An Amphibi
Page 48
Page 49
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
nd it
Special Uses
Where the Amphibious Flying :oat May Prove a Profitable Proposition. A Full Account of the Sar0 Cloud For About Eight Passengers W}TETHER to employ land machines or sea craft for across-water air services is a question often discussed in a general way ; actually it calls for individual decisions according to the circumstances of each operator. For a regular air service across a stretch of water between coast towns that have no convenient aerodromes, sea craft may prove indispensable. If one of the termini has an aerodrome close at hand and the other has not an amphibious machine has an obvious advantage.
if the foreshore be steep, the machine may unload passengers into dinghies, or at a jetty in deep water. If, on the other hand, there is a shelving beach of good, firm sand— or if a hard exists, or can be constructed—an amphibious machine is able to alight on the water, lower its wheeled undercarriage, and taxi on to dry land without assistance. This is quite a remarkable advantage.
The versatility of use afforded by the amphibious machine may become a major consideration to a concern operating from a base on or near the coast. The speed may not be so high as that of a land machine (not requiring a stout, seaworthy hull), and the horse-power expended per passenger may be rather greater, but the possession of a craft that is ready for private charter to either a coast town or an inland aerodrome extends the scope of the company without need for an extra machine.
Most operators—particularly those at seaside resorts—undertake pleasure flights, and for this work the flying boat is excellent, giving a fresh thrill to those who have experienced only flights from an aerodrome.
The performance data and illustrations with this article relate to the Saro Cloud, a famous amphibian which has been adopted by the R.A.F. for navigational training. Made by Saunders-Roe, Ltd., of long boat-building experience, the Cloud has a form of strong and simple construction similar to that employed in the Spartan Cruiser, a land machine madefor an associated company, also of Cowes.
To give an idea of its seaworthiness, the hull is built entirely of Alclad, a light corrosion-resisting alloy, and has no main longerons, other than the keel and two base longitudinals, the whole structure forming a rigid metal shell, which is divided by four bulkheads into five
watertight compartments. The Cloud has been known to take off from a 4-ft. sea in a gale of .65 m.p.h.
The single plane is a wood-built unit of the conventional cantilever type (i.e., there are no wires that would need adjusting), and has sufficient buoyancy to support the machine if the hull, despite its bulkheads, should be sufficiently damaged to be completely flooded. The wing covering is three-ply wood, and the structure is treated internally and externally to resist sea-water.
The wing floats are of similar construction to the hull, have each two watertight bulkheads, and are fixed well in from the wing tips, where, of
course, they are less liable to get carried away. The tail unit is of welded mild steel, fabric-covered.
Tjle amphibian chassis is lowered instantaneously and raised by the pilot in about 30 seconds. When approaching a mooring, it is useful to lower the undercarriage, so that its drag in the water reduces the speed. Wheel brakes can be fitted, as an extra, to reduce the aerodrome landing run and to simplify manceuvring on the ground.
There are two air-cooled engines mounted above the wings, in which position they are accessible, away from the water and well insulated, as regards their noise, from the cabin. Two 94-gallon tanks are carried in the wings, with supply by duplicated and interconnected engine-driven pumps ; no petrol pipes are in the hull.
From the above details, the general robustness of the Cloud will be apparent. Ease of maintenance is another of its strong points. All hull framing is of straight section, and no plating has curvature in more than one direction, thus facilitating repair.
The company makes amphibians of different sizes—notably the Cutty Sark for a pilot and three passengers—but the Cloud represents a more generally -weft! size.