Abstract
THE periodical trials for the selection of new types of aircraft for R.A.F. equipment, now in progress, include some machines that have considerable technical interest. Two of the day and night fighters now being tested are monoplanes, designed and built by Messrs. Bristol and Vickers respectively. The British Service requirements for a fighter have hitherto put extreme manoeuvrability in action first in importance. In this respect the biplane is best, and at present all of the R.A.F. fighter machines are of this type. Some Continental nations consider superiority in speed of greater importance, allowing the pilot to engage or break off action at will. The clean lines and somewhat smaller head resistance of the monoplane give it the advantage in this case. The biplane has another point in its favour which must be considered when making comparisons. The wing structure can be built more sturdily for a given weight, and it is consequently safer for resisting the stresses developed in high velocity diving bombing, or in very small turns at high speeds when fighting. The new Bristol monoplane is fitted with a retractable undercarriage to eliminate the resistance of that part when in the air. The motion is carried out electrically, the pilot merely having to move a switch, an indicator on the dashboard telling him the position of the wheels. This type of undercarriage has not been used on R.A.F. standard equipment up to the present.
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Competitive Trials of British Military Aircraft. Nature 134, 842–843 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134842d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134842d0