FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1909
1909 - 0779.PDF
DECEMBER 4, 1909. The meeting will be held at the IQueen's Hotel, at 8 p.m., and will be illustrated by blackboard sketches and demonstrations of models. It is thought that the first lecture should be of a very elementary nature, so as to pave the way for more technical lectures subsequently. The committee would be glad to hear of any suggestions or sub- jects for lectures, and to receive names of suggested lecturers. Hartlepools' Aero Club (56, WHITBY STREET, W. HARTLEPOOL). MR. THOS. BECKETT, Hon. Secretary of this club, writes that some communications have wandered considerably before reaching him, and asks us to notify that his address is 56, Whitby Street, West Hartlepool. He points out that "The Hartlepools" com- prises the separate boroughs of " Hartlepool " and " West Hartle- pool." Persons not in the know seem to think that the latter is " Hartlepool—West." That is a mistake. The two boroughs are quite distinct, with the names as given above. Northumberland Aero Club (WENTWORTH PLACE, NEWCASTLE), THE second general meeting of members of the Northumber- land Aero Club was held at the Royal Turk's Head Hotel, on November 25th, when the chair was taken by the Hon. Charles A. Parsons, C.B., the president of the club. The meeting was very well attended, about eighty or ninety members being present. This being the first occasion on which it has been possible for the president to take the chair at a general meeting of the club, he delivered his presidential address, and in it gave some most interesting details of his early experiments with flying machines. His first model, of the power-driven type, weighed about ij lbs., and had as its motive power a small steam engine developing J-h p., pressure being got up before the model attempted to fly by means of an independent heating apparatus. This machine succeeded in rising as high as the house, but then descended, the steam being exhausted. Later, the same engine was placed horizontally upon planes, the whole weighing about 2h 'bs. > ar>d it then attained a speed of about 15 miles an hour during flights of 120 yards. From these experiments Mr. Parsons decided that the question of power was not so important as the need to overcome the difficulties in connection with the stability and methods of guiding a machine of this type, and he read extracts from the original papers by Langley (published by the Smithsonian Institute) in support of this. In connection with the question of rising from the ground, he mentioned that a pheasant, in getting away, develops about a horse-power, but once on the move needs very little po\#er to fly. Speaking of the propellers of modern tiroes, Mr. Parsons suggested that the thrust could be doubled by gearing down, as a very large amount of power was lost through slip in the case of the high-speed direct-coupled propellers used on some machines. After the minutes of the last general meeting had been read and confirmed, the hon. sec, Mr. I. F. Fairbairn-Crawford, gave a resume, of the business done in committee since that last meeting. Headquarters had been taken for the club at the Royal Turk's Head Hotel, which is in a most central position in Newcastle, and possesses large banqueting-rooms which will be most suitable for meetings and exhibitions. Over the question of the club workshop the secretary wished it to be known that the opinions of the members were required before any further proceedings would be taken, in order to see how many of them were proposing to make use of the place. Premises had been found near the Central Station which seemed to suit the club's requirements admirably, being fitted with machine tools, lathes, saws, &c., with room for at least a dozen members to work simultaneously in comfort. It was then announced that arrangements had been made with Mr. M. L. Blin Desbleds for a lecture on Aeroplanes, embracing their construction and motive power, &o, to be held in the Connaught Hall, Blackett Street, on Saturday, December 4th, at 8 p.m. Members would be admitted free on production of their membership cards. Passing to the question of membership, the secretary stated that the numbers of the club were advancing rapidly, and that it had been decided to admit lady and junior members at a reduced sub- scription of five shillings. Honorary auditors were elected, and the winter programme was then discussed. It was decided that at the end of January a model aeroplane exhibition should be held, together with a display of photographs of machines, and possibly engines and parts. Later in the year, in March or AprS,, when the weather was more propitious for open-air meetings, a model competition would take place. During the discussion over a suitable ground for gliding and flying experiments, Mr. Parkinson (whose successful flight on a Bleriot monoplane—the first monoplane flight by an Englishman in England —was recently commented on in these pages) suggested that arrange- ments should be made for the use of the Town Moor. He stated that Gosfbrth Park, which had been proposed, was somewhat unsuitable for actual flying, owing to the enclosed nature of the ground. It was raised that the Town Moor was open to objectionlon account of its publicity, but the secretary promised to make inquiries. 