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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0230.PDF
l/ycHtj MARCH 26, 1910. THE NEW "SHORT" BIPLANE. (Conti?med from page 213.) Short-Wright Comparisons. ALTHOUGH there are some points in common between the Short machine and the Wright machines that are manufactured in England by Short Brothers, the design in general is entirely different. The rudder, for instance, in the Wright biplane is placed behind; in the Short biplane it is placed in front where it is situated im mediately behind the elevator. The Short biplane, too, has a horizontal and a vertical tail, whereas the Wright flyer has nothing but its double rudder at the rear of the planes. These differences are, of course, of a fundamental character, and entirely outweigh such small features of similarity as may be noticed in the appearance of the decks. The system of control, too, is fundamentally dissimilar, inasmuch as the planes of the Short machine are rigid, whereas those of the Wright are capable of being warped. Lateral equilibrium in the Short biplane is maintained by the manipulation of a pair of independent diagonal wire bracing that converts the construction of the decks as a whole into a lattice box-girder. Between the main spars are placed the cambered ribs upon which the surfacing material is stretched. The planes are double surfaced, that is to say the fabric is applied to the upper and lower faces of the ribs. The Leading Edge. The front spar of each deck forms the leading edge and is quite blunt; in fact, it is only rounded off at the corners, no attempt whatever having been made to provide a sharp entry, Short Brothers having been led to the conclusion, as the result of their experience, that there is no practical advantage in such a refinement. This is, of course, a very interesting and important point, because not only is it common opinion that the entering edge should at least be well rounded, but many construc tors have gone to the trouble of continuing the ribs beyond the front spar in order to provide a really sharp " Flight " Copyright. Sketch illustrating the jointing o£ the main spars on the Short biplane. " Flight'' Copyright. View of the pilot's seat on the Short biplane. The lever on the pilot's right controls the balancing-planes, that on his left the elevator; the pedals control the rudder. " Flight •' Copyright. Sketch illustrating the method of attaching the struts to the spars in the Short biplane. The manganese-steel socket-brackets are fixed to the spars and not to the struts. balancing planes that are pivoted to the vertical struts at the extremities of the machine. In detail, as in generalities, the Short biplane is most interesting, and it gives evidence everywhere of most careful and original thought in its construction, as will be shown by a glance at the accompanying illustrations and a perusal of the following brief description of the more characteristic features of the machine. Main Planes. The main planes are so erected that they can be dismantled in three sections and packed fore and aft into awidtn of 10 ft.,the principal transverse spars are jointed on either side of the central portion that forms a perma nent part of the chassis. The joint is a simple socket and the fastening is accomplished by a single bolt, the strain being, of course, taken off the joints by the entering edge without reducing the section of that member. It has always seemed to us that while a sharp entering edge may be advantageous in theory, the difficulty is to ensure that the machine shall fly with that edge tangential to the relative wind, in other words we are of the opinion that while the sharp cutting edge is probably best in one particular position it is quite likely to be less efficient than a blunt edge in other positions than that for which it was designed. Information on the subject of the actual behaviour of the air in the vicinity of the leading edge is very limited, and it would be interesting to know whether there may not be some sort of piling-up action taking place in the air itself of such a character as to give a blunt leading edge an artificial sharpness that automatically adjusts itself to the attitude of the machine in flight. Whether or no there is any justification for any such view, or whether the actual 228
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