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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0007.PDF
JANUARY 2, 1909. stiffness in conjunction with the runners, which form a base for the machine as well as a support for the elevator in front. f Surface Materials. Fabric, made of Egyptian cotton treated with rubber, constructed by the Continental Tyre Co., is a popular surface material for covering the wings of aero- planes, as it is readily obtainable in any weight and strength, and is impervious to rain. Some of the machines, however, use other things, as, for instance, the Bleriot No. 9, which has a vellum-like paper covering ; the Bayard-Clement, which employs varnished silk ; and the Antoinette, which uses varnished linen. This latter is hand polished to give great smoothness, and has a fine glossy finish ; so, too, has the silk of the Bayard-Clement monoplane, but the fabrics are not usually prepared with a specially smooth surface. Systems of Control. There is no more interesting feature of the aero- plane nor one in which greater differences in detail find expression in practice, than the system of control. Especially is this the case in connection with the steering and elevating levers themselves, all kinds of devices having been adopted by the different inventors as being most in accord with their own individual ideas on the subject. So far as the actual means of manoeuvring the machine are concerned, the difference is naturally less marked, for most of them have well-defined rudders and elevators. In the monoplane type of machine there is greater variety in the details of control than with the biplanes, the differences in the latter class being mainly concerned with the placing of the rudder aft and elevator forward, or vice versa. On the monoplanes, however, the main wings themselves are generally brought into play in one way or another, either by total flexion or warping as on the R.E.P. and Vendbme aeroplanes, or by the use of steering tips as on the Bleriot No. 9 and Antoinette. In the R.E.P. monoplane the warping of the wings in opposite directions simultaneously serves for all ordinary manoeuvring without resorting to the rudder, which is under the control of a separate lever. Rising and falling is accomplished by tilting the elevator by a to-and-fro motion of the same pivoted lever which warps the wings. On the Vendbme monoplane each wing is warped by a separate lever, and as these levers are very massive and pronounced, standing out well above the frame, the pilot must assume somewhat the same attitude as is presented by the driver of a traction engine, who is ordinarily seen wending his way with each hand firmly grasping a handle. Although, as in the R.E.P. monoplane, the warping of the wings is used for the purpose of steering, it is necessary to draw a distinction between such arrangements and the rudder pure and simple, because for the most part they are provided to assist in maintaining stability, quite apart from any use which they may have for governing direction. It is in this capacity, too, that the designers regard the use of steering-tips, which consist of small pivoted extremities attached to the ends of the main wings. Being at a great distance from the centre of the machine, they have a considerable leverage, and, operating as they do upon both sides of the centre simultaneously, the rapidity with which they are able to produce an effect is enhanced. It is, therefore, upon this device that the pilot mostly relies to keep his equilibrium. The warping of the main planes is, as our readers know, one of the great features of the Wright aeroplane ; but in the machine exhibited, the movement is accompanied by a turning of the rudder; the elevator on the Wright aeroplane is under the control of a separate lever. As to the levers themselves, custom differs widely, as we have already mentioned. Wright (on the machine exhibited) uses two simple rods, one hinged to rock laterally for steering, the other to move to and fro for rising and falling. In the Farman, Delagrange, and Kapferer aeroplanes, the pilot clutches a steering wheel similar to that used on a motor car, but placed in a vertical plane ; for steering, it is turned as on a boat, while for varying the altitude of flight it is pulled or pushed bodily to and fro. Such a system as this, it will be observed, allows either or both hands to do all the work that is required. On the R.E.P. and Breguet machines the system of single-lever control has been restricted to the pilot's left-hand, the lever in question on the R.E.P. monoplane being pivoted universally to move in any direction; while the Breguet system is to fit the elevating lever with a rotary handle which is twisted for the purpose of steering. In the following tabular summary, brief particulars, so far as they are available, are given of the methods of control adopted on the various aeroplanes exhibited :— PARIS AERO SALON.—View of a model girder made of wood, by the Societe Construction d'Appereils Aeriens.
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