1938-03-26 — Page 8

THE CHINA MAIL MARCH 26, 1938.

GENIUS WHO MADE AIR HISTORY Inventor Sees Six-Year-Old Idea Bears Fruit

Mayo Composite Aircraft

a large lightly-loaded machine on whose back the transport aeroplane would be mounted.

The secondary problem was not how to lock them together for the take-off, but how to separate the heavily-loaded aircraft from the porter machine.

Defying Gravity

RUBBER IN PLANE

CONSTRUCTION

damage it, is suitable for fuel tank many years, and as petrol does not

lining.

Much use has been made in air the cells are filled with nitrogen, craft in the past few years

an inert non-inflammable gas. It WATCHING THE HISTORIC

lasts without deterioration for TRIAL FLIGHT OF THE PICK-

specially treated rubber, although A-BACK MACHINE ON FEB. 6

Curiously enough, Major Mayo the fact is little known outside WAS A TALL, BROAD SHOUL did not know until after he had manufacturing circles. DERED, SLIM MAN WITH patented his completed plans, that a Many of the principal manufac The material is also light and KEEN, CLEAN-SHAVEN FACE. Bristol Bullet fighter was flown off turers are at present using the ma- buoyant, and in the structure of an

A QUIET VOICE AND

the back of a Porte flying-boat dur-terial for the fairing of struts and aeroplane would render the craft EVEN QUIETER MANNER RE-g the war. In this instance other parts, in certain cabin fit-unsinkable. TRAYED NOTHING OF AN lightly-loaded fighter machine wastings, and for life buoys and pon- The French Admiralty is using it INNER EXCITEMENT AS THE carried into the air by a heavily toons. Its application is expected in considerable thickness as a back- TWO MACHINES ROSE INTO leaded flying-boat, serving simply in the near future to bodies, anding of armour, for it would help to THE AIR, LOCKED TOGETH-las a mobile aerodrome for the fight even wings.

absorb the impact force of shells. ER; A FEELING OF RELIEF er.

The new rubber material is not Its buoyancy, moreover, suggests AND VICTORY AS THEY

The Mayo Composite is a para-spongy, does not absorb water, and many marine uses. Flying-suits PARTED IN MID-AIR AND dox, because the heavy machine has is non-conductive of sound and can be made from it, and it is suit- FLEW OFF AS SEPARATE to lift itself away from the less load heat. It is minutely cellular, and able for tropical helmets. MACHINES.

ed aircraft, thus more or less defy-

The man is Major Robert Hobarting the laws of gravity. Moreover, Mayo, inventor of the Mayo compos-the composite is not just two aero-

ite aircraft. The fight was born planes tied together; as was, the BRITISH BOMBERS

of an idea he had six years ago. case with the rather heroic war-]

To-day he is Technical General time experiment.

Manager of Imperial Airways. Back The lower flying-bost and the BREAK RECORDS

in 1931, Mayor Mayo was aboard upper seaplane form, when locked

ship bound for America and the together, a perfect eight-engined EVERY

West Indies, spying out the land for biplane, neither of the components the Atlantic air services now in the interfering with the fiying qualities experimental stage.

of the other.

DAY

U.S. MACHINE GUN FOR R.A.F.

American Browning machine- guns are to be used by the Royal

under licence in Great Britain with Air

The aviation correspondent of Air Force. They are to be made the "Daily Mail says that the new modifications ordered by the Blenheim bombers of the Royal Air Ministry.

This is an air-cooled gun, with a Force are engaged daily on routine flights over Britain, passing over- very high rate of firing, and weighs head unseen and unheard at an Force are a Vickers type, usually 241⁄2lb. - Machine-guns in the Air

altitude of 14,000 feet.

in fixed positions. the aeroplane, and the Lewis guns for moveable positions.

He saw clearly that only by means Major Mayo is one of the big of high speed combined with long brains in the British aircraft indus- range could air services across the try. He was a brilliant student who Atlantic be made successful

has fulfilled the promise of his No one knew better than he that youth. a high speed aircraft able to fir Born in Cambridge in 1890, Bob non-stop over long distances is so ert Hobart Mayo went to his home weighted with its essential petrol university and graduated with a load that it can carry very little else "double first in mathematics and

They are breaking records daily, and has difficulty in getting into engineering. Flying was his inter-

the correspondent says, and he adds All accessories or instruments of the air.

est as a young man.

that one of these aircraft recently foreign origin adopted by the Air Wrestling with this problem, he

Fought With R.F.C.. evolved the idea of the pick-a-back In 1913 he went down from Cam-performed a remarkable flight from Ministry have to be manufactured composite machine. That was the bridge to join the staff of the Royal Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire, to Upa- in Great Britain. Arrangements of broad idea. The long-range mach-Aircraft Factory at Farnborough, von, Wiltshire, a distance of 336 this kind between the different ine would have enough power to give and the following year, at the age miles, in 70 minutes, at an average countries are frequent. it high speed when once in the air, of 24, became head of the experi-speed of 288 miles an hour, despite case was the adoption of the Link bad weather conditions, the groundTrainer, an American ground ma- but the deficiency in power to get it mental department. into the air would be supplied by The war arrived. The young en visibility being limited to 1,000 chine which enables a pilot to be- come familiar with blind approach and landing.

3 TRAVEL BY-K. L-M

Air-Conditioned

Cabins

Perfectly Soundproof

Deep Reclining

Arm Chairs,

THREE SERVICES

WEEKLY

TUE: THUR: SAT

Batavia dep. 10.30 am. Singapore

#

3.00 pa WED: FRI: SULA Penang dep. 8.30 a Bangkok 1245 Special Through Reduction for Officials

·

فری

KLM

ROYAL DUTCH AIR LINES AGENTS: JAVA CHINA JAPAN LINE

HING CHATER ROAD, (P)

yards

A recent

The first few of these have been

gineer learned to fly and went to France with the Royal Corps. I seat from the Canadian branch of 1916 he returned to England to be the parent firm. These machines come senior officer of the squadron are now to be made in England. of pilots atsakiesham with the exciting but dangerous job of test- ing all new be of aeroplanes.

From 1918 was head of the aeroplane design section at the Air *Ministry Then he returned to con- salting engineering, which led to his being appointed technical adviser to Imperial Airways.

Machine's Future

CHURCHES

TO-MORROW'S SERVICES

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST

(Branches

I asked Major Mayo about the

of the Mother future development of the composite Church, The First Church of machine. "I cannot say," he replied, Christ. Scientist, in Boston, Mass). "but I hope it will play a useful Macdonnell Road, by Macdonnell part in the development of long-Road Tram Station.

range Empire services. This, first machine must be regarded purely as

Sunday Subject

a prototype which has proved the

Testimon

46 pm

principle

Wednesday, is located

It was designed as a seaplane sojat Bank of East Asia Buildings, 10 that it would be used on both the Des Voeux Road, Central, and js northern and the southern routes open as follows:

over the North Atlantic. The route via the Azores and Bermuda neces- sitates marine aircraft because no land facilities are possible at Ber- muda.

The composite principle is to be applied to landplanes a large zero- plane taking another smaller long- range aeroplane on its back. The principle can be applied to planes large enough to provide sleep ing accommodation for Designs are Chand for lar

speeds and

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

And Friday

10.30 am to 1 pm.

pm to 4 pm.

5 pm to 7pm WEDNESDAT

10:30 am to 1 pm. SATURDAY

10.30 am to 12:30 pm.

Saturdays

Eiteratu

Reading Room.

The Publica

dis- to attend the Service

Reading Room.

Halls