SAFE FLYING

Shannon News, 17 January 1928, Page 4

SAFE FLYING

THE HANDLEY PAGE, WING- SLOT LONDON, Nov., .25. Personal trials were made by Sir Samuel Hoarre-, (Secretary of State for Air) and Lady Maud Hoarc in an aeroplane fitted with a device which marks oho of the most recent developments in aeronautics. This is the Handley Page automatic safety control. In a Bristol Fighter biplane, flown by Squadron Leader T. 11. England, and ttted with the new automatic wing slot which gives the pilot control of his machine, even when it has lost normal flying speed, Sir Samuel went through a number of astonishing evolutions. Stalls, flat turns, and lift-like descents were made, and all the rules of flying were deliberately broken at sb low an altitude that, with ordinary controls, disaster would have been unavoidable.

At times the aeroplane reared itself on its tail and appeared to hang almost stationary in the sky, at other moments ,it would fall towards the ground quite slowly and maintaining an.leveUkee

“I regard this as a very remarkable advance," Sir SamuekHoare said in an interview after landing. "When the machine stalled there was almost the effect of a blow, yet the aeroplane remained under control. This development is one more example of what can be done by co-operation between private enterprise and official research workers. It is being fitted to machines of every service type to which it appears suitable. It is still a question, at ' this stage, whether the power of manoeuvre of high-speed fighting aero planes would be affected by fitting the control. ’ ’

After their flights Sir Samuel and Lady Maud Hoare, with Sir Phillip Sassoon, were conducted to the wind tunnel, in -which a model of the control was suspended. They watched tii rough a glass inspection window while the model wing was set at different angles to the air stream which rushed through , the tunnel. Every time, as the wing passed a certain angle of incidence, the small slot, in the leading edge flew open. It was explained that the slot was opened by the formation of the air currents passing over the wing. The slot automatically anticipated the stalling angle and gave the wing lift when otherwise most of the lift would have disappeared.