§ Mr. Perkinsasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in how many instances since 1st January, 1937, have the complete noses and complete gear-boxes of motors belonging to Royal Air Force machines come off together with the air-screws; and will he state similar figures for civil aircraft?
§ Earl WintertonThe answer is four and two respectively. In no case was the engine reduction gear itself responsible on account of family design, material or workmanship.
§ Mr. Perkinsasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many instances there have been since 1st January, 1937, of air-screws, belonging to Royal Air Force machines, coming off in the air; how many of these instances have resulted in fatal accidents; and how many of the air-screws concerned have been wooden, metal, and variable pitch?
§ Earl WintertonThe answer to the first part of the question is four, to the second one and to the last part two metal fixed pitch and two metal variable pitch air-screws.
§ Mr. Perkinsasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will state the total number of air-screws belonging to both Royal Air Force machines and civil machines that have come off since 1st January, 1937, in the case of single-engined land-planes, single-engined float-planes, single-engined flying-boats, twin-engined land-planes, twin-engined flying-boats, and four-engined flying-boats, respectively?
§ Earl WintertonThe answer is two twin-engined land-planes and two twin-engined flying-boats of the Royal Air Force and two civil four-engined flying-boats. In the case of one of the latter the cause was a wave hitting the air-screw during the taking off.