This is also the story of the Schneider Trophy, one of the most prestigious prizes in early aviation that sparked fierce international competition to develop the fastest airplanes in the world. The trophy was the brainchild of Jacques Schneider, a French hydroplane boat racer and balloon pilot who was sidelined by a crash injury. Originally an annual contest, starting in 1912, it promised 1,000 British pounds (more than $100,000 today) to the seaplane that could complete a 280-kilometer (107-mile) course in the fastest time. Interrupted by World War I, the contest resumed in 1919 with a new provision: Any country that won three times in a row would keep the trophy permanently. The prize quickly became the focus of intense international rivalry.

Until 1922, the contest was dominated by flying boats—with their fuselages serving as the floating hull—and by the hard-charging Italians—led by the companies Savoia and Macchi, which came close to walking away with three wins and the trophy, scoring average speeds just over 100 mph. But starting in 1923, the Americans introduced floatplanes (streamlined biplanes on pontoons) and took speeds to an entirely new level. Jimmy Doolittle—the famous racer who later led the first World War II bombing raid on Tokyo—won the 1925 race at 232.57 mph, putting the U.S. one step from final victory.

The sole British victory had come in 1922 in a flying boat built by Supermarine Aviation Ltd. Founded in 1913, the Southampton, England-based company had a disappointing record designing aircraft during WWI but since then had enjoyed some limited success ferrying passengers across the English Channel. The company’s chief designer was a young man still in his 20s named Reginald Joseph “R.J.” Mitchell. Desperate not to be shut out by the Italians and Americans, the British Air Ministry backed Mitchell’s efforts to experiment with some radical new designs.

The Supermarine S.4 (the “S” being for Schneider) was a streamlined floatplane, like the American entries, but a monoplane instead of a biplane, constructed mostly of wood and powered by a 680 hp Napier Lion engine. In 1925 it set a world speed record of 226.752 mph, but it proved highly unstable and crashed during trials for the Schneider Trophy race that year. Two years later, Supermarine and Mitchell were back with a revised design: the Supermarine S.5. Three were built and entered in the Schneider competition, numbered 219, 220, and 221. I’ll be flying No. 220 today.

I’ll talk about some of the differences between the S.4 and S.5, but first let’s set the scene. The Schneider Trophy race was hosted by whichever country won the last time. The Italians were victorious in 1926, so the 1927 race was held in Venice. This time, not only was the British government providing financial support, it also sponsored a team of Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots to fly the airplanes.

One of the more curious conditions of the Schneider contest was that the aircraft first had to prove they were seaworthy by floating for six hours at anchor and traveling 550 yards over water. I found taxiing, takeoff, and landing quite bouncy. With its powerful engine and high center of gravity, the S.5 had a tendency to porpoise up and down over the smallest waves.

For all the entries, just keeping the fragile airframes together and the high-powered engines functioning was half the battle. Often, the finicky aircraft broke down or crashed (like the S.4 did in 1925) before they could even begin the race.

The crowds still came. It’s been barely a few months since American Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, creating a wave of popular enthusiasm for aviation. More than 250,000 spectators have gathered to see the 1927 Schneider race. The course itself is located outside the lagoon, along the Lido. The airplanes must fly seven 47-kilometer laps around the course for a total distance of 320 kilometers (just over 204 miles).

And here we go at full speed across the starting line across from the Hotel Excelsior.

We fly south along the shoreline of the Lido, past the lighthouse at Alberoni, and toward Chioggia.

A steep 180-degree turn at Chioggia, a miniature Venice that built its medieval wealth on its adjoining salt pans…

…then north on the seaward straightaway.

Another hard left turn around the San Nicolo lighthouse…

…then back across the starting line to begin the next lap.

Unlike the S.4, the S.5’s wings are strongly braced by wires. These may add unwanted drag, but they keep the airplane from breaking up under the stress of those high-speed turns.

The S.5 I’m flying, No. 220, is powered by an improved 900 hp Napier Lion piston engine, delivering 220 horsepower more than its predecessor. It has 12 cylinders, arranged in three lines of four cylinders each in the shape of a W, creating the three distinct humps along the nose. The propeller has a fixed pitch.

Fuel was carried inside the two floats, while the oil tank was located inside the tail. The engine was cooled by water, which circulated its heat to copper plates on the wings that served as radiators. Corrugated metal plates along the fuselage served as radiators for the engine oil.

