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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0275.PDF
APRIL 9, 1910. PUS) which it rose gradually for the rest of the distance at an average gradient of about 1 in 15 to 20. At the word " go " the machine was released, I accelerated the engine and off we went, keeping the elevating plones at nearly the neutral angle, which I found kept the machine on the ground. When nearing the bottom of the hill, I slightly increased the angle, and the machine rose about 3 feet for about 20 yards, and then landed comfortably On the hill. Pride before— The machine was then pushed back by the starting point and off we went again. This time I altered the angle of the elevating planes about 150 yards from the hill, with the consequence the machine gradually rose to about 10 feet and landed on the hill a little higher up perfectly safely, having been off the ground for about 120 yards. This was very satisfactory, so I went back to the starting point and had another try. This time I rose earlier and got up to about 20 feet, and landed with rather a bump still further up the hill, having flown just over 150 yards. The Fall. These successful attempts fired my ambition, so that I decided to endeavour to get such a height as to enable me to land on top of the hill. So this time I started with the engine going " all out." The machine shot away, and I was very quickly in the air, reaching an altitude of about 30 ft. Everything was going beautifully, and I felt sure of success, but unfortunately, the fates decreed otherwise, for just as I was over the base of the hill the engine stopped and down I came. The machine landed on its front end, and I had just time to carry out the well-known practice of " sitting well back when taking a jump on a horse." In consequence I did not fall out nor was I very much shaken, but unfortunately the beautiful little "Bleriot" was badly damaged. The propeller was utterly demolished, as was the " temporary " wheel; the back of the main frame immediately behind my seat was broken in twain, and other parrs of the framework were smashed, but strangely neither the planes nor the engine appeared to have suffered at all. This, of course, put an end to my flying for the day, and also has for a sufficient number of days to enable repairs to be carried out. However, it has left me keener and more enthusiastic than ever, for I have tasted both the " sweets and bitters " of flying, and whilst the former are indescribably fascinating, I have learned that the latter, in the shape of a 30 ft. fall, is nothing like so bad as one is led to imagine, and I feel the cause was excess of ambition on my own part, which, of course, can easily be avoided. New Impressions. Now as regards impressions. The first that struck me was, of course, running along the ground. I had imagined from what I had seen at Rheims, Juvisy, and Doncaster that the sensation would be one of being bumped and jolted about to an unmerciful degree; actually I did not find it so. In fact, I found it delightfully smooth and comfortable, more so, if anything, than a perfectly sprung car. There appeared a tendency to sway about a little, which at first made one feel somewhat insecure, but after an hour's running about the ground I was able to keep the machine much more steady, and in consequence gained confidence and felt fairly safe and comfortable. The sensation when in the air is, as I have previously mentioned, indescribably fascinating. At first the impres sion is one of floating and of being supported, as it were, by some invisible means. Though the engine is roaring like a Gatling gun, and the wind is whistling by your ears, you do not seem to hear or notice this. At first, on finding yourself in the air, one begins to feel rather helpless, more so that I found it very difficult indeed to have even the faintest indication of the altitude. The first time I left the ground, owing to my rising so abruptly, I felt' the change in sensation immediately, but in the later flights, until I had. attained a height of about 20 ft., I did not appreciate the fact that I was in the air. The Lag in Control. Another impression I got was the apparently sluggish action of the various functions controlling the machine. For instance, I found there appeared to be a very appre ciable time elapse after the rudder was put over to guide the machine in a certain direction before the direction of the machine responded to it. The same thing in operating the elevating planes. I found, for instance, when desiring to check a rising tendency and remain at a steady height, that before this effect took place, the machine would continue to rise for some time after I had altered the angle of the elevating planes. This lag, as it might be termed, of the coming into effect of the controlling functions, is, I feel, one of the first things to familiarise oneself with, as otherwise one is likely to get the feeling that the machine will not answer to its control, and, in consequence, a nervousness is apt to creep over the aviator which might result in disaster. The impression I got in the fall of 30 ft. that I had, was that if you are able to keep a cool head, a fall is not such a serious thing as one would anticipate. In my case the descent was surprisingly sudden, as I was travelling at presumably about 30 miles an hour, and the machine apparently going perfectly, when suddenly the engine stopped, and the machine immediately com menced to drop rapidly. The angle I came down felt very similar to that one experiences when landing with a horse over a fence that has a fairly long drop, and having had a little experience in the hunting field I automatically threw myself well back as one does in taking a jump. In consequence of this, though the machine landed nearly on its head, as it were, I found that I sat rigidly in the seat, only slipping forward a matter of about a foot. Had I not sat well back there is no doubt I should have run the risk of being thrown out. As it was I landed without even being seriously shaken. Summary of First Day's Flying. Run No. 1. Length about 250 yards, of which I was in the air for about 100 yards at maximum height of about 15 ft. Came down abruptly, breaking near-side front wheel. Run No. 2. A series of runs round and across flying space without leaving ground for about one hour. Run No. 3. Length about 500 yards. In the air about 20 yards at height of about 3 ft. Landed perfectly. Run No. 4. Length about 550 yards. In the air about 120 yards at height of about 10 ft. Landed perfectly. Run No. 5. Length about 600 yards. In the air about 150 yards at height of about 20 ft. Landed safely, but with rather a bump. Run No. 6. Length about 400 yards. In the air about 250 yards at height of about 30 ft. Engine stopped and monoplane fell suddenly to ground, smashing propeller and part of framework. Total Distance Flown. Run No. 1. About 100 yards at height of 15 ft. » 3- „ 20 „ 3 „ „ 4. ,, 120 ,, 10 ,, „ 5. ,, 150 ,, 20 „ „ 6- „ 250 „ 30 „ Total ... 640 yards.
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