The Sea Again

IN this issue we publish the second of two articles on the Saunders‐Roe Princess flying boat by MR M. J. BRENNAN, Deputy Chief Designer at Saunders‐Roe. It is a sobering thought that the Princess is the first completely original transport flying boat design produced in this country to fly for fifteen years. In the short history of aviation that is a long time. There have always been firm adherents of the flying boat for many applications, but it is only recently that official policy has shown any sign of willingness to encourage this type of aircraft, and even now the future of the Princess is uncertain. However, she is by any criterion a remarkable aircraft, demonstrating many of the qualities which have been claimed for flying boats. An all‐up weight of over 140 tons would in a land plane give rise to very great difficulty at airports; on the basis of published estimates of performance also the Princess can be seen to be at no disadvantage compared with contemporary land planes. The mean cruising speed of 365 m.p.h. is 5 m.p.h. more than that quoted for the Bristol Britannia, for example, although the range is slightly less. Incidentally these two aircraft must compete closely for the lowest percentage structure weight.