London, July 24.
The ability of the latest autogyro to rise straight into the air without preliminary run was startlingly shown yesterday at the old Hounslow aerodrome, once the starting-place of aeroplanes for Paris but now a riding ground, covered with rank grass and bushes, for oMleers.
The machine, which is called the Autodynamie Autogyro, was flown by Mr. H. L. Marsh." He put it alongside some bushes, which It could not possibly have cleared by rising in the usual way, and started up his rotor blades." At 270 revolutions per minute they gave such an upward lift that the machine shot into the air so suddenly that the ress photographers were too started to get a picture So down came the aulogyro and up she was shot again. At the end of the jump, about 40ft. off the ground, the pilot was able to throw out the clutch and transfer the power from the rotors to the propeller for the forward movement.
To outward appearance the new autogyro is just like the old, with no wings or other control surfaces except the rotors. Its value on board ship needs no demonstrating, and it certainly brings us nearer to the day when city-dwellers will be able to take off and land upon their own roofs, The "Daily Telegraph's" Singapore correspondent gives an interesting account of the £1,000,000 alr port at Singapore which is rapidly aproaching completion. A huge seaplane slipway and hangar, are now taking shape. He write They will accommodate the 17-ton fying-boats that are to be placed on all the main, Empire alr routes next yeu the skeleton of the Terminal Building "Is already up. The "ya apron of concrete in "front -of th Dullding hae been ald, rear "part of the taxi-ing per meter runway. which extends nearly 2 third of the way round the landing Across the Geylang River work has begun on the reclamation and Alling:
mubuldlory Tnnding-ground (9 be. Inf the area Which Wil erve by the Royal Volunteer Flying Force. Hundreds of thousands - of tons Fock and rubble are. being Used to hat wilt make component" a four-engined float sea~ plane, will take the air for trial flights towards the end of August, followed after a brief interval by the "lower component", a four-engined boat similar to the new Empire machines but modified for _performance of its unique duties, Separate fying trials will be gone through first. Both components will then fly together, the seaplane carried on the wings of the boat, from which it Is to be Taunched in mid-air, Full handling, taxiing and flying trials will be" made before the actual Taunch is attempted; during this phase the composite plane will func Yien as an eight-engined biplane. Finally, launching trials will take place, culminating in a full-load {take-off of the upper component with sue lent fuel on board for the non-stop erossing of the North Ate antic ocean in the teeth of a 60 miles an hour gale, The above brief notes give some dea of the complexity of the problems to be solved and the care with which they are being approached. As Is generally known, the upper component has to be laden far beyond the point at which it could possibly take off unaided, if it is to carry enough petrol to face safely all contingencies of the voy-
Atlached to the lower component, is carried to a safe height before inning its curney, ils own four Napier Rapier motors and the four Bristol Pegasus engines of the mother craft providing in the aggre-fate nearly 5,000 lip. for the take-off. Combined, the load lifted by the two machines is equivalent to about 11 1b, per horsepower, which is not excessive. When the selected height is reached and a suitable forward speed is attained by the combination, Aerodynamical forees tend to separa ate the two machines; at the same time the pilot of component releases a single mechanical attachment and the upper component continues its flight alone. During take-off, climb and subsequent, evolutions before the launch the pilots are in {telephonic communication; ingenious yet simple mechanism provides. for safe and infallible severance of all connections between the machines at the moment of launching, The first upper component, which will bear the name "Mercury", is, designed to cruise at 165 mph. A. landplane of similar power and Toad and fitted" with a retractile undercarriage, similarly launched, would cruise at more than 200 m, br front of the Terminal Building.. he will_step out on to a section of the: apron that has been coloured a Special "shade "of blue fo. prevent eyestrat Rapid expansion of the Volunteer Air Force will take place as soon as The Canopus, the first of the Short fying-boats for the Empire route has. passed successfully through her preliminary handling and flying trials, and is back in the hands of workmen. being equipped for her pas sengers. The second flying-bent is now almost ready for launching.
First Stages to the Transatlantic The alr service between Bermuda and New York, which according to the plans now' announced by Lord Swinton, the Air Minister, will begin in the autumn, will be the first link Fresh authoritative evidence of the unrivalled efficiency and performance of Britain's new military aircraft was supplied by Sir Thomas Inskip, Min" {ster for Coordination of Defence, in hhis speech this week to the House of Commons. He said:
'The development of machines and equipment is bewildering. The per= formance now, contrasted with that three or four years ago, Is amazing. 'The speed of machines. Im production to-day" for "rogulnt' Wie In the A Force would five years ago have made them serious competitors for the Schneider Cup.
(Qn 1931, Flight-Lieutenant _J.N, Boothman, piloting a Vickers-Supermarine S.6B racing monoplane, flew alone and unchallenged over the Schneider Trophy course average speed of 340 miles an hour.) The Minister continued:
That fact will bring home to th committee the extraordinary" advance that has been made. These are not specimens, but machines in regular, orderly production for {he everyday.
of the Alt Forse, They are orderly delivery, and" they" willie delivered In ever-increasing, volume, in one of the main Transatlantic air routes of the future.
The agreement made between the Government and Imperial Airways covers a term of five years, during which a maximum annual subsidy of £18,100 will be paid to the company, The company will also receive, through the government of Bermuda, a capital grant of not more than £34500 to. provide a fying-boat of the Empire class, together with the necessary spare engines, for the working of a regular weekly service to and from the Island, Sir Thomas Inskip sought to move misunderstandings about lative national alr strengths. He said thal many people had been led into the error of comparing gures of first-line strengths, which he declar-
"in the first place." he said, would be necessary. to define frs line air strength tu terms of reserves, for it is not always a phrase that Is "Cavalier." the third boat of the series now in construction, is provisionally scheduled for shipment to North America for this Bermuda service: as the distance between the proposed terminal points is approximately 800 miles, the "Cavalier" will be fitted with fuel tanks of larger capacity than are carried in the majority of the new craft, Another, and indispensable, tink in the Transatlantic scheme is the composite aircraft, the invention of Captain Mayo, to solve the problem of combining. long range and. big Payload. Work on the frst of these daring machines Is now going hard, and it is hoped that the "upper exact correspondence with this that machine, might be most unwed fo" defend' "our shinning out porte gie jetties and out os, defence depends 7 Mate perirlty, or eve cata,
whine, Di ofall are available, 'The Chiefs of Sta and the Joint Planning Committees "have been making a fresh study of the. control and "protection "of our merchant Shipping. They" have "been "concerts fog" plans' which are an "eh necessity for naval "ale eooperatte (Continued on page 380)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.