FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0440.PDF
HISH^^V JULY 24, 1909. letter, it was his intention to compete on Thursday or Friday of this week—too late for the results to appear in this issue. If the wind is northerly, M. Bleriot states that he will make the attempt from England to France instead of vice versa. Any delay in M. Bleriot's programme will give Mr. Latham time to get his machine ready, so it looks as if the Channel flight may even develop into a race. Count Lambert nearly ready. BOTH Count de Lambert's flyers, Wright No. 2 and Wright No. 18, were assembled at Wissant, on the French coast, by Monday of this week, but, apparerttly being indifferent to the Daily Mail prize, the Count has no intention of unduly hurrying his attempt at crossing, and intends to practise very thoroughly in the vJcmitv before he really steers for England. MR. CODY'S STEADY ADVANCE. Cody Flies over 4 Miles. MR. CODY has again been successful in his flights on Liffan's Plain, his latest record on Wednesday being a flight of about 4 miles in length. Cody and his Critics. MR. CODY has recently felt constrained to take notice of various remarks which have appeared about his work in the general Press, and in a circular letter in which he gives expression to his views, he draws attention to one or two common misconceptions about the behaviour of his machine. The following paragraphs are those which actually deal with the points to which he takes exception :— " It has been stated that I myself ascribe the undulating motion of some of my flights to the insufficient power of my epgine. This is a greit mistake, as it is certainly not the cause. Neither do I agree with what has also been asserted, that my inability to steer my machine is responsible fjr either the wave-like movement or the yawing from right to left. Up to now these motions have mostly been intentional, though space will not here permit me to state my reasons for such a course. However, should; your representative require verification on the subject, I am quite prepared to satisfy him on any suitable practice day, as I maintain that my machine has shown no longitudinal or lateral instability during my experi- ments on Laffan's Plain. " Another serious mis-statement has been that the centre ot gravity on my machine lies below the bottom plane. I emphatically deny that such is the case. I must also question the authority which states that the power of the Wrights' engine is half that of mine. Even if such were the case, I would point out that my machine is nearly twice the size of theirs. Another things my aeroplane is only in its experimental stage, while.the Wrights" is now placed on the market as a finished article. " In conclusion, I must add that the resistance of my machine is less than any biplane yet built, constructed as it is with every possible effort for avoiding head resistance, a detail which has, up to the present, been taken into less consideration by any other aviator, including the Wrights and M. AIRSHIPS FOR THE NATION. ©NE ON ORDER AND READY T0^4KE A SECOND. AT the second meeting of the Advisory Committee of the National Airship Fund started by the Morning Post, the particular requirements of the War Office for a serviceable military dirigible were discussed and agreed upon. Their exact terms were drawn up in a memo- randum of twelve clauses, full particulars of which we give herewith. The Morning Post placed an order on Tuesday, July 20th, with Messrs. Lebaudy Freres—who have already designed and constructed four dirigibles for the French Army, as well as one for Russia—for an airship to comply with these War Office requirements, and to the purchase of this vessel the ^20,000 for which the Morning Post originally appealed will be devoted. Messrs. Lebaudy have undertaken to meet all the requirements embodied in the terms laid down by the Advisory Committee, and it has been agreed that the test of their fulfilment shall rest with a British committee consisting of two War Office representatives, two repre- sentatives of the Morning Post, one representative each of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, the Aero Club of the United Kingdom, and the Aerial League of the British Empire. In addition to having definitely ordered the Lebaudy airship, the Morning Post state that they are prepared to acquire the Clement-Bayard airship, which is being brought over to England for inspection by the Parlia- mentary Aerial Defence Committee; that is, of course, if a satisfactory price can be arranged and the airship itself complies with the afore-mentioned requirements. The amount contributed to the National Fund up to Tuesday night, July 20th, is ^9,525 10s. Tfae text of tht > ..a.-uns drawn up by the Advisory Committee are as f ow : 1. The balloon tc trry a crew of six, together with wireless telegraph apparatus up to 300 lbs. in weight, and petrol and ballast together making up a total weight of not less than one-fourth of the full total lift. 2. The balloon to have two similar engines of equal horse- power, all parts of which are interchangeable. Either engine independently or both together to be used at will in working propellers. 3. The ballonette capacity to be one-fourth of the total capacity of the balloon. 4. The balloon to be of the non-rigid or semi-rigid type. 5. The balloon to be portable, that is, to be capable ot being taken to pieces easily when deflated, and packed on wagons for land transport. 6. The balloon to have anchor ropes and guiding ropes, and to be capable of being taken in and out of its shed by not more than 30 men, in a calm day, that is to say, when the wind is not more than 10 miles an hour. "r 7. The balloon to hi capable of anchoring in the open for 24 hours in moderate winds up to 20 miles an hour. 8. The stability and steering capability of the balloon must be satisfactory. 9. The balloon envelope not to lose by leakage more than one- hundredth part of its capacity for every day of 24 hours. 10. The balloon must be capable of rising to a height of 6,000 ft. with its full crew and wireless apparatus, and must have in hand then sufficient fuel for three hours' run at full speed, together with one-fifth of the original complement of ballast. 11. The balloon must complete a triangular course of 100 miles each side, that is, a total course of 300 miles, in not more than fourteen hours, travelling fully equipped. For four hours of this journey the height above the sea-level not to be less than 3,000 ft. Any suitable day may be chosen. 12. The speed of the balloon on a measured course of 5 miles with and against the wind (due allowance being made for the velocity of the wind) shall not be less than 32 statute miles per hour. 442
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
