© Wonders of World Aviation 2015-
Part 11
Part 11 of Wonders of World Aviation was published on Tuesday 17th May 1938, price 7d.
This part included a colour plate showing the United States airship “Macon” being moored to the mast at Lakehurst, New Jersey. It formed part of the article on The Mooring of Airships.
The plate also formed the cover design for this part.
The Cover
The subject of our cover picture this week is the same as the colour plate facing page 310, and shows the United States airship “Macon” being moored to the mast at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Contents of Part 11
New Guinea Gold (Part 2)
Lighting the Modern Airport
Pioneers of Large Aircraft
Air Travel to the Continent
The Mooring of Airships
The US Airship “Macon” Being Moored (colour plate)
Australia’s Civil Aviation (Part 1)
Pioneers of Large Aircraft
How luxurious air liners were developed from early Handley Page bombing aircraft. The aeronautical achievements of Handley Page, Ltd, are important links in the story of aviation. The original company founded one of Great Britain's first aircraft factories. It has been responsible for the slotted wing. The name of Handley Page was associated with the first passenger and freight service to operate between England and the Continent; and during the war of 1914-18 Handley Page designs had a profound effect on strategy. The work of the Handley Page Company is described in this chapter by H G Castle, who pays a well-deserved tribute to the accomplishments of this firm.
(Pages 297-301 )
Air Travel to the Continent
Return trips by aeroplane from Croydon to Cologne and to Copenhagen. Rapid transport for passengers and freight is the aeroplane’s most important contribution to civilization. A passenger wishing to fly from Croydon to the Continent has a wide choice of air lines. Beside the British services there are several foreign lines. These include the German DLH, the Dutch KLM, Air France, the Belgian Sabena, the Swedish Aero-transport line, Swissair, and the Danish DDL. This chapter by Edward Hart describes two trips made to the Continent by air liner illustrating the advanced stage of development which air travel of today has reached.
(Pages 302-307 )
Two Air Liners of KLM
TWO AIR LINERS OF KLM, Royal Dutch Air Lines, with passengers boarding one of them. Both of these aircraft are American Douglas monoplanes. The flag on the aeroplane in the foreground is the red, white and blue flag of Holland with the KLM symbol superimposed on it. The flag is lowered before the aeroplane takes off.
(Page 304)
The US Airship Macon Being Moored
THE U.S. AIRSHIP MACON being moored to the mobile mast at Lakehurst, New Jersey. The Macon was built in 1933 and had an overall length of 785 feet. Her diameter was 132.9 feet and capacity 6,500,000 cubic feet. Powered by eight Maybach engines having a total horse-power of 4,480, she had a complement of eighty-three and carried six fast fighting aeroplanes. The Macon was lost off the California coast in February 1935.
(Facing page 310)
The Mooring of Airships
Past and present methods of securing airships on the ground or on water. Great Britain inaugurated the practice of mooring airships in the open instead of returning them to their sheds after each flight. Airship mooring may be divided into three classes; mooring on the surface of land or water, mooring to a mast and mooring in the air by means of one or more anchoring wires. This chapter is by Captain J A Sinclair, the author of The Airship in Peace and War.
(Pages 308-312 )
You can read about Types of Airship in part 4; on How Airships are Flown in part 18; and on British Airships in part 21.
New Guinea Gold (Part 2)
How mining has been rapidly developed in inaccessible country by air transport. Commercial aviation has assisted in the opening up of the goldfields in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. This chapter is written by Sidney Howard, and is concluded from part 10.
(Pages 289-291 )
A Famous Bomber of the War
A FAMOUS BOMBER OF THE WAR of 1914-18, the Handley Page 0/400. This aircraft was a development of the 0/100, first produced at the end of 1915. In the 0/400 the petrol tanks were removed from behind the engines and placed in the fuselage, and armour plating over the engines was not used. Machines of this type carried out many successful long-distance bombing-raids. Such raids were not possible before the evolution of the twin-engined Handley Page machines.
