SPITFIRE AND BATTLE in miniature interest two visitors to the R.A.F. stand at the Model Engineer Exhibition.
LOW-WING TRAINER: An impressive "aerial" of one of the latest Miles Hawk Trainers to go into service with the Reserve school at Woodley. Its number may cause consternation when (and if) it is used for a first solo.
Part of the school's Hawk Trainer fleet at Woodley, with the school building.
F/O Cloustori (Hawk Speed Six) who got nearer the goal than did any of the other non-finishers.
A typical example of split flap as fitted, in fact, to the unlucky Houston's Speed Six Hawk.
Another successful application of high-lift principles - on the Westland Lysander, in which the inner slots operate the slotted flaps quite automatically, the angle so being adjusted to the speed.
A good idea of the leading-edge slots and trailing-edge flaps can be formed from this photograph of the Westland Army Co-operation monoplane. Although the fact is not readily apparent from external views, the wing has only one spar.
A general impression of the new "A.C." Westland.
The guiding power is Mr. H. J. Penrose, Westland's chief test pilot.
AFTER THE HARE: Apart from its touch of the picturesque, this photograph of local harriers meeting at Aldergrove R.A.F. station is interesting as showing machines of No. 502 (Ulster) (Bomber) Squadron and also in recalling the links between hunting and aviation, as expressed by such names as Handley Page Hare (which appeared just before the Heyford), Fairey Fox, Hawker Harrier, De Havilland Hound, Blackburn Beagle and Vickers Vixen.
Medium bombers are the talk of the day in Service circles (the Ministry has or. order the Battle, Wellesley, Blenheim, H.P.52 and Wellington), but what experience the R.A.F. has had in the operation of this class of machine has been provided by the trusty Boulton Pauls of No. 101 (Bomber) Squadron, a flight of whose Pegasus-powered Overstrands is seen exercising at some thousands of feet.
The neat installation of the Boulton Paul turret in the nose of an Overstrand medium bomber of No. 101 (B.) Squadron.
ALMOST THE WHOLE WORKS: Three interesting detail photographs of the Boulton Paul power-operated gun turret. From left to right these views show the gun at high elevation and the complete turret with its quickly releasable dome; the rear of the turret with doors leading from the fuselage and the gear box with hand-turning mechanism on the floor; and the bomb sight with its special window.
COINCIDENT NOMENCLATURE: No. 230 (Flying Boat) Squadron is proceeding to Singapore with its five Short Singapore IIIs (four Kestrel engines). This photograph shows one of these boats being bombed-up before its recent return from service in the Middle East.
IRONING THE GREENSWARD: An aeroplane flying at "no altitude" with its undercarriage retracted is always an impressive sight. Here is another view of one of the Avro Ansons for Finland being flown in a spectacular manner by Flt. Lt. Geoffrey Tyson.
THE OTHER SWASTIKA. Quite a number of people have wondered whether certain Ansons, seen recently on test, were intended for Germany. Actually the batch is for Finland, and one of the machines is seen here in the hands of Flt. Lt. Geoffrey Tyson, erstwhile display aerobatic expert, and now an Avro test pilot.
Taken at 17,000 ft., are Eng. Laurila (from Finland), Flt. Lt.Tyson, and Mr. H. Lloyd of the works technical department.
The Bristol Bombay bomber transport (two Bristol "Pegasus") is being made in the Short and Harland factory.
THE CANARY TEST: Most people know the one about the early pioneers who turned a canary loose between their wings before taking off and concluded, if it escaped, that the rigger had omitted a few wires. Things really have changed when it is considered that a big Service transport machine can be built with such clean lines as those of the Bristol 130, Bomber Transport seen here through the inter-plane obstruction of a not-quite-so-modern type.
"DONA FERENS": Sir Philip Sassoon, who is making a tour of Air Force stations overseas, inspecting No. 216 (Bomber Transport) Squadron at Heliopolis. The officers and men are drawn up in front of their Valentias and the squadron badge of an eagle holding a bomb can be seen on the nearest machine.
