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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0404.PDF
JULY IO, 1909. WRIGHTS' PATENT AUTOMATIC STABILITY. THE WRIGHT BROTHERS HAVE APPLIED FOR A PATENT TO PROTECT A SYSTEM OF MAINTAINING AUTOMATIC STABILITY IN THEIR FLYER BY MECHANICAL MEANS. BEARING in mind that the Wright Brothers have in- variably in their public utterances given voice to the opinion that learning to fly was more or less like learning to ride a bicycle, and that a flyer had no more need for automatic stability than such a machine, it may possibly surprise a good many of our readers to learn that the Wrights have applied for a patent to protect a system which is calculated to render their flyer automatically stable in the air. How far they intend to embody their latest idea in their actual machines it is, of course, impossible to say, but there is little evidence of any practical experience having been acquired with this new system, which, to use the orthodox patent phrase, they " prefer." Be that as it may, however, the impending patent is of considerable importance, and cannot fail to be of great interest to our readers, so we give herewith a brief review of its principle and a sketch showing one of its two applications in practice. "What the Device Does. The fundamental idea is that of providing a supple- mentary mechanical control which will, when required to do so, relieve the pilot of the necessity of manipulating the elevator, rudder and warping levers by hand. The functions performed by the mechanical apparatus, which will be presently described, are precisely those which the pilot normally performs for himself, but it is more than likely, of course, that the precise manner of carrying them out may be rather different, as there is never quite the same "touch" about mechanical operations as charac- terises the human hand. The Muscle and the Brain. The power for working the controlling gear is, according the patent, fluid pressure, which, for the purposes of a flying machine, may presumably be interpreted as implying compressed air. The mechanical brain of the apparatus, which gives the signal for its action by switching; on the power, is in one case a pivoted vane acting under the influence of wind pressure, and in the other case a pendulum which is, of course, acted upon by gravity. In. both cases the controller is merely used to operate a three- way valve; its influence upon the manipulation of the steering gear or elevator, as the case may be, essenti- ally takes place through the agency of the relay mechanism which the opening of the valve brings into- action. The Compressed'Air System. This relay mechanism consists of a kind of com- pressed-air engine which is linked up to the steering- gear or elevator, as the case may be, by means of a connecting-rod. The engine itself is operated by a compressed-air reservoir, which would presumably be kept charged by an engine-driven pump. Regarding thecompressed-airsystem as the principle, the patent covers two separate main and distinct applications of it to the same flyer. One of these systems is exclusively devoted to the automatic control of the- elevator, the other is likewise reserved solely for the manipulation of the rudder and for warping the main planes. Each of these systems has its own reservoir, engine, and controller, the latter appa- ratus being, as already mentioned, a. pivoted vane in the case of the elevator- gear, and a pendulum in the other- instance. . . „ Description of the Sketch. * As illustrating the mechanical arrange- ment of the apparatus, we give a drawing, showing how it is supposed to be applied, according to the patent, to the operation of the elevator, which is shown at A as a pivoted flat plate, con- trolled by a rope, A1, from a drum or pulley, A2- This pulley is a member normally under the control of the driver through the agency of a Jever, but embodies- such features in its construction as enable it to be coupled up at will through some form of clutch to the connecting-rod of the compressed-air engine, B, which is operated from the reservoir, C, to which it is connected by the pipes, C1, Ca. Of these the former is in permanent communication with the lower end of the cylinder, while the latter leads to the upper end through a three-way valve, D, which is operated by the automatic movements of a horizontal vane or aeroplane, E, mounted on an arrangement of beams, E1, E2, E3, forming a parallel motion mechanism. The frame, E4, on which the beams themselves are pivoted, hangs from brackets, F1, mounted on an adjacent pair of the main struts, F, of the flyer, and one of its members is prolonged downwards to form a handle,. E5, within reach of the pilot. 406
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