AVIATION.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19156, 12 November 1927, Page 12

AVIATION.

♦ STEAM ENGINES FOR AIR CRAFT. SIR ALAN COBHAM ON SPEED

(raOU OCB OW» COBRESPOKDENT.) LONDON, September 30. ' Experiments are now in progress in Germany with a light steam engine which ifc is hoped to develop, for use in aircraft. The engine is a turbine, and it incorporates many novel features. In its present stage it is still too heavy for use in an aeroplane, for it weighs about four times the amount per horsepower of a petrol aero-engine. German scientists, however, believe that, after trials have been carried out, further weight reductions will be, possible. It may be recalled that Professor Forster, in an address before the Hamburg Experimental Ship Building Institution, recently suggested that' tlie steam engine might become the aero-engine of the future. The chief advantages claimed for steam aeroengines are smooth running, silence, and reliability. They would be fitted, if they ever reach the practical stage, in all-metal machines. France has also made tentative experiments with light-weight steam engines, but in England attention has been directed towards the Diesel and semi-Diesel types of engine. A certain amount of progress has been made in reducing the weight and increasing the flexibility of Diesel engines, but they remain much heavier than the petrol engine. Moreover, every reduction in weight in the Diesel engine lias been accompanied by a reduction in weight in the petrol engine, so that the relative suitability of the two types for aircraft work remains about the same.

No Limit to Speed. What does Britain's air victory in the Schneider Cup really mean? Is 381 miles an hour anything like a limit of speed? "The winning of this famous trophy," said Sir Alan Cobhani, the famous airman, "will have an enormously beneficial effect on British air prestige throughout the world. Already there is a world-wide sale springing up for aircraft. The marvellous performances of our seaplanes and engines in the Schneider Gup race will impress potential buyers overseas more than anything else could. This victory should) he the corner-stone for a world campaign to sell British aircraft. "There is no limit at present in sight to the speed we can attain through the air. Many years ago a panel of doctors said that anyone would risk heart failure if he dared to travel at 60 miles an hour. And now o2i y -i we have a s" oun S man do ing 2m miles an hour and emerging from the ordeal with a smile! "Designers and constructors who ought to know say that we shall be able to do 323 or 350 miles an hour with perfectly stream-lined air-racers such as are ip contemplation at the present time. It is within the realm of possibility that in,, say, 20 years' time aircraft will be flying at more than three times the speed of recordbreaking craft of to-day, and when we can fly at 1000 miles an hour we shall be able to girdle the globe by air in 24 hours."