The cockpit is mainly designed to monitor if the engine is overheating—and little else. The goal is to keep rpm close to 3,300, radiator temperature below 95 degrees, and oil temperature below 140 degrees. I’ve found that while the engine may not be air cooled, the flow of air over the radiator surfaces matters a lot. So maintaining a relatively high speed at an efficient engine setting actually helps keep things cool. There’s an airspeed indicator, but it tops out at 400 kilometers per hour, well below our racing speed. There’s no altimeter, and only a rudimentary inclinometer (bubble level) to indicate bank. It’s also nearly impossible to see straight ahead over the engine cowling.

In the cockpit to my right, I have a paper punch card. Every time I pass the finish line, I poke a new hole in it to keep track of how many laps I’ve completed.

Another little twist in the rules: Twice during the race, the aircraft had to “come in contact” with the water—typically a kind of bounce without slowing, which could be very tricky at high speed.

It so happens that  every single airplane except two—both Supermarine S.5s—failed to finish the race in 1927 for one reason or another. Our No. 220, flown by Flight Lieutenant Sidney Webster, finished first with an average speed of 281.66 mph.

The British had won the trophy, but they would have to repeat their performance two more times to keep it for good. To allow more time for aircraft development, participants agreed to hold future competitions every two years, with the next race coming in 1929.

The contest would take place in Supermarine’s home waters off Southampton. The company entered one S.5 and two S.6s. The latter, which had roughly the same design, were now all-metal planes with a new engine with more than twice the horsepower—the 1,900 hp Rolls-Royce R. To keep this monster engine cool, the S.6 needed surface radiators built into its pontoons as well as wings. Not only did one of the S.6s win the 1929 trophy with an average speed of 328.64 mph, but just before the race it set a new world speed record of 357.7 mph.

The British were now one win away from keeping the trophy for good. But with the onset of the Great Depression, the Labour Party-led British government pulled its funding and forbade RAF pilots to fly in the next race in 1931. The decision was wildly unpopular and led to public outcry. Into the fray stepped Lady Lucy Houston, a former suffragette and the second-richest woman in England. Fiercely critical of the Labour Party, she personally pledged to donate whatever funding was needed for Britain to compete in the race.

Backed by 100,000 pounds from Houston (and renewed participation by an embarrassed British government), Supermarine entered six aircraft in the race—two S.5s (including No. 220, which won at Venice), two S.6s, and two brand-new S.6Bs. The S.6B had redesigned floats, but most importantly, an improved Rolls-Royce R engine that delivered an astounding 2,350 horsepower. As it turned out, no other countries entered the competition that year. The S.6B raced alone, achieving an average speed of 340.08 mph. The next day, the S.6B set a new world speed record of 407.5 mph.

There would be no more Schneider Trophy races. With three straight, the trophy was Britain’s to keep, and it remains on display at the Science Museum in London, though few visitors may appreciate what it means. Besides a boost to national pride, the Schneider races propelled aviation forward by leaps and bounds. Today, it might be surprising to realize that the world speed record was consistently set by seaplanes from 1927 to 1935, when the Hughes H-1 Racer finally surpassed them.

The Supermarine S-planes provided Mitchell experience and confidence with incorporating all-metal construction, streamlined monoplane design, innovative wing shapes, and high-performance, liquid-cooled engines. And the S.6s introduced him to working with Rolls-Royce, which built on the lessons learned from its “R” engine to develop a new mass-production engine, starting at 1,000 horsepower, called the Merlin. In the early 1930s, Mitchell would marry these proven high-speed design ideas to the Merlin engine to create the Supermarine Spitfire, the legendary aircraft credited with winning the Battle of Britain during WWII. As for Lady Houston, who supported Supermarine’s entry in the final race, she was later lauded as the “Mother of the Spitfire” for keeping Mitchell’s development efforts alive.

In 1942, the British produced a wartime movie called The First of the Few. It tells the story of Mitchell’s development of the Spitfire, including the key role of the Schneider Trophy races. But the raceplanes themselves were mostly abandoned and ultimately scrapped. Only the Supermarine S.6B that won the 1931 race still survives—now on display at the Solent Sky Museum in Southampton. 

In 1975, Ray Hilborne built a replica of the Supermarine S.5, which was damaged a few years later. Bob Hosie rebuilt it to fly again, inspiring a folk song by Archie Fisher. Sadly, Hosie was killed in 1987 when it crashed. Today his son William Hosie is part of a project to build a new replica of the Supermarine S.5, with hopes to have it flying by 2027. You can learn more about it here.

