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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0076.PDF
FEBRUARY 6, 1909. Aero Exhibition at Olympia. SOME interesting and important official information respecting the Aero Exhibition which is being organised to take place at Olympia will be found among the Aero Club notices on page 77. Wright Commences his Trials. ON Wednesday afternoon, February 3rd, Wilbur Wright inaugurated his new aerodrome at Pau by making a tour of the field on his aeroplane. He has, as our readers know, been busily engaged putting his machine together, and the last operation—the installation of a 25-30-h.p. motor, built to Wright designs by Bariquand and Marre—was accomplished last week. Starting shortly after 4 o'clock, Wright occupied 6 minutes in covering 4 miles 300 yards, and just before 5 o'clock he made another flight very nearly as long in 5 minutes. During these flights he thoroughly inspected the ground, and incidentally performed some very wonderful evolutions, the most striking among them being the extraordinary manner in which he was able to tilt his machine to port and starboard and to return to an even keel at will. Wright was evidently very pleased with his preliminary experiences, favourably impressed with the aerodrome, and enchanted with the view. The snow-capped Pyrenees in the distance, sparkling in the sun, seem to impress him greatly, for he said afterwards that their majestic beauty made him wish to fly on and on until he came to them. It is a foretaste, this, of the added glories which men will be able to see in the world when flight becomes more general; those who go up in balloons know something of it already, but those who cover the ground in cars are in comparison only able in a very limited sphere to appreciate the glorious beauties cf the world from on high. , . . Moore-Brabazon Flies 5 Kiloms. MOORE-BRABAZON has materially added to his successful experiments at Chalons. Following up his series of short though well executed flights which we announced last week, he was on Thursday, January 28th, able to fly 5 kiloms., during the course of which he seemed to be completely at home on his machine, effecting the turnings with ease. In the afternoon, when further attempts were to have been made, the buckling of a wheel brought the trials to a temporary conclusion. The Simms Aeroplane. MR. F. R. SIMMS is having a special aeroplane built by MM. Voisin Freres, embodying one or two modifica- tions of his own. The engine will be one of the new 50-h.p. 6-cyl. Simms, which have been specially designed for such work, and ignition will be provided by a Simms magneto. The aeroplane is expected to be ready by the end of April and the trials will be made in this country. Another English Aviator. IT is reported that Mr. Andrew Fletcher, of Saltoun, has purchased a Voisin aeroplane. Delagrangc and Juvisy. • AMONG practical aviators, none take a deeper interest in the " Porte Aviation," as the Juvisy aerodrome is called, than M. Delagrange. It is there that he is installing his new machines, and there also that he gives lessons to the young idea—the Ligue Nationale Student Pilots. Bleriot at Issy. M. BLERIOT is still very busy at Issy, where he continues his experiment with his two monoplanes. He is extremely anxious to put up a good record for the Michelin Cup this year, and after Wright's performance with a biplane it will be particularly interesting to see what the monoplane machines can do. The Maurice Farman Biplane. ONE of our accompanying illustrations this week shows the Maurice Farman biplane, of the construction of which our readers have already been advised. In general the machine belongs to the same type as that employed by the famous Henry Farman, but the details of its construction are, as our photograph shows, very different. It has on the whole a neater and more finished appearance than the Voisin type of machine, but this is perhaps .largely due to the absence of side curtains. This peculiarity is especially marked in connection with the tail, which, instead of being a somewhat heavy- looking box-kite, as it is on Henry Farman's machine, has become a neat biplane pure and simple. The engine and pilot's seat are arranged on a half-elliptic girder, which has a smooth external surface, and is pro- vided with a hood in front of the pilot. The elevators are in front, and, like the main planes, have a substantial and rigid appearance. The propeller is not shown in our illustration, but its attachment is immediately behind the engine. The principal dimensions are as follows :— Span, 10 m. ; length, 10 m.; propeller, 2-5 m. diam. ; speed, 900 r.p.m.; engine 50-60-h.p. Renault; total weight of machine, 450 kilogs. j ""'• Calas Aeroplane. NEWS comes from Marseilles that M. Calas is con- structing an aeroplane there on the lines of the Wright machine. The Voisin Aeroplane in Berlin. v AN enormous crowd of spectators, including many important personages, assembled on Thursday of last week, January 28th, to watch the trials of the Voisin aeroplane which arrived at Berlin in charge of M. Zipfel. The trials took place on the Tempelhof parade ground, and have been organised by the Lokal Anzeiger. No flights of importance were accomplished on the first day, although M. Zipfel was able to remain aloft at an altitude of 5 or 6 metres for short periods. On the Friday the aviator was not more successful, and on the Saturday the engine did not work properly, so further attempts were postponed, but on Monday M. Zipfel made a flight of nearly three-quarters of a mile. On Tuesday the success was continued, several flights being accomplished. The longest was 1,200 metres, at an altitude of between 25 and 30 metres, but three other flights of from 600 to 800 metres in length were carried out at from 12 to 15 metres. Farman Aeroplane Sold in Austria. AN Austrian Syndicate has bought Henry Farman's aeroplane, and it is expected that trials will be made in the neighbourhood of Vienna about the middle of February. M. Legagneux will act as pilot. Wright Aeroplane for Russia. THE All-Russia Aero Club has now definitely decided to acquire a Wright aeroplane, at, it is said, a cost of j£i,20c.
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