Britain's Giant Sea-Planes for World Routes Early Launching of Air Liners Planned.

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20845, 1 July 1939, Page 24 (Supplement)

Britain's Giant Sea- Planes for World Routes Early Launching of Air Liners Planned.

A 31-ton four-engined land plane designed for maximum speed of more than 330 miles an hour at heights in the region of 2 5,000 feet, only four thousand feet below the summit of Everest, world's highest mountain, is one of the six giant new airliners in construction at the Short .factory. This “stratosphere” aeroplane and two sister craft which will operate at lower levels are intended for long-stage flying on Britain’s main overseas air routes. The great speed f\nd range of more than 3000 miles non-stop will enable express services to be worked across the world in a fraction of the times now necessary. Emergence of the new landplanes will be preceded by the launching of three seaplane airliners of similar tonnage. The first of these, bearing the name Grenadier, is scheduled to begin flying trials next month; its successors—Golden Hind and Grenville —will go down the slipway at intervals of a few weeks. Equipped with tankage sufficient for non-stop journeys of 3200 miles, the new seaplanes are planned for three categories of airline operation with varying payload. First, they may carry a heavy load of mails hut no passengers. The second version provides for carriage of six passengers, in addition to mails and freight; and the third for 2i passengers, mails and freight. Incidentally, over stages of approximately a thousand miles Grenadier and her sister ships could carry a payload of no less that 12 tons—equivalent to 120 passengers and their luggage. Construction of the Grenadier is nearly finished. Wings and tail planes have been attached to the flying-boat, hull. Installation of the four powerful air-cooled sleeve-valve engines has been successfully tested. Short Empire flying-boats, and their military counterparts the Sundcrlands, which are also in assembly in the same huge workshop, are dwarfed by the mighty bulk of the three new airliners. On stocks to one side rests the future Grenville, to-day a skeleton of metal resting on a wooden keel and held upright in stays like a ship in a dockyard. More advanced, Golden Hind has her hull practically complete; her wings are now being covered with sheets of light metal.

Sky Giant Only in close proximity, however, may the real size of the new craft be appreciated, because their external lines have that harmony and proportion which invariably diminishes the visual impression of huge dimensions. It is necessary to scale a 30-foot ladder to reach the lop of the great metal

four streamlined nacelles are built independently of the main wing structure, and slip straight into position in the leading edge of the wings. Similarly, the engines may be readily attached to, or detached from, the nacelles. Constant speed airscrews—aviation’s analogy with an Infinitely variable gear in a road vehicle—are fitted. Cruising

hull. From this eminence, dully gleaming metal wings extend on either side to a total span of 134 feet. Tne tapering shape of the hull accentuates the perspective resulting from its 101 feet of length. The sky ship's towering tail fin is higher than the workshop door, and must he fitted after the aircraft is moved into the open air. .Men who will fly across oceans and continents in these craft may perhaps fail to appreciate the complexity and the real inherent beauty of veritable j masterpieces of engineering. The time . to understand the work that has gone into their construction is now, before I the metal skin hides from vie\V all ol I the internal structure. Looking through the interior of the wings of the “ Golden Hind ” one gets the same impression of marshalled strength as is j given by a view along the Forth Bridge —of a cunningly devised and harmonious structure of powerful struts, braces, ties and robust metal members capable -of' supporting the thrust of the mighty engines, the severe buffets of rough and “bumpy” ! weather, and the lifting forces acting j on the wing surfaces when the huge flying-boat rises from the water and climbs to operational height. On benches alongside are set out the tremendous wing-flaps and ailerons, each as large as the complete wing of many a light aeroplane. ✓ | Reducing Head Resistance The smooth and beautifully streamlined exterior tells eloquently of the advanced state of British aeronautical engineering, which rests on a basis of j unrivalled aerodynamical knowledge, j Every care lias been taken to minimise | Imad resistance. All of the thousands J of external rivets are sunk flush with their surrounds, to reduce surface friction as the liner cruises at three I miles a. minute through the air. Where j two metal plates meet and overlap, ; the one is joggled or indented so that when riveted the final joint is perfectly smooth and the surface unbroken. Mooring bolards, flag mast, and landing search light are arranged to swivel inwards when not in use into compartments inside the skin, leaving a smooth, “low drag” exterior, j The engine>—Bristol Hercules 14j cylinder units which develop between them more than 5300 horse power for take-off—are mounted to facilitate I rapid installation or dismantling. The

speed of 180 miles per hour needs only 70 per cent of the available engine power. “Stratosphere” Airliner No class name is yet alloted the new landplane airliners, which are at present known by their specification number “14/38”. Their design includes twin rudders and a fuselage which is exactly circular in cross section, and longtitudinaily lias a streamlined section similar to an elongated rain drop. The first, and second of these crafts are planned to carry 14 to 18 passengers ut moderate heights over distances up to more than 3000 miles non-stop. Their maximum speed will.be approximately 280 miles per hour at 5000 feet; cruising speed will be nearly 250 miles per hour. Third in the line is the stratosphere airliner, which will cruise at 280 miles per hour with six passengers and heavy load in mails and freight 25,000 feet above sea-level—bringing America within six hours of Europe! Its maximum speed will exceed 330 rn.p.h., placing this 31-ton giant in the speed zones used by the fastest single-seat fighters yet in service. Its occupants will be protected from the physical effects of flight in the rarefied atmosphere of 25,000 feet and higher

