Does anyone know the purpose of the looped cable found on the port side of the Hart and Audax just behind the pilot’s cockpit? You should be able to see the very thing in the photo (stolen from Air-Britain K File) attached. It would appear to be quite a common fitting during the first few years of the Hart’s service and can occasionally be seen on the Audax. I’ve looked through a good number of APs but have never found any reference to this cable.
I’ve got a few theories but I’d like to know if anyone knows the actual answer.
Anne
[ATTACH=CONFIG]239342[/ATTACH]
By: John Aeroclub - 22nd July 2015 at 23:20
My thought that this was the jettison cable for a drogue.
John
By: powerandpassion - 22nd July 2015 at 13:06
I wonder if it could be for towing targets Bob T.
Yes, now that you look at it again target drogues were a contemporary technology, great idea BT. Seems quite logical, never seen a set up for drogues, they used Wapitis in the RAAF in the 1930’s for this.
How would you come in to land with a drogue. Was there some jettison arrangement that dropped the drogue over the airfield before you came in to land ?
By: sopwith.7f1 - 22nd July 2015 at 12:40
I wonder if it could be for towing targets or gliders ?, the cable looks robust enough to be used for this. The possition shown would be the stowage possition when not in use “pulled in by the guy in the rear cockpit, and attached to a fitting on the decking, in order to prevent it catching on anything during landing.
Bob T.
By: powerandpassion - 22nd July 2015 at 12:00
Floaties
Here are the systems for the Youngman and flotation bags from Hart AP 1932 :
[ATTACH=CONFIG]239362[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]239363[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]239364[/ATTACH]
Both flotation systems are contained within the wing and are actuated by thin cables that are accessible to the pilot via a handle under the centre section, where the hand grips are. Nothing seems to follow the path of ‘shepherds crook’ running down the side of the fuselage, so I can’t see this explaining it.
Assuming the ‘crook’ is a sheath that may contain a cable, the only other non fanciful explanation might be for releasing the door on a stores container carried under the fuselage. I will have to chase up what information I have on this, but I understood these containers were generally attached to the bomb racks under the lower plane, actuated by the standard bomb cable release.
By: anneorac - 21st July 2015 at 18:07
I was wondering if it had anything to do with securing the Youngman dinghy on aircraft fitted with Kidde-Lux flotation bags?
By: powerandpassion - 21st July 2015 at 15:15
Don’t know for sure, but never noticed it before until you pointed it out !
What an extraordinary excrescence!
The only logical thing would be a Tarzan rope for support clambering in, especially to the gunners position with its raised rim, different to the later cut down Demon and Hind, that didn’t need such a leg over and had a good hand grip position on the crown of the former behind the pilot.
The message pickup had a cable coming out of the underfairing like the later trailing aerial arrangement of WW2. Only the Audax was originally equipped with the message pickup, yet the excrescence was reportedly on the Hart too.
It can’t possibly be some form of aerial.
It looks like some adaptation put in that increased drag until the powers that be found out and told them to cut the nonsense out.
Maybe there to assist in the development of methods for baling out of Hart biplanes. It would allow you to clamber out and stand on the wing before dropping off 1930’s style, maybe for an Air Pageant.
By: anneorac - 21st July 2015 at 14:53
Part of the message pick up apparatus?
Don’t think so. The pick-up hook method had been around for a while on the F2b, Atlas and was fitted to the Audax.
Anne
By: D1566 - 21st July 2015 at 11:13
Part of the message pick up apparatus?
Sign In
July 21, 2015 at 10:52 am