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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0097.PDF
Flight, February 20th, 1909. A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. 8. Vol. I.] FEBRUARY 2OTH, 1909. ["Registered at the G.P.O."]|_ as a Newspaper. J ["Weekly. Prioe Id.L Post Free, ljd. FLIGHT. 44, ST. MARTIN'S LANE. LONDON, W.C. Telegraphic address : Truditur, London. Telephone : 1828 Gerrard. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. FLIGHT will be forwarded, post free, to any tart of the world at the following rates: — UNITED KINGDOM. ABROAD. 3 Months, Post Free 6 ,, 1, 12 ,, ,, Cheques and Post Office Orders should be made payable to the Proprietors of FLIGHT, 44, St. Martin's Lane, W.C., and crossed London and County Bank ; otherwise no responsibility will be accepted. Should any difficulty be experienced in procuring FLIGHT from local newsvendors, intending readers can obtain each issue direct from the Publishing Office, by forwarding remittance as above. NOTICE.—Advertisement instructions should reach the office, 44, St. Martin's Lane, W.C., by first post, Thursday. The latest time for receiving small alterations for Advertise- ments is 12 noon, Thursday. No alterations can be made after that hour. s. I 3 6 d.8 3 6 36 12 Months, Post Free... >» ... s. 2 5 10 d.6 0 0 TERMINOLOGY IN FLIGHT. IN the present issue will be found an illustrated glossary of aeronautic terms, which, judging by the correspondence which we have received upon this subject, will prove to be of widespread use and interest to readers of FLIGHT. We are well aware that it will meet with a mixed recep- tion, especially in view of the many letters we have received advocating vigorous terminological reform, which we have in no wise attempted to bring about. But that is quite inevitable at this stage of the new era ; and half a loaf is—after all said and done—very much better than no bread. It must be remembered that the development of the practical side of aviation has been attended by the use of machines and devices which have had names coined for them, so to speak, on the spot. And it is just those words which are being used to-day, and which consequently find a place in the glossary we have pre- pared. In future they may change, their meanings may vary, and new terms will doubtless come into vogue; but it is custom and usage which will effect the final selection, and not any arbitrary pre-arranged rules. " It matters little," said a recent correspondent, "what name is given to a spade, provided we all recognise it by that name and do not mistake it for a shovel." That is, in fact, the very reason why it would be most confusing to abandon any aeronautical terms which are well-defined in daily use merely on the score of a little derivational or basic inaccuracy. The suffix "plane" is, for instance, objected to in our correspondence columns this week on the grounds that the surfaces are cambered. Truly the word " aerocurve" is more appropriate than " aeroplane;" but why abandon an internationally accepted word when there is at present no need for the distinction we have just implied ? Similiarly the words " monoplane," " biplane," &c, are quite the best at the present time to classify flying machines of the aeroplane class. And, where there is no natural English equivalent to the names now used in France, we have introduced corresponding words (e.g., elevator, steering tips, warped, &c.) chosen because they are terse and self-explanatory. Again, considerable discussion has taken place about the use of the word " aerodrome " as a trial ground for flight. But, in this case also, international usage seems to us to justify its adoption—at any rate until we have flying-grounds in full swing. It is only a year or two since there was a scheme afoot to build a ' motodrome " at Weybridge, but that place, when built, speedily became " Brooklands," or merely " The Track," and was never a " motodrome" in name. Similarly, no one knows what sort of flier may be what innovations the well-known may be fitted with. There are most anxiously for the success flight by the aid of machines variously named " orthopters" Such machines are at present rarae aves, and hence the difficulty of deciding upon any basic distinction between the two terms just yet. Strictly speaking, the term " orthopter" denotes nothing more nor less than a something having straight or regular wings ; whereas the term " ornithopter " denotes a some- thing having bird-like wings. The question is, therefore, what fundamental qualities of a flapping-flight machine assimilates its wings to those of the bird, as distinct from being straight or regular. So far as we know, the distinguishing qualities of a bird's wing, as such, are two in number, viz., its feather construction and its arched shape. It seems unlikely that many experimenters will go to the trouble of making artificial feathers for their trial machines ; and it is doubtful, therefore, whether the absence of a feathered surface should of itself disqualify a machine from the ornithopter class if its wings have an arched section. For the time, at any rate, it may reasonably be deemed advisable to choose the latter distinction, and that is why " orthopter" and " orni- thopter " are given in our glossary as referring to machines having, respectively, straight and arched wings. Suffi- cient has been said to show, however, that this first glossary of ours is admittedly of a provisional nature, even though we have done our best to make it accurate as far as it can go. B 2 no one invented next, nor machines of to-day many who watch of artificial flapping which have been and " ornithopters."
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