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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0012.PDF
• *;,•-••. JANUARY 2, 1909. In the aeroplane we have something new, something that is not standardised down, and commercialised so far as to have aero-taxis and aero-buses. No doubt it will soon come, but, in that that stage has not yet come, it is, therefore, an epoch the more interesting by far ; and what better thing could your paper do than foster and encourage the movement in this country ? I have, perhaps as much as anybody, known the difficulties of constructing a machine in England, where everyone is so ready to discourage one, ridicule one, and look upon one as an amiable lunatic ; but thanks to Wright and Voisin, who have shown that it is possible to fly, I hope that state of affairs has passed, and that anyone building a machine in England will be surrounded by a band of enthusiasts ever ready to help and encourage an inventor, however crude his machine may be. It is this trait in the French character which produces men like Bleriot, Esnault-Pelterie, Ferber, Levavasseur and many others. They are continually urged to go on building, while in England the poor inventor is laughed at. My advice to anyone about to build a machine is to do it in France ; there he will find the enthusiasm without which it is so difficult to really make a machine fly ; remember it took Voisin six months to make Farman's machine fly, experiments being made every morning. Picture an inventor testing a machine every day for six months in England trying to make it fly ! What sort of treatment would he have got ? Ridicule, discouragement, and finally would have betn called an imposter, a crank and a lunatic. Therefore, Sir, I entreat you, by your work already begun so ably, to continue to educate a certain section of the public with whom you are in touch to a state of mind not altogether sceptical as to the final " conquest of the air." With this end in view I have asked you to change the title of your paper, so as to show you recognise the movement and are alive to it; and if this suggestion seems to you in any way; impertinent, I apologise most humbly, but I do it because I wish to see your paper rewarded for its past work, which has been so much appreciated by Yours truly, J. T. C. MOORE-BRABAZON. 20th Dec. [We need hardly say that we very greatly appreciate Mr. Moore- Brabazon's remarks about THE AUTOMOTOR JOURNAL, as also the suggestion which he makes as to change of title. What we deem to be an even more satisfactory course has, however, been taken by us instead, arrangements having for some time been in progress for the production of a special aeronautic paper from this editorial office. Commencing with the present week—the first of 1909— " FLIGHT," issued by the Proprietors of this Journal, will be obtainable through all the usual news agency channels. In "FLIGHT" will be found, week by week, all the aeronautic news which constitutes one of the regular features of THE AUTO- MOTOR JOURNAL, together with other articles of special interest to everyone following the movement.—ED.] THE WRIGHT AND VOISIN TYPES OF FLYING MACHINE.' A COMPARISON BY THE most successful types of flying machine or aerodrome at pie sent in existence are those constructed by the Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, of the U.S.A , and by MM. Voisin Freres, of Billancourt, Seine, France (on the outskirts of Paris). The author of the present paper has recently had opportunities of witnessing both types of machine in flight, the iormer at the Champ de Manoeuvres at Champagne, near Le Mans, the latter, in the hands of Mr. Farman, over the ground of the military camp at Mourmelon le Grand, near Chalons. Although accurate information is on some points difficult to obtain, the reticence shown is perhaps no more than might be anticipated. The author has succeeded in collecting sufficient data to be able to give a consistent account of the performance of both machines, and to permit of an intelligent comparison being made between the two systems. The Wright Machine—Origin and Description. The Wright machine can, metaphorically speaking, trace its ancestry back to the gliding apparatus of Otto Lilienthal; according to Gustave Lilienthal (brother of the famous aeronaut) two Lilien- PhotobyJ. TMeodofesco, Paris. The Wright Machine outside its shed. thai machines were sent to the United States, one to Octave Chanute, the other to Herring; Chanute and Herring are said to have been associated in their experimental work. The gliding F. W. LANCHESTER. machine, originated by Lilienthal, was improved, especially as to its structural features and its method of control, successively by Chanute and the Brothers Wright, until the latter, by the addition of a light weight petrol motor and screw propellers, achieved, for the first time in history, free flight in a man-bearing machine propelled by its own motive power. The Wright machine of the present day weighs complete, when mounted by aeronaut, 1,100 lbs. (500 kil>gs.), and has a total supporting surface measuring approximately 500 sq. ft., the ordinary maximum velocity of flight is 40 miles per hour or 58 ft. per sec. (= 64 kiloms. per hour). The aerofoil consists of two equal super- posed members of 250 sq. ft. each, the aspect ratio (lateral dimen- sion in terms of fore and aft), is 6'2, the plan form is nearly rectangular, the extreme ends only being partially cut away and rounded off. The auxiliary surfaces consist of a double horizontal rudder placed in front, and a double vertical rudder astern, also two small verticil fixed fins of half-moon shape, placed between the members of the horizontal rudder. The total area of these auxiliary surfaces is about 3 of that of the aerofoil, or say 150 sq. ft. The Wright machine is propelled by two screws of 8 ft. 6 in. diameter (2-6 metres), and so far as the author has been able to estimate the effective pitch is somewhat greater, being about 9 ft. or 9 ft. 6 ins. These propellers are mounted on parallel shafts 11 ft. 6 ins. (3'5 metres) apart, and are driven in opposite directions by chains direct from the motor shaft, one chain bting crossed. The number of teeth of the sprocket-wheels, counted by the author, gave the gear ratio 10 : 33. The motor is of the 4-cyl. vertical type, the cylinder dimensions being variously given as from 106 to 108 mm. diameter by IOD to 102 mm. stroke, the probable dimensions being in inches &,\ in. by 4 in. The total weight of the motor is reputed to be 200 lbs. (90 kilogs.), and its power is given as 24 b.h.p. at a normal speed of 1,200 revs, per min. According to another source of information it is capable at a speed of 1,400 revs, of developing 34 b.h.p. ; the two statements do not altogether agree. In conversation, the author understood Mr. Wright to say that he could fly with as little as 15 or 16-h.p., and that his reserve of power when unaccompanied amounted to 40 per cent.T His gliding angle he said was about 7 degrees. The Voisin Machine. Origin and Description. MM. Voisin began their experimental work some years before their name was known to the general public, or rather some years before their machines came into public prominence through the exploits of Farman and Delagrange, for comparatively few people, even at the present time, are even aware of the name of the makers of these most successful machines. In 1904, MM. Voisin con- * A paper read before the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, December 8th, 1908. The author is of opinion that although there may be nothing altogether•act in this statement, it is, unless qualified in some way, capable of con-t inexactveying an erroneous impression.
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