Meanwhile, the Schneider Trophy race was revived in 1981. Instead of seaplanes, it features small general aviation airplanes as part of the annual British Air Racing Championship.

I hope you enjoyed the story of the Supermarine S.5 and its amazing legacy. If you’d like to see a version of this article with more historical photos and screenshots, you can check out my original post here.

This story was told utilizing the freeware Supermarine S.5 add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 created by sail1800 and downloaded from flightsim.to.

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The museum’s last owner was the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and business magnate, who owned and managed the museum as part of his estate. Allen died in 2018 after battling cancer.

The Museum’s History

According to the museum’s website, Allen was an avid aircraft collector in his lifetime and acquired other military artifacts. 

In 2008, the collection moved from its home in Arlington, Washington, to its current location at Paine Field. It showcased Allen’s collection of approximately 71 pieces from the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union. Another point of historical significance is that the refurbished hangars that housed the museums served as maintenance hangars for Alaska Airlines in the 1950s. 

In May 2020, the museum suspended its operations indefinitely due to the disruption from the pandemic but never reopened. 

Allen’s estate was managed by the holding company he founded in 1986, Vulcan Inc., that held the museum as an asset. Another recent and prominent divestment was Stratolaunch, which Allen founded in 2011 to build a new flying launchpad for space vehicles and rockets. 

With the sale, it is now expected that Walton or the Runway Group will relocate the entire exhibit to another location. Some of the prominent artifacts include SpaceShipOne, the world’s first private crewed spacecraft that won $10 million from the X Prize Foundation as the first civilian team to launch a low-cost spaceship into suborbital flight twice within two weeks. It was carried into space by the White Knight carrier airplane, which was also in the museum.

Who is Steuart Walton?

Steuart Walton is co-founder of the Runway Group, a holding company that invests in real estate, hospitality, and other businesses in Bentonville, Arkansas. He is also the founder and chairman of Game Composites, a company that designs and builds small composite aircraft.

He sits on the boards of directors of Walmart, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Flipkart, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Walton, an accomplished pilot, has been known for his affinity for vintage airplanes. In May 2020, while serving as chairman of the Arkansas Economic Recovery Task Force, he led a statewide flyover to honor healthcare workers and first responders in the early stages of the pandemic. That flyover included four warplanes—a 1944 Goodyear F2G Super Corsair and three North American P-51 Mustangs.

Efforts by FLYING to reach FHCAM, Vulcan, or the Runway Group were unsuccessful.

The post Report: Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Collection Sold to Grandson of Walmart Founder appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

President and COO Zachary Krevor told FLYING on Thursday the six-engined jet, nicknamed “Roc,” could begin its next set of test flights as soon as January in preparation to launch autonomous hypersonic test planes later in 2022. Hypersonic aircraft are designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound. 

Roc made headlines in 2019 when it successfully conducted its first flight, becoming the world’s largest airplane in terms of wingspan—from wingtip to wingtip, it measures 385 feet. That’s longer than an American football field; wider than the wingspan of a Boeing 747-8 or Howard Hughes’ famed H-4 Hercules, aka the Spruce Goose.

‘Threat Replication’

The new military contract calls for Stratolaunch to provide “threat replication” for research by the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency to help scientists understand how to engage and intercept hypersonic threats. 

Recently, U.S. military leaders have expressed concern about the capability of U.S. forces to defend against hypersonic weapons, which fly so fast that they could strike targets in the U.S. with little or no warning. The Pentagon has ramped up its hypersonic weapons research. 

World’s Largest Airplane to Launch Hypersonic Aircraft

Krevor told FLYING that Roc and Talon-A —Stratolaunch’s new autonomous testbed aircraft under development—will help hypersonic weapons engineers develop a solution set to “counter this growing threat from peer competitors such as China.” 

With contracts numbering “well into the double digits—both government and commercial agreements— there’s clearly a strong market for our services,” Krevor said.

Roc is a dual fuselage airplane with a center wing rated to support up to 500,000 pounds. Its engines, landing gear and some flight deck elements were salvaged from 747s. 

After launching from Roc at flight levels similar to commercial airliners, Talon-A will fly to altitudes above 50,000 feet, where hypersonic testing conditions are ideal. 

