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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0429.PDF
JULY 17, 1909. London last week discussed the question and decided toj approach the various European Governments and] endeavour to get such a system established so that aerial voyagers may not be mulcted in the full import duties when making trips to the Continent. It should not be overlooked that at the present time the French Govern- ment is arranging an International conference for the discussion of this question. Gordon-Bennett Balloon Cup, Starting Order, THE starting order for the Gordon-Bennett Balloon Race was declared at Geneva on Sunday last, and is as follows :—i, 10, 16, Italy ; 2, n, T7, Belgium ; 3, 12, 18, France; 4, 13, Spain ; 5, 14, 19, Germany ; 6, America; 7, 15, 20, Switzerland; 8, England; 9, Austria. The Swiss Club are endeavouring to change the venue of the next International Congress from Milan to Zurich, to be held during the Gordon-Bennett meeting. Hedges Butler Cup Race Abandoned. INCLEMENT weather again spoiled the prospects of ballooning on Saturday last, when ten competitors should have ascended from Hurlingham in competition for the Hedges Butler Cup. The day was a sample of July ® © weather, impossible, we hope, beyond our shores, and although there were interludes of sunshine, it was generally agreed that the Committee had done wisely in. abandoning the race. As a matter of fact, too, they had little latitude for decision, since the final of the Inter- Regimental polo match was down to take place at four o'clock, and it was essential that all of the balloons should have been clear of the ground by that time. It was, therefore, necessary to come to a conclusion at a. comparatively early hour. Dollfus Kite Prize. To be competed for under the auspices of the Ligue* Nationale Aerienne, Major Dollfus has offered a prize of 10,000 frs. for man-lifting kites. Competing kites must raise no kilogs. to an altitude of 300 metres, and main- tain their position for a quarter of an hour. A minimum) wind of 10 metres per second must prevail for the event. Entrants must submit plans of their kites to the L.N.. before December 1st next, and the committee reserve the right to exclude any devices from the competition as the result of this preliminary examination. Intending competitors should communicate with the secretary, 27, Rue de Rome, Paris. - ; THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF AERONAUTICS. By COL. J. E. CAPPER, C.B., R.E. AT the Aeronautical Society's meeting on Wednesday last, Col. J. E. Capper, the well-known Superintendent of the Government Balloon Department at Aldershot, made some interesting remarks upon the various directions in which improvements should be aimed at in the conquest of the air, and laid particular emphasis on the need for greater automatic stability in all heavier-than- air flying machines. Starting on the basis that the real conquest of the air would be achieved when men would be able to travel from point to point to schedule time irrespective of weather, he indicated that it would depend on whether they were needed for sport or war, or for purposes of commerce, including postal service, as to what were their essential capabilities. As regards ehher of the three sorts of dirigible balloons—the rigid, the partly rigid, and the frameless sort — he thought that at present the prospects of their being used for sport were poor, but that the sort of balloon needed for the minor purposes of war was one which could carry at least five men, including wireless telegraph operators, for spells of three hours, could rise to heights of 6,000 ft., could travel at 30 miles an hour in calm, and could be controlled in a vertical as well as a horizontal direction. It ought, moreover, to be immune from storms when on the ground, and to be capable of being taken to pieces for readiness of transport. Many improvements were, he said, necessary in connection with dirigible balloons—lighter engines, independence of temperature as regards altitude, and more efficient propellers, &c.—but no one man could achieve all these things at once, and consequently each inventor would be well advised to choose one particular line of investigation and adhere closely to it. Speaking, as one who had tried to build dirigible balloons, he observed that only when one attempted to do so did one come to realise what a deal could be learnt from others. Special dirigibles for naval work could be quite different since it would not be needful for these to rise so high, although, on the other hand, they ought to possess exceptionally good gas-holding qualities, and be capable- of wider ranges of use than the military dirigible. They might to advantage be large, and of the rigid type, and they undoubtedly ought, like the military kind, to be equipped with gas-making plants of their own. As regards dirigibles for exploration, these would all need a very ample margin of lift because it is essential that they should be able to cope with rain or snowstorms. Passing on to aeroplanes, he thought that their imme- diate future was, for the time at least, confined to the role of sport. For the purposes of war reliability was essential; they would have to be capable of going up in all weathers for spells of some hours, would have to be automatically stable and not dependent on the skill of the pilot, would have to carry two men, to be capable of landing safely on open ground, and so forth. That stage of development had not been reached yet. Inventors should aim rather at increasing automatic stability than at increasing speed. BACK NUMBERS OF FLIGHT.' THE publishers have pleasure in announcing that they have secured a few of the back issues of FLIGHT, and any of our new readers who may wish to complete their sets may obtain the first twenty-eight numbers for 35. €>d. (abroad $s. 4^.) post free, from the Publishers^ 44, St Martin's Lane, W.C. 431
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