Guillemin JG.40

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Guillemin JG.40
Guillemin J.G. 40 Annuaire de L'Aeronautique 1931.jpg
Role Military air ambulance
National origin France
Manufacturer Blériot Aéronautique
Designer J. Guillemin
First flight 2 October 1930
Number built 2

The Guillemin JG.40 was designed and built to meet a French government requirement for a small air ambulance capable of operating in the colonies. Two were completed and performed well but the JG.40 did not reach production.

France Republic with mainland in Europe and numerous oversea territories

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Contents

Design

Around 1930 there was a French interest in small aircraft capable of evacuating a single ill or wounded patient to hospital from roughly prepared sites in the colonies. The Lorraine-Hanriot LH.21S and the Potez 42 were examples of the category and the Guillemin JG.40 was another. They posed several design challenges, principally around the need for a large, clear patient enclosure with easy ground access from a stretcher. Guillemin, who had worked at Hanriot from 1922-9, was familiar with the problems. [1]

Lorraine-Hanriot LH.21S

The Lorraine-Hanriot LH.21S was designed and built in 1930 to meet a French government requirement for a small air ambulance capable of operating in the colonies. It did not reach production.

The Potez 42 was designed and built in 1930 to meet a French government requirement for a small air ambulance capable of operating in the colonies. It did not reach production.

Stretcher equipment for moving patients in need of medical care

A stretcher, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher is often equipped with variable height frames, wheels, tracks, or skids. In American English, a wheeled stretcher is referred to as a gurney.

The Guillimen JG.40 was a high wing cantilever monoplane, a configuration which offered easy access to the fuselage sides. A cockpit well behind the trailing edge allowed the patient's compartment to be placed over the centre of gravity, where varying loads would least affect the trim. The wings were trapezoidal in plan and were in three parts, with a centre-section mounted on top of the fuselage and slightly hollowed out above to improve the field of view from the cockpit. Outboard the wing section thinned from below to produce mild dihedral. The wings were built around two wooden box spars, with wooden ribs and plywood covering, using established glue and nail techniques suited to the high humidity and temperatures of some French colonies. [1]

Cantilever beam anchored at only one end

A cantilever is a rigid structural element, such as a beam or a plate, anchored at one end to a support from which it protrudes; this connection could also be perpendicular to a flat, vertical surface such as a wall. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs. When subjected to a structural load, the cantilever carries the load to the support where it is forced against by a moment and shear stress.

Monoplane Fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane, in contrast to a biplane or other multiplane, each of which has multiple planes.

Fuselage aircraft main body which is the primary carrier of crew, passengers, and payload

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Externally, the fuselage of the JG.40 was a simple rectangular section, deep, dural-skinned box, which only tapered significantly in profile just before the engine. The first example to fly was powered by a nine-cylinder Salmson 9Nc radial and the second, designated JG.41, [2] by a five-cylinder Lorraine 5Pc. Both engines produced about 89 kW (120 hp) and had narrow chord Townend ring cowlings. Much of the underlying fuselage structure was formed from dural tube girders but under the wing there were two transverse dural box frames, open on the starboard side or C-form. These joined the fuselage to the two wing spars and formed undercarriage attachment points, whilst leaving access to the space for a patient, 2,250 mm (7 ft 5 in) long, 580 mm (1 ft 11 in) high and 250 mm (9.8 in) wide. The metal door to this space was hinged from below and had telescopic stays which held it horizontal when open, easing the move from stretcher to the adjustable bed within. Engine exhaust gases were carefully directed down the port side, away from the patient's door, via a cooling silencer which passed the gases into a 4.0 m (13 ft 1 in) outlet. The pilot's open cockpit was midway between the trailing edge of the wing and the tail, with long fairings ahead and behind him. The pilot could monitor his patient's condition in flight as the partition between them was transparent. In contrast to the rest of the fuselage, the rear sides were rapidly detachable leatherette panels. [1] [3]

Radial engine reciprocating engine with cylinders arranged radially from a single crankshaft

The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is called a "star engine" in some languages. The radial configuration was commonly used for aircraft engines before gas turbine engines became predominant.

Chord (aeronautics) imaginary straight line joining the leading and trailing edges of an aerofoil

In aeronautics, a chord is the imaginary straight line joining the leading and trailing edges of an aerofoil. The chord length is the distance between the trailing edge and the point on the leading edge where the chord intersects the leading edge.

Townend ring

A Townend ring is a narrow-chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling.

The tail unit was conventional, with trapezoidal horizontal and vertical surfaces. The tailplane was mounted at mid-fuselage and was braced to the fin by a single strut on each side. The control surfaces were unbalanced and the bottom of the rudder was cropped to allow elevator movement. The JG.40 had fixed landing gear, with split axles and drag struts hinged from the central fuselage underside and with vertical Messier oleo-legs from the forward wing spars. The mainwheels had hydraulic brakes. The castoring tailwheel was also on an oleo strut. [1]

Tailplane small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes

A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes. Not all fixed-wing aircraft have tailplanes. Canards, tailless and flying wing aircraft have no separate tailplane, while in V-tail aircraft the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and the tail-plane and elevator are combined to form two diagonal surfaces in a V layout.