Two prototype Talon-As are being built at Stratolaunch’s facility in Mojave, California. 

Because it will be autonomous, Talon will not be controlled from Roc or from the ground. It is designed to have the ability to adjust its flight profile based on its mission. 

The first Talon-A hypersonic flight tests are scheduled to begin next year. 

Microsoft Roots

Created in 2011, the Stratolaunch company was the brainchild of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. 

After his untimely death in 2018, Stratolaunch’s parent company Vulcan sold it to Cerberus Capital Management the following year. 

Roc will continue to undergo testing while engineers develop Talon-A. In fact, the massive jet is now being prepped for a new round of test flights, Krevor said. 

“Just like everyone these days we’re certainly continuing to work through the trials and tribulations of the COVID pandemic, and so we anticipate flying again shortly after the new year.“

The post World’s Largest Airplane to Launch Hypersonic Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Did you ever fly out of Meigs Field in downtown Chicago before it closed? It’s one of those airports you will never forget—if you were lucky enough to visit before the painful closure in 2003. But ask just about any pilot today who learned to fly in the late 1990s or early 2000s, and memories will flood back to the view from the departure end of Runway 36 at KCGX—preparing for takeoff in Microsoft Flight Simulator. For many, including me, this was the first introduction to the excitement and freedom of general aviation.

After mastering the traffic pattern over Lake Michigan and buzzing the Hancock building and Sears Tower, it was only natural to switch over to Patty Wagstaff’s Extra 300S and fly the BFGoodrich-sponsored aerobatic airplane for some high-performance inverted maneuvers. Most of us had no idea what we were doing, but thanks to an inexpensive yoke or joystick and the family computer, we learned more about airplane control, flight instruments and aerodynamics than we likely realized at the time.

There’s no question that the countless hours of joyriding around the US in Flight Simulator led me to choose a career path in aviation. And I can say for a fact that the experience and knowledge indirectly gained from manipulating the controls of the Cessna 172 and studying the instrument panel trimmed off more than a few hours of the time it took to earn my private pilot certificate in 2000.

Over the last 10 to 15 years, though, it seems like flight simulators lost their magic. The simulators of the past decade are as technically accurate as it gets and allow you to flip every last switch in an Airbus or King Air cockpit, but they feel more mechanical and don’t have the “it” factor that the original Flight Simulator offered.

Change is in the air, though. Microsoft recently debuted an all-new version of Flight Simulator, and it’s hands-down the most capable and inspiring version yet in the product’s 38-year history. The unparalleled visuals incorporate more than two petabytes of satellite and 3D photogrammetry data to show the world in detail never seen before.

The scenery is a big part of why the new Flight Sim delivers the “it” factor aviation enthusiasts crave. At Sporty’s, we regularly fly to regional airport diners for $100 pancakes at sunrise before the workday begins, and there’s an unwritten rule to stay below 1,000 feet agl in an effort to appreciate the journey. The new edition will allow future pilots to experience that same feeling from home.

The development team spent countless hours creating detailed airplane models, instrument panels and aerodynamics. You can fully interact with air traffic control, fly alongside real-time traffic with data from FlightAware, and enable real-time weather data. It’s not the game experience offered by the company’s 2012 release, Microsoft Flight.

Read More from Bret Koebbe: Pilot’s Discretion

Today, it’s never been easier or more affordable to outfit your home flight sim right from the start with a full set of controls, including yoke, throttle and rudder pedals. One company leading the way with innovative new hardware is Honeycomb, which launched its first flight-sim yoke last year. Beyond looking flat-out cool, the Honeycomb Alpha yoke provides the best control feel of any on the market, thanks to roller-ball-bearing construction and freedom to bank a full 90 degrees. The company also has a throttle quadrant debuting later this year.

In addition to the standard flight controls, there are more advanced add-ons available, such as radio stacks, switch panels and fully functioning Garmin 430W accessories. These are broadening the appeal of next-generation home simulators beyond aviation enthusiasts, and are becoming a popular resource for existing pilots to help keep their flying skills sharp at home.

There will always be those who are quick to dismiss home simulators, viewing them as just a game. As a flight instructor, I see real value in practicing real-world scenarios with these systems, as long as you approach it with the right attitude. When practicing at home, here are a few suggestions for practice:

*VFR skill building: high-density-altitude takeoffs and landings, mountain operations.

*IFR proficiency: LPV approaches to minimums, holding-pattern practice, a zero-zero takeoff.

