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Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0441.PDF
JULY 24, I909. BLERIOT'S NEW PATENT. AN INVENTION RELATING TO THE METHODS FOR STARTING FLYERS WITHOUT AN INITIAL RUN. M. Louis BLERIOT, whose wonderfully successful cross- country flight was the feature of last week's progress in aviation, again comes to the fore this week with proposals for starting an aeroplane without an initial run over the ground as a means of acquiring its flight velocity. In M. Bleriot's own words, his method consists "in applying -to aeroplanes and similar apparatus propellers with The propeller, b\ seen in that figure, first of all draws on the front portion of the wing, c, and then submits the latter to the action of such a force as d—e assumed to be transferred to the centre of thrust, d, of the said wing. In view of the inclination of the wing relatively to the horziontal and the place occupied by it relatively to the same, the propeller produces a compression of air situated under the said wing, as well as a rarefaction of %J cf horizontal, or practically hori- zontal, driving shafts, so arranged that they can drive the air against the inclined wings of the appara- tus, so as to sweep their surface and to submit them to elevating forces similar to those to which they are submitted with the ordinary apparatus when running at high speed." This means, in short, a complete modification of the system of propulsion of these apparatus, which has hitherto always been designed in such a manner as to exercise as little influence as possible on the wings, and merely to impart to the apparatus strong horizontal traction. In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the propelling mechanism of the aeroplane, <z, is constituted for the purpose of obtaining the result desired by two propellers, \ mounted on the lateral ends of the wings, c, so that their shafts, which are normally parallel to the longi- tudinal axis of the apparatus, could be rotated to an angle of 90° in the horizontal plane containing them, about vertical axes. With such an arrangement of the propelling mechanism it is sufficient, for causing the apparatus to rise from the spot, to bring about the said rotation to an angle of 90° of the propeller shafts, which will thus be placed in line with one another as shown in Fig. 1. The propellers, having been set in motion, compress the air under the wings; the apparatus rises, and as soon as the desired height for starting has been reached the shafts of the propellers are brought back to their normal position. The flight then continues in the usual manner. In the construction shown in Fig. 2. the desired result is obtained by means elementary propellers, bx, mounted on the front edge of the wings, c, the action of which will be readily understood by the aid of Fig. 3. ® ® the air situated above it, the result being a lifting force such as d—f, which is reduced to a force such as d—g after its composition with the weight, d—h. The propeller has therefore the tendency to give to the wing a movement in the direction of the resultant, d—/', of the two forces, d—e and d—g, that is to say an oblique movement upwards, the inclinations of which can be corrected at will by means of apparatus for the purpose. In the result, an ascensional force is obtained at the very start (and not only after the apparatus has acquired a sufficient speed) and it is that force which is utilised for starting the flight; the apparatus leaves the ground as soon as the propellers are started working. Utilised in this form, the propulsion system makes it impossible to obtain at the start a purely vertical rise as may be necessary in certain cases. Tne difficulty can, however, be easily remedied by temporarily connecting the aeroplane to a fixed point or a point capable of moving upwards only by means of any suitable connec- tion. This connection results in the neutralization of the horizontal forces such as d—e, so that only the lifting forces such as d—g remain. There are seven claims to the patent, of which the first is :— 1. A method of starting aeroplanes and like apparatus, from a standing position, consisting in using a current of air set up by propellers so disposed relatively to the wings or other surfaces rigidly secured to the frame, that the said current of air communicates to the said surfaces an appropriate elevating force, substantially as described. The subsequent claims relate to means for carrying out Claim 1 by methods described in the patent.® ® AT FRANKFORT AERONAUTICAL EXHIBITION. AMONG the many firms represented at this up-to- date show are the Continental Company, the parent house of the Continental Tyre and Rubber Co. (Great Britain), Ltd., who are exhibiting their world-renowned Continental billoon and aeroplane sheeting. Greatly enlarged photos of airships and aeroplanes, the envelopes and coverings of which are made of Continental material, are shown on their stand. This is a remarkable collection, including as it does Count Zeppelin's airships, and the "Gross" and "Parseval"; the French airships "La Patrie," "La Republique," " Ville de Paris," "Clement- Bayard," " De la Vaulx-Zodiak"; aeroplanes on the Wright, Farman, and Esnault-Pelterie systems, &c. From this it looks as if, with a few exceptions, the finest airships in the world are made with " Continental" fabrics, and their constructors, use this material exclu- sively. A photograph of the balloon " Helvetia," with Colonel Schaeck as pilot, is also on view. This is the balloon, it will be remembered, which was declared winner of last year's Aero Gordon-Bennett Race, and will be long famous for its 72 hours' flight across the Baltic Sea, descending in the sea off the coast of Norway. The big balloon " Preussen," in the centre of the hall (one of the largest in existence) is also made of "Conti- nental " balloon material, while it is interesting to know that this balloon, although a veteran of 12 years, is still perfectly intact, and makes frequent ascents. 443
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