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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0165.PDF
MY EARLY EXPERIMENTS. By SIR HI IT is now about seventeen years since I first commenced my experiments at Baldwyn's Park. It then appeared to me that it would be possible to make a flying machine that would lift itself in the air, with a steam engine and boiler for motive power. I had previously had some experience in building light and active steam engines, and also light boilers; but at that time there were no reliable data regarding the action of screws or aeroplanes on the air. True, a good many systems of aerial navigation had been suggested, but no real work had been done. After a good deal of study and experiment it was evident to me that the best possible system, and the one that offered the greatest chance of success, was that now know as the " aeroplane," which, at that time, I referred to as my " steam kite." As I went on with my experiments, it appeared that it would be better to have more than one aeroplane. I therefore made my machine with two, that is, a " biplane." At first, I intended to use only ioo-h.p. with a steam pressure of 150 lbs. persq. inch, with two screw propellers 17 ft. 11 ins. in diameter, and 24 ft. pitch. When, however, I tried my machine by running it along the track, I found that a good deal more than ioo-h.p. would be required. I found, however, when I only used ioo-h.p. that I could condense all the steam and recover the water; but ioo-h.p. was not enough. I then made a change. I constructed a stronger boiler with a forced circulation, and a new pair of screws, the same diameter as the others, but having a pitch of only 15 ft. All of these screws were made of wood, glued up in the ordinary way, after the manner of making patterns for marine screws, and this has turned out to be the very best form of screw, as witnessed by the fact that nearly everyone at the present time is using this kind of screw. By running my engine faster, and by greatly increasing the steam pressure, I actually ran the power up to 362-h.p. This was the actual power delivered by the screw on the air. Of course, the indicated horse-power would be a good deal more. Under this great pressure, the screw thrust was found to be considerably over 2,000 lbs., that is, each of the screws gave a thrust of over 1,000 lbs. The machine was 105 ft. wide, and there was not room enough at Baldwyn's Park to test it, but I devised a plan by which I could measure its lifting effect. I laid down a steel railway i,8oo ft. in length, 9 ft. gauge, and another one outside and over this, of 35 ft. gauge. The machine was mounted on light steel wheels, but was free to lift off the wheels and the axletrees, but when the whole weight of the machine was sustained by the aeroplanes, another set of wheels engaged the lower side of the upper track, so that the machine was really running on an inverted railway. A very carefully con structed dynamograph was so arranged and connected that a diagram of the lift was taken on each run, and it was found that with a screw thrust of, say, 1,500 lbs., the machine would lift off the steel rails, after having 9 ® Henry Farman Building a Monoplane. HAVING produced a biplane, with which such extra ordinary success has been attained, Mr. Henry Farman M MAXIM. run about 300 ft, when all the other wheels would engage the upper track. This showed most conclusively that the whole weight of the machine was carried by the aeroplanes. On one occasion the machine was tied up and the steam turned on, until a screw thrust of over 2,000 lbs. was obtained j upon letting go, the machine bounded forward with tremendous speed, and when it had run a distance of about 600 feet the lifting effect became so great that one of the axletrees of the upper wheels doubled up, and the other side of the machine lifted so forcibly that it broke the upper track, which was of Georgia pine, 3 ins. x 9 ins. When the machine was liberated it soared in the air, and gave us the feeling of being in a boat, but it was only for a few seconds, because the Georgia pine plank was raised in the air and came in contact with one of the screws, and this not only smashed the screw itself, but did great damage to the machine. Steam was shut off instantly, and the machine settled down in the soft turf. There were no marks on the greensward, conse quently it was very evident that the machine was drawn into position, but settled down directly. Photographs of this are now in existence. Upon going into the matter carefully it was found that the machine, at the time of breaking the axletree and the upper rail, must have been lifting fully 10,000 lbs., including its own weight, or, say, 2,000 lbs. over and above the weight of the machine, the three men on board, the water, and the petrol. This, of course, is not a large amount, when we consider the h.p. that was employed. At the time of the accident the engines must have been working up to more than 400 indicated h.p. It was only too evident to me at the time that it would be very dangerous to attempt free flight without first trying the machine on relatively level ground, where there was plenty of room, and I scoured the country from Tunbridge Wells to Reading, trying to find a suitable place which I could obtain at a reasonable price, but failed to do so. Still, the experiments went far enough to show that a machine could be made that would lift itself into the air. Of that, there could be no question. But such a machine was absolutely of no value, on account of the enormous quantity of water that was required. It takes a lot of water to run a 360-h.p. high-pressure engine, and I could not condense more than one-third of this water. I there fore decided to abandon the steam engine, and to devote all my attention to building a machine having an internal- combustion engine. I made sketches, and ordered the cranks; these were made by Whitworth, and I think that they are quite as fine a piece of workmanship as ever has been done in crank making, being of remarkable lightness, finely tempered, and highly finished. But the ground at Baldwyn's Park was required for a public institution, and I had to leave; this was followed by an attack of bronchitis, and the whole thing had to be abandoned for a time. ® ® has determined not to stop there, but is now busily engaged in building a monoplane, with which it is expected he will soon be seen making experiments.
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