FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0154.PDF
MARCH 20, 1909. Englishman to fly, Mr. Henry Farman having been the first, and we hope Mr. Moore-Brabazon will be the first to put up some real flights in this country. Handley Page, who is a British constructor, has been building a full-sized machine to the designs of Mr. Weiss, whose interesting bird model was described in The Automotor Journal of April 13th, 1907, and another machine on totally different lines for Mr. Deverall Saul. It is, of course, a thousand pities that Messrs. Short Brothers are unable to exhibit a Wright flyer, but they have built a machine of their own design which has some original features and gives an idea of their constructive ability. Among French-built machines, none have been so thoroughly successful as those which come out of the Voisin factory, the con- cession for which Messrs. Simms and Co. may consider themselves fortunate to have obtained. The Gobron- Brillie agency in this country have arrangements with M. Breguet, who has experimented with many types, including the helicopter, and whose constructional work is characterised by the use of steel where others use wood. Messrs. Whittaker were down to exhibit a Pischoff machine from France, which has not materialised, but Captain Windham is showing a flyer, constructed by Pischoff, which he has had built for his private experi- ments. Messrs. Howard T. Wright take rank among our first British constructors, on whose collective prosperity the progress of flight in this country depends, and the Howard-Wright biplane, which to a certain extent follows conventional lines, embodies, wherever possible in its construction, steel tubing of a special section. It is not like the Wrights' flyer in design, but we hope its patronymic may prove a happy augury for its success. Included among the names on the preliminary list of aeroplane exhibitors is that of the Wolseley Company, •whom it is pleasant to find associating themselves with the new movement. But they are not, as a matter of fact, actually represented by a flyer, nor unfortunately is the Aeroplane Construction Co., for whom they have built the special engine which they have on view. That section of the show which is devoted to aero-motors is, in fact, of extraordinary interest, both for the variety of THE WRIGHT FLYER.—Special method of joining up the main frame-work and stays of the flyer, enabling it to be easily dismantled for transport. I56 its exhibits and for their collective significance. " Neces- sity is the mother of invention," says an old adage, and the aero-motor section is a practical example of its truth, for when aviators said that they must have lighter motors than the already light engines that are used in cars, designers set to work to invent something to suit, and, from a common basis, each evolved a different design. Of late there has been a reversion of feeling to a certain extent, and so it comes about that the aero-motors of to-day include specimens of altogether unusual types, as well as others which are orthodox to a degree. It is a very good example of how quickly the advent of a progressive influence remoulds accepted notions to its own requirements. Indeed, there is much to learn among the aero-motors, and it does not need to be an engineer to appreciate a great deal that they can teach, although in this, as in all things, the more complete the knowledge, the wider the horizon comprehended in the mental view. It is gratifying to find that British con- structors are taking up the problem in competition with Continental engineers, and that at least one firm—the New Motor Engine Co.—have shown their ability to achieve a radical departure in design. There is yet another section of the Aero Show which is necessary to its comprehensiveness. It includes some balloons and a dirigible. They represent the first and second stages in the conquest of the air, for the dirigible came before the flying machine and the balloon came first of all. How fascinating ballooning may be, it is only necessary to consider its wide popularity to appreciate. And it is a useful pastime as well—how useful depends on circumstances, as for instance, the siege of Paris. Dirigibles, unlike balloons, can struggle against the wind; but, with them also, circumstance determines the scale for measuring their importance. Other nations possess them and so must we, even though now and again the elements destroy a ship or two. Whether an airship will be the means of discovering the North Pole is a matter of perennial speculation, which once again is on the tapis since the dirigible at Olympia is that with which Mr. Wellman intends to make another attempt to get there. The balloons are for pleasure, and and one of them affords an opportunity for the inspection of the famous Continental fabric about which everyone has heard so much. That this fabric has played no inconsiderable part in the development of flight is shown by the fact that it is used on the Farman aeroplanes, as well as in the construction of the gas vessels of the Clement - Bayard, Gross, Zeppelin, " La Republique," and other successful dirigibles. The winning balloon in the last Gordon- Bennett Race was also made of this fabric. Last, but we hope not least, the new sport and industry has this weekly journal, FLIGHT, wherein we hope to give all the encouragement that a popular journal can to the new movement. In our next issue we shall give a detailed account and illustra- tions of the many interesting things which are at the Show, but in the meantime we have pleasure in presenting to our readers a pictorial supplement illustrating the history of flight to the present day, and this will, we think, have an interest quite unique for those who care to keep it as a souvenir for future generations.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