(Page 297)
Australia’s Civil Aviation (Part 1)
Communications of a continent revolutionized by 26,000 miles of airways. The aeroplane is playing an important part in the development of vast areas of Australia previously hampered by lack of transport. Australian civil aviation has progressed on unusual lines; for in most countries the first air services linked the centres of population, whereas Australia’s first aviation companies began in remote regions where no other form of swift transport existed. In this chapter by Sidney Howard, the development of Australia’s civil aviation is described. The article is concluded in part 12.
(Pages 313-316 )
An Air Liner on the Melbourne-Tasmania Route
ONE OF THE LINERS USED ON THE MELBOURNE-TASMANIA route of Australian National Airways. It is the Loongana, a Douglas DC-2 machine. There are two routes from Melbourne to Tasmania, one going direct to Launceston, and the other going to Launceston via King Island and other places. The service also links Launceston with Hobart, capital of Tasmania, and with Flinders Island.
(Page 313)
Lighting the Modern Airport
Equipment that helps to make night flying safe. Not many years have elapsed since even the largest airports closed down completely during the night. Recently, however, great advances have been made in the lighting of aerodromes, and a specialized section of the science of illumination has developed some interesting and efficient devices with the object of making night flying safe. This chapter is by L H Thomas.
(Pages 292-296 )
Loading Machinery Through the Hatchway
LOADING MACHINERY THROUGH THE HATCHWAY in the fuselage of a Junkers G-31 three-engined monoplane. The hatchway was 11 ft 10-in long and 5 feet wide. The hatch was concave and provided an additional foot of headroom. The cargo compartment was 24 feet long and 6 ft 5-in wide and 5 ft 9-in high. A side door enabled small sections of machinery to be loaded in the compartment.
(Page 289)
Wind Direction Indicated by Day and by Night
To ensure that a pilot about to land knows the direction of the wind this large indicator is provided at Croydon Airport. The device consists of a T-shaped framework balanced at its centre of gravity on a pivot and free to rotate. The action of the wind on the fin (see upper picture) keeps the T pointing into the wind. The upper surface of the T is painted white for visibility by day, and is illuminated by electric light bulbs for use by night. The arms of the T are about 20 feet long and 2 feet wide. A powerful floodlighting unit, formerly used, is shown in the lower picture, as well as a boundary light.
(Page 292)
Mobile Mast Used at Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA
MOBILE MAST USED AT LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, USA, for mooring airships. The mast can be sued also for towing airships directly into or out of the airship shed. It may be used in a comparatively strong wind and has the great advantage that it requires considerably fewer men than the hundreds who are needed when an airship is guided into a shed by means of man power.
(Page 308)
The Important Air Routes of Australia
MAP SHOWING ALL THE IMPORTANT AIR ROUTES OF AUSTRALIA. They are operated by a number of companies, some of which are subsidized. All manner of freight is carried, including perishable food. The advent of these airways has proved a boon to people living in remote parts to which surface communications are difficult and which may be completely cut off for long periods during the rainy season. The first Australian air mail service was established in 1921 on the west coast of Australia between Geraldton and Derby.
(Page 315)
The Floodlit Landing Field at Croydon Airport
THE FLOODLIT LANDING FIELD at Croydon Airport. Several requirements must be fulfilled to ensure a safe landing at night. For example, the area must be large enough to ensure that the fastest aircraft can come to a stop before running beyond the light into the darkness; no deep shadows must be cast to confuse the pilot; and the lights must be so arranged as not to dazzle the pilot irrespective of the direction in which he has to land.
(Page 293)
The Harrow Heavy Bomber
THE HARROW HEAVY BOMBER, one of the modern fighting machines made by Handley Page, has two Bristol Pegasus engines. Either of two varieties of this engine may be fitted, the more powerful giving a top speed of 200 miles an hour. The wing span is 88 ft 5 in, the length a little over 82 feet and the height 19 ft 5 in. Camouflage colouring has been adapted in the painting of these bombers.
(Page 301)
The Control Tower at Schiphol Airport
THE CONTROL TOWER AT SCHIPHOL, the airport of Amsterdam. The control officer is operating the signal light which gives permission to take off to the pilot of the aeroplane at which it is pointed. Schiphol Airport is one of the finest and busiest in Europe. In 1937 more than 88,000 passengers passed through the port; in the summer more than 100 commercial aeroplanes make use of it each day.
(Page 302)