LINER-YACHT. Howard Hughes, the American film producer and aviation enthusiast, has acquired this Douglas D.C.1 with a pair of Wright Cyclones as a racing and experimental machine. Hughes refused to enter it for the recent Bendix Trophy transcontinental race, insisting that he is strictly an amateur pilot. As an American contemporary so aptly puts it, the machine would have been a "near-cinch." Someone else remarked, "You can't beat 120 million dollars."
Both Goelands are already out of the race. This is one, with its crew - Michelette (W/T operator), Arnoux and Japy (pilots).
HIGH-SCHOOL LESSON-II. "We screw up the belt clip to set our seal on the inner man." - "And so on board (very 'Things to Come' this bit)." - "The good old Hucks is still used where weight is a consideration."
HIGH-SCHOOL LESSON-III. "Per Pegasus ad Astra." - "Down to two feet once more" - "What d'you know about that?"
HIGH-SCHOOL LESSON-I. "Now watch!" - "A little French chalk to get one's hand in." - "Now for the hat - most important."
Numerous instruments enabled the "pressure-suited" pilot to know at any moment what his aeroplane and enginewere doing. The actual recording altimeters were carried in the wings, but an ordinary altimeter in the cockpit informed Sqn. Ldr. Swain of his height at any time during the flight.
CAIRO-BAGHDAD: At Almaza airport, Cairo, before the start of Misr Airlines' inaugural service to Baghdad. On the left, in white, can be seen H. E. Kilani Bey, of the Iraqi Legation, with the general secretary of the Misr Bank immediately beside him and almost hidden on the left.
The floodlit start from Lympne before dawn on Monday of last week.
Swinging the Ratier airscrew of Major Miller's Mew Gull. Note the impressive spinner covering the pitch-operating electric motor.
Capt. S. S. Halse giving his pillar-box-red Mew Gull an airing over a trio of visitors.
Mr. Giles Guthrie and Mr. C. W. A. Scott and their victorious Vega Gull (D.H. Gipsy Series II engine) entered by Mr. Guthrie's father, Sir Connop Guthrie.
The Vega's business end - the series II Gipsy Six with its "1,000" size De Havilland V.P. Airscrew. There is only one external oil pipe.
The Llewellyn-Hughesdon Vega Gull being refuelled at Vienna
The reckoning: a study of the weighing of the Llewellyn-Hughesdon Vega Gull.
Resistance to the 205 h.p. of Vega Gull No. 7, manned by F/O. D. W. Llewellyn and C. F. Hughesdon.
An interior view of Scott and Guthrie's victorious Vega Gull. In the top row of instruments, left to right, are the A.S.I., Sperry artificial horizon (on resilient mounting) and altimeter; in the second row are the r.p.m. indicator, oil gauge, Reid and Sigrist turn and bank indicator, clock, and ammeter, Carburetter and airscrew pitch controls are in the centre. Note the airscrew pitch-changing lever on the left of the near-side control column.
How the airscrew pitch is changed - the simple control (to the right of the throttle and altitude control) in the Vega Gull.
HERALDING THE NEW ERA: The first of the Short Empire boats is now in the Mediterranean after being flown across France by capt. Bailey and Major Brackley. This Flight photograph shows Canopus from a somewhat unusual angle; the fully faired rear step and the forward sloping front step are noteworthy features of the hull.
Even this excellent view of activity in the Short works does not do justice to the impressive scene, for it does not include the row of nine towering hulls packed side by side for plating. Incidentally, when a completed boat is moved out on to the slipway there is a clearance of about six inches between the tail and the lintel.
More than thirty-six hundred horse-power is delivered for take-off to the finely pitched blades of the D.H. variable-pitch airscrews. It is provided by four of these Bristol Pegasus Xc radials.
The great flaps of the Empire boat are operated by this little Rotax electric motor. Note also in this view the wing construction and tanks.
The Captain's Bridge: The Short Empire boat must be one of the most completely equipped machines so far seen in this country. Convenience has been studied very carefully in the disposition of the controls and instruments and this Flight photograph also conveys a good impression of the good view provided for the two pilots. The more important details of the installation are indicated and numbered in this photograph.
