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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0339.PDF
JUNK 12, 1909. THE COMING OF THE MONOPLANE. UNQUESTIONABLY the event of the week is Mr. Hugh Latham's remarkable series of successful nights on his Antoinette monoplane in France, and the fact that he has not only broken the record for distance, but has established a new record in the way of passenger nights more than ever gives one " furiously to think " about the type of flyer which he is using. When reviewing the first Paris Aero Salon in the first number of FLIGHT, we particularly remarked upon the businesslike sporting appearance of the monoplanes there present, and prognosticated for them a most popular future if they should prove successful. With many more pioneers of Mr. Latham's character the day of the single decker should arrive much earlier than there was at one time hope of expecting, but there are still some reasons for supposing that the development of its ultimate capabilities will still be a matter of fairly slow progress. Sang'Froid in the Air. The monoplane principle of construction very naturally associates itself in the mind with the idea of a small machine, but a small machine supporting the same load is aerodynamically restricted to flight at high speed, the popularising of which will, we imagine, hardly be forth- coming from aviators who lack anything of Mr. Latham's surpassing sang-froid. The pilot who lights a cigarette before starting and who shifts about on his seat to improve the balance when humming through the air at fifty miles an hour, is just the sort of man that is required to show the possibilities in higher speed still, and if it is true what Mr. Lanchester says, that the flight speeds of the future must for ultility exceed those of any other form of locomotion, then the sooner a suitable type is developed the better. In the meantime, however, the moderate speed flyer is, we fancy, the vehicle which is going to attract the majority, and while weights remain what they are, the double deck will offer the most straightforward solution to the problem of construction. Even when the weights themselves are reduced, and the area of the supporting surface can be cut down to a fine limit, the advantage will affect both types in the same way, although should the saving ultimately found possible be a very large amount, the tendency to adopt the monoplane principle would naturally predominate. A Question of Speed. The alternative course which can make the monoplane popular under present conditions is, as we have said, the general adoption of high speeds for flight, and that this should immediately come about is, we think, a matter of some doubt. The Antoinette monoplane which Mr. Latham uses can hardly be described as a small machine, but even with it, his average speed is in the order of fifty miles an hour. Now fifty miles an hour is no crawl, and if a somewhat extensive experience of motoring is any guide, there are quite a number of people who are apt to have a percentage of their normal wits blown away in the draught when travelling at or above this velocity through the air. With a motor car it is always open to anyone who does not feel quite at home when travelling fast to lead up to it gradually by going slowly at first, but an aeroplane will not fly at all unless it is forced through the air at the speed for which it is designed. Under exceptionally favourable circumstances the aviator can provide himself with a flying ground on which he can get some sort of practice on terra flrma itself, but such places are very few and far between in England, whatever they may be in France, and if starting off the ground is adopted, the necessity for keeping to moderate speeds with heavy weights is apparent. The Use of the Rail. With a starting rail such as is adopted by the brothers Wright, the possibilities of acceleration are totally altered, so there is no real bar to the determined pioneer who is bent on pushing up the speed of flight as near the limit as he can. On the other hand, the prospect of being fired into the blue at a muzzle velocity of a hundred feet a second or so may be none to enticing to the average would-be aviator, and although, as we have suggested, many men of Mr. Latham's calibre may be found having no hesitation about setting a fashion in this direction, for a while, at any rate, the real demand is likely to remain for flyers designed to fly at speeds more in the order of those usually averaged by the motor car. With this limitation, therefore, the prospect of evolving a successful small machine is more than ever related to the possibilities of obtaining a light engine of comparatively lower power. Higher speeds will m°an higher powers in any case. fi ZEPPELIN AIRSHIP MISHAP.—Photograph of the mammoth airship caught by the bows in the pear tree at Goppiogeowith;the crowd watching the efforts to release the monster with as little damage as possible. 341 C 2
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