Jag har genom min sajt Flyghistoria.se blivit kontaktad av en australisk flyghistoriker som håller på att skriva en bok om tremotoriga flygplan genom tiderna. Han har kommit fram till att det finns ett svenskt exempel som kommer att vara med i boken, Thulin H, som ju var ett synnerligen misslyckat försök från en flygplansfabrik i nedförsbacke.
Jag har hjälpt honom med översättningar från svenska och allehanda tips men behöver nu experthjälp, eftersom frågorna börjar bli lite väl detaljerade för mig. Jag lägger fram dem här i original. Svaren som jag hoppas kommer kan vara skrivna på svenska, jag fixar översättningen. Bilderna som nämns i frågorna ligger längst ner, tre av dem är hämtade från SFF:s bildarkiv och en kommer från Landskrona museum.
Jag hoppas verkligen att hjälp finns att få här på forumet, särskilt som han faktiskt anger "SFF's journal" som källa till några av sina uppgifter.
[1]. AETA grew to the point where it employed about 800 people in 1918. Is anything known about the management structure and the main team members ?
I am aware that Sven Eskilsson was the Sales Manager and that an N Kinberg was appointed Chief Test Pilot in 1918 (not sure when ?) but had been involved in the testing of aircraft prior to that appointment. What did the N stand for ? Was he the pilot who did the test flying of the model ‘H’ ?
Most references are vague about the extent of Thulin’s input to the various designs produced by AETA, but imply that he did most of the work ? Was there a ‘Senior designer’, other than Thulin, or a ‘Design Assistant’, and a ‘Senior Draughtsman’ who would have contributed a lot the production of the workshop drawings and supervising the manufacture of the aircraft ?
[2]. Was a specification, or some general performance parameters, issued by the Arméflyget when the request for tenders for the "strid mot luftfartyg" was made in 1916 ?
[3]. The only Thulin aircraft for which I have any construction details is the model ‘NA’. That aircraft had a welded steel tube airframe, similar to contemporary Fokker practice, with fabric covering. The wing had wooden spars, plywood ribs, steel tube compression struts and steel wire internal bracing; all covered by fabric. The tailfin and tailplane were also of steel tube construction with fabric covering. Did the model ‘H’ have similar construction ? The photographs indicate that the forward section of the fuselage and the wing mounted engines had plywood or metal coverings – is this correct ? Are there any drawings of the model ‘H’ still in existence ? [ I note that 3-view drawings of all Thulin designs, including the ‘H’, were produced by Björn Karlstrom for the SFF’s Journal some years ago]
[4]. The 3-view drawings of the model ‘H’ produced by Björn Karlstrom does not show any weapon stations – is this because the factory drawings did not have any ? How was the aircraft meant to engage any marauding airships ?
[5]. In the photographs of the model ‘H’ in the water [Thulin H (4)], in the workshop [Thulin H (9)], and at the Skandinaviska Flygutställningen [Thulin H (14)], there is man in a dark suit, usually wearing a black hat – is this Thulin ? In the photograph of the model ‘H’ in the water [Thulin H (4)], is it possible to identify the man standing on the fuselage and the one in the cockpit ?
[6]. The photos of the aircraft at the Skandinaviska Flygutställningen show it with floats [Thulin H (14)] and with a wheeled undercarriage [Landskrona B4751]. If the aircraft made its first flight with wheels in February 1918 and the aircraft was being shown in May at the Skandinaviska Flygutställningen, as a potential commercial carrier, why was it refitted with floats (knowing it was nor able to takeoff from water) and then had them replaced during the course of the show – or was the switch made before the show began as both photographs do not have any people in them ?
Thulin H (4)
Thulin H (9)
Thulin H (14)
B4751_Kristiania.jpg