Details of the construction of the centre-section of the wing. The locations of the different joints are shown in the general sketch. Attachment of the leading edge to the spar is shown at A; a typical joint between the extruded spar flange and the N-girder of the spar at B; the wing spar joint is illustrated in C, and a rib joint at D.
The main step slopes forward, as shown in the sketch on the left. Details of the step and frame construction are illustrated above.
The tail unit of the Empire Boat. The upper sketches on the left show details of fin attachment to the double frame, and the lower sketch illustrates the joints of the bracing tubes in the fin to the cruciform-section fin spars.
In the construction of the Short Empire flying boats use is made of channel and double-channel frames, with Z-section stringers. The wing spars have T-section flanges.
Short Empire Flying Boat Four Bristol Pegasus Xc (740 b.h.p. at 3,500 ft.)
FLEDGED AT GRAVESEND: A brief description was given in Flight of July 30 of the new Wicko two-seater cabin monoplane with converted Ford V.8 engine. The machine is now flying at Gravesend. It is intended to market it at ?375.
FOR THE SOUTH ATLANTIC: These are the first photographs of the four-engined Liore et Olivier flying boat to reach this country. At Antibes the machine has fulfilled all requirements and it is now due at St. Raphael, the French Felixstowe, for its official tests. The Liore et Olivier 47 was designed with the Loire-Nieuport 102 to comply with an Air Ministry specification for long-distance flying boats. The 47 has an estimated maximum speed of 223 m.p.h.
This diagram shows how the pivoted upper wing of the Jona J.6 automatically operates the ailerons to restore it to the central position.
ONOMATOPAEIC NOMENCLATURE. Christened originally the Irish Swoop and entered by Colonel Fitzmaurice for the MacRobertson England-Australia race late in 1934, this Twin Wasp Junior-engined Bellanca has been re-named Flash and will be used by Mr. J. Mollison to attempt to make drastic reductions in the times for the transatlantic and England-Cape trips. One modification is the skid between the cabane struts; that in the picture seems temporary.
The crew of the good ship Frobisher: from left to right, Mr. C. G. M. Alington, Lt. P. A. Booth, R.N., and Paymaster Lt. R. H. Alington; they manned the B.A. Eagle.
Sailing along tranquilly at a comfortable "twenty-one hundred," with the A.S.I, telling of progress of well over two miles a minute, the appealing little Miles Whitney Straight side-by-side two-seater, out for an airing over Reading, presents an attractive subject for Flight's photographer. Such surroundings carry the mind from things mundane and mercenary, but for those who want to know - and it seems there are many - the price is ?985.
The well-flapped Series II Airspeed Envoy in the act of landing at Heston.
Yo-heave-ho! Modern version of the Volga boatman, seen on Monday.
A floodlight view of the Airspeed Envoy (No 13, Findlay and Waller) on the line in the dawn of Tuesday morning.
One of the Envoy's moderately supercharged Cheetah IXs en neglige on Saturday night
The cabin tanks of the Airspeed Envoy. The two large ones which are visible hold 53 gallons each, the small one is of 10 1/2 gallons capacity and there are two 49-gallon tanks in the wings.
The D.F. and trailing aerial arrangement for the Marconi equipment.
DOUBLE-DECKER DOUGLAS. A brand-new Douglas civil flying boat which appears to be fitted with a pair of Wright Cyclones. It will carry up to 36 people or fuel for 3,300 miles. The span is 95 feet and the cruising speed about 160 m.p.h.
A bomber's proboscis: The bows of the prototype Boeing 299 heavy bomber. Thirteen similar machines with Cyclone G engines have been ordered by the U.S. Government. The bomb traps and nasal gun position are here seen to particular advantage.
EIGHTY-TON SHOCK: A test jig used by the Boeing company for testing the main wheel assembly of their 299 bombers. Tests have shown that the gear will withstand a load of about 80 tons although the gross weight of the machine is only 16 tons.