*Emergency procedure execution: engine failure after takeoff, electrical failure at night.

*EFB (mobile app) integration: nearest airport diversion, and practice using newly released features.

The fourth item in the list is something you’ll really want to practice across all the scenarios; you can connect your iPad to the sim and use it the same way for navigation as if you were in the airplane. This may provide the most value in a simulated environment, allowing you to think outside the checklist to better handle simulated emergencies. And thanks to the option to fly in real-time weather, you can practice simulated flights in conditions that might normally push your personal minimums.

In the long run, the new Flight Sim’s fun factor might be its biggest contribution to the aviation community, introducing general aviation to today’s youth (and those young at heart) to inspire them the same way flying out of Meigs Field did for my generation 25 years ago.

This story appeared in the November 2020, Buyers Guide issue of Flying Magazine

The post Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Next Generation appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Having a high-fidelity home simulation theater just ratcheted up in importance over the last six months for a lot of pilots. When the real thing is difficult—or nigh-on impossible—practicing maneuvers and instrument procedures from the comfort of your now-very-familiar home office takes on a shine—and may even be considered a necessity for pilots to stay sane.

Though the highly anticipated release of Microsoft’s latest edition of Flight Simulator has been in the works since long before the coronavirus hit US shores, the timing feels impeccable. Flight Simulator 2020 goes out with a launch in all 50 states in the US, beginning at 04:00 Zulu (that’s 12 am EDT) on August 18. Following that release, purchasers in other countries around the world can start downloading the program at staggered times.

Based on reports from the alpha and beta testers who have been working the program over the last few months, the realism of the new program puts the entire world into sharp focus for aviators and enthusiasts. For those pilots at work equipping their home sim setups, Microsoft has partnered with Thrustmaster to give away the flight control manufacturer’s new TCA Sidestick Airbus Edition joystick. Follow them both on Twitter and retweet the promotion to enter.

Sporty’s Pilot Shop is also celebrating the release of MSFS 2020 with a series of tools designed to help pilots get the most out of the new software—and put together a computer optimized for home simulation—including pro tips from their sim guru Chris McGonegle. Sporty’s will also feature a demo on Instagram Live on August 18 at 2 pm EDT.

The post A Flight Sim For 2020 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

With the advent of X-Plane’s latest versions of flight simulation programs for desktop and mobile devices, and the hotly anticipated return (after 14 years’ absence) of Microsoft Flight Simulator, 2020 may be your year to set up a real in-home flight training and proficiency experience. The MSFS developers just released another teaser, “Let It Snow,” to show off the newest in weather and terrain depiction promised for the program. And users of X-Plane know well its ability to replicate and support detailed training missions with highly realistic environments and aircraft modeling.

Many of us at Flying have found both value and joy in practicing and emulating the flights we plan to execute—as well as those we may never get a chance to make in real life. To this end, you may be wondering what you need in order to get the most out of these programs, while keeping the cost and footprint within your home or office reasonable.

In reality, while you can replicate down to the knobs the cockpit of an Airbus A320 in your basement, you don’t need to go to any kinds of extremes in order to gain a lot of mileage from these programs. Start with a PC or Mac with a high-res display (or two) and a moderate level of sound and video capability—the computer itself can be a laptop or desktop unit. Add a multi-axis joystick with a twist grip, such as the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick or one of the latest in the well-known Thrustmaster series. The twist grip is essential for operating the rudder pedals—though you can add on a set of those if you wish to stay in the habit of using your feet. More useful: a standalone radio panel, which will not only save you from hunting around the screen with a pointer to switch frequencies and other comm ops, but also add to the verisimilitude of the experience.

If you want to increase the program’s performance without upgrading your computer, you can use a solid-state drive (SSD) to supplement the space on your resident drive. You’ll also want additional drive space if you plan to take advantage of the high-res scenery promoted in the newest versions of X-Plane and MSFS 2020.

Need a bit more? We have found that the guidance given by the folks at PilotWorkshops to be fundamentally sound in choosing and setting up a home flight-simulation outfit. The founders draw from their collective experience both working for and working with some of the top simulation names in the business—as well as their incredible attention to detail and instructional backgrounds. For a complete tutorial on setting up your sim at home, check out their series, “How to Use X-Plane for Real Flight Training at Home.” Though it focuses in on X-Plane, the insider tips they give are fairly universal and portable to other simulation platforms.

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