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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0049.PDF
JANUARY 23, 1909. which were carried out at Bagatelle on Saturday, January 16th. ; , Thezenas Aeroplane- Two inventors, MM. Thezenas and Renaud, have constructed an aeroplane of the biplane type, but un- fortunately have, it is stated, insufficient money to instal an engine. In consequence they recently gave a demon- stration to the French Press, in the hope of interesting someone on their behalf, by showing how the whole machine is taken to pieces. Faccielli Aeroplane Damaged. DURING the course of experiments at Turin, Signor Faccielli's machine met with an accident which might have had very serious consequences. He had just succeeded in flying a distance of 100 metres at an altitude of 7 metres, when something went wrong with the supports for the rudder and elevator, so that the whole apparatus suddenly capsized and fell to the ground. The pilot, who is the son of the inventor, was picked up safe and sound. Honours for Aviators. THE French Government has now officially decided to recognise notable work in the field of aviation by the creation of one Commander, one Officer, and sixteen Chevaliers of the Legion of Honour. These honours are reserved for gentlemen of French nationality, and will be divided among those who are developing flight and those who took an active part in the organisation of the first International Road Congress. For the moment it would seem that Wilbur Wright and Henry Farman, not being of French nationality, may be left outside the roll of honour after all, but possibly some way will be found out of the difficulty. Henry Kapferer Decorated. IN the meantime, Henry Kapferer has received a Cross of Honour from the Minister of War for his ex- periments in aeronautics, conducted while serving as a sub-lieutenant in the Army. Vandenberg Flapping Wing Machine- IT is reported from Brussels that a resident of Antwerp, M. Vandenberg, has built a flapping wing machine weighing 600 kilogs. Trials will shortly be made with this machine on the military parade ground at Antwerp ; specially good starting effects are, of course, expected to result from the principles embodied in the design. Belgium will thus shortly have exponents of each school—aeroplane, helio- copter, and flapping flight. Orbe Aeroplane. A BIPLANE constructed by M. Orbe came to grief at Issy les Moulineaux on Monday, January 18th, during the course of the inventor's experiments. British Army Aeroplane. ON Wednesday morning the Army aeroplane was given a trial on Farnborough Common, and although Mr. Cody succeeded in making the longest flight he has yet accomplished, the experiment ended in disaster. After flying for 250 yards, the lifting plane apparently came adrift, with the result that the machine fell suddenly to earth and was wrecked, Mr. Cody fortunately escaping serious injury. Trie mishap can hardly be attributed directly to any fault in the construction, because it was primarily due to the absence of sufficient room in which to come to earth. Mr. Cody had been getting along very nicely for a matter of 300 yards or so, and had attained an altitude or any- thing up to 30 ft. At this point of the proceedings, how- ever, the edge of the common hove in sight, and very naturally Mr. Cody decided to bring the machine down to earth at once. He was then so close to the edge, however, that a gliding descent at a natural angle was out of the question, and the only thing to do was to use the elevator for coming to earth, a proceeding which has probably never been attempted by even the most expert of pilots. Adding a.direct wind pressure in this way to the dropping force of gravity caused an extremely rapid descent, as was only to be expected, and again, as was only natural, Mr. Cody hastily tried to check the fall by tilting the elevator for a rise. This in turn created a sudden reversal of strain, which, as even the least mechanically minded know, is the severest kind of a test for any sort of framework. The bamboo outriggers carrying the elevator gave way at the same moment that the machine was beginning to respond to the action, and, of course, so soon as the elevator itself had thus come adrift, the machine was completely out of control, and at once toppled to the ground. The final fall was consider- able, the height being estimated at about 20 ft., but in spite of this Mr. Cody was uninjured, and the aeroplane, although it looked a wreck, not so very much the worse for its impact. The engine, at any rate, was unharmed, as was shown by the fact that it was at work again the same evening. Taken on its merits, the flight must undoubtedly be regarded as an advance on previous attempts, and it is, as we have already mentioned, only fair to look upon the mishap as being mainly the result of inexperience. British Army Funds. PROGRESS with the British army aeroplane cannot very well be other than moderately slow when the authoiities at work upon it are so hampered for funds, and it is impossible to reconcile two attitudes which are sometimes taken by the same section of the general press, of making invidious comparisons with our progress in military aviation, as due to relative inability, and lament- ing the Government's lack of support to this section of the army. Experimental work of every description must always cost money, and pioneer work especially may cost an un- limited amount ; it is entirely unreasonable to expect Colonel Capper and his men to advance more rapidly than they are doing at present. The Budget vote for the balloon section of the British Army to cover the present financial year was only ^13,750, and but a fraction of this can, of course, be spent on aeroplanes. That it is inadequate may be judged from the fact that in 1905 and 1906, when other countries had not taken the interest in military aeronautics that they have done since, the vote was for a larger amount. It does not behove England to be too apathetic in its regard of the conquest of the air, for the central blue is, unfortunately for us, a sea in which there are no islands, or conversely, it may be regarded as a sea in which the largest lands are the largest harbours for an aerial fleet. . Moore-Brabazon's Success. PROGRESSIVE success is attending Mr. Moore- Brabazon's essays in France, where he is experimenting at the Chalons Camp. On Sunday of this week, January 17th, he made three ascents, and flew a matter of 500 yards each time at an average altitude of 20 ft. Thus encouraged, he decided upon an important advance on Monday, January 18th, which was no less than to attempt his first turn in the air. Starting close to his
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