THE conference opened with the paper by Mr Woodward‐Nutt, which, together with the other papers, is summarized below. After the first session the conference luncheon was held, and…
Abstract
THE conference opened with the paper by Mr Woodward‐Nutt, which, together with the other papers, is summarized below. After the first session the conference luncheon was held, and the principal speakers were the Mayor of Southampton, Alderman R. E. Edmunds, who welcomed the conference to Southampton, and Sir Edward Boyle, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply, who referred to current concern about delays in fighter deliveries. He said that there had in the last year been setbacks, but the delays were due to difficulties of development rather than of production. The comparison which was often made of deliveries during the last war was not fair, because the aircraft in question had then been developed. The Spitfire took five years to develop, and this did not compare so unfavourably with the development of the Hunter, when the increase in complexity and the aerodynamic difficulties of the transonic region were considered. Flight trials were the only indication of many of these troubles, and modifications were necessary after the tests. It was for this reason that the Ministry had adopted the policy of ordering up to twenty development aircraft, with the intention that by the time the last one had been built it would be in a form suitable for the production version.
“WHAT is its top speed?” This is the question which is perhaps most frequently asked about any new aeroplane, and it is certainly a question which is usually incorrectly answered…
Abstract
“WHAT is its top speed?” This is the question which is perhaps most frequently asked about any new aeroplane, and it is certainly a question which is usually incorrectly answered. By this is not meant the natural tendency of manufacturers to be optimistic as to the paces of their latest progeny, but merely that the top speed of an aeroplane cannot be stated with accuracy until a number of careful and methodical measurements have been made. In this article a short account will be given of the errors inherent in the ordinary methods for indicating speeds, and descriptions of some of the methods evolved to measure speed—not only top speed but speed generally—to a high degree of accuracy.
IT has been the practice at the official Air Ministry Testing Establishments at Martlesham and Felixstowe to issue with each complete performance report an analytical picture of…
Abstract
IT has been the practice at the official Air Ministry Testing Establishments at Martlesham and Felixstowe to issue with each complete performance report an analytical picture of the performance. This picture is commonly called “Figure 4” because it appeared as Fig. 4 of R. & M. 1140. It is reproduced in Fig. 1. Its physical significance is by no means apparent, and to the practical engineer who appreciates physical significance mainly through his visual imagination it must sometimes have been more mystifying than simplifying. But, as is shown in what follows, the physical significance can be explained naturally and elegantly in terms of the “unit plane” of unit size and wing loading.
The forces on ellipsoidal bodies placed obliquely in a converging or a diverging stream can be found direct by calculation of the pressures on the surfaces. It seemed worth while…
Abstract
The forces on ellipsoidal bodies placed obliquely in a converging or a diverging stream can be found direct by calculation of the pressures on the surfaces. It seemed worth while to do this in illustration of the general question, as a rather plausible line of argument had led to erroneous values of the transverse force. The results are found to agree with those of the indirect, but more general, investigation by Professor G. I. Taylor in R. & M. 1166.
Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Committee, Reports and Technical Notes of the U.S. National Advisory…
Abstract
Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Committee, Reports and Technical Notes of the U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and publications of other similar research bodies as issued
Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Committee, Reports and Technical Notes of the U.S. National Advisory…
Abstract
Under this heading are published regularly abstracts of all Reports and Memoranda of the Aeronautical Research Committee, Reports and Technical Notes of the U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and publications of other similar research bodies as issued
IN this issue appears a summary of a paper prepared by two of the research workers of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which is most opportune. A number of minds…
Abstract
IN this issue appears a summary of a paper prepared by two of the research workers of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics which is most opportune. A number of minds, both among designers and scientists, have been exercising themselves with thoughts as to what may be the effect on a modern aeroplane of meeting a vertical current, commonly referred to as a “bump.” There are those who believe, or at any rate wonder, whether the ever‐increasing speeds at which aeroplanes fly may not give rise to added danger from this cause. They argue that the higher velocity at which the aeroplane meets the bump results in the impact of the blow received on the structure being accentuated by the reduction of time over which it is felt, with a consequent increase in the effects. There is, on the other hand, the directly opposite view that the aeroplane of higher speed changes its angle of incidence, and therefore yields, more quickly, and so the force of the impact is lessened.
READERS of AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING have reason to be grateful to Messrs. Rolls‐Royce. Exactly two years ago, the firm showed its interest in this paper by allowing it to publish the…
Abstract
READERS of AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING have reason to be grateful to Messrs. Rolls‐Royce. Exactly two years ago, the firm showed its interest in this paper by allowing it to publish the only complete description of the Kestrel and Buzzard engines—then known as the “F” and the “H” respectively—which has appeared, this article remaining the best available source for information on the details of the design of these engines. Two months ago we were able to publish a full illustrated account of the evolution of the Schneider Trophy racing engine from its prototype the Buzzard. This month the premier motorcar firm in the world places us still further in its debt by enabling us to print an article on its aero‐engine production methods by Mr. Handasyde in the series from his pen that has aroused so much interest and discussion in the last few months.
Reinforced Plastics have been widely used in the Aircraft Industry over the past ten years, but its application is still treated as something of a special field. The purpose of…
Abstract
Reinforced Plastics have been widely used in the Aircraft Industry over the past ten years, but its application is still treated as something of a special field. The purpose of these notes is to introduce the subject to the Drawing Office and to set simply before the draughtsman another engineering material. The use of plastics is not recommended for primary structure at present, due to insufficiency of test results, but for secondary structure they may offer advantages in robustness and non‐corrodibilily over light alloy, with increase in weight, and sometimes with less weight. In complex shaped fairings, the ease of forming of reinforced plastics enables the component to be moulded as an integral structure, thus reducing fabrication and consequently costs. The reduction in the number of parts means less weight and the resulting structure is often intrinsically stronger. They also have many applications where their particular properties, such as electrical properties, non‐corrodibility, acid resistance or high specific tensile strength are desirable. Typical applications for the material are summarized in TABLE I together with reasons for their use.
WE commend to all those connected with the design of aeroplanes, as well as to those concerned with their operation, the article we publish in this issue, taken from the official…
Abstract
WE commend to all those connected with the design of aeroplanes, as well as to those concerned with their operation, the article we publish in this issue, taken from the official “house organ” of the Dutch Fokker Company, on the attributes which should be looked for in commercial aircraft. Few will be found to deny that this firm led the way in the production of aeroplanes specially designed for commercial use, as opposed to converted war types, in which the essentially practical considerations of air transport were given their full importance. As a result, it is not too much to say that the influence of Fokker practice on commercial aircraft design in other countries has been far‐reaching. With, perhaps, the exception of England, and to some extent Germany, where distinctive types of aircraft have continued to be developed—in the one case the biplane, and in the other the low‐wing monoplane—the high‐wing monoplane of what is frequently known as the “Fokker type” has received very wide acceptance.