78; Mr. Parkinson then stated that he was constructing at his works six machines of the Bleriot type, and he offered to let any member of the K. Ae.C. have the opportunity of purchasing one at cost price —a generous offer, which was received with great applause. *••! A hearty vote of thanks to the Hon. C. A. Parsons for taking the chair was moved by Mr. Higginbottom, who commented on the good fortune of the club in securing lor its president one who possessed such remarkable and unique qualifications, having been one of the earliest pioneers of research in the subject. Mr. Gerald Stoney, in seconding, cited the progress of the bicycle and the motor as evidences of the future of the aeroplane, and the motion w^s carried amid much applause. Mr. Parsons, in replying, mentioned that up to the present his only personal experience of actual flight had been from the saddle of the old high bicycle of twenty years ago, before the introduction of the safety. Alter a vote of thanks to the hon. secretary for the immense amount of labour expended by him in elaborating the details of the organisation, the meeting concluded, the majority of the members adjourning to inspect the club premises. Scottish Aeronautical Society 185, HOPE STREET, GLASGOW). PROFESSOR BARR presided at the first public meeting of the Scottish Aeronautical Society, provisionally formed in June last, which was held on the 24th ult. in the hall of the Royal Philosophical Society, Bath Street, Glasgow. The Chairman explained that the meeting was called to inaugurate in a more or less public manner the formation of a society fur the advancement of aeronautics in Scotland. For some months a small group of enthusiasts had been engaged in the preliminary work, which had been done with energy and perseverance. The Society would have general control of the aeronautical movement in Scotland, and arrangements were well advanced for its close association with the Aero Club and the Aerial League. It would occupy a position in Scotland similar to that held by the Scottish Automobile Club in motoring affairs. The Chairman went on to speak of the advance made in recent years in artificial flight. If during the next few years equally rapid advancement was made, the effects as regarded the arts of peace and war would be incal- culable. Though they might confidently anticipate revolutionary results, he would be a bold and a foolish prophet who would seriously attempt to forecast what those results would be. Few of them could have foreseen when Maxim rose from the ground in a flying machine in 1903 that in a very short time men would be flying hundreds of feet above the ground, and safely navigating the uncertain air even in strong winds. Professor Biles gave a short address on the scientific phase of aeronautics, and in the course of his remarks narrated how Glasgow University was very closely associated with the pioneer stage of artificial flight. Sixteen years ago a young man named Percy Pilcher, who had lieen a midshipman in the Navy, entered the University to take up engineering as a pursuit, and became Professor Biles' assistant. He was keenly interested in flight, and made several machines, which he called soaring machines, about 12 ft. or 15 ft. square. On these machines, which were merely wings, there was a framework on which Pilcher stood. He went down to Cardross, and on a hill there attached the machine to himself, resting his body on the framework, and ran down the hill with it. When he got up enough speed the pressure underneath lifted him off the ground and he was carried across to the opposite hill at the other side of the valley. Pilcher came to several of them in Glasgow and tried to interest them in flying. Particularly, he tried to interest Lord Kelvin, to whom some of them spoke on Pitcher's behalf, but Lord Kelvin's verdict was—"The thing is too soon; don't encourage him; he will kill himself." Unfortunately, poor Pitcher carried on his enthusiastic studies, and while exhibiting the machine to some friends at Rugby, part of it broke and he was killed. Pilcher was a pioneer, and in Glasgow, under the same organisation that prtduced James Wan. He was before his time trying to do what has since been successfully done. He designed several motors with the view to applying them to the machine, but did not succeed in getting one light enough. Moreover, he had not quite enough money to make a big enough machine for his purpose, otherwise the honour of producing the first flying machine might have attached to Glasgow and its University. Mr. Archibald Denny said that while great advances had been made, he doubted whether the aeroplane would ever become quite a commercial machine, one which they could travel in with as ni,uch comfort as they had in motor cars. He mentioned that his firm were at present engaged in trying to make a flying machine, but as it had not yet flown he would not say anything about it. In the course of the evening an interesting series of lantern slides were shown of various kinds of flying machines. They were described by Mr. G. P. Currie, Mr. D. Gordon-Anderson, and Colonel John Sillars.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
