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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0237.PDF
-APRIL 24, 1909. LE PERIL AERIEN." COLONEL MASSY, the founder of the Aerial League of the Bntish Empire, has for sometime been hammering away at the British public, urging the immediate forma- tion of a fleet of airships, with the very laudable object of placing England in the front of nations as regards the command of the air, as she is at present on the seas. If this end is of consequence to Great Britain, how much more acutely, at least in the early stages of airships, any weakness may prove disastrous to Continental nations, can easily be imagined. In France, a feeling of alarm has been rapidly growing for some time m view of the activity of the aeronautical section of the German Army and the builders of dirigibles in Germany, This has found expression last week in the columns of a French contemporary, where the accompanying graphic illustration of future possibilities is depicted. That there is a certain amount of truth in the alarm sounded can hardly be doubted, inasmuch as latest reports from Germany give particulars of the far- reaching scheme which is being considered for the establishment of a long chain of airship stations through- out that country. It is proposed to build suitable sheds for the harbouring of the Zeppelins now being built at the following centres as a commencement, viz., Friedrichshafen, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Munich, Mann- heim, Wurzburg, Frankfort-on-Main, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Elberfeld, Halle, Magdeburg, Dresden, Berlin, and Hamburg. These sheds are to be capable of housing all the different kinds of airships adopted by the German Army. Additional sheds will contain all the necessary apparatus—gas cylinders, electric motors, &c.—and quarters for permanent crews. It is hardly, therefore, to be wondered at that the suggestion of our French contemporary is that with well- established airship stations at various strategic points, such as Metz, Frankfort, Mainz, and Strassburg, a serious menace to French interests may be considered to have been initiated. Metz to Paris in six hours in a dirigible is no mere fantastic fancy, it is likely to be an actuality in a very short space of time, if it has not already been accomplished in effect by the remarkable voyages and evolutions of the Zeppelin airships. The latest flight of over 13 hours of " Zeppelin I" is an object lesson to4the What a French contemporary designates " Le Peril Aerien nis well illustrated by the above picture in the same journal. In this attention is drawn to the great mobility of dirigiblesunder the organised establishment of military airship stations by Germany. world to take into consideration seriously, and in time the part which is to be played in the future in controlling the navigation of the air, whether for commercial, peaceful, or war purposes. WIRE GAUZE FOR AEROPLANE SURFACES— A SUGGESTION. A SUGGESTION of considerable interest, and, it may be of no little importance, has been sent to us by Mr. G. Crosland Taylor to the effect that suitably varnished wire gauze might form an admirable surface material for aeroplanes. It is a long time since Mr. Crosland Taylor conceived this idea, and indeed he communicated it to the International Congress on Aerial Navigation, which was held in Chicago in 1893. In his paper of that date he quotes several kinds of wire gauze, among them one made of aluminium wire, which he explains is very expensive and could not be woven in England, at that date, over 3 ft. wide. Wire of this description, it is stated, can be obtained "007 in. diameter, and the finished web weighs from 1^ to 4 ozs. per sq. ft., according to the thickness and mesh. When varnished with linseed varnish containing a sicative, the pores are closed, and the surface sheds water for an indefinite period. Very fine phosphor bronze web such as is used for dynamo brushes can be obtained weighing about 4 ozs. per sq. ft, and the same material less closely woven so as to be proportionally lighter would possibly be suitable. Iron wire gauze weighing 3 ozs. per sq. ft. can be obtained and could probably be woven in a suitable mesh at 1^ ozs. per sq. ft. Aluminium gauze could probably be obtained as light as o-6 of an ounce per sq. ft., which, when varnished, would not weigh more than f of an ounce per sq. ft. With aluminium wire at 255. per ib., a hand- woven web 3 ft. wide would cost about 2s. per ft. The varnish would cost about 15.?. per gallon, and would add from 15 to 30 per cent, to the weight of the web itself. In addition to wire web, Mr. Crosland Taylor in his paper to the Conference mentions other materials as being worth experimenting wit,h, and makes the following remarks about them :— Vulcanized Fibre "035 in. thick: a piece 6 ft. by 3 ft. 6 ins. weighs 5 lbs., or C238 lb. per sq. ft. When o-z8 in. thick, the weight would be reduced to 0-174 1b. per sq. ft. If of good quality, this material stands the weather well. It is tough and strong, can be moulded, and may be bent to shape in hot water. It will hold screws well, and will also take a thread. Ebonite: A sheet of 18 standard wire gauge weighs 0*283 lb. per sq. ft. It is very useful for model work, as it can be bent or moulded in boiling water and keeps its shape well when cold. Celluloid: This has the same qualities as ebonite in respect to moulding in hot water. It can be obtained in sheets j$ of an inch thick, measuring 26 ins. by 20 ins., and costing 45. gd. per lb. In 239
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