Air Luxury

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 400, 7 July 1928, Page 10

Air Luxury

New Australian Liner BIG AS SOUTHERN CROSS Specifications have been completed by the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company, of Melbourne, for a saloon monoplane to seat ten passengers, specially designed for conditions on Australian aerial routes. For night flying the plane can be converted Into a sleeper with five sleeping berths. The designer of the monoplane is Mr. W. S. Shackleton, who arrived from London to join the Larkin Company last February, says the Melbourne "Herald.” Mr. Shackleton was chief designer for Beardmore’s, England, for many years. The new monoplane will be nearly as big as the Southern Cross. Passengers will be accommodated in a saloon in the fuselage 13 feet long, 6 feet high, and 5 feet wide. Luggage and mails will be carried in separate locked compartment*. Pilot Sits With Passengers Usually pilots have a special cockpit to themselves in passenger planes, but in this monoplane the pilot will sit in the saloon with the passengers, who can watch him at the controls. The pilot’s seat and controls are In front of the saloon, surrounded by glass screens for protection from the weather. These screens are fitted with windscreen wipers to facilitate vision, and the windows immediately at the pilot’s side may be opened if desired. The whole of the fuselage is of steel tubular construction without welded joints. No wire rigging is necessary, and the machine may be dismantled simply by unscrewing nuts and bolts. The single air-cooled engine is of more than 400 h.p., and the airscrew is of metal. The complete engine unit may be dismantled by disconnecting six bolts and the controls. A feature of the construction is the unusually wide track of the undercarriage, which is of the split axle type, to ensure the maximum margin of safety in landing. Independent non-locking brakes are operated on the wheels in conjunction with the rudder. The saloon will compare favourably with the latest luxury air-liners of Europe. It will be lined the full length with glass windows. In addition to the general electric dome lighting in the roof, each passenger will have an adjustable reading lamp to himself. The standard seating accommodation will be lounge chairs with adjustable leg and back supports, and mounted in a way to minimise vibration. There will be a special instrument board in full view of the passengers so that they can see how the plane is being flown. The saloon is heated and ventilated by regulators on a switchboard, and each passenger has his own collapsible table. Other features include a loud speaker (through which the pilot can describe points of interest), electric fans, and a double skin over the saloon to obviate “drumming.” The interior of the saloon is lined with sliky oak. The new plane will be used on the company's air routes.