Tankers Augment Payload and Range Technique of Mid-air Fuelling

by a special sealed cabin in which air will be maintained, by means of superchangers, at low level density. The need for a pressure cabin explains the choice of a fuselage with circular cross section, the shape which most readily withstands strains and stresses such as are set up by wide differences of atmospheric density inside and outside the aeroplane. Launching Operations The transfer from the slipway to the water of the Golden Hind is scheduled to take place within the next week or two. Three of these new flying-boats arc- in construction. Their loaded tonnage is approximately 32. They are driven by four sleevevalve engines, which develop between them maximum output of nearly 0000 horse-power. They are planned for three methods of airline operation, differing in payload. They may carry a big load of mails hut no passengers. Alternatively, they may carry six passengers, mails and freight; or 24 passengers, mails and freight. Their normal still-air ranee will be more than 3000 miles. Years of intensive re-search under the guidance of Sir Alan Cobham, famous for many pioneer Empire flights, preceded the adoption of mid-

cockpit. Nearly 1000 gallons of fuel may he taken on in less than 15 minutes, augmenting Hie laden weight of the trans-Atlantic seaplanes from 4G,0001b. to 53,U001b. The airliner takes off with partially filled tanks and sets a steady level course at safe height, which will vary according to the weather. The tanker pilot steers his craft to a position below and astern of the airliner. Upon his experienced shoulders rests responsibility for keeping distance and synchronising flying speeds. A weighted cable is trailed below and behind the airliner. Flying below the airliner, the tanker is brought at relatively slow speed up to the cable, which makes contact with the leading edge of the tanker's wing. Helped by the sweep back of 11 le wing, the cable slides along towards the wingtip, where it engages with a hook attached to which is another line passing to a winch in the tanker. An operator in the tanker hauls in the weighted cable. The tanker rises slowly above the airliner and takes up station behind it and slightly to one side. The weight is drawn in through an opening below the nose of the tanker. It is detached from the cable, which is then attached to the hose-pipe toy means of a bayonet coupling. The winch starts paying out the pipe; at the same time a winch in the airliner bqgins to haul in. In a few minutes the hose-pipe is drawn down to the liner, the nozzle snapping automatically into the socket provided for it in the tail, and is held fast by hydraulically-slotted claws. Fuel then flows under gravity to the airliner's tanks. Rate of flow may be up to 150 imperial gallons a minute.

Seaplane to New Zealand The aircraft adapted for regular tanker flying on the trans-Atlantic service are 'Handley Page Harrow monoplane bombers. Three of them have been converted for the purpose; two are in Canada, ready for assembly and flight to the Newfoundland terminal aerodrome, and one of them is detailed to work from the Irish terminus near the Foynes seaplane station. Tiie three craft which will operate the Australia-New Zealand service are similar in most respects to the transAtlantic craft but, are not equipped with mid-air fuelling apparatus, as the stage-s to be flown are well within the unaided capacity of the craft. Flying-boat Aotearoa is expected to leave England on a delivery flight at the beginning of July. Aotearoa will first be used for the training of personnel and to try out the surface organisation. Two sister craft, Australia and Awarua, will follow Aotearoa to New Zealand at short intervals. All three have already successfully flown in Britain.

air fuelling devices to enhance the performance of the trans-Atlantic aeroplanes. The system endows an aircraft with greatly increased range, or permits it to carry heavier payload without demanding aerodromes of abnormal size for the long take-off runs that would otherwise be inevitable. A large proportion of the en-> gine power available in an aeroplane is needed only during the few minutes occupied by take-off and initial climbing; for all but those Tew minutes the powerplant of a civil aeroplane is run throttled down to GO per cent or less of full power. Hence the system, like other methods of assisting take-off such as the ShortMayo composite aircraft or pick-a-back plane,, and catapult launching, enables optimum efficiency to he taken from the aeroplane, which is not limited in load by the severe takeoff conditions. Tanker Plane Mid-air fuelling has reached the stage where the pilot of the receiver aircraft need only fly on a straight and level course during .the process. No unusual behaviour*oT the aircraft reveals that something is going on; the pilot .is dependent for his knowledge of the progress of fuelling on the instruments before him in the