FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0184.PDF
MARCH 27, 1909. Wilbur Wright and Members of the Senate. A NUMBER of the French Aviation Parliamentary Group travelled to Pau last week to witness Mr. Wright fly, and several had the gratification of actual flying experience. M. Joly, the Vice-President of the group, was indulged for 3 mins., and M. Breton, Deputy, for 5 mins. M. Tharel, of the Ariel Co., was up for 4 mins., and a final flight of 8 mins. with Capt. Gerardville brought the exhibition flights to a close. Flying Taught in Two Hours. SPEAKING to a Daily Mail representative on his arrival in Paris on Wednesday, Wilbur Wright gave it as his opinion that "an apt man, one who is quick at picking up things, can easily learn to fly in two hours. When I came to France I had not had more than four hours' experience in handling an aeroplane, and neither of my pupils, Comte de Lambert and M. Tissandier, had had more than six lessons of about twenty minutes each when they were able to fly alone." A Pupil Flies 25 kiloms. WHILE Wilbur Wright was making the above state- ment a telegram arrived from Pau giving the pleasing information that Comte de Lambert and M. Tissandier had successfully competed for the " beginners " prizes of the Aero Club of France, for a flight of 250 metres. This distance was easily accomplished, and the pupils went on until 25 kiloms. had been traversed, thus proving Wilbur Wright's contention that the tuition need not be a lengthy progress. The Savarv Flyer. M. ROBERT SAVARY, an engineer, is having con- structed at the Bollee works an aeroplane of the biplane type. A special system of " deformation " will be used in place of the warping of the planes on the Wright machine, and the new apparatus is said to offer a fresh solution of the problem of longitudinal stability. It is to be ready about the middle of next month, when it will be tried at Anvours Camp. Farman's Machine at Vienna. THE Voisin machine sold by Mr. Farman for work at Vienna has now been installed in the aero dock of the Military Balloon Corps, near the Arsenal. Legagneux will shortly be flying the machine, and a second Voisin machine will before long be at Vienna ready for demon- stration use in some of the leading cities of Austria. The de la Hault Flyer. LAST week in referring to the de la Hault machine, by a slip of the pen, it is described as having been manufactured in France. This was, of course, incorrect, the builder being M. Jules Miesse, of Brussels, who is also the constructor of the cars bearing his name. Auvergne and Aviation. THE A.C. d'Auvergne is taking a good deal of interest in aviation, and has now formed a special section to deal with the subject, to organise conferences, exhibitions and competitions. It is proposed to have a contest for aeroplanes over a 400-kilom. course in the plain of Clermont-Ferrand, and another over a kilom. on the Laschamp Plain at the foot of the Puy de Dome. It is also proposed to have a coupe trial for dirigibles and a competition for carrier pigeons. In general the Club is determined to do all it can to stimulate interest in the matter of flight and the conquest of the atmosphere. American to Fly Across the Channel. FROM New York comes the news that the Aerial Experiment Association have made arrangements to send a biplane, similar to the "Silver Dart," to England in order to compete for the Cross-Channel prizes. It is said that the machine will be sent over in May, and that it will be in charge of Mr. J. A. D. McCurdy or Mr. F. W. Baldwin, both of whom have made successful flights on the "Silver Dart." Aero Club of France Members, i»ooo. IT fe announced that the membership of the Aero Club of France has this month passed the 1,000. The Belgian Aero Club. . V THE Belgian Aero Club have elected a Committee to deal with questions regarding dirigible balloons, and the Commandant Le Clement de Saint Marcq has been appointed Chairman. Count Hadelin d'Oultremont has been selected as Chairman of the Scientific Committee. A Belgian Prize for Aero Motors. A PRIZE of 1,000 francs has been offered by M. Adhe"mar de la Hault, to be awarded on August 1st, 1910, to the motors between 25 and 50-h.p., for aviation purposes, which shall have proved by brake tests to be the best. "Zeppelin I" carries 26 Passengers. No less than 26 passengers were carried by "Zeppelin I " during a four hours' voyage of over 150 miles at an altitude rising to 650 ft. over and around Lake Constance on Friday of last week. No perceptible difference was apparent from the extra weight, either in stability, speed, or lifting. Besides Count Zeppelin, there were on board seven officers of the Army Aeronautic Department, three non-commissioned officers and fifteen soldiers, comprising part of the " Zeppelin's " regular crew. Prince Henry Lectures on the " Zeppelin." ON Saturday last, before an appreciative audience, Prince Henry of Prussia gave a lecture descriptive of his experiences during a trip on the Zeppelin airship. Prince Henry went fully into the details as to the dimensions and cost of " Zeppelin I," and came to the conclusion that such an airship would be very expensive, and its achievements would be hardly proportionate to its cost. Despite its size, the airship is so sensitive that when a member of the crew wishes to change cars, arlother man has to leave the car at the end, and they pass at the middle of the gangway connecting the two. Messages are written down and conveyed from one car, to another along an endless wire. According to Prince Henry, the "Zeppelin " answers tQ the helm as easily as a steam pinnace, and that it bears against the wind in a similar way to a sailing vessel against the tide. He thought the noise of the propellers a serious disadvantage, as it might betray the presence of the airship in war time. The problem of reaching a fixed point, not too far distant, was solved, but he gave four reasons why dirigible airships were not, at present, suited for regular means of communication or for military purposes. Firstly, very little was known about air currents. Secondly, there was the difficulty of making headway against strong winds. Thirdly, too much depends upon atmos- pheric disturbances, and, fourthly, the motors were not capable of making very long journeys. The altitude which could be attained was also limited, as at great 186
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
