FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0453.PDF
JULY 31, 1909. "WOODBUFFERS SLIDING COLLAR. two-bladed tractor-screw, made of wood. Jutting out above the main-frame, between the pilot's seat and the engine, is a light triangular steel frame, which originally carried a small fin, but has since been deprived of this member. The frame itself remains, however, as it is used in connection with the staying of the main wings. The Main "Wings. The main wings, which, as already explained, consist of two single members which are independently detach- able from the main framework, are each built up around two trans- verse wood spars having a solid rectangular section mea- suring about 3 by f ins. At frequent intervals, about 7 ins. apart, these two spars are joined b y curved ribs, some of which are quite slender pieces of wood having a square sec- tion of only about £ in. square,whiie others are formed by strips of aluminium, rein forced in front by a strip of Sketch of the suspension on the Bleriot w°od. Themonoplane ** No. 11," showing the elastic shock absorbers and the sliding collar. ELASTIC RINGED / FORK rib tip, is aproximately two-thirds that of the main wings, and the area is about one-fourth as great. The pivoted tips are approximately square, and have an individual area of abput one-fourth that of the full area of the tail. The rudder, which is shaped in accordance with the constructional requirements, has an area of approximately 4^ sq. ft. It is situated about 13 ft. behind the rear edge of the main wings, and is pivoted about 18 ins. behind the rear edge of the tail. The construction of the tail is similar to that of the main wings, except that the principal transverse spar consists of a steel tube. The central portion of the tail, which is rigid in flight, can be adjusted in respect to its angle of incidence. The Control. The pilot of the Bleriot monoplane " No. 11" sits on a low board raised but a few inches above the floor of the main girder, and rests his back against a leather strap. His feet are placed upon a pivoted cross-bar, by means of which the rudder is operated, and vertically in front of the pilot's seat is a lever for warping the wings and con- main ri at the inner extremity of each wing is entirely of wood, and has a built-up channel section. The wings are double-surfaced with Continental fabric, that is to say, the ribs and spars are entirely enclosed top and bottom by this water-proof material, and therefore present a perfectly smooth contour on both faces. At the maximum point, the thickness of the wings 's about 3^ ins., but the front edge and the trailing edge are both sharp. Transversely the wings form a straight line, but in fore and aft section they are cambered in accordance with the usual practice, and the maximum amount of camber is about 3^ ins. This point occurs a little less than a third of the distance from the leading edge. The extremities of the wings are rounded off in a manner which is clearly indicated in our accom- panying drawing. Having a span of 28 ft. and a chord of 6 ft., the aspect ratio is only 4*65 and the area 150 sq. ft. \ • Supplementary Surfaces. T ; supplementary surfaces on the Bleriot flyer com ; of a monoplane tail having pivoted extremities, and -udder. The overall span of the tail, including the i I*- W 4SS Sketch showing how the main wings of the Bleriot mono-plane "No. 11" are made detachable from the frame. trolling the pivoted tips on the tail by means of wires. This lever is mounted in a somewhat peculiar manner, and has a curious inverted cup-shape fitting upon its lower end, which forms the subject of a Bleriot patent No. 21497 of 1908. It is manipulated with the left hand, while the right is free to control the throttle and ignition-levers, and also, as occasion requires, to operate a rubber bulb of the scent-spray variety for the purpose of increasing the pressure in the lubricating tank, as the sight-feed fitting has, for convenience, been placed somewhat above its lowest level. Balancing is controlled by warping the main wings, while the tips of the tail—which work together—perform the usual functions of an elevator. Constructive Detail. First and foremost in the constructive details of f machine comes the mounting of the main wings. Mer has already been made of the fact that each wing is bv about two main spar?, and it is these members wb employed for the attachment. The front spar, • the more important of the two, juts out from trr of the wing for a matter of 12 ins. or so, r into a socket formed by a hollow rectangi aluminium, mounted rigidly on the main \ machine. When in place, the joint is se f bolts. The other main spar projects on' and is merely bolted to a simple alu fastened at the side of the frame. »~: X
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
