroad will be substituted in an Imperial Airways liner this year for the poppet-valved motors at present fitted and submitted to exhaustive trials in regular service. More than a year has been spent already in attempts to find weak spots in the new powerplant. Results of those tests are completely satisfactory, but the Bristol company, faithful to its custom, intends that there shall be no possibility of trouble with the engines and further tests, including the Imperial Airways experiment, are planned before the engine is put into production. The Perseus motors will probably be installed in one of the large Short Scylla biplanes employed bn the cross-Channel services. Comparative figures showing the actual performance of the Scylla with its estimated performance when Perseus-equipped show marked advantages for the sleeve-valved engines. Cruising speed should be eight miles an hour higher, requiring about 60 h.p. more in cruis-

ing output from each Perseus engine than is taken from the Jupiter poppetvalved motors, and yet the fuel consumption of the four Perseus units is expected to be two gallons an hour less. Range with full tanks is increased by the substitution by fifty miles. The service "ceiling” is up by a thousand feet. Higher power output on less fuel is one chief advantage sought in the sleeve-valved design. Others are simplicity of manufacture, greater allround efficiency, and elimination of maintenance work demanded by the poppet-valved motor. The sleevevalved engine, which lacks the valvesprings, push rods and other essential mechanism of the poppet valve, contains extremely few component parts; the number of cylinder components is about one-eighth of the number of parts of the equivalent poppet-valved cylinder. Further, absence of the poppet-valved mechanism enables higher engine rotational speeds to be safely and effectively employed. When the Perseus engine first went through the 100 hours’ official trial, followed by two periods of fifty hours’ running on weak fuel mixture and at high power respectively, no adjustment or “servicing” of the engine was needed, not even to the extent of removing spark plugs for examination. Consumption of fuel and oil was lower than had been recorded with . any comparable poppet-valved engine, and power output was higher. England-Italy Air Service. Rome and Brindisi were brought within one day of London by a new service which Imperial Airways inaugurated on April 28. It is .operated twice weekly in each direction, and is planned to afford advantages to the traveller equivalent to those secured for the steamship passenger by the existence of a train service to Marseilles which eliminates the long sea journey to and from England through the Straits of Gibraltar.

The new arrangement follows the recent granting of permission by the French government for British commercial aircraft engaged on the Empire air mail services to fly across France. Unfortunately, it does not allow of acceleration of the Empire mail schedules, because the bulk of the passengers and mails still have to travel by train between Paris and Brindisi. But it enables a certain number of travellers to leave London nearly a day later than the normal service, and overtake at Brindisi one outward mail for Australia and one for Africa each week; on the homeward run passengers who shrink from the 34-hour journey in the train from Brindisi to Paris may do the journey to London in the course of one day’s flying. De Havilland D. H. 86 four-engined biplanes, which cruise at 145-150 miles an hour, operate the new services. Six passengers only are carried, permitting the lifting of sufficient fuel to provide an ample margin for the longest non-stop stage between London and Brindisi. The outward bound machine is scheduled to leave London at 6 a.m., and, after stops at Paris, Marseilles and Rome, to reach Brindisi at 5.45 p.m., thus flying nearly 1400 miles in 11J hours. Under the terms of the agreement with the French Government goods and passengers may not be carried and set down between London and Marseilles. Cargo may be carried between London and Italy, or picked up at Marseilles for transport to Rome or Brindisi, and the new service affords, therefore, a new means of quiclfr transport in Europe, apart from its connection with the Empire route. Single fares between London and the two Italian halts are little more than first-class rail fare, and the time for the LondonRome journey is cut to less than nine hours, compared with thirty hours bytrain and boat. 1