FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0212.PDF
l/UGHTj Chassis Construction. More attention is probably being given to the design and construction of the chassis of modern aeroplanes than to any other part, and this is very properly so, since the chassis is called upon to do the hardest work. It is that part of the machine where there should be least evidence of sacrifice of material for the sake of lightness. %ll f*. IR^S Jp \*txr'~ F"^k l*JBE •r ,J£"<Jtrl •*",-•"$ f fcy^ f«Mh "I " Flight " Copyright. A new British aeroplane engine—the Thames—built by the well-known Thames Ironworks Co. The massive nature of the Short chassis is interesting on this account, more especially if it is compared with some of the lighter designs embodied in machines of which no practical trials have yet been attempted. We have been pleased to observe, too, the widespread recognition of the " A " type of chassis frame, to which we drew special attention in connection with our report of the last Paris Salon, where this design was introduced on the Hanriot monoplane. For strength and simplicity it is, in our opinion, superior to anything we have seen for machines that require a high chassis, as is the case with monoplanes. One of the points in connection with the Short chassis that makes it so interesting is the fact that it is very low owing to the disposition of the propeller, which is so arranged as to enable the lower deck to be close to the ground. This subject has been dealt with at greater length in our article on the Short biplane, which appears elsewhere. Skis and Wheels. The obvious advantages of combining wheels and skis for the support of the machine on the ground have been widely appreciated by manufacturers, nearly all of whom have adopted some such combination as that originally introduced by Farman. The Farman device— consisting as it does of two pairs of stout bicycle wheels, each pair mounted on a short axle and lashed to a skid by elastic—is simple and effective, and has been widely copied. Short Brothers, who have adopted the ski and wheel combination this year, have sought to introduce a further improvement in the form of " disappearing " wheels, which can be raised above the level of the skis after the machine has ascended in flight. This operation, which merely involves the simple movement of a lever by the pilot, relieves the wheels of all shock when landing. The Handley Page ash axle is an interesting method of avoiding springs by utilising the natural flexibility of timber for the suspension. Propellers. It is a little difficult to sum up the progress that has been made in the design, construction and appli cation of the aerial propeller; especially is it difficult MARCH 19, 1910. to appreciate any improvement in design on account of the absence of any means of testing the com parative efficiency of propellers other than by their popularity with aviators. And this brings us to a matter of considerable importance that we would like to urge in the present place, although it is somewhat apart from the subject. We should like to suggest how valuable would be a public testing plant for propellers to which manufacturers could submit their devices, and that the National Physical Laboratory is just the sort of Institution where some such apparatus might properly be expected to be found. Timber is becoming increasingly popular in the manufacture of propellers, a very large number of which are now made with layers of different kinds of wood, in order, so it is supposed, to produce a maximum of strength and lightness. Walnut, mahogany and spruce is an example of the combina tion employed. In most cases such pro pellers are very highly finished and have fine sharp edges; Short Brothers on their new biplane exhibit a propeller that is the very antithesis of such refinement, having bluff edges and a matte surface. As in the case of the struts and spars on the Short biplane, which are also only touched up to the extent of rounding off the corners, so also in the case of their propellers has this firm come to the conclusion that there is not enough practical advantage in the adoption of stream-line form " Flight " Copyright. The Zimmerman radiator is an example of the real honeycomb type, being constructed of circular brass tubes *1 mm. in thickness. These tubes are expanded at the ends so as to give the necessary water space between them when they are set together. These radiators can be made as light as 30 lbs. to cool a 50-h.p. engine. to compensate for the additional expense that it involves in manufacture. Many wooden propellers are now re inforced with fabric glued to the surface, which improves their life in bad weather and also probably increases the strength of the blade without adding any appreciable weight. In respect to the position of the propeller on the machine, the tractor-screw (or propeller in front position) still predominates in monoplanes, owing to the obvious difficulty of placing a single propeller behind, elsewhere than as an excrescence of the tail—which place, by the way, has been adopted on the Petre monoplane exhibited by Leo Ripault. It will be interesting to watch how the propeller propels on this machine. One of the most interesting features in the propulsion of modern aeroplanes is the apparently satisfactory action of the high-speed propeller, which has enabled manufac turers to dispense with mechanical gear-reduction by coupling the propeller direct to the crank-shaft. This fact has been one of the most important factors in the simplicity of construction of the new Short biplane. 210
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