Fin flight control surface

A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fins are also used to increase surface areas for heat transfer purposes, or simply as ornamentation.

Balanced rudder

Balanced rudders are used by both ships and aircraft. Both may indicate a portion of the rudder surface ahead of the hinge, placed to lower the control loads needed to turn the rudder. For aircraft the method can also be applied to elevators and ailerons; all three aircraft control surfaces may also be mass balanced, chiefly to avoid aerodynamic flutter.

Development

The Salmson powered JG.40 made its first flight on 2 October 1930. [4] It had been built by Bleriot so appeared on their stand at the 12th Paris Salon held in December 1930. [5] [6] The JG.41 flew in January 1931. [2]

Blériot Aéronautique aircraft manufacturer

Blériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few motorcycles between 1921 and 1922 and cyclecars during the 1920s.

Comparative testing by military pilots of the three air-ambulances was under way by March 1931. [7] They were later joined by the Guillemin second prototype with its Lorraine engine. [8] In November they reported that their tests of the JG.40 were ended, that it had performed excellently and was the best aircraft of the three. There were hopes that it would receive a production order and become a common sight across the French colonies. [9] One of the JG.40s was damaged in February 1932; [10] in December the second example was at Villacoublay for further tests. [11] [12] By June these had been concluded "brilliantly" and the aircraft was flown to a conference on Medical aviation at Madrid. [13]

In September 1933 a JG.40 took part in the Tour de France des avions prototypes but suffered undercarriage damage on the fifth day. [14]

Despite its excellent test results the Guillemin JG.40 did not reach production and the small air-ambulance role was filled by the later and more powerful Bloch MB.81. [15]

By April 1936 the JG.40 was flying with a 130 kW (175 hp) Salmson 9Nd nine-cylinder radial, which much improved performance. Maximum speed was raised to 200 km/h (120 mph; 110 kn) at 2,000 m (6,600 ft), ceiling to 7,000 m (23,000 ft) and range to 600 km (370 mi). [16] It was redesignated as the JG.43. [17] By July it was being officially tested at Villacoublay. [18]

Variants

JG.40
First prototype, 89 kW (120 hp) Salmson 9Nc. [1] [4]
JG.41
Second prototype, 89 kW (120 hp) Lorraine 5Pc, otherwise unchanged [1] [2]
JG.42
As second prototype. [19]
JG.43
With a 130 kW (175 hp) Salmson 9Nd [16] [17]

Specifications (JG.40)

Data from General: L'Aéronautique December 1930 [3] Performance: Les Ailes December 1930 [1]

General characteristics

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 150 km/h (93 mph; 81 kn) at 2,500 m (8,200 ft)
  • Range: 500 km (311 mi; 270 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,000 ft)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Frachet, André (7 December 1930). "Le monoplan Guillemin JG.40". Les Ailes (494bis): 9.
  2. 1 2 3 Bruno Parmentier (20 February 2010). "Guillemin JG.41" . Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Le monoplan sanitaire ou postal Guillemin J.G.40". L'Aéronautique (139): 461–2. December 1930.
  4. 1 2 3 Bruno Parmentier (8 October 2007). "Guillemin JG.40" . Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Le Salon de l'Aéronautiques". Les Ailes (493): 13. 27 November 1930.
  6. ↑ "Peties Nouvelles ...de France". Les Ailes (493bis): 19. 30 November 1930.
  7. ↑ "D'aérodrome en aérodrome - à Villacoublay". Les Ailes (508): 12. 12 March 1931.
  8. ↑ "D'aérodrome en aérodrome - à Villacoublay". Les Ailes (543): 12. 12 November 1931.
  9. ↑ "Les essais de deux avions nouveaux à Villacoublay". Les Ailes (542): 14. 5 November 1931.
  10. ↑ "D'aérodrome en aérodrome - à Villacoublay". Les Ailes (557): 12. 18 February 1932.
  11. ↑ "D'aérodrome en aérodrome - à Villacoublay". Les Ailes (602): 14. 22 December 1932.
  12. ↑ "Figure caption". Les Ailes (607): 14. 2 February 1933.
  13. ↑ "D'aérodrome en aérodrome - à Villacoublay". Les Ailes (624): 14. 1 June 1933.
  14. ↑ "Le tour de France des avions prototypes". Les Ailes (640): 8. 21 September 1933.
  15. ↑ Bruno Parmentier. "Bloch MB-81" . Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  16. 1 2 "A Bordeaux". Les Ailes (776): 6. 30 April 1936.
  17. 1 2 Bruno Parmentier (8 May 2008). "Guillemin JG.43" . Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Sur las terrains d'essais - à Villacoublay". Les Ailes (788): 3. 23 July 1936.
  19. ↑ Bruno Parmentier (20 February 2010). "Guillemin JG.42" . Retrieved 20 October 2016.
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