Abstract
A WESTLAND PV-3 type two-seater biplane, named the Houston-Westland, fitted with a Bristol Pegasus S.III engine, piloted by Mr. H. J. Penrose, test pilot at the Westland Aircraft Works, reached a height of 35,000 ft. at Yeovil on Wednesday, January 25. The total time in the air was about 1 hr. 40 min. This constitutes a worldâs record for a two-seater aircraft. This machine has been specially adapted to undertake a flight over Mount Everest in conjunction with an expedition led by Air-Commodore P. F. M. Fellowes, with Lord Clydesdale as pilot. Specially designed electrical heating apparatus includes not only heated clothing, but also warming devices for the cabin, the valves of the oxygen apparatus for breathing, many of the instruments and jackets for the cameras. The pilot's cockpit is a normal open one, but is fitted with a hooded windscreen as a protection against draughts. The observer's cockpit is roofed over and is provided with sliding windows in either side and the floor for photographic purposes. Williamson Eagle cameras and cinematograph apparatus are to be used. The machine weighs about 5,000 lb. fully loaded as for the Everest flight, and, as is usual with supercharged engines, carries a propeller that allows the full horse power to be developed only after passing 13,000 ft. height. Temperatures down to -40° C. were registered inside the observer's cabin at the extreme altitude reached. The elimination of vibration, to assist the photography, has been specially dealt with, and in this respect the flight was very successful. A second machine is being converted similarly to take part in the expedition.
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Preliminary Tests for Everest Flight. Nature 131, 160 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131160a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131160a0