BRITISH FLYING MACHINES

Hokitika Guardian, 28 September 1932, Page 3

BRITISH FLYING MACHINES

FAIREY NIGHT BOMBER. NEW TREND IN DESIGN. LONDON, August ,19.. An..-outstanding example cl ~ some recent teua-uoies in E'ntish aircraftdesign, representing a breakaway fr'om tne usual run of. aeroplane built l in this country,is the new Fairey long range, night.., bomber. The menacing olive-green, huik.of. this big monoplane. attracted much attention at. the special 'trade flying display organised by the Society w British Aircraft Construction at Hendon. Its perforinrince, though still an official secret, is .exceptional. in. ; . technical language, .the new bomber is a low-wing cantilever monoplane, which- means tha’b the wing roots, are placed at the bottom of the fuselage and that the immense single plane hnsf no external bracing struts or wires. This constructional formula provides ability to lift an immense load, : and the "cleanness” of the wing outline enables that load to be carried at high speed. Actually, the rew Fairey craft, though it weighs fully laden more than 8£ tons, ia known 'to be capable of a maxirriurn speed at a height of several thousand feet not far below that reached by the fastest . fighters in the world’s air forces not many years ago. < EASY TAKE-OFF AND STOW LANDING. Other advantages claimed by the designers are easy “take-off and dead slow landing, a point of particular imporJincfe’in an aircraft intended mainly icr night flying. Further, the great, depth of the wings at th e ten ti e provides space for the full bomb load, to be borne within the thickness of the plane itselfarid the two IvO .is-Aoyee Kestrel rinotors- in the front edge of the wings do not add to air resistance by projecting above or below the wings. The primary structure of the great machine is steel, but. duralumin is largely used in less important memlers. With the exception of the usual fabric covering of wing and fuselage the entire aeroplane is built in metal

: V DEFENCE BY MACHiNE-GUN. •Normally the aircraft carries a crew of four, but the fuselage is sufficiently large for the transport in emergency of 1-5 'to 20 fully armed infantrymen. Much thought, lias gone to the provision of adequate protection against attack by hostile aeroplanes. Communication, between) the tnembers of the crew is. rapid and certain, ■ and a '.Walkway through the fuselage from one end to the other simplifies quick change of places or replacement oi i&sttalties. One gunner is located in a cockpit right in the 'tail of the machine, whence he can deal with the attacks froin the.rear. AH the- guns have wide arc of fire and there are nfr "blind” spots till within a few feet of the aeroplane; even 'the gunner in tbe centre cockpit can . fire downwards at an angle beyond the vertical, so that an enemy aeroplane directly below the fuselage is still in the- field of fire.

SUCCESS FOR BRITISH AEROPLANE. Another sweeping success for British aeroplanes marked the big air meeting at Zurich last Week, wh.en three. Puss Moth light cabin monoplane, piloted i.y Swiss airmen, finished first, second, iuid third in the international competition for “sport and touring” aircraft. This clean-cut triumph adds emphasis to English supremacy of design and 1 cmistiucticu in all classes of aeroplane, and follows worthily on the sensational victory secured by British aircraft in the race round the Alps for military aeroplanes a few days earlier. It now appears, that Captain Sin tic’s triumph in the military single .seatei race was in fact still more impressive than the official result :Abdicates, fly ihg a standard Haivker. Fury biplane, bought twelve months ago by the Yugoslavian 1 GoUjernmer ~ Captain Auntie covered the 230 miles of the Alqine circuit at the official average speed of 201.4 m.p.h,, although the course was planned to include three separate take-offs. and . threw climbs tc, a height, of . nearly 14,000 feet. The pilot emulated many- other famous flyers in making a. mistake .about the finishing line. ; He crossed Duben doff aerodrome in the wrong place and was obliged to take off again, make another c rcuit and cress the .'lh-iSliing line . correctlly. This error lest him nearly three minutes; bad he rossed the line correctly on his first arrival lie would have completed the ace in less than 66 minutes at a speed of nearly 210 miles an hour. No fewer than nine nations took part in tWe race, which! atracted sixeen of the most up-to-date singleseaters in the world.