Just to add a few sprinkles onto the cupcake :

Below is a close up of the original photo which concurs with Bob’s ID :

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This c0ckpit photo came with a group showing the radio appartus of Siskin J7001 :

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The obverse shows the date to be 1927, not a bad year :

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All this brought me to connect back to Air Board No.244 Rolls Royce Eagle and Falcon 1917, showing the fuel feed system, incorporating a wind driven air pump for pressurizing the fuel system, which would most logically link to a bowden cable brake labelled ‘petrol pump brake.’

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In the RR Eagle, there was no mechanical fuel pump in 1917. Fuel was either delivered by gravity via an upper wing tank, like a Tiger Moth, or via a pressurized fuel tank, air pressure derived from an engine mounted air pump. If the tank became over pressurized, for example, when ascending to height, a relief valve in the tank could vent over pressure. But there was a problem. If you were descending, the engine was generally at lower RPM, and might not provide enough revolutions for the engine mounted air pressure pump to keep fuel up to the engine. In combat, where you might then be required to rapidly ascend, the engine might cut out. The solution was to provide a wind driven air pump, so as you dived, this would take over the task of pressurizing the fuel tank. Probably the only time you would want to brake this pump is if you were descending to land, otherwise you would leave it unbraked. The position of the lever in the Siskin suggests function in conjunction with the throttle. The Siskin had the AS Jaguar – I do not know if it had a mechanical petrol pump. I am not familiar with the Siskin fuel supply system, except that there were no upper wing petrol tanks.

I still think these same levers were more commonly used on 20’s-30’s motorbikes to control magneto advance, as you see them around, but it is now obvious that they were used in aircraft. The Bristol Jupiter, used in the Wapiti and Bulldog, had manual magneto advance, but this was linked to the throttle lever, rather than a separate bowden control. Individually controlling magneto advance would otherwise be too busy. I guess on motorbikes you could do it with your thumb as you rolled the throttle.

I am not sure if Bristol Fighters and other early RAAF or civilian aircraft had air pressurized fuel supply, but the inference is that any Falcon or Eagle powered aircraft had to have such a system, as there was no mechanical fuel pump in 1917. Why would RR not have a ‘normal’ engine driven fuel pump when they did have an equally heavy air pressure pump? Whatever the logic, the later Kestrel had a mechanical fuel pump.

Magneto advance for motorbike maybe…

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 ?

I always enjoy the passion and effort you put into this, keep it up, pledge made, Ed.
George Bernard Shaw : “All progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

I am always drawn to what I call the Hermit Crab Air Forces, eg the Indonesian airforce 1945-9, based on Japanese training and aircraft. Now that I think about it ‘A History of the Indonesian Air Force’, covering the shift through Japanese, United States and Soviet equipment, stories like the 1958 Colonel’s Revolt, when the US supplied, ex the Phillipines, B-25s flown by US citizens, shot down by Indonesian P-51 Mustangs. Later, Indonesian overflights of Australia by Soviet supplied bombers, lots of surprising and interesting information about a the little known airforce of the world’s fourth largest country by population. On that point, if only 0.05% of the reading public are into historic aviation, that’s 0.05% x 180 million = 900,000 print run. Have to be in Bahasa though !

I also have kids that look at the window winder of a car and say ‘what’s that?’. The technical knowledge that is self evident to someone aged 40 and up is not self evident to someone aged 20 and under. I would like to see more meaty publications on restorations, that are like a cookbook, show you the ingredients, walk through the process, preserve the knowledge. This might be better as a DVD, with an old timer going through line boring a Merlin crankcase, setting up a retracting undercarriage or rebuilding a turn and slip gauge.

Of course a book on British Strip Steel Construction 1925- 1935, lavishly illustrated, linked to appendices that are developed in more detail on the web. A kind of synthesis of book and internet, allowing you to read in front of the fire and then pick up the iPad if you want more detail. The web delivery also allows delivery of video and readers to feed back, interact with the author by asking supplementary questions, or even offering even more detail in the form of photos or information that can be added to keep the publication evolving. Bundle a subscription to the web content with the book price. Bring it all into the 21st century.

[QUOTE=DavidIsby;2242194]
Hinds saw extensive combat in the Safi revolt of 1944-49.

Do you have any web links to this situation? I understand that during this period of Afghan history the largely Pashtun airforce may have been involved in dealing with various insurrections – from speaking to Afghani Hazara today there was a period of time that up to 30% of the Hazara population was eliminated in a fairly brutal sectarian conflict. I wonder if the last rounds loosed in anger from Afghan Hinds were in the strafing of villages?

The period from 1944 – 49 seemed to be a convulsion across the globe as old and new paradigms of political authority sought to consolidate against internal opposition : The Greek Civil war, Partisan operations in Poland and the Baltic nations occupied by the Soviet Union, The Indonesian and North Vietnamese independence struggles against the Dutch and French, the birth of Israel. The march of one army into the Sudetenland sent out a ripple that worked its way around the globe for the next ten years.