DISCOVERY 



311 



provided the " specification," because practically every 

 Tccommendation contained therein has been embodied. 

 It may be interesting to note that the cost of nmning 

 the Do Havilland monoplane on a single journey from 

 London to Paris is said to be ^34, while its earning 

 capacity fully loaded is 60 guineas. 



There is, unfortunately, no S])ace in which to deal 

 with more than one or two machines representative of 

 modem practice, but in the same class as the De Havil- 

 land monoplane should be mentioned the Bristol 

 Aeroplane Company's eight-passenger biplane with two 

 pilots, commonly called the "Bristol Ten-Seater," 

 ■which is, again, fitted with the Napier engine. The De 

 Havilland 18 biplane is an intermediate tvpe between 



of a ratchet gear when it is desired to use it on water. 

 It has been exhaustively tested for both puqioses, and 

 it is a very remarkable sight to see it alight on the 

 Thames, " taxi " to the shore, and then climb on to 

 land under its own power on the wheels. This is 

 unquestionably a type of great importance to an island 

 nation such as ours, and when it has been further 

 developed will become a serious competitor of the 

 aeroplane. The full speed, with Napier " Lion " 

 engine, is 119 miles per hour, and it has a range of 480 

 miles w'ith the engine throttled down to 90 miles an 

 hour. Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., also produce the familiar 

 " Vimy " twin-engined aeroplane which made the 

 famous trans-.\tlantir, London-.\ustralia, and South 



Fig. 3.— THE VICKERS "VIKIM. .\.mi-hii 

 A machine for use on both land and water. 



the original B.A.T. and the later types. It was one of 

 the first machines to be fitted with the Napier engine, 

 and carries eight passengers ; the position of the pilot 

 in rear of the cabin, but not so far down the fuselage as 

 in the B..\.T., is to be noticed. In his later machine, 

 themonoplane already mentioned. Captain De Havilland 

 has moved the pilot's cockpit to the front. 



An entirely post-war product is the amphibian, 

 capable of taking off from or alighting on either 

 land or water. The most prominent example of this 

 class is the Vickers " Viking " shown in Fig. 3. The 

 machine illustrated is an early experimental model, but 

 a commercial t\-pe capable of carrj'ing one pilot and 

 four passengers has now been designed. This am- 

 phibian consists of a boat hull provided with landing 

 wheels which can be wound up out of the way by means 



African flights. With two Rolls-Royce " Eagle " 

 engines of 375 h.p. each, it has accommodation, in its 

 latest form, for fifteen passengers and has a maximum 

 speed of a little over 100 miles an hour. 



It has not been possible within the confines of this 

 article to. do more than sketch briefly the progress that 

 has been made in the short space of two years — for 

 little more has elapsed since commercial aviation was 

 seriously taken up — in the evolution of aeroplanes 

 suitable for carrjang passengers and goods from the 

 engines of war upon which the industry had been pre- 

 viously engaged. Perhaps, however, the real develop- 

 ment that has taken place has been sufficiently described 

 to indicate what may be hoped for within the next five 

 or ten years. For ideas are now becoming crystallised 

 as a result of the experience that has been gained. 



