مجموعة ٥/٧٣ "سلاح الجو الأفغاني: تقارير" [و‎‎٨‎٢] (٤٣١/١٦٣)

APPENDIX
"B"
fteuoi t an Test of a Ti-;er Mo th a ircraft at Kabul in
May-June. 1944, by'SAur.. B- r. King
Pilot Ins true oor to tne TTf^han ^lr Force *
X was present in the aircraft throughout all the triala
carried out by pilots of the aoyal Afghan Air Force# I also carried
out a few trials myself. I was very pleased with the performance
of this aircraft here in Kabul (Height 6000 feet) and,in my opinion,
not only did it pass all its trials satisfactorily, but also main*
tained its hi^i standard of efficiency in the air and on the ground
as attained at much lower altitudes# I found that the take-off
run was approximately four to five hundred yards in 12 to 15 seconds
according to the individual pilot. Initial climb to 200 feet was goo
in the cool air but I detected a slight decrease in this rate of
climb from about 9*30 onwards when the ground temperature was reason
ably high, however the climb ms still satisfactory in my opinion#
A height climb to 16000 feet above sea level (I.E.10.000 feet abovo
Kabul; was carried out in 38 minutes and the aircraft was still
climbing at this altitude. I estimated that its ceiling with two
pilots and normal load, as flown during trials, to be something in
the region of 17,000 tOGl7*50(* fee* abovl dSaE16^.f8p4e^tar(iaIa:^W
carried out'at 9,000 feet above sea level (I«E, 3000 feet above Kabul)
At full throttle the indicated air speed was 86 miles per hour which,
when corrected for height of 9000 feet above sea level, gives a true
air speed reading of 96.8 m.p.h# (H.B, The correction factor is
approximately Plus 1.2 m.p.h. for every 1,000 feet above sea level.
Normal cruising at two thirds throttle gave an indicated air speed
of 78 m.p.h. that is to say a true air speed of 88.8 m.p.h. Various
types of stall were tried out and in every case the stall ms gentle
and straightforward, the aircraft quickly regaining stability again
of ita own accord on reaching flying speed once again# There waa
absolutely no tendency to drop a wing or go into a spin# However with
the automatic slots in the locked position the aircraft did go into
a spin from an intentional stall off a steep gliding turn, which was
to be expected.
Afghan pilots only carried out loops and spins during trials, out
I put the aix craft through the full range and found that she
able to perform all the maneouvres satisfactorily# I noticed that a
spin to the right was just a little faster than that to the
but in both cases it was very gentle and certainly no faster than
that of the Hind. Recovery was quick and positive, with sniy approxi
mately 500 feet of altitude being lost in a spin of froi* 5 to b
turns, accurate petrol consumption trials could not be carried out#
owing to lack of accurate liquid measures^ However such, checks as
could be made showed the consumption at fu3.1 throttle to* be approxi
mately 9 gallons per hour. At 'two thirds throttle the fi.gure was
about 5^ gallons. On the height Climb test flight, whicii included^
some 20 minutes general flying and lasted for 1 hour, onily {
of petrol was consumed. Oil consumption throughout the t#riais nas
been approximately 1 pint per hour.
Conclusions.
My unbiased opinion of the Tiger Moth ^^ T JL
aircraft for tirainin^. I am of the opinion that it ia in all ways
suitable for vise in the Royal Afghan Air Force, and X knew of no
reason why pupils should not be able to go solo in the Hiiu,
only one or two hours jhrior dual on typeA after 75 to lQ 0 nours
flying practice in the Tiger Moth. Tnis ass'vnption is substantiated
by the Royal Afghan Air Fotfce Pilots trained in India who, alter
only appxj*^ x