Flight, November 1934

THE FOURTEENTH PARIS AERO SHOW

THE EXHIBITS DESCRIBED

Small Civil Types

   THERE are at the Salon many machines, some of great interest and some already well known, which may be classed under this heading.
   On the German stand there are two in particular which are well worth study, these being the Fieseler and Messerschmitt Me 108, both being built to fulfil the requirements of the Challenge de Tourisme held recently in Warsaw.
   The Fieseler, in order to achieve a low landing speed and good take off together with a high top speed, is compensated for a comparatively small wing area by having Fowler flaps which drop out and back from the whole length of the trailing edge of the wing and thereby increase the effective area by some 33 1/3 per cent. Added to this, Handley Page slots extend inwards from the wing tips for about two-thirds of the span.
   The ailerons are particularly interesting, as they are of the short-span type and work upwards above the surface of the outer portion of the Fowler flaps.
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   Both these machines were specially designed with a view to scoring marks in the competition, and their cabins are certainly more comfortable than anything so far seen in this class. Each has extensive transparent panels both above and at the sides so that passengers and pilot have an unrestricted outlook and a sense of space and airiness. The seats are, in each case, arranged in two pairs facing forward, and appear to be very comfortable.
   The Fieseler, with its 225 h.p. "Argus AS17" engine, claims a top speed of 250 km.p.h. (155 m.p.h.) and a landing speed of 60 km.p.h. (37 m.p.h.), while the Messerschmitt, using a "Hirth" eight-cylinder inverted 250 h.p. engine, flies at 310 km.p.h (193 m.p.h.), and lands at 60 km.p.h. (37 m.p.h.).
   Another point of interest to which we have not yet become accustomed, except perhaps in some of the more modern large commercial aircraft, is the almost vertical front used on the windscreen of both machines. Remembering that they were designed for high speed, among other things, it would appear that there is considerable truth in the assertion that a blunt nose of the correct shape often produces less drag than one smaller but more pointed.
   As in the case of most machines in the competition, full advantage was taken of the rule whereby the pitch of the airscrews was allowed to be altered according to the necessities of each test. Although the weight limit under which the machines had to be built did not allow the use of airscrews which were variable in the air, those variable on the ground were used, and each of these had light Elektron blades. The B.F.W. airscrew is three-bladed.
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