CIVILISING INFLUENCE: The Armstrong Whitworth XIII Bomber Transport which is being handed over to Imperial Airways after suitable modifications have been made for its use as a transport rather than as a bomber. This machine has been fitted with Tiger IX's (790/880 h.p.) and D.H. v.p. airscrews and was designed to carry twenty-four soldiers with full equipment. It might be suggested that the nose and tail cupolas should be retained for use by any passengers who are prepared to pay for the excellent view obtained.
Evolution: The photograph shows the first British Pou built by Mr. S. V. Appleby. Note the exposed engine and the radiator in front of the pilot's face. After a crash the machine was rebuilt with the engine lowered and partly enclosed, and the radiator in the nose of the fuselage.
The Abbott-Baynes Cantilever Pou with 30 h.p. Carden engine.
Rigging diagram of the Abbott-Baynes Cantilever Pou. It should be noted that the position of the centre of gravity is at approximately 40 per cent, of the chord from the leading edge. This location of the c.g. lengthens the take-off, but it also improves the stability.
Left: The rigging of the Pou tested in the 24ft. wind tunnel at Farnborough is shown here. Note that the top of the fuselage is the datum line from which angles of incidence A of the whole machine were measured. The angle of the front wing in relation to the datum line, and thus to the rear wing, is indicated by B.
Right: For comparison, the rigging diagram showing the dimensions which M. Mignet recommended is given here. This combination of dimensions' became known as Mignet's "Polygon of Safety," but is not now held to be a complete safeguard against the uncontrollable dive.
The Abbott-Baynes Cantilever "Pou"
FREIGHTER: The loading hatch of the Monospar freighter.
RETRACTABLE VISION: The American caption to the picture reads "Smooth as a raindrop from nose to tail, Captain Frank Hawks' new mystery ship, Time Flies, will knock speed records silly when he puts it in flight later this month." The machine has a Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp engine and retractable cockpit enclosure and undercarriage.
A METAL-CLAD PIONEER: This Flight photograph shows the Short "Silver Streak" which was exhibited at the Olympia Show of 1920. The machine had metal monocoque fuselage and metal-covered wings.
SUPER SAILPLANE: Hawley Bowlus, who taught the Lindberghs to glide, is building an all-metal sailplane weighing 350 lb. which he has designed to soar, non-stop, from San Francisco to Los Angeles. He hopes it will cover the 450 miles in about ten hours. The span will be over 62 feet and landing flares and navigation lights will be fitted. Mr. Bowlus himself will act as navigator while another man flies the machine.
FOR SKYWAYS AND HIGHWAYS: The new American "roadable" Autogiro which has folding blades, enabling it to be driven on normal roads and parked in no more space than a medium-sized car, and is fitted with a special Pobjoy engine installed in the fuselage, where it is cooled by air admitted through scoops.
PARKING: A park adjacent to the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C., was chosen as the demonstrating ground for the new roadable Autogiro with internal British Pobjoy engine. This picture was taken on its arrival for delivery to the Bureau of Air Commerce, which will conduct tests. The estimated maximum speed, with two airscrews revolving in opposite directions, Macchi fashion, is 115 m.p.h. At the moment a single screw is fitted. On the road, the maximum speed is about 25 rn.p.h.
Mr. Jack Bagshaw encourages inflators of the Li-Lo mattresses carried on the Double Eagle.
The inner portions of the wings slope upward into the B.A. Double Eagle's fuselage and are smoothly faired.
A sketch showing the appearance of a nacelle on the B. A. Double Eagle, containing the retracted undercarriage.
PRAYING MANTIS: A new angle on the unorthodox yet oddly attractive-looking Bassou pusher, which, as related in Flight of September 24, has been imported with a view to manufacture in this country. The engine is a 32 h.p. Mengin flat twin.
Night shift: Lt. Cdr. C. N. Colson, works manager of Phillips and Powis, submerging into the depths of Victor Smith's Sparrow Hawk for an inspection of the repairs made during Saturday night to the tank, a head of six feet of petrol is being used as a test.
Monday's preparations - a pleasant scene at Portsmouth airport. In the foreground is Victor Smith's Sparrow Hawk.
Detachable aluminium rain deflectors on Mr. Victor Smith's Sparrow Hawk.
